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I am often asked what can be done with a 25m skein of lace-weight/crewel wool or with left-over skeins from the Renaissance Stripes or Bohemian Rhapsody kits. Annette of Annette Petavy design has come up with a fun answer. A crocheted Advent calendar that advances day by day throughout Advent in easy to follow steps. For nervous crocheters like me it is easy to follow as there are lots of images and links to stitch explanations in English and French.

So take ten minutes out of your busy day and give yourself a hand-crafted Advent ...

Introduction to The Use of Vegetable dyes by Violetta Thurstan.

"Is this 'vegetable dyeing' that we are hearing so much about less trouble than chemical dyeing?

No it is more trouble.

Is it then quicker?

No, it takes much longer.

Is it a faster dye?

No, a really fast chemical dye cannot be surpassed by any vegetable dye.

Is it cheaper?

No, the cheap chemical dyes in packets cost only a few pence.

Why then should anyone trouble to learn how to use vegetable dyes?

Because of the beauty of its results, Those who use them claim that no chemical ...

Somewhere in one of those memory compartments that I haven't opened for decades are images of the Kalavala, meteoric iron and autumn. This is a Finnish folklore poem that contains elements of the Michael and the dragon imagery.

It joggled back up to the surface today as I am in the process of turning some brilliant summer wool dyeing in to autumn colours with the aid of iron.. not meteoric alas just plain old homemade iron acetate (a future blog post!). Though I bet meteoric iron would work better! This treatment with iron which is known as saddening has ...

Bonjour,

Pour ceux qui aiment un stand de marché réel plein de la laine compressible, de couleurs vives et de modèles de kits expérimentaux, nous serons dans différentes parties de la France en septembre et en octobre.

23 au 24 septembre vous nous trouverez à Lyon au deuxième Microfestival de Libération du Fil

58 Rue Victor Lagrange, 69007 Lyon Juste à côté de la gare et du métro Jean Macé

Le mini marché est ouvert du samedi 13h30 à 20h00 et du dimanche de 10h à 18h voici la liste des exposants

Consultez les ateliers ici et réservez-en bientôt.

du ...

Hello,

For those who like a real market stand packed full of squeezable wool, bright colours and try-on-able kit models we will be around in different parts of France in September and October.

23rd-24th September you will find us in Lyon at the second Microfestival de Libération du Fil

58 Rue Victor Lagrange, 69007 Lyon Just next to the Station and Metro Jean Macé

The mini market is open from Sat 13.30 - 20.00 and Sunday 10 - 18 hr here is the list of exhibitors

Check out the workshops here and book soon.

7th - 8th October we will once ...

Juin embellit le sol et métamorphose le jardin de colorants dans une palette de teinture. Ici, vous pouvez jeter un coup d'oeil sur certaines plantes du jardin de teintures en ce moment . Ces graines de guède radiants donneront non seulement la culture de guède prochaines années, mais aussi donner cette belle violet foncé à la laine ou de tissu.

J'essaie de gérer le jardin de colorants afin qu'il soit en excellente condition pour l'atelier de teinture à la fin du mois d'août, la météo fait un défi intéressant. Je suis sur le point de récolter ...

A quick tour of the dye-garden as it is at the moment on 5th June 2017; naming plant, uses and colours.

Judas tree pods give a lovely orange tinged eco-print and their roots if you ever dare dig them up give a red dye.

Dyers Chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) producing a warmer yellow than weld on all fibres, good for solar dyeing and eco-printing.

Dyers Greenwood (Genista tinctoria) Good yellow dye on all fibres, handy for eco-printing

Garland Chrysanthemum (Glebionis coronaria) Yet another abundant source of yellow, gives a warm yellow to orange dye, great for solar dyeing and eco-printing

Goldenrod ...

June lovely June, beautifies the ground and metamorphoses the dye garden from potential to actual dye palette. Here you can take a peek at some of the plants in the dye garden at the moment. These radiant woad seeds will not only give next years woad crop but also give that beautiful deep purple to wool or cloth.

I try to manage the dye garden so that it is in top condition for the natural dye workshop at the end of August, the weather makes this an interesting challenge. I am about to harvest all the Garland Chrysanthemum flowers and ...

The dye garden here in the Ariege is beginning to move, although germination and growth of new plants is slow through lack of rain and very cold snaps. These picture were taken on the 1st of May.

Autumn plantings such as Dyer's Chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) below, and Dyer's Greenweed are off to a good start.

Dyers Greenweed (Genista tinctoria) this one has avoided the winter pruning by rabbits.

The thick rooted black Hollyhock (Alcea) is not doing so well after being moved and I will have to make sure it gets plenty of water and a good mulch ...

When you go to a busy show you don't always have time to have a look around. An early morning browse perhaps or quick forays to the loo or cafe. My tendency is to do an overall survey and then return when I can to things that attracted me. So here are some of my photos.

En allant dans un grand salon, vous n'avez pas toujours le temps de regarder autour. Une visite tôt le matin peut-être, ou des incursions rapides au café. Ma tendance est de faire une évaluation globale et de revenir quand je peux à ...