Hand Spinning

Hand spinning is the craft of producing yarn from sheep fleece, wool tops or rovings. Many hand spinners use spinning fibres such as alpaca, silk, linen, cotton or even dog and cat hair.

Preparing fibres for hand spinning.
A fleece needs washing before it can be used for hand spinning.  Once the fleece has been washed, the fibres need aligning; this is done by carding. It is easier to produce an even yarn from carded wool. Fleece for hand spinning can be carded on hand carders which produce rolags or a drum carder which produces a batt. 

Hand Spinning
Wool can be spun on a drop spindle or spinning wheel. The drop spindle or spinning wheel puts the twist into the fibre, the spinner drafts the fibre out to create an even yarn. Drop spindles are a good way to start learning hand spinning as they are inexpensive to buy. A spinning wheel is ideal if you are going to do a lot of hand spinning.
Many different yarns can be produced on a spinning wheel, from single to 3 ply, thick bulky to very fine lace weight and loopy boucle yarns to name a few.
Handspun yarns are different to knit with than machine spun yarns because a handspun yarn has different thicknesses in it which adds character to the finished garment. 

One more Christmas Market to go.

It was a busy Hovingham Christmas market on Saturday. I remembered to take a picture this time!

One more Christmas market at Hovingham on Saturday 21st of December from 10.30-1.30.

Christmas Markets

Its feeling really Christmassy here as we get ready for Hovingham Christmas Market on Saturday. We have been busy making draught excluders, perfect for keeping turning old cottages into cosy cottages, cushions for brightening up winter living rooms, Christmas gift bags and tags, needle felted gifts inspired by the North Yorks Moors and much more.

This is the stall from Kirkbymoorside Christmas Market last Saturday.

I have been making a few changes on the website so I have space to add my hand made items, so fancy yarns, carded merino, carded mohair and collage packs have gone. Craft courses have also gone I'm having a break from teaching for awhile so I have time to explore and experiment with new art and craft techniques. Other pages have been amalgamated to make room for my handmade items which are coming soon

Its been a really busy couple of months!

The end of summer and early autumn is always a busy time of year for me. The list of jobs seems to be so much longer than the hours to do them! The garden looked fabulous but we weren't in it much!

We had a really busy day at the 10th annual Guisborough Forest Festival, where there were amazing stilt artists.

We had two events on the last weekend in September, my Mother went to Masham Sheep Fair and I went to Yarndale in Skipton. Both were extremely good events for Wheeldale Wolcrafts.

October has flown and here we are at the end of November! Will have to make more effort to write my blog more often.

Natural Dyeing

Introduction
Natural Dyeing is an ancient craft practiced by many different cultures around the world for example the Roman Emperors purple robes and Turkish hand knotted carpets.
In Britain large amounts of cloth were dyed by commercial dyers who used a limited number of dyestuffs, mainly imported, to create a wide range of colours often using techniques such as over dyeing. Smaller amount of cloth and yarn were dyed by women in their cottages either to sell or to clothe their families. Cottage dyers used dyestuffs they gathered in the countryside surrounding them. It is these recipes many natural dyers use today.
All recipes for natural dyes were closely guarded secrets, if you were a commercial dyer your ability to create well dyed, colour fast cloth was your livelihood which you did not want your competitors to be able to copy. Cottage dyers used their skills to provide coloured cloth for their families and the knowledge of local plants and dyeing methods was built up over generations, which enabled women to clothe their families differently from their neighbours.Synthetic coal tar dyes started to be widely use in the late 19th century and enabled dyers to accurately reproduce colours. A wider range of colours and the production of colour fast synthetic dyes led to a decrease in the use of natural dyes.
The Dyestuffs
Many plants, often weeds, growing in our gardens, hedgerows, woodlands and meadows yield a colour. It usually a specific part of a plant such as the leaves, berries, flowers or bark. These plants are easy to find and identify: nettles, dock leaves, blackberries, birch leaves, elder berries, dandelions, and gorse. The following dyestuffs can be found in your local supermarket: onions (just the skins), teabags (can be used ones), coffee (instant or used grounds), walnut shells, turmeric and avocado (just the skins).
If you are collecting plants for natural dyeing you must remember to only collect plants from land you have a right to be on and not to collect any endangered species. For more information click here.
Natural dyeing is a seasonal activity as the parts of plants that yield a dye are often only available at specific times of year such as daffodils in the spring, marigolds in the summer and blackberries in the autumn.
The Mordants
Most natural dyestuffs need a mordant to fix them to the wool. The most common mordant is alum it is a metal salt and it chemically fixes the colour pigments from the dyestuff to the wool. Other mordants are Copper, Chrome, Tin and Tannic Acid. Mordants are poisonous and must be carefully labelled and stored away from pets and children. The easiest and safest mordants to use are alum and iron. Alum is historically the most commonly used mordant and it was extensively quarried and processed on the Yorkshire Coast. Alum fixes most dyestuffs but it can limit the colours attainable. Iron saddens or dulls colours, an easy way of iron mordanting is to put some slightly rusty nails in an old sock in the dyebath.
I use two methods of mordanting, premordanting and the all in one method. Premordanting involves mordating the wool before it is dyed the advantages are you can do one batch of mordanting then dye smaller amounts of wool with different dyes to get a range of colours and once dry the wool can be stored for use later. The disadvantage is you have to heat the wool twice, double the energy use. The all in method is exactly that, mordant and dyestuff in the same pan heated once.

Mordant Recipes.
Premordanting
I have always used imperial measurements, if you are mordanting less than a pound of wool adjust the quantities accordingly.
1lb of wool
4oz of alum for coarse wool/3oz of alum for fine wool
1oz of cream of Tartar (the stuff from the supermarket).
Method.
Weigh out the wool and throughly wet the wool in warm water.
Weigh out the alum and cream of tartar and put them in the dye pan with some hot (not boiling) water to dissolve them.
Fill the dyepan with warm water and add the wool.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes.

The all in one method.
Use a teaspoon of alum and half a teaspoon of cream of tartar for every 2oz of wool (dry weight) and make sure it is dissolved before you add it to the dye pan.

How to naturally dye wool.
Natural dyeing is an ancient craft which is both interesting and fun. Anyone with a little knowledge, some basic equipment, dyestuffs and mordants can have a go.
Any equipment used for dyeing must be kept only for natural dyeing and not be used for food preparation. Here is a basic list of equipment:
scales, to weigh wool, mordants and dyestuffs.
a large pan, stainless is best, but enamel or aluminium will do.
pieces of wooden dowel or long handled wooden spoons
a water proof apron and rubber gloves for handling mordants.
a pair of oven gloves and heat proof mat to put the pan on.

If possible do your dyeing outside on a camping gas stove, but where ever you dye make sure it is well ventilated by keeping windows and doors opened.

To get the best results the wool (tops, fleece or yarn) must be free from grease and oils. For information on fleece washing click here. Tops and yarn can have spinning oil in them, it’s easy to remove just soak in warm water with a few drops of washing up liquid in it. As a general rule a equal amount of dyestuff to wool is required (always weigh the wool dry).

Wet the wool thoroughly with warm water, put the dyestuff in the dye bath, add water and wool, bring a simmer and simmer for an hour. This is very general recipe but it gives a good basis for starting to experiment with natural dyeing.

Natural Dyeing at Wheeldale Woolcrafts
Here at Wheeldale Woolcrafts we previously used vegetation from the locality of the North Yorkshire Moors to dye my fleeces and handspun yarns. To achieve brighter colours especially reds and blues we use imported natural dyes. We stock a range mordants, natural dyestuffs, fleece, tops and yarns suitable for natural dyeing. Free recipes are available upon request with my natural dyestuffs.
Workshops focusing on natural dyeing are available on request. We can offer talks and demonstrations on natural dyeing to groups and at events please contact us for details.
A Glossary of Natural Dyeing Terms.
Adjective- a natural dyestuff which requires a mordant.
Substantive- a natural dyestuff which does not need a mordant.
Dyestuff- any plant material which can be used to dye wool
Mordant- a chemical enables the wool to take up the colour of the dye.

A basket woven from an old map.

A couple of months ago I did a soft basketry workshop with Averil Otiv.

We made baskets from old linen backed maps which are stronger than the modern paper versions. Averil had a selection of maps for us to choose from and I chose East Kent as the Joads originate from Canterbury and my brother and I are the first Joads in our line to be born outside Kent. In the early twentieth century there were many Joads in Kent, a significant number emigrated in the interwar period to America. Joad is an unusual name and people have said they thought Steinbeck had made it up for the Grapes of Wrath.
I try to write this blog a couple of times a week, (I know its beeen awhile I'll blame the decorating!) my main aim for the blog is to let people know about new products, events I will be attending and my secondary aim is just to say a bit about what we are doing and what exciting things are happening here. The blog is publicised my website home page, hopefully soon on facebook, and on blogger. Most UK readers use www.wheeldalewoolcrafts.co.uk, the blogger stats show a wide readership in the UK and around the world, but many people read my blog in the USA.  I have often wondered if there are any Joad's in the USA reading my blog if there are   send me a message and say hi.

Returning to the basket, I enjoyed weaving it but was rather heavy handed when pulling the strips tight and ended up with the only wonky basket in the group. I will have another go when I have some spare time. Below are some pictures of it and Myrtle loves it.

The official Fibre East Photos

The official photographer at Fibre East took a few photos of my stall and there are on Flickr. If I was better at this IT thing I would be able to show them on the blog! Fibre East Official Photos

Danby Show

It was up early to pack the car on Wednesday and get ready to go to Danby Show. We were the last ones to set up in the craft tent but we have setting up down to a fine art so it doesn't take long. It was a lovely day and we saw lots of people we know and I demonstrated spinning. I remembered to take some photos just after we had set up and here they are:

Getting Ready for Danby Show

It is amazing how fast a year passes and Danby show is on Wednesday. Danby show is a traditional agricultural show in the moorland village of Danby. There are many small agricultural shows in villages and towns all round North Yorkshire and each show is held on the same day each year e.g Danby Show is the second Wednesday in August. There are sheep classes, horse classes, craft, cooking and many other classes for people to enter, trade stalls, a craft tent, food stalls and usually a bar. There are also falconry and sheep shearing displays.
We have been busy making crafts for my stall, I have made some felt rugs and spent the past few days busy sewing peg bags, note books, cushions and draught excluders (I'm hoping they sell as it is startig to feel slightly autumnal here) and Mother has been packing and labelling wool and fibres.  We did however take a few hours off last week for a trip to Flamborough.

Flamborough is one of the Yorkshire coast villages with its own traditional folk patterns for fishermans guernseys. I have some 5ply wool, currently natural cream but that won't last long, and would like to knit a guernsey I just need to decide which pattern to choose! I  should maybe finish the throw I am knitting first though.

Website Updates

I have just added hand dyed nepps, new merino packs and new hand dyed Teeswater and Wensleydale fleece.
New painted tops and silks are coming soon.

Fibre East, Hovingham Market and an evening of rounding up escapees.

We had a busy Fibre East at the end of July, the new venue was really good, the weather was good and we met lots of our internet customers which is lovely (it is nice to meet in person).  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos.
This weekend it was Hovingham Market (again no photos, I forgot) I spent a couple of days last week making some new lines including peg bags, beach hut cushions, note books and keyrings. It was a busy market and I'm going to have a busy week before Danby show on Wednesday 14th August making more things.
As this week is getting ever busier I decided to have a relaxing evening in front on the TV, I was happily multi tasking, winding a ball of yarn, watching Only Connect and playing along on my laptop. Next there was a knock at the door and a neighbour had popped round to say four sheep had escaped and were in some cottage gardens. One greedy guts put his head in a bucket for food and I caught him quick,  Jemima leader of the flock jumped over the fence back into the fields leaving her two adult lambs confused and still in the gardens. These two just wouldn't go where we needed them to, this is where I get my secret weapon out Chazza.  Chazza is an old very tame sheep and he was easily persauded to eat some sheep mix  on our side on the fence next to the two escapees. His prescence had an instant calming effect on the two sheep who were still wondering where their mum has gone and with a bit of encouragement they popped back through a gap in the hedge I had just removed a hurdle from. Sheep are funny creatures some will jump anything others won't jump at all and I didn't really get that relaxing evening watching TV.

Summer

Summer has arrived and we are working hard in this glorious sunshine to get ready for Fibre East. I have been busy dyeing tops, yarns, silk, and fleece.
The garden has been growing, the field has been growing and the sheep are up to their shoulders in grass again. My Mother has had a glut of soft fruit to freeze this week and we have enjoyed more than one summer fruit pudding.
Below is a photo of yesterdays fruit and there is still plenty in the garden.

This is the first time the gooseberry bush has produced any fruit, just enough for a crumble. This year we have manged to keep Dusty Dog from eating the strawberries or licking them to test if they are ripe so there are plenty for us. 

It has also been a sad week on Friday Mother's little black hen Heidi did not come back home in the evening. We have spent hours looking for her, all round the garden, the field and neighbours fields. We also discovered six hens have gone missing in daylight hours during the last week from other flocks to a fox and unfortunately Heidi has probably also been taken.

Heidi is pictured above with Rodney, her presence around the garden will be missed as she would come and ask for food and would always assist with gardening.

There are new painted tops and dyed woollen blanket peices on the website.

Pop up Shop

We turned the dining room into a pop up shop for a morning.  Members of the Dumfries Guild visited us for a morning when they were on retreat last week. Here are pictures just after we had finished setting up.

The next couple of weeks I shall be busy dyeing for Fibre East but I will keep ading new stock to the website. Tonight new dyed blanket and new hand painted tops have been added.

Woolfest

We have just got back from Woolfest. The weather was much better this year, last year the steps from the carpark became a spectacular waterfall. We were woken by heay rain on the caravan roof early on Friday morning, caravans keep you dry but noisy in the rain. The rain stopped later on Friday morning and the rest of Woolfest was dry and warm! We were busy and saw many people we know, I did manage to look at some of the other stalls and bought a few things. Woolfest always seems to fly by and before We knew it we were packing up and heading home. Now I have 4 weeks to Fibre East and Hovingham Market at the end of this week. I think it will be  a busy few weeks.

A busy day

As Woolfest is getting close I am finishing making my stock. Today was the last of the yarn dyeing. We had a scheduled powercut as Northern Power Grid are replacing poles in the area The electricity went off at 11am and was back on just before 7pm, so only jobs which didn't need electricity got done. We lived off grid without mains electricity for nearly ten years, we only had the generator on for a few hours a day but we did have batteries to power low useage items such as the internet and lights. The washer, iron and vacuum all needed the genny. Its amazing how quickly we got used to being back on the mains when we moved, just flick a switch and electricity, no more having to fill the genny with diesel, keep an eye on how much is left in the batteries and an another engine to maintain.
The sheep were all sheared a couple of weeks ago and they are enjoying the sunshine in grass taller than they are. I need some really good drying weather just after Wolfest to get there fleeces washed and dried.

Knitted Throw

I am currently knitting a throw using my hand painted Yorkshire spun yarn.  It is a six row pattern that I chose to use with only two pattern rows so it is not difficult to remember. I find it difficult to knit on circular needles, in must be that Yorkshire thing of tucking them under your arms, but I did find an extra long pair which can hold all the stitches.

Caerlaverock Castle.

On my way back from a trip to Dumfries and Galloway I decided to visit Caerlaverock Castle. Over the years I have visited many castles and Caerlaverock is my favourite.
There are two castles at Caerlaverock: the original castle was built around 1220AD based on an old fort dating from 950AD. The old castle as it is now known was built close to the shore and harbour, which has dried up as the shore has moved further away.

The photo above shows the old castle had a relatively small inner bailey with just a few buildings as there was a much larger outer bailey. The Maxwell family who built and inhabited the old castle found it too small, the soft ground caused structual problems and the site kept flooding and after fifty years they moved about 200m further inland to the new Caerlaverock Castle.

Built in the vernacular red sandstone of Dumfriesshire, Caerlaverock is an impressive unique triangular castle. It has four round towers built into the curtain wall, two towers form the gatehouse pictured below, and a moat with a bank and outer ditch.

Positioned on the Solway Firth close to England, Caerlaverock was frequently attacked. In 1300 there was a well documented seige written by a herald of Edward I when seige engines demolished large parts of the castle. The Maxwell family rebuilt Caerlaverock, with better defenses and improved domestic ranges.

The Nithsdale Lodging has some amazing stone carving and fabulous fireplaces.

In 1640 Caerlaverock was under seige for the final time and after the seige The Covenanters demolished parts of the castle to ensure it could not stand again.

The facade of the Nithsdale Lodgings.

The damage done by The Covenanters

View from the top of the tower, complete with spiral staircase, towards the old castle and shore.

Through the anceint woods towards the old castle.

View across the Solway from the shore.

I really enjoyed visiting Caerlaverock Castle, I have visited a few times before. I have been busy with my house and wool recently but this visit really inspired my to visit some more heritage sites, some of my favourites places are Threave Castle, Byland Abbey and Cardoness Castle.

New Natural Coloured Tops

New stock!
I have some new tops:
White Il De France £2.50 per 100g
White Super wash Wensleydale £2.80 per 100g
White Super wash Merino £2.50 per 100g
White Shropshire £2 per 100g

Falkland tops are back in stock £2.50 per 100g

Carded white Merino is back in stock

Cut silk cocoons on £2 per 10g

New Rainbow Terrific Threads

New Moorlands Merino silk Selection

New Organza Packs

I have been busy washing fleece and dyeing fleece and tops. Mother and I have been replanting one of the large flower beds we emptied last year, we have planted through woven weed barrier fabric in the hope of keeping the weeds at bay and to stop the chickens scratching up the plants. The plants have been carefully chosen as they must be very hardy and like full sun, it can be very hot here in a south facing garden in the summer but temperatures plummet in winter (-12 in Pickering this winter). If the weather warms up there should be a stunning display of flowering shrubs and hardy perennials.
The grass is now growing well in the field and I have a happy flock of sheep.

Stocksfield Gathering

On Saturday I set off very early, just after 6am, for Stocksfield where Tynedale Gathering is held near Newcastle. They were still setting up the hall when I arrived and the heavy rain had started. I arranged my fibres, silks, and all my other wares on my table and chatted to other stallholders. The rain continued and driving conditions were awful which delayed a few stall holders and kept some visitors at home but many did visit and for me Tyndale Gathering was a good day.  I saw many friends and customers and enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch provided by the Tyndale Guild.
 Unfortunately the rain continued throughout the day causing localised flooding which closed roads including the A68 and A19 for a while. The rain had stopped by the end of the day which made loading the car easier and I set off home, thankfully most roads had reopened, and when I arrived home my Mum had made a delicious veggie lasagne for dinner.

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I have decided to post all information about new products, colourways and events we are attending on the blog rather than a newsletter so please follow this blog.

Wonder wool and new stock.

We had a really good weekend at Wonder Wool in Wales. It was really nice to put faces to the names I see on online orders. The journey down was good, set up went like clockwork it was all going rather too well as I discovered when we got back to the caravan. As I had been busy building in the run up to Wonder Wool and dyeing wool ready for the event certain usual steps in event preparation had been skipped to save time including checking the gas appliances worked and as we sat in a cold caravan on Friday night I discovered the fire didn't work: thankfully we had packed hot water bottles.

Here is the stall all set up and ready to go.

I have updated the website and the new batts and teeswater fleece are available. Later this week painted tops, woollen blanket and dyed fleece will be updated. The fleece is drying as I type.
Yesterday was Hovingham market a really good market but cold again and rather windy. I was abit concerned about keeping the stock on the market stall, I think the trickiest part of the operation was putting the table clothes on  the stall. I think I will spend this week making stock for Hovingham Market next month and Staithes Arts and Crafts Centre.

Soggy sheep and putting insulation in the ceiling.

We have had rather alot of rain again and had another mini lake district in the field with a flock of sheep who haven't really wanted to leave the barn every morning. On Saturday I taught a busy needle felting workshop at Newton village hall the next one is patchwork on 13th April. I have spent today putting the cellotex insulation in my extension ceiling, a horrible task which I will finish tomorrow.
Staithes Arts and Crafts Centre opens on Saturday, time has flown by since we closed at the end of October, and I have made lots of new items many with a seaside theme. 

Dyed Fleece and wintery weather

The dyed fleece page has been updated, each 100g of fleece now has a photograph and number just like the batts and painted tops.
The weather has taken a wintery turn this week every morning it when I have got up the sky has been blue but by the time I get to my cottage heavy snow and it doesn't melt in a north facing garden.

New Stock

New Blue Faced Leicester colours are on the hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester page and there are new fine (sometimes called pin) merino rovings on the carded merino page.
Peg Looms will be added to the equipment pages shortly.

Hovingham Market

It was a busy day at Hovingham Market with lovely spring like weather so we decided on a spring/Easter theme on the stall. My photo is not great  the sun was shining but I not complaining! This week its landscaping the garden then we have finished with the building side and just plumbing, wiring, plastering and decorating to go.
Rag rug tools and materials will be added to the webiste this week.
The next market is Saturday 6th April from 10.30-1.30. We always have fibres and yarns for sale on Hovingham Market.

Prefelt

Here are my new prefelt colours.

I have been the busy dyer for the last few weeks. We did have a big site clear up last Friday taking the rubbish to the tip, restacking any materials and bringing waste wood home for the log burner. The roof is now on and today I'm mixing concrete. Next week we should have finished landscaping the garden
The new Blue Faced Leicester colours partly inspired by the almost spring like weather we have enjoyed for a few days  willbe  on the website soon.
I have been busy painting tops as well and these have been uploaded.
Tomorrow is Hovingham Market.

Courses and workshops

Last Saturday we had a very busy and successful clippy rag rug course at Newton Village Hall near Pickering. I have been asked to teach a felting workshop on 16th of March and a patchwork course on 13th April please contact me info you would like more information.
The course dates for my workshops at home are now on the courses page and I will be adding more dates for later in the year soon. www.wheeldalewoolcrafts.co.uk/craftcourses.html.
I am busy dyeing prefelt in between building and new colours and selection packs will be added over the weekend  with more to follow. The plum is my favourite colour.
More painted tops will be dyed and added to my website as well.

More rag rugs, building and some Shetland tops

The landscape rag rug is finished apart from the fish, I need to find some sparkly fabric in purple, green and silver. I have found a nice mustard jumper to finish the diamond clippy rug. Just got to finish the edges and I have started a stained glass window clippy rag rug.

The house building is going well with the extension walls nearly finished. Moving the stone was hard work though!. After a days building I have been knitting stripey fingerless and continuing the rag rugs. Hovingham Market was busy on Saturday and I have put some painted tops, carded batts and a few other things on the website. 

I was hoping to do a website update every fortnight this year but with my cottage taking up my weekdays and the light no good for photographs in the evenings. I am just going to add new stock when I have dyed it and will then mention it in this blog. This week I have dyed more Shetland tops.

Rag Rugs

Its been a winter wonderland here in Ryedale for the last few days. Extra food for all the animals and making sure they all have shelter at night and the never ending problem of ensuring they all have unfrozen water. Especially the chickens who have starting laying again and need alot to drink.
The building work I was doing has had to stop as the water has frozen at my cottage and it is too cold for the cement set. The temperature dropped to minus 12 on Wednesday night.

As the new show season starts soon I am starting to make new stock and update the website. This week  has been rag rugging week one finished and two more nearly finished.

This is a traditional hit and miss rug with a black border and it is the correct size for to in front of the Aga, Rayburn, Everhot etc.
I have a nice autumnal diamond pattern rug and a contempary landsape rug to finish.

Landscape Magazine

In October a journalist and photographer from Landsape magazine came to interview me the article is in  the current issue. It was a really interesting and enjoyable day.