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I am excited to announce Flax to Linen: the movie. A small documentary film I got to make with a few members of the local Flax to Linen group. It's been a rough year and not being able to do public demonstrations hit us pretty hard. When the Victoria Handweavers and Spinners Guild asked us to do a virtual presentation on how linen fabric is made from tiny little flaxseeds, we said "Sure!" Knowing almost nothing about making a video, we dived in. Had fun. Did a little dance (stay tuned to the end to see the dancing) and devised a COVID-19 safety plan to keep everyone safe.
I'm very happy with how it turned out. I learned a lot about video editing. I learned that I have a lot more to learn and with what I know now, I would have done everything differently. But you got to start somewhere. If you enjoy the video and would like to see more like this, pop over to our video on YouTube and clicked the thumbs up. Or better yet, leave a comment. I've got some nifty ideas for 2021 and your encouragement helps keeps the momentum going.
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16/6/2020 6 Comments How to wash wool!
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26/5/2020 0 Comments reviving my etsy shopTo be brutally honest, I never paid much attention to my Etsy shop. It's there if people buy stuff, that's cool. I might go through a phase once or twice a year where I take more photos and list stuff, but over the last 13 years, the number of hours I've put into improving my shop is pitiful. Until this year, most of my sales have been wholesale, but with the uncertainty ahead and being stuck at home on the farm, I finally had the time and the need to increase my Etsy sales.  Click "read more" on the right to ...
My favourite yarn to spin and most popular in the shops are something I call Singles Boucle. I learned this technique from the book The Intentional Spinner, and it's one of the most popular yarns to sell at the local shop. It's also one of my favourite yarns to spin as it requires minimal fibre prep and is like combining pying and spinning all in one action.  For this tutorial, I borrowed an e-Spinner Super Jumbo. Lat's face it, I'm not much of an e-Anything, but having a wheel with huge bobbins, massive yarn guides and orifice, and can spin at a quick speed! This e-Spinner Super Jumbo is tailor made for spinning this kind of yarn. Here's how you spin boucle singlesClick "read more" on the right to ...
As social distancing restrictions ease in my province, I can't help but worry our personal social distancing is just at the beginning. Living with a family member who is immune suppressed and having several co-mobility factors myself, I suspect it will be months if not years before we can re-join society. But it's not too bad with five acres and a house full of introverts. We've been keeping busy.  One of the things I set out to learn during lockdown is dyeing with acid dyes. I bought a couple of kits from Ashford where 10g of dye is enough to colour 1-kilo of fibre! With two years of fibre saved up for the local mill, which closed its doors last fall :( , I have a lot of wool (and alpaca, and llama, and silk, and...) to practice on. It's been a massive amount of fun, and I feel I'm only just scratching the surface of what is possible with this fantastic art. Click "read more" on the right to ...
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10/7/2018 1 Comment A visit with WOVENWARESThe woman of Wovenwares are gifted fibre artists and well worth a pilgrimage into town to visit. They weave cloth. More amazingly, they weave clothing! Cloth made locally by local artisans, with as many locally sourced materials as possible. That's my kind of thing. As much as I want to do everything, growing fibres on the farm has taught me there is a finite amount of time in the day. Everything has it's rhythm and each element on the farm has it's task. I don't ask the sheep to eat bugs from the garden, likewise, I don't expect the chickens to grow wool. Why then, should I expect that I can do everything? At least, not until I find the time to invent a TARDIS. But I want to. Especially when I see what amazing things are possible.  Wovenwares gives me heart and hope. Here is the skill to create clothing from the materials I grow. I couldn't ask for better!
And, wow! What skills these women have. Entering the studio, I'm bedazzled by the collection of handwoven goodies. Cloth, clothing, rugs, and hand dyed yarn. They work with local materials, connecting directly with the farmer whenever possible. Sustainable clothing at it's best. I learn something new with each visit, and this week I understood, I don't have to do every step myself. I couldn't make clothing as beautiful as this, but I can grow yarn. By working together, we can keep everything local, sustainable and beautiful. |
CategoriesAll Airwell Angora Animal Fibre Boring Community Cotton Dryland Farming Dye Etsy Shop Experiments Fibre Prep Finance Flax Indigo Linen Local Cloth Mediterranean Climate Natural Dye Permaculture Plant Fibre Silk Tutorial Urban Fibre Wildcrafting Archives
July 2020
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Created by Tracy Wandling of One Wing Freelance Graphic Design
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