Adjusting a spindle hook
When you get a new spindle or if your favourite spindle has been knocking about for a while you may need to bend the hook a tiny bit to optimize Read More …
Finger Weaving
Finger weaving is a technique used to create belts, sashes, straps, and other similar items through a non-loom braiding process. It is especially popular among the Québecois, Métis and North Read More …
Card Weaving
Card weaving (also called tablet weaving) is a very ancient technique for weaving bands. It was used in Iron Age Europe as well as by the Vikings to weave headers Read More …
Bandweaving
I’ve recently become fascinated with weaving narrow bands using a special band heddle. This technique uses supplementary warp threads to form the pattern by floating on top of or underneath Read More …
Spinning with a belt distaff
Last summer I taught myself to spin using a spindle and belt distaff. This method was used in Europe during the Middle Ages and can still be found in Eastern Read More …
The story of a rug
This rug began as wool straight off the sheep – white Scottish Blackface from Alberta, white North Country Cheviot from Ontario, black Canadian wool from the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers Read More …
Dyeing with woad
Today I dyed with the woad I grew this summer. It had grown happily in a recycling bin, munched on by some cabbage butterfly caterpillars. To start I put a Read More …
A dye garden
Last year I planted seeds of woad, weld and dyer’s coreopsis but none of them germinated. I have no idea why. This year I decided to try again with last Read More …
Dogs and Cats
Over the winter I did a couple of custom spinning orders. The first job was spinning the fur of a lovely Sheltie called Maggie. I had the honour of meeting Maggie Read More …
Natural dyeing
Summer is the time for natural dyeing. This is dyeing, not with commercial dyes, but with materials I can find around where I live such as flowers or lichen. It’s always Read More …