What’s on the line? Excuse the grotty picture, but I bought a thing! Cheap and useful, and unfortunately from China via Amazon (I prefer to buy more locally if possible). It’s sad I know to think it worth blogging about this great new purchase. It’s the dark cylindrical thing hanging on the clothes line to the left. It’s herb drier but is incredibly useful for drying bitty fleece, like that of sweet Midge. More about

Thoughts on preparing her fleece Belle was a sheep rescued by Caroline of The Woolly Patchwork Sheep Sanctuary near Lampeter. She had been used for breeding and for wool but as she was getting older she and her daughter, Bonnet, were going to be sent for slaughter the following spring with another frightened little soul, Blue. They weren’t really cared for in their last winter on the farm and all were bags of bones, not

I’m wel(d) chuffed!! So, I know I didn’t stir the pot enough when the weld went in, but wow, such vibrant colour. I can always re-dye for a more even coverage. This was first mordanted using alum, then dried. A few days later, chopped dried weld and some calcium carbonate, this wool and water were all added to a big pot. I soaked the lot overnight and then heated to just under boiling point for

Experiments in natural dyeing So, I have had success in the past dyeing wool with woad (blue) and madder (red). I have some pre-carded Shetland wool from Ewelove Sheep Sanctuary, Whitby and after spinning it up thought I would try dyeing it purple. It’s from the sheep Tink, Soldier and Belle who were rescued from the meat industry. Luckily for them they are now living out their days as sheep should. So…… Scoured it in

Midge, the rescued sheep, lived at the Woolly Patchwork Sheep Sanctuary in Lampeter (https://www.facebook.com/WPSSanctuary). The photos are from that site. Midge was a special sheep who even contributed to Greyhound Rescue Wales! I spun and hand dyed her wool to make a scarf to go in GRW’s Pawsome Auction (https://www.facebook.com/groups/254066462132570). Midge was given to the Sheep Sanctuary in 2015 as a 2-day old lamb. Apparently she was unable to suckle from her mother. It turned