All Blog Posts

One of the beauties of off-loom weaving is its simplicity. You can, of course, choose to make it more complex, but there is much satisfaction to be had from keeping it simple and immersing yourself in the rhythm and repetition of weaving in its most basic form.

NATURAL DYEING WITH BLACK WALNUTS  (Juglans nigra)     The Black Walnut tree (Juglans nigra) is a large, broadleaf tree that can grow to 30 or 40 metres in height.  A native of North America it was introduced to Europe in the 16th century, and in Britain is most likely to be found in the warmer conditions of the south.  Its name refers to the dark outer bark and the Black Walnut tree is a valuable source of hardwood for furniture and flooring. I came across this very beautiful Black Walnut tree in a vicarage garden not far from my home...

                                           THE UFFINGTON WHITE HORSE OF OXFORDSHIRE Our ancestors have been using chalk to create images since prehistory. The earliest chalk drawings date back to the Paleolithic era, and are up to 40,000 years old. This representational, figurative art, found in caves around the world is the earliest evidence of human creativity and abstract thought.   As those of us old enough to remember the school blackboard and their teacher covered in chalk dust will know, chalk is a soft, white,...

Image: My only two weld plants growing in a large pot Due to the cold, everything has been rather slow on the growing front this year. I've been hovering over my sprawl of coreopsis plants for weeks, thinking they're going to burst into flower at any minute, and then finally, last week, the first flowers popped open, adding a very welcome, bright splash of golden yellow to the garden. Coreopsis is really easy to grow and look after. You can read more about using it as a natural dye in Claudia's blog 'NATURALLY DYEING WITH DYER’S COREOPSIS (Coreopsis tinctoria)' Image: The...

Having threatened for several months to write a blog on what I’ve been up to in the garden, I thought I ought to follow through! I get so much joy from spending time in my garden and i'm keen to see how much I can grow in the space that I have. I'd also like to share my progress and show you what is possible with limited space so that you too can reap the benefits of growing your own dye plants. A couple of years ago I claimed a sunny little patch of the garden that backs onto my...