During lockdown our church in Steyning was closed for the first time in 1,000 years – Covid had succeeded where the plague and world wars had failed. Sometimes, I would imagine being inside this very special place which I love very much and I would think about the beautiful medieval carvings of fruits, leaves, animals, […]
During lockdown I’ve had more time to explore and document my pattern making process – and share with other makers too. I have so enjoyed the online workshops I’ve done with students all over the world – something I would never have expected and which has been a real treat in these other wise quite […]
This is a quick blog to tell you more about dyeing with weld – one of our most ancient and powerful of dye plants. Until the 1930’s it was still commercially grown in this country and I hope one day we will return to it as it is so very generous in colour and so […]
Rhubarb is one of my favourite ever plants to dye with and one of the first I ever discovered. I grow lots on my allotment because it is so useful and versatile and ofcourse delicious to eat as well! To make dye from this plant you need to dig up the root and after cleaning […]
I’ve been really missing my Wild Textiles workshops when I take groups of students foraging on the Downs for plants which make natural dyes – nearly all plants make some kind of colour and once we get back to the workshop we get to experiment with lots of wonderful leaves, roots and flowers – we […]
My friend and collaborator on the Steyning Imprint, Alice keeps a flock of sheep. To me they always seemed like rather strange creatures to be interested in – wonderful as lambs (and very tasty) but rather stupid looking as they got older. But this was before I learned to love wool. Every summer Alice pays […]
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