Ellie Marbus Felt Art

We've been sent two stunning images of the art felt garments of Ellie Marbus from the Netherlands.

Ellie previously worked in clay and wax until she discovered felt and the fluidity of nuno felt, this in turn re-ignited her passion for designing and making clothes.

The shawl on the left has been dyed with our indigo and is absolutely stunning.

We just love this beautiful blouse, again dyed with our indigo.

Take a look at Ellies Website to see the complete range of her beautifully felted and constructed garments and fashion accessories.

www.elliemarbus.nl

New Niddy Noddy!

We've got a few new niddy noddy's for sale on our online shop
They are the most beautifully hand made niddy noddy's we've come across and are the creation of Nick Gant in Devon.

The Dam, which takes 1 metre per turn, is priced at £20 and the Lamb, a sample niddy noddy, is £15.  They will both be available from 14 November, so put the date in your diary, ready to order!



Left: The Dam in use.






Left: The Dam, in "flat pack" mode!

Colour Palette of the Month - October!

While I was looking through my image collection for this months inspiration I came across this image which was "snapped" in August, when we were exploring out new area.  During a walk we came across an old tree that had been blown over in the wind and in the hole where the roots had been a lot of bracket fungi were growing.

I was really taken with the autumnal colours, even in August, and the fern just set off the browns, yellows and ochres.

These colours are very "tweed" like and I could see this as a coat fabric with the lime green fern colour as an accent with lime green accessories!  
I've been mulling over which dyes I'd use, but thought I'd leave that to you! What do you all think?

Colour Palette of the Month - September!

I'm afraid I missed last month, with our move, I completely forgot to post the palette I'd selected, so here it is now, for September!

The photograph was actually taken way back in March on our annual teaching visit to The Netherlands. The second part of the trip was down in Zeeland near Zierikzee where we had chance to visit the local beach.  It was a beautiful sunny, but blustery day and the beach was glinting in the sun, throwing shades of blue and terracotta between the stark white shells.


This is a lovely palette for natural dyeing, so tell me what dyes or dye extracts you'd use and how you'd get the shades?  Would you use any modifiers or would you go for the pure dyes?  

Wool Week

Yes, it’s Wool Week, where we celebrate everything wool and the most interesting thing on the new this morning was the increase in the value of wool!

Since foot and mouth in 2001 the number of sheep have declined and as a result the value of the fleece have increased.  Most British wool is sent to the Wool Board and is destined for carpets, which is such a shame, as that leave very little for British craftsmen and designers like me.  I want British wool, we have the greatest and best range of sheep breeds and wool in the world which enables us to use the right wool for the right fabric.

I know someone who breeds a fabulous breed, the Bowmont, in Devon which rivals the best Merino and the whole clip is sold to make fine British base layer clothing for the active industry!  We need more of this fabulous breed here in the UK, so that more fleece is available.

The same person, organised the Exmoor Fleece Fair and I’m told by a textile designer friend that there was the most fabulous Exmoor Horn/Merino cross sheep who’s fleece was to die for and reputed to have a micro count close to 18, although it’s not been tested yet!   The organiser said that farmers where shocked that people were prepared to pay an extremely good premium for a quality fleece…  Yes, there are lots of us out there who want quality British fleece for fashion and interiors fabrics and most of us know quality when we see it!

Wool cushions

If you’re one of those people who believe that wool is coarse and itchy, then you’ve not tried Merino base layer underwear!  Take a look at the Campaign for Wool page and read about the benefits of wool.  The variety of wool is truly amazing from the softest to the coarsest, from the most lustrous to the dullest, and everything in between, there really is the most wonderful variety and you should find a breed or cross breed that is suitable for your needs.  We just need the farmers to produce the wool we want!

A really interesting way to Spin

This is a really interesting way to spin those mixed fibres that aren't strong enough on their own!

Pure Tinctoria: Indigo Film Premiers in Santa Fe

Pure Tinctoria: Indigo Film Premiers in Santa Fe: "http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=223137781060305"