We have just acquired two items that are very useful for preparing our local fibre. This is a blending board: Made by Ashford, it is 12”x12” and comes with two dowels, two brushes, and a keel (adjustable stand). It is used to make rolags for spinning or batts for felting. Ashford has some useful videos […]
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Spring preparations for an indigo garden
At the March 6 LearnAlong, members learned how to make little paper pots to use when starting seedlings, in this case Japanese indigo plants. The leaves of this plant will give a beautiful blue by the end of the summer—planting the seeds now is a wonderful way to welcome spring, with the anticipation of long […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Spring is Popping & Fibreshed is Prepping!
Dear Sunshine Coast Fibreshed Members, Fibreshed Learn Along “Spring is Popping + Fibreshed is Prepping!” Saturday, March 6, 2021 10am -12pm via Zoom link: Enter Meeting Meeting ID: 884 9387 9340 Passcode: 843993 Learn Alongs are opportunities for Fibreshed members to share info, skills, and enthusiasm, on the topic of the day. Since the pandemic […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Knitted-In Mending
At our February LearnAlong, Catherine Nicholls, mender extraordinaire, walked us through the process of adding a visible patch to a knitted garment. This is one method of mending garments by making a visible repair, thus using it as an embellishment rather than attempting to hide it. Catherine explained every step in great detail, not […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Mushroom Foray
While the rest of the Sunshine Coast was weighed down by a heavy blanket of clammy fog this past Saturday morning, seven intrepid Fibreshed members were basking in unseasonably balmy sunshine high up in the old- and second-growth forest of Big Tree Recreation Site. Their mission? To suss out the kind of local magical mushrooms […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Dyeing with Lobster Mushrooms
A lazy late summer morning outside the Sechelt Arts Council. Tables, chairs, a stack of colourful books with Magic in the Dyepot emblazoned on the covers, brown paper shopping bags filled with fibre. Busy Fibreshed members (keeping a COVID-safe social distance, of course). A friendly dog adding to the atmosphere. A vat of deeply-stained liquid […]
Read MoreFarm Market Day
Fibreshed members hosted a day featuring fibre produced here on the Coast, at Fibreworks Gallery in Madeira Park. The clear, sunny day required that we provide shade for everyone, and we followed social-distancing protocol throughout. Members of the public enjoyed seeing the processes of taking wool from the raw fleece all the way to a […]
Read MoreLearning about picking and carding
This LearnAlong, held outdoors at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre, was all about picking and carding. Eight Fibreshed members gathered on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, keeping a safe physical distance and using wipes and hand sanitizer as per Covid-19 protocol. Wendy used the Patrick Green picker to open up the washed local Suffolk sheep fleece. […]
Read MoreWool Day at the Yurts
Our Fibreshed was the grateful recipient of many pounds of raw Suffolk fleece donated by the good people at Mason Bluff Farm in Sechelt (and by ten happy sheep who were glad to be shorn of their winter coats). The wool needed to be sorted and washed before it was usable, though, so several Fibreshed […]
Read MoreFibreshed at the Yurts
Fibreshed has set up a display table at Fibreworks Studio and Gallery in Madeira Park, BC. The natural colours from the 2019 Fibreshed dye garden are featured, along with colours from local lichens and mushrooms. On the shelves are items for sale, including batts, skeins, shawls, hats, buttons, ants . . . […]
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