On March 31 we gathered for the third and final dyeing workshop with Ann Harmer (see two previous blog entries for the first two workshops). The mushroom featured was Hydnellum aurantiacum. Hydnellum (which has no common name) grows in the forest floor in moss and duff and in sun or shade. Its upper surface can […]
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Dyeing with Lobster Mushrooms
On March 24 we gathered for Ann Harmer’s second mushroom dyeing workshop. This time the Lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum) was featured. (See the March 20 blog for the previous workshop.) The Lobster mushroom is a parasite on other mushrooms. Here on the Sunshine Coast its host is a white mushroom, Russula brevipes, found in older […]
Read MoreDyeing with Dyer’s Polypor
On March 17th some members of the Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild gathered for the first in a series of three mushroom dyeing workshops given by Ann Harmer (Mushroom Annie). Ann has a wealth of knowledge and experience with our local mushrooms and their use for eating, dyeing and papermaking. She brought along two […]
Read MoreAnother Season of Japanese Indigo
(Last year the Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild had a project growing and dyeing with Japanese indigo. (See “Sea Foam Blue” blog on October 5, 2013.) Some members did some further dyeing and obtained a darker blue using Spectralite in a technique described by Rebecca Burgess in her book “Harvesting Color”. This week at […]
Read MoreSpinning Clinic – a Gathering
Winter – that time of year when we slow down after creating a warm and loving environment for our friends and family and gather to share gifts, food and warm memories of another Holiday Season. That time has passed for another year and now that we are starting to stir in our creative spirits we […]
Read MoreSunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Fibres Plus Sale 2013
Every November members of the Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild invite the community to join them for their annual sale. Visitors can admire and purchase handmade items made by Guild members and enjoy and participate in demonstrations and displays. All items for the sale are juried to ensure that they meet Guild standards. Visitors […]
Read MoreMushroom Festival Dyeing
On October 19th five of us from the Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild volunteered to demonstrate dyeing with mushrooms at the fifth annual Sunshine Coast Mushroom Festival put on by Shroom. It was a wonderful event celebrating the rich diversity of mushrooms that grow on the Sunshine Coast. We broke up the mushrooms that volunteers […]
Read MoreAdventures with Mushroom Dyeing
A couple of weekends ago the weavers and spinners contingent of the Powell River Fine Arts were lucky enough to have Ann Harmer come up from Pender Harbour and lead us in a 2 day mushroom dyeing workshop. You can check out Ann’s fantastic blog of her own mushroom adventures here. The first day the […]
Read MoreIn Search of Wool
Fall Fair, Harvest Festival, Oktoberfest … all names used to celebrate the fall harvest season – a special occasion to gather and celebrate our connection to the land and harvest season. Fall Fairs have changed since the 1800’s when harvest ended and farmers came together to share their successes and failures in crop yields and […]
Read MoreMiles of Smiles
Each month as I drive the many miles from Sechelt to Pender Harbour to attend a weekly Weaver’s Circle and the monthly Guild Spin-in at Yvonne Stowell’s wonderful yurts at FibreWorks Studio and Gallery I have become aware of some special and unique attractions along Highway 101 that make me smile. These are unique to […]
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