Despised by many as pesky ‘weeds’, dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) have long been appreciated by herbalists for their valuable healing properties. The 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper proclaimed, “You see here what virtues this common herb hath, and that is the reason the French and Dutch so often eat them in the spring.” And indeed, dandelion […]
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The Three Circles – The Spinning Circle
Over the past years our Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild and its project the Sunshine Coast Fibreshed have brought together some special gatherings/circles of women deeply connected by their love of fibre. The Fibreshed search for local fleece, local dyes and the artisans who transform them into products of special quality and design has […]
Read MoreSeedy Saturday 2015
On March 28 the One Straw Society and the Sunshine Coast Seed Collective held the 11th annual Seedy Saturday at the Roberts Creek Hall. It was a wonderful day for gardeners and other members of the community to buy and exchange seeds and live plants. There were a number of interesting workshops and a farmers […]
Read MoreCoast Colours – Apple Bark
The apple (Malus domestica) was brought to North America in the 17th century by colonists. At one time there were thousands of varieties of apples with greatly differing sizes, shapes, colours and markings. There were early, midseason and late varieties for fresh eating, varieties for winter storage and others for baking, drying and cider. Sadly, […]
Read MoreThe Icelandic Fleece Project – Part 1 (An Overview)
In October of 2014 our Fibreshed team had the great pleasure of witnessing the first shearing of the small flock of Icelandic sheep at Leila Bee’s Round Table Farms. See our blog of November 10, 2014 for the video Ron McInnis generously filmed and edited for the Fibreshed. Needless to say the arrival of our […]
Read MoreCoast Colours – Arbutus Bark
The beautiful arbutus tree (Arbutus menziesii) is one of the distinctive features of the Sunshine Coast. Canada’s only native broadleaf evergreen grows in areas where the soil is rocky and drains rapidly and is often found along rocky shorelines. It can also be found growing in residential areas. The flowers, which open in April and […]
Read MoreCoast Colours – Alder Bark
The plants and mushrooms from our gardens and wild spaces on the Sunshine Coast offer us many beautiful colours for dyeing fabric and fibre. This blog is the beginning of a series which will explore and document dyeing with local plants and mushrooms. I hope that other local dyers will add their dyeing experiences. Alders […]
Read MoreComing Full Circle – the Fibre Circle
It is with great fulfillment that I share this latest blog with you as we approach 2015. Personally, my focused interest has been on the search for local fibre and I’ve spent the year looking for a local source of wool other than our Olivia and the products from her fleece featured at our Fibres […]
Read MoreFibre Circle Video
The raw fleeces sheared from the Icelandic sheep (see blog November 10) became the focus of a newly formed Fibre Circle hosted and facilitated by Yvonne Stowell at the FibreWorks Studio and Gallery. We met for two days to learn how to skirt, wash, comb, card and spin this beautiful fibre. (See the upcoming blog […]
Read MoreTransition Café: “How will we clothe ourselves in 2030?”
When the Fibreshed had a display at the One Straw Society’s Fall Faire in October (see blog October 16) we met Leonie Croy of the Sunshine Coast in Transition and found that our groups’ core beliefs had much in common. This connection led to the Fibreshed being invited to make a presentation at their Transition […]
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