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 MoreCategory: LearnAlongs
LearnAlong—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 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 MoreLearnAlong—All about Alpacas
The fourteenth Fibreshed learn-a-long took place at Lorelee farm on July 27. Wendy Holtz, who has a herd of alpacas on Thormanby Island, was there to tell us about her experiences with herd behaviour and much more. We learned that alpacas can sometimes be expensive; female animals can cost up to $10,000 dollars. They like […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Everything Shetland
The thirteenth LearnAlong, hosted by Adrian and Moira of Ginger Dell farm on June 29, was all about Shetland sheep. Even before actual instruction began we observed the flock of three ewes and six lambs evading the attempt of the not-yet-trained sheepdog to round them up for inspection, so we already knew that Shetlands are […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Fleece Selection for that Special Project
Lorelee Farm in Roberts Creek was the location for a LearnAlong about what to look for when selecting fleece. We were fortunate to have several members there who were generous in sharing their skills and experience, and this is what makes our LearnAlongs so unique and special. Jeannie Pataky has extensive experience in this subject, […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Fashion Revolution Week
At Learn Along #11 Fibreshed members met with the public to celebrate Fashion Revolution Week with a beautiful display of farm fresh fashion. We also introduced the Fibreshed Mending Bar to show that the slow fashion movement is happening in Fibreshed. We shared skills for visible mending, darning, patching, and also made dryer balls to […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—What We Learned in the First Year
This Fibreshed LearnAlong, held at the Gibsons Public Market on March 30, focused on what we as Fibreshed members learned in our first year of LearnAlongs. Participants brought a project they wanted to work on, using Sunshine Coast (or BC] fibre. We picked, carded, spun, spindled, felted, wove, and knit. On display for the public […]
Read MoreLearnAlong—Needle Felting
The Sunshine Coast Fibreshed held its ninth LearnAlong February 23 in the Ravensthread studio of Catherine Nichols in Gibsons, BC. With snow falling, 14 Fibreshed members ventured forth to explore needle felting. Supplies were available from Kim Fenton’s Unwind shop, so everyone had foam, fleece, needles, and creativity. Master felter Ursula Bentz had some of […]
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