Wild Yarns
Offerings
I offer workshops and individual tuition in the visitor centre at Catanger Farm in Weedon Lois, the home of my little fibre herd of llamas and alpacas.
The space is open and welcoming with a view of the llamas and alpacas right out of the window. In the colder months we'll sit beside a blazing log burner and in the warmer months we can picnic outside beside the llamas and alpacas in our breaks.
An informal low pressure environment where you can learn at your own pace, take your time and enjoy learning a new skill!
Spinning is ancient
Humans began spinning 30,000 years ago and using a drop spindle 9,000 years ago and the high altitude herding cultures of the Andes began working with their alpaca and llama fleeces 6,000 years ago.
We have long known how to make textiles and fabrics from the fibres we find around us and the fibres we harvest from our animals.
The alchemy of turning pasture and water into fabric.
The ultimate in sustainable fabrics and slow fashion.
And yet somewhere along the line we lost our way and started making clothes out of plastic. Calling it sustainable.
Meanwhile the farmers are burning their fleece harvests because there's no market for it.
No market for fibres that are naturally water repellent, temperature regulating, comfortable and beautiful.
Fabrics that are the absolute definition of sustainable.
More and more people are becoming interested in how their fabrics are sourced and how their clothes and textiles are made.
I think we're all pretty tired of plastic clothes and fast fashion.
Over a few generations we've shifted from a knowledge of working with fibres to make our own clothes and blankets to fast fashion and little connection to the makers.
There are farmers all over the country who are producing beautiful raw fibres from their goats, rabbits, alpacas, llamas and sheep.
Buying their fleeces not only helps to pay for shearing costs but it also starts to improve the value of natural fibres again.
Spinning your own yarn is a step towards making greater use of local and sustainable fibres when making our textiles and clothes.
I think we're ready to go back in time, to reconnect with the Earth and her creatures and to reawaken the dormant ancient skills within us.
I think we're yearning for wilder yarns.
Fibre Crafts
Wild Yarns is the name under which I offer all of my fibre crafts workshops, including drop spindle spinning, knitting, needle felting and peg looming.
I spent nearly a decade working with women in the wild. Wild & cyclical yoga, circles, hiking, wild swimming, deep rest through yoga, singing, dancing and story telling.
The initiation of motherhood changed my path yet I still find myself working with women this time with ancient crafts in our hands to soothe our souls and lift our hearts.
I began spinning, felting and rug making as a way of processing the fleeces we produce every year but continued as a way of processing my mind and emotions.
Spinning, knitting, felting and rug making became the place my hands went to in the quiet moments.
Turning pasture and water into yarn.
Shifting anxiety and rumination into peace and creation.
Over time I've found something very special happens when we gather together as women to spin yarn as we have for thousands of years.
Absolutely no experience necessary. Complete beginners as well as seasoned crafters heartily welcomed.
(For 1:1 tuition get in touch and if the workshop you're hoping for isn't listed let's chat!)