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All the pretty pretty fibres

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I’ve been playing in the workshop and having a massive art attack with the Shetland top from our trip to Howarths.  What do you think?  Oh so very very pretty.

I really love playing with colours.  The whole process from mixing up dyes, experimenting with different techniques in dyeing the fibre to exploring how the dyes mix and blend in rovings. Then using the drum carder to ‘paint’ with the different colours and textures.

Its not until the whole lot was thrown together that there is definitely a Fibre Workshop house style.  Aside form the oft’ mentioned acid and chartreuse greens that seem to find their way into most of my work, I also can’t seem to avoid strokes of shine and a wee bit of bling.  Silks (both natural and increasingly synthetic) and sparkley accents with trilobal and Angelina seem to find their way in to the mix more often than not.

When spun into yarn and knitted or woven into fabric or used in felting the silks and sparkles give the piece a beautiful accent that is very pleasing on both the eye and the hand.  But don’t just take this from me.  I’ve been taking these fibrous sweeties out into the world at both Guild and during makers month at the Forum as a bit of a consumer product testing exercise.  Blimey its scary showing the world your wares and asking for criticism.  The reception was overwhelmingly positive and included some very kind complements and extremely helpful advice from spinners, felters and fibre artists that bought them and have used them.  They are quite small and manageable at 25 grammes per batt.

Do you think you might like some?  Watch this space.

In the meantime these squooshy beautiful lovelies are now being stocked by Norfolk Yarn in Norwich.  So if you are in Norwich pop in to the best yarn and fibre art shop in the region and go give the Fibre Workshop batts a squeeze and I bet you you wont be able to resist…