Skip to navigation Skip to content

Search for:

MENUMENU

home
shop
workshops
blog
about

Home
About
- contact us
- sustainability
about
about us
Basket
Blog
Checkout
Contact
delivery information
My account
shop
Shop FAQs
the norfolk horn
the yarn
workshops

£0.00 0 items

Home / About / contact us

contact us

Hello, please use this form to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as we can

Name(required)

Email(required)

Message

Instagram

fibreworkshop

Today was woad harvest. Happy afternoon processi

Today was woad harvest.

Happy afternoon processing it all. Now I have two very large buckets of indigo pigment settling nicely.

Seriously though, this woad thing of mine is getting out of hand. This is about half of the crop and weighs 9kg. Every year I'm growing more.

Bit daunting as this is the biggest quantity I've processed in one session. Body aches but in a good way. Will definitely sleep tonight 😪

I was going to hang on until next week but I've been a bit slack with protecting all of it from cabbage whites. I spotted billowing clouds of the fluttering white lovelies and found eggs and caterpillars. Eeek! So just in time!

#fibreworkshop
#woad
#indigo
#isatistinctoria
#selfsufficient
#selfreliance
#growyourown
#naturaldyersofinstagram
#naturaldye
#plantdye
#naturalcolour
#botanicaldye
#blue
#sustainable
#sustainablefashion
#slowfashion
#slowliving
#fibreshed
#bioregional

Happy Norfolk Day 2020! Bit of a low key affair t

Happy Norfolk Day 2020!

Bit of a low key affair this year. Although for me every day is Norfolk Day.

I love working with sustainably produced wool sourced from small farmers in Norfolk that I hand dye using natural plant dyes that grow locally or have historical links to norfolks wool history.

We should all be celebrating the Norfolk Horn, Norfolk's indigenous sheep breed, its place and its people!

And in case you are wondering what this magnificent beautiful breed looks like swipe to the second photo. Gorgeous!

For more info visit the website - link in bio ☝️. Visitors welcome to the workshop by appointment contact me to book.

#fibreworkshop
#norfolkday2020
#madeinnorfolk
#producedinnorfolk
#norfolklife
#norfolkwool
#norfolkhorn
#rarebreedwool
#norfolkhornyarn
#locallysourced
#localyarnshop

Finished! Here's a sneaky peek of the new design

Finished! Here's a sneaky peek of the new design featuring the Norfolk Horn DK. Pattern coming soon

Timely as it's Norfolk Day on Monday 27th July 2020.

I love this yarn! It's proper Norfolk. Produced from Norfolk Horn fleece sourced from small producers in Norfolk. Doing my bit to support small farmers who work tirelessly to keep rare breeds and our heritage alive.

Link to shop up top in bio☝️

Visitors to the workshop are very welcome by appointment.

Come squish the yarns and see the naturally dyed colours up close!

#fibreworkshop
#norfolkday2020
#madeinnorfolk
#producedinnorfolk
#norfolk
#norfolkwool
#choosewool
#norfolklife
#rarebreed
#norfolkhorn
#knitters
#knittersofinstagram
#knitdesign
#knitlove
#makersgonnamake#sustainablefashion #sustainable #smallproducer #smallbusiness #woolnotwaste
#locallygrown #locallysourced

St John's-Wort the happy herb. Now flowering in t

St John's-Wort the happy herb.

Now flowering in the field margins and along the narrow lanes on my rambles and rides.

It dyes lovely shades of sage green, it's also rumoured to give a burgundy red but I've never managed it. The reddish colour like old dried blood quickly faded to brown. The woven sample is the gradient of colours I acheived from a dye experiment last year. Beautifully balanced with the natural undyed Norfolk horn.

It's such a useful plant. At the back is a jar of John's wort oil. It's a glorious burgundy red colour that would be brilluant if only it would dye my wool the same colour. I use it in skin creams, like the salve in the small jar. Soothing and healing on irritable skin. I also drink it as a tea. As someone who struggles at times with depression and anxiety it helps keep the black dog on a leash when I spot the signs. Hence I always think of it as the happy herb.

I've gathered what I need and it's now hanging in the greenhouse drying nicely.

Plants really are awesome!

#fibreworkshop
#stjohnswort
#hypericumperforatum
#colourwork
#colourgradient
#naturaldyedyarn
#naturaldyersofinstagram
#plantdyeing
#plantdye
#naturesmedicine
#foraging
#naturalwool
#lovelocal
#sustainable
#selfsufficient
#rarebreedwool
#norfolklife
#provenance

Slow wet Sunday morning slow stitching, drinking c

Slow wet Sunday morning slow stitching, drinking coffee and listening to music.

The jumper is nearly finished. I'm all giddy with excitement as each piece is neatly seamed together. Or that might just be the coffee, drunk quite a lot...

I've grown to appreciate that finishing is just as important as the knitting. Its not something I enjoy, I mean who does. But there is a quiet satisfaction in taking the time to do a proper job. And, in case you're wondering, tack together and then mattress stitch.

#fibreworkshop
#slowknitting
#slowstitching
#sunday
#knitters
#knittersofinstagram
#knitdesign
#knittingtechniques
#norfolkwool
#norfolkhorn
#madeinnorfolk
#producedinnorfolk
#britishwool
#britishyarn
#makersofinstagram
#knitbritishwool
#knitting
#naturalwool
#woollove
#woolyarn
#sustainable
#slowfashion

Walnuts! The best source of brown dye there is.

Walnuts!

The best source of brown dye there is.

It's looking like a excellent year for walnuts. I passed two feral walnut trees on my bike this morning and had to grab some before the squirrels stripped them. These will be going in the freezer for later this year when the next lot of yarn comes back from the mill

Last year was terrible, no walnuts anywhere. luckily I was gifted a few old soggy ones and the colour was lovely, as you can see. Hey ho, That's how it goes if you rely on the bounty in nature as your supplier.

#fibreworkshop
#naturesbounty
#naturaldyedyarn
#dyersofinstagram
#naturaldyeing
#botanicaldye
#plantdye
#naturaldyersofinstagram
#sustainable
#sustainableyarn
#norfolklife
#norfolkhorn
#localcolour
#localwool
#handdyedyarn
#smallproducer
#supportsmallbusiness
#producedinnorfolk
#madeinnorfolk
#britishwool
#walnuts
#juglansregia
#buylocal
#handdyed

Morning coffee break sitting on the front door ste

Morning coffee break sitting on the front door step, knitting and watching the bees on the lavender.

Third time I've knitted this front. It's a new design for the Norfolk Horn double knit. Tricky as the front panel has a cable pattern and the rest of the sweater is in stocking stitch so two different gauges. Plus how do you get the cables to work in multiple sizes. Lots of maths that's how...not something that features highly in my special skill set...hence hoping that third time is the charm.

The yarn is knitting up really nicely in the cables so it's not been a chore.

I'm enjoying the scent of lavender and the industrious hum of the bees. There are so many bumble bees. And so many different types. Big black and yellow ones. Ones with pale cream heads and orange bottoms. Others have orange stripes. Amazing!

The Norfolk Horn Yarn DK is available through the shop. Link in bio☝️

#fibreworkshop
#norfolkhorn
#norfolkwool
#madeinnorfolk
#knittersofinstagram
#knitbritishwool
#knitdesign
#bees
#cableknitting
#aranknitting
#naturalwool
#rarebreedyarn
#knitters
#knit
#sweaterknitting
#slowknitting
#sustainablefashion
#sustainablefibre
#localyarnshop
#supportsmallbusiness
#microproducer
#norfolk

Harvesting hues for drying and dying later in the

Harvesting hues for drying and dying later in the year.

Working with natural dyes forces you to take a slower cyclical pace fitting the rhythm of the year. Sometimes things are ready to use when you are not.
.
Everything is blooming and the gardens are cropping like crazy. It's all about the harvest. Everyday I take 5 minutes with a cup of tea and gather the days flowers for drying. At the moment its Marigolds, coreopsis, chamomile and hollyhocks. I'm going to dry these for using later in the year.
.
Drying is really easy I just put them in paper bags and leave them in a covered well ventilated spot outside. Give them a shake every day or so. Easy peasy.

#fibreworkshop
#naturalcolour
#naturaldye
#naturaldyersofinstagram
#botanicaldye
#harvest
#plantdyeing
#indiedyer
#dryingflowers
#growyourown
#selfreliance
#sustainable
#ecocolour
#plantsareawesome
#rhythmoftheyear

Mood Indigo... When lock down struck in march and

Mood Indigo...

When lock down struck in march and we all woke up one day to find ourselves in a strange new world with no jobs to go to, well we finally found the time to build a greenhouse.
.
And it seemed like the perfect time to experiment with tricky tropical indigo. Germination was patchy, 4 plants from the whole packet of seeds. And so very very slow to grow! But here they are. Quite exciting watching plants grow.
.
I wait impatiently to get enough leaves to harvest for an indigo vat. Talking encouraging grow words to them every day...not sure if I have the patience for them...may just stick to woad for my indigo blues. We will see.
.
.
.
#fibreworkshop
#indigo
#indigoferatinctoria
#growyourowncolor
#naturalcolour
#naturaldye
#botanicaldye
#botanicaldye
#plantdyeing
#plantdye
#naturaldyersofinstagram
#doingitfortheprocess
#sustainable
#selfreliance

The woad vat has been busy. As has the Brazilwood

The woad vat has been busy. As has the Brazilwood dye pot for those lovely soft summer pinks.

I'm also loving the bright citrus green the acid yellow weld is giving this year.

These skeins are now up in the shop link in bio. Unlike the flowers...

The flowers are sadly all to fleeting but I'm enjoying their blooms in the garden and hope you get joy from seeing them to 😀

#fibreworkshop #yarnlove #norfolkwool #norfolkhorn #woollove #knitbritishwool #rarebreedwool #britishwool #colourwork #dyersofinstagram #handdyedyarn #naturaldye #naturaldyes #naturaldyedyarn #plantdye #plantdyeing #plantlove #lovecolour #lovewool #microproducer #madeinnorfolk #producedinnorfolk #sustainableyarn #sustainablefibre #handdyed #indiedyer #knitters #knittersofinstagram #crochetersofinstagram

LOOK!! Now you're smiling. Late lambs at the Elsi

LOOK!! Now you're smiling. Late lambs at the Elsing Orchard flock.

Three bouncy beautiful lambs born last week. Shaky start, mum has mastitis and the tiniest lamb has a lame back leg. But as you can see lots of tlc from Oliver and Wendy has paid of and all seem happy and well now. Amazing to watch the lame lamb bounce and gambol as good as the other two with just three weight bearing legs.

#fibreworkshop #norfolkhorn #elsingorchardflock #rarebreed #rarebreedsheep #norfolk #britishbreeds #britishsheep #lambs

Socially distanced woad workshop harvesting seed t

Socially distanced woad workshop harvesting seed to take home. Hopefully the woad patch will be spreading across the county 😀

Was lovely to spend the day in such good company. If a little anxious and strange with the whole distancing thing.

#fibreworkshop
#woadworkshop

Thought I'd mark the start of #virtualwoolfest2020

Thought I'd mark the start of #virtualwoolfest2020 and help myself get over the sadness of not being able to go by sharing a sample of some of this year's Norfolk Horn clip.
This is shearling Norfolk Horn (think babies first haircut). Soft, fine, crimpy and bouncy. Perfect.
Although mostly cream in colour fleeces also have patches of dark chocolate to greater or lesser degree. It's these beautiful dark fibres that fleck through the yarn to give it that distinctive oaty with chocolate sprinkles colour.
Can't wait to get this year's clip of to the mill.
#fibreworkshop
#rarebreed
#rarebreedyarn
#rarebreedsheep
#norfolkwool
#norfolkhorn
#norfolkhornyarn
#norfolkhornwool
#singlebreedyarn
#yarnwithprovenance
#madeinnorfolk
#producedinnorfolk
#wool
#britishwool
#knitbritishwool
#microproducer
#supportsmallbusiness

Back in stock nostepinne centre pull skein winder.

Back in stock nostepinne centre pull skein winder.

Time to slowly (un)wind in a shady spot with a cool fuzzy drink and turn those pretty soft and soothing skeins into balls with a very beautiful nostepinne.

In case you are wondering a nostepinne is a hand held centre pull ball skein winder. It's a very old tool that goes back to the Vikings.

Gorgeous aren't they. They were made for me by Mikey @LyngWood. He makes very beautiful things with locally sourced woods. These are just stunning and made from spalted yew, beech and birch. I love spalted wood, where the dark threads trace lovely patterns through the wood making each peice unique. They are perfectly balanced, and will stand upright.

I have just updated the shop and have just 6 available in the shop - link to store in bio☝

I'm going to be spending the the next few days sitting in a shady spot listening to the grasshoppers rasp whilst revelling in the luxury of slow time to wind some yarn into centre pull balls and drinking long cool fizzy cocktails.. Mmm #mojitotime. 😋😋😋 #fibreworkshop
#nostepinne
#knitters
#knittersofinstagram
#slowknitting
#wood
#spaltedwood
#craft
#beautifultools
#reinactment
#handmade
#knitting
#summer

Norfolk Horn dyed with yarrow last summer, modifie

Norfolk Horn dyed with yarrow last summer, modified with copper yesterday.
Like alot of British native plants yarrow gives yellow. As you can imagine therefore natural dyers tend to end up with a lot of yellow in a multitude of shades. Great if you like yellow...or you can overdye and modify. I'm liking the brightness to the green that copper gives. Iron goes a bit khaki sludgey for my taste.

Just need to decide what to knit with them now. Any suggestions?

You can find the Norfolk horn 4-ply in all the yellows and greens and oranges in the shop link up top ☝️ #fibreworkshop #naturaldye #naturaldyeing #naturalcolour #plantdye #plantlove #botanicaldyeing #localcolour #sustainable #ethical #dyersofinstagram #purewool #lovewool #yarnlove #norfolkwool #norfolkhorn #knitbritishwool #colourwork#colorwork #lovecolour #madeinnorfolk #handdyedyarn #microproducer #naturaldyersofinstagram #yellow #yarrow #achilleamillefolium

'i know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where

'i know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk roses and eglantine..' Midsummer night's dream...my favourite Shakespeare play... Tis midsummer, thought you would appreciate a posie of flowers in 7 parts. Fragrant blossoms and fleeting flashes of colour. They come so quick and don't stay long enough before the year shifts on. Always find midsummer a bit melancholy. But this year more than ever I'm savouring every scent and moment small of joy I can. I wish you many moments of happiness for today and the coming days of summer☀️☀️☀️ #fibreworkshop #midsummer #flowers #summertime

After much umming and ahhing we will be going ahea

After much umming and ahhing we will be going ahead with next Saturday's woad workshop.
I have limited places to just 3 participants and myself. There is one space left and if you would care to join us please book online at fibreworkshop.co.uk.

We will be socially distancing outside in the fresh air at Elsing, Norfolk whilst we have fun learning about and dyeing with woad.
This is going to be fun!

Message me if you would like more information.

#fibreworkshop
#woadworkshop
#woad
#norfolkcraftworkshops
#craftworkshopnorfolk
#dyeworkshop

Woad spuds used to weed woad fields. Woad crops w

Woad spuds used to weed woad fields.

Woad crops were weeded by hand with these tools by the families that lived and worked on the transient woad farms. They would be crawling along the lines on hands and knees.

Hard work.

#fibreworkshop
#woad
#textilehistory
#historyofwoad

A lovely hot and sweaty afternoon yesterday sortin

A lovely hot and sweaty afternoon yesterday sorting fleece.

I'm very busy at the moment with gathering fleece from my network of Norfolk Horn flocks. Darting here there and everywhere across the county whenever I can get a vehicle.

Let me introduce you to @thenarboroughflock . Aren't they fabulously handsome. This is one of the largest flocks of Norfolk's in Norfolk.

Vicki and Caitlin have been huge supporters of the project. Without them and all the other small producers and keepers of our rare breed of sheep I couldn't do what I do. So we all should support them, especially now.
How? A simple 2 step programme:

1 Find them
2 Buy from them.
Easy peasy.

If you keep Norfolk's in Norfolk and would like to know more message me.

#fibreworkshop
#norfolkhorns
#madeinnorfolk
#producedinnorfolk
#rarebreedsheep
#britishwool
#microproducer
#sustainablefibre
#lovewool
#buylocal
#yarnwithprovenance
#norfolkwool
#wool
#norfolkhornwool
#rarebreedyarn
#rarebreedwool

Settling down for an afternoons read. Hurrys 1930

Settling down for an afternoons read.
Hurrys 1930 book is the definitive work on woad I think. I've been after reading it for ages. Luckily the viking found it in his uni library and borrowed it before lock down. And now I'm reading it whilst drinking tea and listening to the leaves rustle in the breeze. Thought you might also like to see a little bit too. Enjoy😀

#fibreworkshop
#woad
#jamesbhurry
#historyofwoad
#blue
#textilehistory

Load More… Follow on Instagram

Search for:

Archives

►2019 (1)
- ►September (1)
►2018 (11)
- ►October (1)
- ►July (1)
- ►May (2)
- ►April (3)
- ►March (2)
- ►February (1)
- ►January (1)
►2017 (10)
- ►December (1)
- ►October (1)
- ►September (1)
- ►August (2)
- ►July (2)
- ►April (1)
- ►March (1)
- ►February (1)
►2016 (9)
- ►August (1)
- ►June (1)
- ►March (1)
- ►February (4)
- ►January (2)
►2015 (28)
- ►December (2)
- ►November (4)
- ►October (3)
- ►September (3)
- ►August (3)
- ►July (2)
- ►June (3)
- ►May (2)
- ►April (1)
- ►March (4)
- ►February (1)

shopping online

delivery information
terms & conditions
refund policy

about us

the norfolk horn
sustainability
contact us

instagram
facebook
pinterest
ravelry

© fibreworkshop 2020
Built with Storefront & WooCommerce.

My Account
Search

Search for:
0