Last weekend there was a little Fibre Fest at All Saint’s Church in Castle Cary.
It was a chance to take along the sock knitting machine and some socks to sell, plus the spindle wheel to demonstrate.
And it was a really sweet and lovely event.
There was a real mixed bag of textile and fibre arts on show. From WI style hand knitting and needlework to fashion students’ work.
Rather taken with this Bayeux Tapestry inspired needlepoint cushion.
Inspired by this lady’s tatting to give it another go sometime. For no greater reason than to get to grips with the technique.
There were some beautiful fabrics from somebody’s project in Zambia.
And some hand spun wool. Jan had brought along her modern spinning wheel. It was interesting for people to see the progression from spindle wheel to the flyer treadle wheel in action. (Just realised that the spindle wheel hasn’t had it’s own post yet – that will happen soon).
But best of all was a selection of fabrics from the John Boyd Horsehair Textiles, whose mill is in Castle Cary. They weave horse tail hair into fabrics with a very distinct texture. They are one of the only mills of this type still in existence,
With a history going back to 1837 this company is a unique survivor.
It looks like a fascinating place. It’s possible to book a tour of the mill in groups, so plans are now afoot to get together enough like-minded people to get a closer look,