Hand spinning and weaving is about as labour intensive as it gets. So this is the ‘Project’: to take raw fleece, process and spin the fibre. Weave that fibre into a length of cloth. And finally to make a wearable garment from that cloth. There was a similar project a year or two ago, to…
DetailsNatural dyeing adventures never stop. Yellows aren’t hard to obtain. But really good yellows are still to be prized. Here we have the traditional versus the modern. Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria is a common plant of field margins, hedgerows and waste ground. It is perennial, with long, strong stems of richly scented, frothy creamy white flowers…
DetailsSince starting on this natural dyeing adventure several years ago now, Woad dyeing was always a major goal. There is so much history and tradition (especially in Britain) tied up with woad as a dyestuff. Economically it was an important crop for centuries, protected by restrictions on imported indigo in Elizabethan times. It contains the…
DetailsEven though Stoke Abbott (the starting point for this walk) is only a few miles away, it seemed wrong to park up in the middle of someone else’s village during total lockdown. Now that restrictions have eased a bit it’s time to venture about and about just a little further from home. And, as Greta…
DetailsWe are living in strange times. Thank God the weather has been glorious for weeks. Thank God! The garden here is separate from the cottage, past the little row of cottages and up a path bisecting a neighbour’s garden. Sometimes this is a disadvantage, not being able to just pop outside the back door can…
DetailsThis is by way of a follow on from the previous post on No Knead Bread. Basically it’s the same recipe, just adapted for a sourdough starter rather than yeast. Sourdough is ideally suited to long, slow proving method. You don’t need a banneton or any other fancy equipment. If you don’t already have a…
DetailsAfter quite a few years of bread making, (and not buying a single loaf) sometimes there’s a danger of it becoming a chore. So it’s time to shake things up a little. And no knead bread might be the way to go. Basically it seems that the process is the same, except for the kneading…
DetailsThe biscuit tins were empty – time to make treats. First off, something for people: Devon Flats A little known traditional recipe. These are delicious crunchy biscuits with a creamy test. Quick and easy to make with simple ingredients. This recipe makes about 36. Ingredients: 250g/8oz plain flour 125g/4oz caster sugar 1/4 pint…
DetailsZokin are traditional Japanese dust rags which are hand stitched from leftover or re-purposed cotton cloth. They stem from a time in Japan when textiles were expensive, precious and scarce. Garments and bed coverings were patched and patched and patched again – becoming Boro textiles – antique examples of which are highly sort after today. …
DetailsIn Norway and Sweden Saffron Buns – or Lussekatter are traditionally baked to celebrate the St Lucia’s or St Lucy’s Day on 13th December. The Scandinavians have appropriated this Italian saint for a festival of lights at this darkest (especially up in Scandinavia) time of year. Processions of girls dress in white with a red…
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