Month: May 2019

RBST East Anglia Wool Day. August 31 2019

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Saturday August 31, 10:30-16:00

Melsop Farm Park, Ellingham Road, Scoulton, Nr Watton, Norfolk
NR9 4NT website

Event page on Facebook


Connecting Wool Producers with Spinners and Weavers and discovering how we can promote wool from East Anglia.

If you’re a wool producer, come and find out the real value of your fleeces! If you work with wool, meet wool producers and buy rare breed fleeces.

£12 admission – includes entry to the park, buffet lunch and talks from the Rare Breed Survival Trust.

This year we are excited to announce Amanda Hannaford will also be speaking.

Amanda Hannaford has had 35 years experience as a handspinner, took her Asscociation Certificate in 1997 and a City and Guilds Stage1 teaching certificate 2000. She has been teaching ever since and has travelled all over the UK, Europe and more recently to Afghanistan and Tibet to share her knowledge. When she first started hand-spinning, there was very little in the way of ready-processed fibres available to the public, so naturally she used the fleece that were available locally in Cornwall. Therefore she has had many years experience in skirting, sorting and washing fleece for hand spinning. She has had many beautiful fleece from a wide variety of breeds through her hands, as well as the not-so-nice, and occasionally the downright awful that is only fit for the compost heap or bean trench. When she visits us Amanda hopes we will provide her with several different local and rare breed fleece that she can open out and discuss with us, explaining the good and bad points of each fleece through a spinner’s eyes. She can point out exactly what a handspinner would look for, how they best like the fleece to be presented and what they might make from its fibre.


Tickets are £12 per person and booking is essential. For more information or to book, contact Mary Watkins at: marydoddswatkins@hotmail.com

Payment by bank transfer (details given upon booking) or cheques made out to RBST East Anglia Support Group

April 2019 – Natural Dyeing workshop, and needle felting

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This month we moved venue to Mary’s garden so some members could enjoy a natural dyeing workshop run by Kally Davidson. Kally brought along samples of yarn she had dyed from plants she found in Mary’s garden on a earlier visit, as well as some other examples of her work.

Those of us participating in the workshop were given small pre-mordanted skeins of yarn and were told to go around the garden collecting plant matter to layer in the jar with our yarn. Once we were finished, the jar was filled with boiling water, and we were told to leave it in a warm place for as long as we can manage before we get impatient and want to peek!

We also did some more instant gratification dyeing, and made dyebaths from ivy and applewood from the garden, as well as flowers brought along by participants, including daffodils, dandelions, and marigolds. We experimented with removing the green parts of the flower to see if it made a difference, and Kally explained how colour can be modified by using iron or copper. We all had a wonderful day and learned so much.


Those not participating in the workshop also had a great time. They stayed inside out of the rain and learned about the Bugs and Blossoms project, which is part of the Waveney and Blyth Festival, and aims to promote awareness of our native insects and plants, many of which are under threat and in decline, and to encourage people to notice, care and take positive action. Diss Guild members will be creating a textile based exhibit, making bugs and blossoms encompassing a variety of media and techniques. Work was started on making needle felted bugs and blossoms.

March 2019 – Favourite ways to prepare fibre for spinning

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Members shared their ideas on fibre preparation, including opinions on scouring and/ or washing fleece prior to spinning. Some members preferred to spin “in the grease”, but it was generally agreed that excess dirt and
chemicals needed to be removed. Some of us like to use washing up liquid, others use anitbacterial handwash.
Mary had attended an AGWSD Summer school on fibre preparation, and had a comprehensive file of tips and techniques. Mary ran briefly through what to look for when choosing a fleece. The “Ping” test is most revealing.
Various methods for opening up fibres were looked at, flick carding, combing with a dog comb or dog brush etc.