woolcrafty @galgael

welcomes and intros to our blog

2012-01-24T17:45:00.000Z

A very warm welcome to you, member or friend!

If you are looking for intros to us, you can find them at

here

and

here

Enjoy ! :-)

~ ~ ~

This blog is presenting some of our activities from Woolcraft at Galgael. Enjoy also our albums showing some more of the many wool craft actions on http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael .
And here is also the link to our youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/woolcraftatgalgael

Please, do leave comments, as the open comment function has been enabled now!

~ ~

Felt workshops in Galgael in February and March

2012-01-24T17:34:00.007Z

New wet felt and dry (needle) felt workshops in GalGael

Come along to a felt workshop for some creativity with fluffy natural and coulourful sheep's wool and make something beautiful! Beginners and advanced felters are welcome. The felt workshops are suitable for all age groups from 5 years onwards.

The felt workshops are run by Laryna Wuppermann, fibercraft artist with 28 years of experience in teaching fibercraft.

Workshops in Glasgow's South: in GalGael /Ibrox, 15 Fairley Street,
on Thursday, 02/02 and 16/02 and 01/03; 15/03 and 29/03/2012 at 3.30-5pm.
Suggested donation: £5/£3

You are welcome to participate on either a regular base or whenever you can make it.

By booking in advance you can secure your place.
You can either send an email:to:laryna108@gmail.com or book by phone: 07503210416 (mobile)

Feel free to check out my blog to find out more about felt workshops I am running in the Glasgow area: http://creativefibercraftbylaryna.blogspot.com/
The felted items below were made by participants in felt workshops in GalGael.

Wet felted picture


Needle felted butterfly

Work from felt workshop participants in November 2011

2011-12-05T14:52:00.005Z

The following photos are from different participants from felt workshops in November 2011. There will be one more felt workshop this year in Galgael on Thursday the 15th of Dec. 3.30-5pm in our Bothy. Would be lovely to make Christmas decoration either dry or wet felted.
You are welcome to join in.
Suggested donation: £4/£3
More workshops to come in 2012. Please watch this space!

Scottish impression

Mobile phone bag

Felt picture in progress

Finished felt picture

Felted flower

Sing to work - work to sing

2011-11-17T14:34:00.000Z

Two weeks ago a couple of woolcrafties gathered on a very woolcraft busy afternoon to eke out some space and time to try something new - or rather ancient:
to sing whilst working - esp. if the work entails sustained rhythmical movements like rowing or waulking (beating woven tweed to soften and shrink fabric), spinning, weaving and rocking the cradle, and making the bread, from corn threshing to dough kneading. These intrinsic rhythmic tunes develop easily into dances, slow or fast, and have been developed more recently into chart topping hits.

Singing to work and working better whilst singing:
We can find it in all cultures as an expression of connectedness to the elements and the cycles of life, the communal efforts of surviving in them, as a means of gossiping, telling stories, lamenting and praising, and praying.

This little song here we chose by digging through an old Hebridean Song Book, looking for a simple lilt which can aid the simple circular movements entailed in wet felting a wee picture.

Luckily Jenny and Eileen are very musical and loved improvising on the tune as they at the same time learned some wet felting basics.
It would be fabulous if we could find more Gaelic worksong specialist to teach us some stuff from our first and future culture. :-)
Here are some good links to background of Gaelic Songs in general: http://www.siliconglen.com/culture/gaelicsong.html

I love to learn the sean-nós style, and at home I get so much strength and peace out of chanting the Ceile De Fuin to my daily chores and creative woolcraft explorations.

Lets see how we fare tonight with the second exploration session and whether Alison will be there this time and we get started back again at processing our Hebridean fleeces? :-)

gosh - felting that fleece was more than 3 years ago!!

More blast from the past

Next two felt workshops on Thursday, the 3rd and on Thu. the 17th of November in GalGael

2011-11-02T15:05:00.001Z

Would you like to learn wet felting or improve the skills you already gained before? Come along to the next felt workshop on Thursday, the 3rd of November and/or 2 weeks later . Both 1,5 hour workshops start at 3.15 pm and are by suggested donation: £4/£3. Felt making is a magical transformational process from fluffy wool fibers into a solid fabric. It is the most ancient fabric making technique, with historic and prehistoric founds in different areas in the world, especially in asia. Have you heard about yurts, nomadic people in mongolia use as their housing? Felted rugs and panels were made to make these tents cosy and waterproof.

Rainbow coloured spiral on red background

Playful shapes on brown background

These both photos show felted pieces from the last felt workshop in GalGael's woolcraft bothy, almost 2 weeks ago.

Photos from felt workshop on Thu. 6. of October in Galgael

2011-10-11T13:57:00.002+01:00

It was good fun creating jewellery out of merino wool, by using the wet felt technique. Next felt workshop in Galgael on Thursday, 20. of October 3.15 - 4.45pm, Suggested donation: £4/£3. You are very welcome!

Felted bracelet

Closure with a loop and a bead

Felted necklace

...and another felted necklace

Felt workshops in Galgael in October and November 2011

2011-10-01T14:19:00.000+01:00

Fancy to learn about felt making? Come along to Galgael on Thursday, 6th of October, 3.15 - 4.45pm. You can make a flat felt, or something else, using colourful sheeps wool. It's fun and easy to learn! Suggested donation: £4/ £3.There will be 3 more felt sessions, every fourtnight (20./10. and 3.+17./11.) Please send me an email if you were up for it. (laryna108@gmail.com ) The woolcraft group in Galgael is a group of volounteers, doing spinning, weaving, plant dyeing, knitting, crocheting and felting. We are happy to share our skills. If you like you can stay for longer. Thursday nights in Galgael are a great opportunity to get to know the place the guys and share food, poetry, songs, music and laughter ;-)

GalGael, 15 Fairley Street, Glasgow/Ibrox, G51 2TS(Phone:0141/4273070) http://www.galgael.org/

Woolcraft@Galgael on the Riverside Regatta, 16th of July 2011

2011-07-18T12:01:00.000+01:00

Heather's display of plant dyed, handspun wool

Woolcraft@GalGael had a stall in GalGael's huge marquee. It was a new event related to the former Riverfest but in a new venue, on the northern side of the river Clyde, just beside the new Riverside Museum.
The weather was okay and we had crowds of people visiting the woodcraft and woolcraft stalls from Galgael. It's always great to meet new people, who haven't heard about GalGael. Heather and Jaene were spinning on their spinning wheels and the kids could have a shot on the wheels. Proud little faces! Then and now Heather was singing a gaelic spinning song and received standing ovations. Lots of pics were taken.
Jenny did a bit of needle felting and sold Galgaels newly produced CD! Laryna was weaving on the rug loom and a couple of kids had a go in rug weaving.
We all enjoyed a fantastic day!
if you couldn't make it this year, we hope to see you there next summer!

Laryna's display of dry and wet felted things

Our rug loom

Riverside Regatta in Glasgow, on 16th of July 2011

2011-07-15T12:55:00.000+01:00

You will find us here on Sat. 16th of July 10am-6pm in GalGael's Marquee: http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/2011/07/riverside-regatta/
Looking forward to see you!

Festivals and fairs

2011-07-01T13:11:00.000+01:00

This summer GalGael's woolcraft is again present on a couple of summer fairs and festivals. this weekend you will find a stall of our group in Portsoy, near Elgin. You are welcome to visit the GalGael clan with boats, wood work and last but not least woolcraft. Come along and have a go on the spinning wheel or the rug loom and buy some phantastic hand crafted products from our stall.
Watch this space for photos and more information

Come along for another Thursday eve with wet felting: 26th of May 2011 @5.30pm in Galgael

2011-05-21T15:27:00.005+01:00

Jenny's felted spiral

Lets get creative with fluffy wool and felt something beautiful and hand crafted.

For example this:

Laryna's felted spiral

This is what you can make out of the felted spiral when you cut it in even slices:

Felted spiral necklace and earrings

Blue felted spiral necklace and earrings with felted sphere and wooden beads

Red/orange felted spiral necklace and studs

Or you can make a flat felted piece and make a brooch or a hairpiece out of it or .....There are many possibitities to create something beautiful.

Felted blossom sewn on a clasp

Brooches out of a piece of flat felted fabric

Wet felting workshop on Thursday 19th of May 2011, 5.30 pm

2011-05-13T20:37:00.000+01:00

Laryna facilitating a felt workshop with kids and their mums

Learn how to felt fluffy sheep's wool into a bead, a flower, a hair piece and more. Come along and have fun to learn something new. It's easy and could be done with kids as well!
By donation.

Blast from the past: our old 2008 google videos now on youtube

2011-05-09T15:14:00.002+01:00

Back in 2008 we published a number of wee video clips on google:
Google Videos now are discontinued, and we have transferred them to youtube.
You might now find broken links somewhere in old posts here. If so - please report them to us, so we can corrcct them. Thank you
Up and running, literally!, are now the ones with Heather and Laryna singing whilst felting the Hebridean fleeces; and Alan Torrance teaching cross sword dance.

Laryna teaching in the nursery weaving and painting, are still available but only upon request in the context of teaching to children.

"Glasgow's Trees" Find out more about GalGael's Timber Services on Friday, the 22nd and Saturday, the 23rd of April 2011 in GalGael

2011-04-19T15:51:00.000+01:00

Please feel free to check out this link to find out more about the event on the Easter weekend on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd of April 2011, 10am-4pm. http://galgael2010.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post.html

The woolcraft group will be present with demonstrations like spinning on the spinning wheel, with wool processing and more and with our hand crafted products spun, knitted, woven and felted out of natural fibres.
You are very welcome to come along and experience the very special atmosphere of GalGael's workshop.

The next 2 Thursday evening, 21st of April and 28th of April 2011, from 5-8pm you could have a go on the weaving loom

2011-04-16T19:25:00.008+01:00

A wee Video of Rug weaving here
from a few weeks ago

The next two Thursday evenings we will again give you the opportunity to have a go on our rug loom, learn about wool processing: teasing, carding and spinning. We are currently weaving with plied hand spun sheep's wool either natural plant dyed wool or just natural coloured wool.
A shared meal by donation will be on offer too.

That's how it looks now on our rug loom

Woven with plant dyed hand spun wool

Any more questions???
Just send us an email or call GalGael 0141/ 4273070

Workshop: Learn how to spinn sheeps wool on a spinning wheel

2011-03-04T14:12:00.005Z

On Thursday,10th of March from 5.30pm onwards

Galgaels woolcraft group offers a workshop in spinning on a spinning wheel

Come, watch and get to know more about this ancient and still popular technique!

Venue: Galgael, based in Glasgow/ Ibrox, 15 Fairley Street
Phone 0141/ 4273070

Workshop in natural dyeing in Galgael in February

2011-02-03T17:14:00.004Z

10th+24th of February from 5.30 pm
Heather, a member of
Galgaels woolcraft group offers a workshop in natural dyeing in GalGael.

Come, watch and get to know more about this ancient and still popular technique!

See post below about a natural dyeing workshop in December last year!

Magical indigo dyeing

2011-01-12T12:00:00.011Z

One day before the end of 2010 we had a wonderful evening with the magical process of indigo dyeing. Heather invited us wool craft women in her house where we occupied the kitchen. We were a bunch of 4 women: Heather, Alison, Gillian and me, Laryna. We enjoyed the long preparation of the indigo dye-bath, which took more then 1 hour. For the dyeing afterwards we had many different natural fibers like sheeps wool, handspun lama wool, mashine spun cashmere, bamboo fibers and silk fibers.

The magic in this process is the changing of the colour when the wool after been dyed gets in contact with oxygen: Then it changes from green shades into more and more blueish shades, depending how intense the dye-bath is and how many fibers have allready been dyed in the dye-bath.

Here you see lama wool after been dyed, just in the process of changing its colour.

Heather had some yellow wool dyed with meadowsweet. We dyed it over and a beautiful green appeared..

This photo shows the indigo dyed wool on natural white sheeps wool and the over dyed green sheeps wool.

Thank you Heather for this great experience and the lovely evening in your place.

Cutting down the 3 rugs

2010-12-02T23:33:00.003Z

A big moment that day: the taking 3 rugs of the loom: months of individual and team effort: the rugs are ready to be getting the last final touches!

watch it as film here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuMgHL8so-8

"They have been many months in the making by many merry hands - and now is the time for the truth: what will they look like on the floor|/ But, first more steps need to be taken: such as.....

see on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuMgHL8so-8

enjoy!

Thursday eve: Teasing plant dyed sheep's wool

2010-11-30T12:31:00.008Z

We had a lovely gathering in the bothy last Thursday night: On Tuesday Heather and Alison were dyeing different shades in yellow, using onion skin. Heather brought the yellow wool into the bothy and spread it on the table. It looked so very beautiful when the sunny yellow wool was spread out. (Sorry, I didn't make a photo of it, but will take one next time.) Sitting around the table everybody got involved in teasing the wool to prepare it for carding and then spinning. A crowd of happily chatting women were filling the bothy. It was a very relaxed evening.

why when? aye see : Weaving the Clyde is done!

2010-10-20T00:20:00.021+01:00

Slowly but surely, or actually fastly and vastly, the Weaving of the Clyde nears completion at last:

the last stages for the "Weaving the Clyde" tapestry,

At long last:

The "Weaving the Clyde" Tapestry is nearing completion. on the 19th September it looked like the above, and on the 19th October it looked like this, as Gillian completed what Mary had left unfinished:

Now only the threads and edges need to be tidyied up and the backing needs to be mounted. Watch this space!

Thursday evening gathering in the bothy

2010-10-07T13:51:00.001+01:00

Hi, Lynsey here with my first ever blog! Woohoo! I just wanted to say a wee bit about last Thursday evening at Galgael, I have pics which I will add soon and you will see for yourself but the work happening in the bothy was amazing. Ali and myself were the two main maembers of woolcraft who were in ans as they were showing the freestate film we hadn't really planned to do any woolcraft, but a couple of people asked and by the time dinner was served there were about ten people sitting and standing in our wee bothy doing card weaving and making gods eyes! It was really cool! I taught three girls how to weave and then they passed the skills on to others and so on and they all kept coming back to me for help and thanking me! It was sooo lovely, there were moments of complete silence and tranquility and moments of sweet laughter and I felt all proud and warm inside!!!
7 October 2010 20:46

Come for some Pegloom weaving this Thursday, 7th October, 5pm

2010-10-05T08:18:00.001+01:00

Roots & Heritage woolcraft Tuesday sessions at Galgael

2010-10-04T16:55:00.001+01:00

“Family Fibre Craft Fun Day at Penicuik House” on Sat. 4th of Sept. 2010

2010-09-16T17:00:00.011+01:00

This was a drop-in workshop, planned in single sessions about 45 minutes, offering wool carding, spinning, weaving and dry and wet felting for children and adults.

Another sunny and warm day was inviting us, using the space outside. There were 2 spinning wheels, a drum carder and a peg loom standing outside in the open air. Anneruth, Marjorie and I were demonstrating how to use these tools for wool craft so that folks could have a go on them.

After a slow start at 10am it got really busy about 11.30am until after 5pm. There were many interested people from all ages, participating in one or even two workshops to have a go and learn about using and processing wool. They were spinning a thread, weaving a rug, felting beads and brooches, little pictures and woolly animals like bears, hamsters and sheep. Beautifully dyed merino wool or natural coloured wool from scottish sheep inspired young ones and adults to be creative. What a joy for a child or an adult to take something home, made by themselves with their own hands!

The participants were looking like having real fun and having learned excellent new skills during the workshops in Penicuik House! We wool crafters were enjoying two brilliant days with lovely folks. Thanks to you all, it was amazing!

Big thanks to the Scottish Lime Centre Trust being a great host for the workshops.

One-Day Felt Making Workshop in Penicuik House on Fri, 3rd of Sept.2010

2010-09-15T22:34:00.012+01:00

Two fibre craft workshops were held in the beautiful surroundings of Penicuik House, www.penicuikhouse.co.uk/ on the 3rd and 4th of September 2010 as part of "Making Space" http://makingspacepenicuik.blogspot.com and the Penicuik Art Festival.

Anneruth from Penicuik and I, Laryna from Glasgow were offering a one-day workshop for beginners and advanced in the wonderful technique of wool felting.

There were 8 participants doing various projects with natural coloured and dyed sheep's wool in needle felting with a special needle and wet felting with warm soapy water and friction. Before we started with the felting, we were exploring different fibres from plants and animals. Amazing how different fibres can be! We explored the varieties in colour, fineness, fibre length and strength, in softness, in lustre and elasticity. We then used sheep wool, which is the only fibre with the amazing ability to felt that means it shrinks from a fluffy bunch of fibres to a lose, or even strong fabric. Some participants started with needle felting, using a special needle. Others started with layering wool for wet felting a picture, beads, flowers, a soft fabric for making a brooch, smaller and bigger bags and even more. It was a busy and creative atmosphere! So interesting to look around and see the many different projects, colour shades and patterns!

The room, we were working in was really looking like a craft workshop. The felted and other woolly products on the wall and in the display made it even more looking as if we have always been here, doing crafts.
The day was warm and sunny and we were enjoying a lovely lunch break sitting outside.

Afterwards the felting went on with starting another project, or finishing a picture or handbag. Besides fun and creativity there was sometimes quite hard work involved: When it came to the rolling of the felt, using a bamboo blind to make the felt even stronger and tighter, muzzle strength was needed!.
After a great and enjoyable creative day, the participants left, proud and happy with their beautiful handmade felted products.

Galgael's Woolcraft Women on video

2010-08-18T17:57:00.002+01:00

Come and see us here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5faomwt8gLM

( direct Video-upload has yet again not worked here so pleae click on link here or youtube url above

Video is accompanied by "Fisherman's Dream" sung by Capercaillie

Orcuan in Millport Bay...
and Laryna's first proper sailor felt hat on Ian's head!

We need more pics of that master piece Laryna - can you upload some ;-) ??

Sail 'n Oar and mega Galgael Galore

2010-08-15T13:42:00.011+01:00

What else is life about than being on a boat on the Ocean of Life?
Seeing land, and holding an oar in hand and knowing all landing there is but a passing moment on our journey towards becoming what we are embedded in: the Ocean of Life.

Yes, it might seem like much strife, building the boat and weaving the sail ..... ah - do you know how much work all that is!?! If not, you have not really lived, and you have not really danced! ;-) ;-) :-)
But somehow you might just know what it feels like to go to sleep in a rocking open boat with nothing but the stars above you head and the bare boards for your cradling bed..? Breathe deep and go to sleep ....... breathe deep and awaken anew, and see the new morning view....

The above depicted boat, the ocean faring curragh Columcille sailed smoothly across from Ballycastle (NI) to Millport in 3 days this week and back... and the weather was at ease for her and her crew...

Well, here you are, Woolcraft at Galgael, embedded in this other boat and its nets, the Galgael Clan. Were art and part of calling the Celtic boats to shore for 3 wonderful days and wild nights...! I hope everyone's weary heads are now all resting on some soft shipskins, and the winds are kind to your boats embedded afloat in the Ocean of Life, and that the threads of destiny you spin in the great web of life will be doing us all proud.

click here to see the video

"Wee Glimpses of Dorna on Saturday 14th August"

I certainly was proud being a tiny part of this great and mad Galgael web of waves on the Ocean of Life, a Galgael web that spans many a land on this and the other sides of that Ocean of Life. This event certainly was sending many a ripples all round.
And the locals loved it, too, and wonder whether you come back next year :-)!
Maybe then I will stay all weekend, because it was a shame on Saturday to have to go back to the East when West was Best in the lap of the Sun!

For more pics of the Saturday, go and see and read more here.

More video will be uploaded soon on both the Urban Clansman and the Woolcraft at Galgael Youtube channels.
And, with a bit of luck, full footage of this mammoth event will be found via Galgael blogs etc.

You are dancers, ye Galgaelians all, on the Ocean of Life for a sounder touch....

Especially of course when Albannach gives the beat!

Best wishes to you all from the East Coast!

A World through the hands

2010-08-12T15:43:00.000+01:00

Verene just found this
A world through the Hands

click here to read and see more

Proud to be Galgael at Portsoy 2010

2010-06-30T13:53:00.006+01:00

What is Alex Salmond saying to you here, Gillian? Pray, tell us!
Proud to be Galgael all were as can be seen here: the Portsoy 2010 story told in pictures! (Thank you Gehan for upoading them so quickly)

Hey, folks, keep the story flowing and going here: gee us mer blether!

And our pure bred Galgael Clan maiden just looks the part, too, at the country spinner celebrating its second year at Portsoy (remember how the sturdy double treadle landed with us exactly a year ago?)

some news links:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1byVEPJZiyA/TCvOU42AcUI/AAAAAAAAM_E/YUSPBqAHpTM/s1600/tawney-portsoy_0228.jpg

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1785965/?UserKey=

http://www.stbf.bizland.com/2010/galgael.htm

T in The Pot @ Galgael

2010-03-27T02:12:00.008Z

Alison, the group facilitator, writes:

The whole aim of the starting the group on a Tuesday was to make a comfortable place for woman to get together, chat, laugh, relax and make something with their hands. It was of most importance to create a nurturing place for woman first of all then give the materials to be creative. In the Tuesday Group they get a warm and nutritious lunch, soup and salad then a sweet afterwards. The group runs from 11am to 2pm. Alison comes in around 9 - 9.30 to help prepare the materials and go shopping and make the lunch for the woman.

The Tuesday Group consisted of Women from the local Govan area, they came through a local charity in Govan that supports woman either through crisis or gives some moral support. The charity is called "T in The Pot" who Alison got in touch with and who runs the group on a Tuesday. Initially the main plan with running the group was short term. Running from 3 to 5 weeks depending on the response we where getting. I'm happy to say that the Woolcraft group is getting a great reputation. 2 women came in to Glagael to find out about the Tuesday Group. Not only had they heard about us through T in The Pot but also through a mental health charity called Car Gomm. This is evidence that the Woolcraft group as a whole is making an impact and starting up the Tuesday group makes it more accessible for women who can't make it any other day.

The initial plan for running the Tuesday group was to teach an introduction to felting. This was to include making our famous but very easy felted flowers and then move on to a bigger project individually. After the first week the woman decided they would like to make a banner for T in The Pot. Rather than just each woman making individual projects they now wanted to work as a team. And so to make a basis for the banner we mended and felted a Hebridean fleece, this was a great introduction for the woman in getting involved with the more traditional crafts. Afterwards we started dry felting the logo of T in The pot. This is still ongoing and I'm happy to say that the group is growing more in strength. Unfortunately the only barrier to the group is the number of women that can be taken, it's 5 maximum.

For more pictures see http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/TeaInThePotGalgael#

what a lovely heart warming event: our Imbolc Coffee morning

2010-02-12T13:01:00.039Z

Verene said:

Our coffee morning was a very special event in the history of the Woolcraft group at GalGael. Four new people were introduced to the magic of felting but it’s the warmth of our hospitality – many of us baked cakes or sweets –, the sacredness of our small candle lightening ceremony and the care with which we collectively prepared the event that moved me most. That morning we truly embodied the spirit of GalGael by creating beauty & friendship as well as giving everyone an opportunity to work with their hands & learn a new skill.

Please visit
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/ImbolcCoffeeMorning#
to see and hear more about this wonderful inspirational occasion

Invitation to an Imbolc Coffee morning

2010-01-19T10:20:00.029Z

February is coming again - the month of new beginnings for woolly lambs, and a woolcraft@galgael event:

'Imbolc' is a name for on old Celtic country festival, where the women, and men!, gathered to celebrate womanhood, and all the good nurturing qualities that we like to see to come with it: skills in making garments and food, tools and decorations, giving birth, and also protecting the family or clan. The patroness for that has always been 'BRIGHID', a figure mythical and divine in all times and for all ages, and at this time of the year especially for the young woman.

Somewhere there is in all of us a young woman, an eager to learn, bright and fresh part of our self. Now is the time to remember her clear vision, keen senses and clean hope, and to recommit to her. Around us here in the Northern hemnispshere the little snowdrop is a symbol of that cold withstanding fire of life, as well as the fire in the hearth. In the Outer Hebrideans Imbolc (1st of February) was the day when the hearth was cleaned and for the one and only time in the year it had no fire in it so it could be freshly lit. Later traditions placed the candles instead of the heartfire as the centre of celebrations.

One ancient craft symbol, the woven reed cross, Bridghid's Cross, symbolising the balance and perfect movement of all things, also still remains a much loved staple of making and saning at this time of the year, Imbolc, or Oimelc, 'the first flow of ewe's milk'.

slow in catching up

2010-01-06T19:02:00.001Z

To all our dear readers -
a very happy New Year to you all!
time has just flown this last half year - and also some dear 'old' members have flown away to new work and other countries, and the new members are still learning how to weave on the blog loom here, being very busy with getting down to woolocrafting first of all. You can see that also from the picture above, our new bothy cupboard - a very inviting sight to encourage the many Galgael visitors to stop and dream (and to buy maybe too :-)?), and the newcomers of our growing group to get hands on. You can always see more up to date updates on our famous picasa site
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael

And soon there will be more catching-up-posts here about the happenings of the past months, such as the Christmas Fayre, - see here :

Home education input

2009-11-20T12:56:00.036Z

Laryna wrote:

In November I enjoyed teaching a group of home educated kids and their mums about wool craft. We had 4 afternoons, 2 hours each.
At first they learned about and practised the processing of sheep's wool, and made lilttle gnomes and angels or fairies out of the carded wool. In the 2nd session the children tried spinning with a hand spindle and the spinning wheel, and they were using threads for finger knitting and crocheting. In the 3 rd session a simple weaving frame out of cardboard was made and then prepared for weaving a bracelet or bookmark with different coloured threads of wool.
Last but not least the children and mums enjoyed the amacing processes of felting with sheep's wool. They made balls or beads, and heat and other flat felted pieces using coloured wool. We had a very good and busy and time the children and their mums experienced the unique creative advantages and possibilities sheep's wool is giving us.

For more pics look amongst the albums here and here

With ABREEF in Dunoon

2009-09-16T12:38:00.003+01:00

Laryna writes:

This autumn I had the chance to bring wool craft to schoolchildren between 6 and 12 years in two different occasions.

At the end of September I went again to Dunoon, to the Hunters Quay Holiday park, where we had already been in August. It was a 2 days ABREEF environmental fayre for schoolchildren in the Argyll and Bute area with many lovely stalls and ideas to introduce the kids into environmentally interesting activities and teach them about how to care more for their environment.

In periods of 25 min I was showing the different kinds of sheep’s wool, the processing of wool and the magical process of wet felting to each group of about 10 kids and their teachers. Standing around a big round table the kids could touch and feel the natural, undyed wool and in the centre was standing a basket with wool for felting in all colours of the rainbow in their different shades. Girls and boys enjoyed making either felted beads for a key ring or necklace or a piece of flat felt. We had two busy days with lots of kids around looking, asking and enjoying using their hands to make something beautiful and useful.

for more pix look here

Full Clan Action: Portsoy, Riverfest, Hunters Quay

2009-08-17T13:46:00.009+01:00

The video above lets you see not only the woolcrafters but the whole of the Galgael Clan in action at the Riverfest this year, plus some more of community action in Govan, such as Radio Govan. If the link above did not work -> click here is a video should give you a wee glimpse of some of all the above or go directly to Hammy's video: http://www.archive.org/details/MadeInGovan.

This year the Glasgow Riverfest saw again the usual or unusual sight of the Galgael Clan in full gear here at the banks of the Clyde. This year it was a particular fabulous time for the woolcraft group, great for team growth, for interaction with the public, teaching and demonstrating woolcraft (you will here about it all from Laryna soon!), and for attracting the precious gift of a spinning wheel. Plus we had Sgioba Luaidh doing the waulking song here, too!

Caught you, Alison! (Alison teaching spinning at the Riverfest)

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/Riverfest2009#

By the way, if you are interested to hear and see more the Galgael Clan, why they are in Govan, and so on - have a browse through the media files here . If you like, also check for more pictures on http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/urban.clansman and for videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/urbanclansman and http://www.youtube.com/user/woolcraftatgalgael as well as http://www.youtube.com/user/GalGael

Earlier in June: The sun was shining for the whole of the Galgael Clan gang going up to the Traditional Boat Festival in Portsoy. Lynsey, Sarah-Jane, and Naomi with Emma were representing the wool craft part of the clan,

and can be seen here amongst the larger picture of action: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/Portsoy#

To be able to have the seawind and sun blow and shine through you is such a gift!

Later, in August, the Clan went to an event at Hunters Quay, Dunoon, and you can see some it here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/urban.clansman/GalgaelAtHunterSQuayAugust2009# engaging with lots of public, too...:

Visiting Inspirational Places

2009-07-03T23:06:00.001+01:00

Wouldn't it be sooo lovely to have a place like this on the land!

Summer is time for travelling and fayres. As none of us was able this year to go the Woolfest, and as Laryna wanted more moorit Shetland fleece for felting these sought after brown berets, and as Ursula wanted to see what a proper loom looks like, so Anneruth and Laryna went East to visit Moondance Wools again. Sadly Ursula was held up last minute, but we made lots of detailed pictures of all parts of a loom for her and others to have a good look. See for yourself on
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/VisitingMoondanceWoolsAgain#, and see Maggie's wool-wonder-magical place amidst the fields full of grazing sheep and sheepdogs with puppies and all that - not to forget on a foggy day like that day in early June: the kettle on the stove!

Further down the road at Woolfish, a unique and ever so tempting woolshop in St Abbs, see http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/VisitingWoolfish#, - Laryna got roped in to fix their newly acquired antique spinning wheel.

Anneruth earlier on in Edinburgh got very inspired by the many little magical felt-craft things for kids in the Mulberry Bush, a shop run by Garvald Edinburgh. Have a look
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/InspirationsFromMulberryBushInEdinburgh#
- and I am sure you will think too: Wool simply is magic!

The New Country Spinner is here!

2009-06-29T19:44:00.005+01:00

Hurray! The country spinner is ours - thanks to the Glasgow City Council funds!

Check on http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/OurNewCountrySpinner# the story of its arrival and assembly and welcoming.

With this sturdy wheel - which we got recommended by Heather, as she lent hers to us last May
- there is hope at last that we can use up the fleeces in the loft which we just have been sorting (see below), by spinning that junky yarn for hardwearing gear, from hats to rugs!

Merry Month May rolled past and Jolly June is already here!

2009-06-10T10:32:00.000+01:00

So much has happened this merry month of May! Where to start? Plus: it is June by now.... and all that talk about getting a new blog had held us back from updating this one here. Sorry folks!

Best go to http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/AprilMay2009# and http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/JuneJuly2009# if you want to see it all in a fellswoop...

Jenny, a superb knitter, came to share her skills and to learn spinning....

......and, being a natural: here is the result of her first hour :-)

And where did that wool come from? From this Zwartbless ewe near Peebles:

it is a most amazing amount of heavy wool that comes off one of these rare breeds!

Verene has finished knitting her bag - and now it is time for these final finishing touches!

She also finished the warp on the small school weaving-frame - and has made quite some progress in exploring colour and yarn combinations, including her own drop spindle spun white longwool. This could become now a mobile phone bag?

Ursula,Lynsey and Anneruth had a shopping trip to Fife (yes, to Twist Fibre craft) to spent some of the grant money for more resources and to sit in the Pillars of Hercules to finalise the woolcraft flyer:

Gabi had a shot at last at wetfelting and was breathless at how much muscle power it was needed to firm up her spring-into-summer piece!

Whilst Lynsey has now just to stitch up her canvas bag with her needlefelted design: the goddess motive found by Louis.

April showers

2009-04-30T17:58:00.002+01:00

Where on Earth has April gone!? Into the soup on Thursday evenings...? (see above, the Beltane eve one!)

Like an April shower itself this month went past fast, but we managed to capture a few images on the first half of the album http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/AprilMay2009#.

Lynsey was exceptionally busy getting into the swing of looking after our new funds, a very small grant from Glasgow City Council to help us get our long talked about 'The Unbroken Thread", as well as stocking up on her craft item display for her and our all workshops to be: felting, weaving and so on. Isn't the felted broch she made great?

On Thursday evenings Gabi is joining us now regularily to explore felting, and here is her very first 'getting to know' needlefelting on a little felt square. It is very lovely to have her around, and also her young son Paul who just loves being at Galgael.

Laryna has finihsed fulling the moorit Shetland berret, whilst Anneruth is experimenting with decorating it with buzzard feathers felted into onion skin dyed shining Alpaca. That is if Laryna get the hat back from Ian who very much wants it as his 100+1 hat!

In any case she decided she better makes a new and bigger one to suit the demand of our big heads at the head of the Clan who don't have 100 hats yet, such as Alan Torrance. Ursula wanted to see how it is done:

But where is that masterpiece now? Before even the tassel got put on, its proud and eager new owner took it for a journey to some remote forgotten Western island and promptly forgotten it there, headless now hatless head he! He says he will get it back - it is safe ... he claims...! (we'll keep you posted!)

Ali is preparing for a special journey, a vision quest, and is making her own drum. Impressive! Here is the start: the base round which the wood of the frame will be pulled.

Hazel came by again, and tried her hands on making huge knitting needles to knit rag rugs, as well as little weaving frame for Lynsey's workshops. See more about this everything else in the first part of our album here.

a happy wool crafting day on Friday the 3rd April

2009-04-03T20:32:00.004+01:00

~'~
'

Here is a report on it from Vérène:

We had a lovely and productive gathering on Friday 3rd April.
We welcomed a new group member and keen knitter in the person of: Ursula. We’ve also expanded the international dimension of the group as Ursula is originally from Peru and has lived in Glasgow for the last 3.5 years. She had brought her current knitting project – a lovely top made of soft green wool. She and Jackie were sharing patterns and techniques.

Lindsey joined us with scones and all kinds of nibbles for a late breakfast/early lunch. She worked on a colourful and wave-design bracelet.

Naomi and Vérène got into the joy of weaving a checked pattern on the small frames – Laryna tutored them in her usual wonderful manner. She also taught Jackie how to weave on the big loom using strips of harris tweed whilst she was herself working on the felted and knitted brown beret.

No pictures to add to this report, sorry. No camera.

~'~
'

wool craft log week ending 27th March

2009-03-27T20:37:00.001Z

This woolcraft week started for Anneruth and Laryna at Jackie's house on Wednesday night. Jackie had been very busy producing some very inspirational products: the baby jacket (Alpaca yarn) you can see above and a second set of felted booties and this strawberry form toddler hat (both Hebridean base with colour overlaid).

Further - a crocheted cotton baby blanket and the start of a scarf made of Shetland wool (handspun by Anneruth) with a scallop pattern.

Whilst Anneruth did some Hebridean wet-felting tests and needlefelted coaster test, and Jackie sped up the length and breadth of the scarf, Laryna laboured away on the moorit Shetland berret, firming it up further and shaping it:

For more pics of some more of the action of this week (and indeed the whole month) visit http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/March2009#

On Thursday day time at Galgael, Alison finished her angel mobile :-)

and Anneruth spun the moorit wool for knitting wool for to make knit-to-felt band for the berret. Issy knitted the swatches and Laryna later at night felted them, and now we know how much stitches we need for the band and what strength of fulling it needs to make a good band.

Alison meanwhile tried very successfully her hands on making a bright small size felted flower (she had done a big one last week, which is a little easier than a small size one) - see picture at end of blog...

In the evening Emma, a student from the Art College who is doing a textile degree there (weaving and sewing quite some very fine materials!) came along to the Thursday night drop in, because she would like to learn to spin her own fibre... something one does not learn at Art College! She threw herself right into the action from washing dishes to teasing and starting to spin Hebridean wool, taking away a good length of thread, her first homespun yarn! We are looking forward to see her back soon, hoping also she will share some of her skills with us, and also her friend Karen who is a fine jeweller.

On Friday morning a number of folks (Alison, Anneruth, Verene, George and Jerry) made sure that the fleece Alison had worked on over the last weeks, washing, sewing and needlefelting it, was being fulled into a nice big fireside rug for Barmaddy.

Jackie was almost finished knitting the Shetland scarf and Laryna took up the knitting needles to make the band for the Shetland berret which is already sold 3 times over! but we are not sure we are going to sell it !

The rest of day was spent mainly by Anneruth in trying anew to bring order into our overflowing bothy, - sort patterns, shelf some less used tools and materials upstairs and buy bolmull material to make a curtain for our busy shelf downstairs. We hope everybody can find easier soon what they need when they need it.

glimpses of a Thursday eve and of Red Nose day

2009-03-13T23:49:00.009Z

This week, 12 + 13 of March, was quite a change from the usual routine (as if there ever is a routine!), in that lots of different activities took place on the the Thursday eve with group members and guests.

As said before elsewhere: Thursday eves Galgael stays now open until about 8pm, and clan members and friends can come to join in with sharing food and with trying out different craft activities, as well as with music making.

This week Jerry tried his hand at needlefelting whilst Anneruth carried on with sewing and needlefelting a Herbidean fleece rug. Here you can see him with the fleece that shall be going with him back to Iona.

Lynsey had brought a potter friend and she joined Ali, Naomi and Emma in Luis' pottery corner. Lynsey finally got a shot at weaving the rug, too, that night. (see picture on top of this blog)

On Friday all of Galgael went either in or on the Cldye for the Red Nose day boat race. For pictures of that go to the Urbanclansman blog here. Laryna, Sarah-Jane, Verene and Anneruth stayed in Fairley Street for some peace to work on things in peace and quiet for a wee change.

Verene had washed the wool she had spun on the drop spindle and plied on the wheel, and was now ready to wind it off into balls for knitting or weaving. Alas the skein winder is stil broken, but Laryna took pity on it. :-)

Sarah-Jane had managed to edge away from college (end of degree show coming up soon!) and at long last got a real good shot at the rug loom, christianing the rug 'harvest colour'.

Anneruth (another at long last!) finally got down to start felting the berret with the drum carded batts of moorit Shetland wool. Here you can see Helen, who has popped in from rowing on the Clyde to top up the teapot for the sailors, pretending to help Laryna to put the final fulling touches on the berret.

When the red nose rowing gang came back, as proud winner of the 3rd price, the day ended with fish supper galore!

(for more pictures of everything see our March Album)

week ending 6-3-09: lots happening!

2009-03-07T13:30:00.015Z

Meet Jerry, who has been looking after John's Hebridean flock on Iona this wild winter, and who is over the moon to see how we are processing their fleeces into beautiful rugs. So we got straight down to fulling one for him to take back to Iona:

Which, at this Friday's Stakeholder meeting, meant Galgael Stakeholders were able to have a go at it as well!

Having a go at rag-rug weaving was the interest of many folks that day too. Here is a good old friend, Miriam the murial artist, looking close as Laryna demonstrates.

And then, inbetween, it was time for a song or two by Jerry, paying homage to the Hebridean fleeces - that one there is right now being processed (stitched & needlefelted, the stage after the washing and before the fulling) by Ali, and this one here is for Barmaddy, the Galgael venture in Argyll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLu4fCqfNnI

watch a wee clip of Jerry's homage to the Hebridean fleece by clicking above

And whilst you are on you tube, you might also like to catch a brief glimpse of Laryna dancing her heart out at last and some others too. {Just click on the embedded links!)

Or you might like to take the opportunity to more fully see that very special event of this Friday, the poem-song writing, music making, performance gig of Luke Concannon with Manjinga 7 at Galgael. Click here for the youtube playlist and here for the photos.

This Friday was really a wonderful opportunity to collect and display our creative projects, too, such as Jackie's Hebridean felts: the mittens and the baby booties.

Laryna's luxourios green bag and the stylish wristwarmers:

This beauty here, young David's vessel (remember him from the felting at Liz event last November?) we finally managed to capture -

You can see more shots of it and the other modest and mighty master pieces of our members on the photoalbum here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/March2009#

And here over to Laryna: who wrote:

We had a great day on Friday the 6t in GalGael. I loved especially the afternoon activities with the gorgeous band from Bristol. Such talented guys and full of inspiration, joy and love. They inspired us guys from GalGael to make our own songs out of words we gain by a brainstorming process written on a huge piece of paper. "There is so much talent in the room!" inspired us to do our very best. Later the band on stage was brilliant and eventually Luis was the first dancing and pulling everybody on the dance floor. I had great fun dancing. Then it became very noisy, because everybody was playing an instrument, mostly percussion ones. Fun was in the air!!!! I could feel the love and the joy and the fun of everybody.
GalGael, I am happy to be part of you!
From the wool ladies Anneruth, Alison, Lynsey and me have been there in the afternoon. Verene needed to go to another dance event with Biodanza.

~~~

February

2009-03-05T13:28:00.008Z

Well, the biggest event surely this month was the birth of Isobel Lucie on Sunday the 8th of February. It happened quietly, and blissfull new mum Anna is still keeping very quiet, but she and sleeping beauty are well and send this photo. Can you see the edge of the Shetlandwool blanket Anna knitted in midwinter? And below you can see the Alpaca blanket Anneruth spun, wove, sewn and felted ready now too for Isobel's pram in spring. The needlefelted Alpaca is onion skin dyed and is truly lumionous in colour sheen: what a miracle Alpaca is! Thank you Breeze (that is the baby alpaca whom you can meet here too)

Babies and mothers was the theme of that week: Here is Alison making a fairy for her soon to be born nieceAnd here is Samantha and son trying out needle felting for the first time.

Helen has been asked again to provide input into the local nursery at Bellahouston, and she is doing it all by herself this time. Good on you, woman! You were the young mother last February, weren't you?! (we must get a new picture of them!)

Otherwise this month was mainly taken up with forward planning of our big baby: the woolcraft at Galgael group. We have tried our luck in putting a funding application through so that we can build a more solid base for proper outreach in the future. There is just not enough space and time, but the demand is clearly there, and it is so good to be a vibrant part of a vibrant Galgael, and to now be even part of the big Operational Plan.

We have started to take part a little in the Thursday evening drop-in sessions, which got kicked into action also partly because of our pesterpower. See more about them here.

However, the space we would need is not quite available on the Thursdays either... so we are still looking, and also thinking of making use of our local members homes and gardens :-)

Meanwhile, another big baby of the month:

The upright tapestry has been given space at Galgael! Hurray!

It seems that everybody wants a shot at making rugs of the tartan offcuts from the Isle o Lewis - but right now when to camera was ready to shoot - it stood just proudly waiting next to the other big loom in the foyer now:

January

2009-01-31T21:15:00.000Z

Yes, and now more the 'new' loom. An uprioght tapestry loom, gifted to us from the Coachhouse Trust (thank you!). It is in need of some TLC, but Laryna and Ian are at the case, and there is its space for the moment, in the cold (brrr) workshop, and then it is set to go Sarah-Jane's flat for the time being, until we have more space at Galgael.

Oh, and did you notice: Ian has got yet another new hat made by a woolcraftyatgalgael one! Well, you see - Naomi had great success and joy here with knitting wiht handspun wool: she loves it! And so does he needlessly to say! (what one earth has he done with all the other hats?)

Whilst we are in the showing off mood: a camera finally got hold of the beauty Jackie felted last year: her shoulder bag! It is already much loved and in good use. It can be used in two different ways. See our photoalbum for more details.

Then we have Hazel being mega productive with the sewing machine she had been given for Christmas: making little pouches and big teddybears! Well done Hazel!

Other products in process? Of course the baby blanket! Here you can see it now off the loom, being stitched together (2x90x28 cm pieces). It has not been fulled yet, but you can see the little off-cut having been heavily felted for to make a little bag out of it: it has mega shrunk!

And then we have another miracle of the month: Here you can see Alison very sucessfully learning how to spin (she has been dreaming about that for ages!)....

And here is what she wrote later on that week, reporting back from the woolcraft at Galgael input (sorry no camera on site: your imagination is engaged now)

The re-shuffle took place on the 31st January. It was an event for the community and for all to get together to discuss community issues. This was an opportunity for the woolcraft group to get involved and to promote our group so that more local woman and men can get involved, particualry on the new slot on thursday evening and to check if there was any interest. Naomi, Hazel and myself where involved. Naomi worked with the kids making gods eyes, Hazel sold some of her own beautiful merchandise and I taught some spinning. I thought this was a good opportunity to speak to local people, considering that at present we are discussing of where the woolcraft group is going. It was really just as an addition to help in our plans and see if there is an interest from local people in learning woolcraft skills and what would be the most suitable time in the future if we where going to establish a group to local people. It was a quiet day but I was able to get some names and email addresses to correspond with in the future. The results where that people where interested but only a few would make it on a Friday morning.

Well done Girls!

Midwinter times

2009-01-10T20:06:00.000Z

Singing Carols at the Galgael solstice celebration by candlelight, and dancing with old and new friends...

for more pictures click here....

Midwinter times are quiet and cosy times, esp when we met at Verene's whilst Galgael was shut over the New Years' time. By candle light with punch and food, four of us carded, spun, knitted and made a warp. And the warp was for the baby blanket for Anna's baby, to be woven by Anneruth

Anna is here carding the alpaca wool herself, which is from Breeze in Ford (you can admire her here) .

Once Galgael opened again Ali and Sarah-Jane had an actual first in winding wool, namely the alpaca (spun and washed by Anneruth) from a skein into balls. Gosh, don't you remember doing that with your Gran?!

And Verene also had a first: namely plying and skeining her very first skein of wool at last!

You can still see her playing it above (in the back of picture, behind the loom not warped up for the blanket), and you see it here in full glory.

Melissa came to sit with us to do some knitting, and inspired Ali to rediscover her knitting skills. She also sported Anneruth's felted hat which suited her splendidly!

You can see it all and more for yourself if you go to our midwinter folder here.

Such as Sarah-Jane starting with needle felting her puppets hands, and the tapestry loom at the Coachhosue trust... well but that is for the next blog: January/February, really ...

Welcome to our woolcrafty at Galgael blog

2008-12-11T12:58:00.000Z

~'~

Here you can find and trace what has been going on in our modest and exciting adventures in 2008. Up to the beginning of October you can see a weekly log of them, and from then on you will find highlights as and when they happen and get published.

For a general intro to us and to our backgrund, please read our previous introduction entry, which has now been put into the archives, and is here:
http://woolcraftatgalgael.blogspot.com/2008/06/general-introduction-to-woolcraft-group.html

As live action is the motto - you will enjoy the wee video snippets live on
http://uk.youtube.com/user/woolcraftatgalgael and also a little over on http://uk.youtube.com/user/urbanclansman

Sarah-Jane now sings AND spins!

And as one picture tells many a story - see an abundance on

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/urban.clansman

This are some of our group and friends in front of a big piece of woolcraft 2008 action:

the Felt Portal, from the Plantation project in August/September

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'

In the course of this year there have been more than 30 folks (mainly but not only women) who have been learning and teachings a wider variety of woolcraft skills. The Galgael comunity has been enriched by the 'fluffy' group, and we have been enriched by the burly banter that is Galgael. Friendships grew, and life changes too. We are all volunteers when 'at home' (at Galgael), but increasingly in demand (and not able to fufill the demands due to lack of time) to do outreach, to teach and to facilitate in the wider community, in schools and events, in wellbeing projects and drop-ins.

We know there is a big need to expand this small part of Galgael, that is beginning to outgrow the small bothy with all its wools and tools, and busy hands and the gift of the gab :-)

We are looking forward to see where 2009 will take us. So far it seems into consolidation of skills.

~'~
'

we have much to celebrate: stories of finished personal projects

2008-12-08T15:09:00.003Z

watch this space: featuring some of our finished pieces or projects we are proud of...

everyone from the wool craft group is invited to show and say a bit of the piece she did this year and feels most proud of and why...

we have much to celebrate...

Here is one sample:

Pictures are great but feeling (touching) and seeing is best... It is very soft!

I am proud of this wee shawl because at last I had the time and the space to weave again almost properly (fully properly would be if it was a 'proper' loom with foot pedals!). It took ages, still, the whole procees, but every step is a great wee memory now: getting the warp threads cheaply from the Kilmahog Mill near Stirling, plying the , making the warp 5 threads per inch on my garden table with the wee chimnea keeping me warm on the cool summer night, warping it with a friend and some song whilst we were doing it; weaving it any free minute I got (which were not many!) and then making a last minute bash out of weaving it to the end. At the very end of the warp I experiemented with spinning some blend carded icelandic + blackface wool, to see how the set would work out and what it could yield. Then, after cutting it off, measuring it and tying the warpends, I fulled it, and was so pleased with the result: a hard stiff and widely woven piece of material became a soft fairly close woven hugable shawl! It can now just be left as a shawl, or I can weave another same piece and make a waist coat type wearable out of it. The little experiment piece is a table runner in its own right, but it is also showing me what to use in terms of thickness of thread for future projects.

There is potential in that little rigid heddle loom, thanks to my Galgael woodwork friends who fixed the heddle stick ends, and who made me warping pecks.

I know I have not given you all the info yet (length, weight, shrinkage, etc) - but you may ask. Please do! Need to dash now and hoover before it gets early dark here!

c u soon

Anneruth

being heartfelt by Liz

2008-11-22T21:25:00.009Z

At last -today was the day where the long awaited outing to the Heartfelt Studio of Liz Brown in Ayrshire too place. The places had been booked out for weeks, but some last minute changes in the lives of our two new friends Mary (the one who paints pictures with wool since the Portal projects) and Alison (the one with the red hair) meant 2 spare places which quickly got filled with Naomi's little Emma and with Jude, a Galgael friend with already quite some felting experience.

After some getting lost in rural Ayrshire, our 3 cars and 11 folks arrived safely in the Studio in Ochiltree for a most amazing day of 'being heartfelt by Liz'. There is simply no other way of putting it. We were all totally blown over by Liz's great Irish heart, her superb craftsman and teaching skills and scope (how else could do 11 different projects in a studio that usually holds a max of 8 students!), and the absolute unending manifoldness of felt products for sale and on display, one more magical than the other! A true inspiration to each one of us. Best to be seen on our "Galgael folks being hearfelt by Liz" photoalbum

There are also 2 videos capturing some lovely moments of Liz teaching us how to felt ropes and beads - And if you get a chance, visit her website, and sign up for a course or buy some of her beautiful heartfelted goods.

You want to know to was part of the party and what they did?

Anna (from Helensburgh) and Alison (the dark haired, our Portal felter #1), who had missed the beginning of the Portal felting classes caught up with picture felting first, and then learned how to felt flowers for brooches and embellishment.

David (the 10 year old son of Jackie), who has, as it turned out, the perfect felter hands albeit never done it before, started with a picture, too, and then made a seamless vessel., as well as a rope and beads!

Jackie and Laryna made a big bag each.

And Naomi (lucky devil!) got to make a nunofelt scarf on the big table, and her little Emma learned lots more felting as she already knew with making beads and ropes, and als helping the grown ups to full their projects when they got weary. Something also David did - to help the adults with the fulling!

Debbie made a beautiful merino hat, Himalayan style, and Anneruth also laid her hands on making a hat, a rimmed one, but from her own wool, a carded blend of white Wensleydale and the white bits of her fawn Alpaca fleece.

Jude courageously dug her hands into a pair of boots with earth fairy flaps, and Sarah-Jane - well... she got started on her big project: felt-puppets for a story telling project which she is planinng for next year and beyond! She at last had a go a seamless felt (the hand puppet glove) and nunofelting (the puppet dress). She will still have to needlefelt the head at home.

It was such a relief for the nunofelters to be able to make use of Liz's 'Seffa Pinky Bling Bling': the felt rolling machine! Aye, felting is hard work esp on the delicate fabrics which need endless rolling!
We all came away later as planned but also richer as expected in new skills, through doing and watching, new inspirations and new glorious felted things and deepened friendships.

Thank you so much, Liz, for heartfelting us all!

Sgioba Luaidh visiting Galgael

2008-11-21T11:27:00.009Z

This Friday was a very special day, because at long last Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh (The Inverclyde Waulking group) came to put on a show at Galgael. If you have follwoed this blog ehre you will have met them already several times - at the Woolfest in July, and then Frances and Innes at an informal visit. This time they came in full strength - 8 women and Archie. They donned theiur Highland crone costumes and then never got cold in the big cold workshop, waulking the cloth with full throated waulking songs, bringign alive the history of the Isles, singing of feuds and fights (and there was lots in the times when these working songs were sung in very hamlet and town!), and of course, of the joys and sorrows of love and parting.

One hour before lunch and one hour after - it sure was a feast of witnessing the hypnotic spell cast by these vigeourous songs, and now and then also the longing lilt of a spinning song.

The guys (Navigating Life Trainees and trainers) were spellbound, and touched to their bones by something they may have never heard before, but which touched them in their blood with the power of past generations.

Some even dared to have a go at the waulking themselves, and learned soon that the grab&throw handmovements of the cloth are not that easy!

It is best if you see all the pictures on this album:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/urban.clansman/SgiobaLuaidhVisitingGalgael#

and better still if you see and hear the 10 wee video clips on the urban.clansman youtube channel

Here is one tiny taster of a beautiful spinning song sung by Frances whilst Innes was spinning and our women were teasing wool:

So, remember to visit

http://uk.youtube.com/urbanclansman & http://uk.youtube.com/user/woolcraftatgalgael

for to see some of the show, and visit also http://www.geocities.com/luadh/, the group's website and learn about their story - and maybe invite them to your group, too. It is great fun and they have many registers they can pull, with their big repertoire and vibrant vigour, as well very modern IT support (very educative and imaginative slideshows!)

We know we want them back - knowing also they loved the madness that is Galgael - and we would like the harp next time (February?), too, and then also (in early summer?) try out the songs in the boats to the beat of the oars, as many of the songs have been sung by men to the rhythm of rowing.

So, lets open the song books of the past,

and thanks be those here who make them last..

the rest of the October month

2008-10-30T21:15:00.014Z

Happy New Celtic Year!

It is post-Portal time now! Folks dare to draw their breath again in the bothy and trying to get over the fact that it is all over! What next?

Anneruth went on holiday at last, and as the winter approaches she will be coming through less now from the East of the country which leaves the questions: who will be taking pictures and updating the blog then? :-( ?

Lets try the 'once a month blog' then, shall we?

Whilst Laryna and others explored more knitting and spinning in the bothy, Anneruth was in Ford (not far from our Barmaddy, Loch Awe) and got herself a full Baby Alpaca fleece! Meet Breeze

who is now growing his second shearing, and click there to see more of his georgeous family at Isobel Callen's wee Alpaca Farm in the Highlands. The wool fibres are absolutely amazing, soft as down, and taking ages to spin because it is so fine. The plan is to use the secondary shearing parts of the fleece for felting, and the saddle part for spinning and weaving, and maybe knitting too. The fawn colour should lend itself to dyeing, too.

Galgael got given a beautiful fleece from the lady with Hebridean Spinnng wheel: a Shetland-Longwool cross. Sarah-Jane is over the moon as she sorts the fleece (one bag with the best bits for spinning, and one bag with the shorter bits for felting): that was just what she needed for her new projects. Which projects? You wait and see and let her tell you herself!

Verene meanwhile is at long last having a go at weaving, and she takes to it like a duck to water! She has learned the basics (of tension and all that) in an hour, and is now experimenting with colours for a ... hm? little bag?

And Sarah-Jane is discovering the art of sculptural needle-felting. Here is her first project: from a round ball to a fairy head.

The last day of October saw a wee Galgael community event: Allhallows eve celebration.

It was also of course that time of the year again where we remember Colin's passing, now already 3 years ago (see http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/colin.htm) and it is the end and the beginning of the Celtic Year.

We gathered to carve turnip lights and weave god's eyes, to bring the Orcuan home, to bake bread and share a meal and give thanks - with Gehan giving eagle feathers...

If you want to see pictures of all that go to http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/urban.clansman/AllhallowsEve2008#

For more of our woolcraftatgalgael pictures and the stories they tell, visit

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/OurOctoberPictures#

Happy New Celtic Year!

Mary's writing on the workshop process

2008-10-11T04:11:00.011+01:00

Walking down Govan Road after my first foray into the world of felting I was shocked at the amount of brain cells that were leaping from dormancy and lethargy! What a great day with such creative potential !
Guided by Anneruth and Flora an ancient world was revealed:
Wool, the Saviour of Mankind!

As the weeks passed by all participants were amazed at their abilities. Watching their faces glowat their achievements was a joy to see. No qualifications or skills needed. A truly universal craft.

Apart from personal enjoyment and growth, the path also led us to our Group Work. There we were throwing in ideas, debating, deciding and agreeing.
We all played different parts in creating the very beautiful "Portal Banner". Many hands worked together but looking at it there is unity and we all achived that "wholeness" we had set out to find.

Cups of tea warming hands at Galgael, Winter clothes brought out early. Timeplans forgotten. Everyone putting in time when they could. A truly communal effort and a great experience.
I've had a great wee journey and all I did was pick up a wee leaflet.

Many Many thanks to all fellow travellers and guides.
Journey on and fare thee well
Mary Docherty

And thank you so much, Mary, for your beautiful gifts, the 2 'painting with wool' pictures, those amazing 'copies' of postcards of the Hebridees:

It seems you have found your very own brand!

.......

A rich account of the making of the Felt Portal

2008-10-10T16:26:00.014+01:00

A big thanks to all who made it possible that this felt making project came about :
Plantation Productions and their funders; the Galgael trust, its appreciative welcome into the big workshop, and whole community there and especially its passionate volunteers; but above all thanks be to the enthusiastic and now quite skilled participants of the classes!

To get the best account of this rich process, pleasae visit our various photoalbums and the slide show:
On http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/FeltMakingSessionsAtThePlantationProductionsThePortalGovan# you can find over 200 pictures of almost every stage of the process of making the Felt Portal.
You can see more photos from the process when it took place at 15 Fairle Street over the last 2 months dotted throughout our 2 albums
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/OurAugustPictures#
and http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/September08Woolcraft#
and also this month of course http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/OurOctoberPictures#

A brief slide show summary of the journey the Felt Portal took all of us can be found here:
http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhbv7q9h_38f9c3mshh&hl=en

This is what Debbie wrote on her journey with the Portal

I really enjoyed the felt making class at the Portal. I had dabbled in a bit of felt making before but have now learned a lot more about it from Anne-ruth and Flora. I had never heard of needle-felting and it really is useful for adding interesting designs to pieces of work. I enjoyed mostly being in the company of the nice friendly group of people who appreciate and enjoy arts and crafts. It was great to see the team of workers in the photos and the felted portal design as it moved through the various stages. It really does look beautiful and nice and peaceful. I can just imagine walking through that portal and up along the riverside. Thanks Anne-ruth and Flora for all your help and patience.

We received more notes of appreciation strewn in emails - and we gave Mary's poetic writing a blog entry on its own

There was a wee launch for the Timeout project (which the felting classes were part of) on Friday the 3rd of October in the Portal

The output of the various art classes (pottery, photography, cardmaking, and of course film making and animation, the core activity of plantation productions) was quite a feast to see. Now we very much hope that our felted Portal into Wholeness will find worthy home in the community there.

As Luis put it so aptly: "There were moments I thought this is not getting finished as ever new hurdles had to be taken. It is a pure miracle that it got done!"

Yes, it s quite a miracle - and we are looking forward to visit the Portal often. We need to get plague done still for it (informing folks in a nutshell as to the whodunits!) ...

The Interactive Felt-Portal at the wall in the Portal, Govan,

- during the launch party of 'Timeout'

week ending 3rd October

2008-10-03T22:25:00.006+01:00

Before the Portal got to the stage you see it above (= being carried out of 15 Fairley Street for the final time) - this week saw still lots of action, and joint decision making ...

what works best to stiffen the felt?
how do we join the 2 big felt pieces with the bamboo frame?
where do we put the tree now?
what do we use as hanging rope?
where do we put the lovingly created details?

You can best see the last 3 day countdown unfold on our photoalbum from photo 166 to 203.
And then from picture 204 to 217 you can get a look in at Friday evening at the Portal where Plantation Productions had a wee reception to showcase the works done in the Time Out sessions, and esp to show the animations and films done, everything in the light of Art in mental health.

Here is a picture of the Felt Portal before the exhibition started, showing you our clever solution to the many eager and so different views as to where the felted figures should go on the now interactive felt portal banner! We fitted each of them with a little velcro and put them up on a felt board, inviting visitors to gently place the figures on the banner, creating their own path into wholeness.
At the end of the night all little details had found a place in the greater picture and we gathered in front of it.

woolcraft log week ending 26th September

2008-09-26T21:50:00.010+01:00

Last class at the Portal this week for the feltmaking project.
Feverish fun in felting the crochet cords for the bags can be seen above from Anna and Alison, and two last minute projects below: Alex finally getting down to her cushion and Moya (Plantation productions staff member) managed at last to try her hands at felting: a picture for Eva, her two year old.

Menawhile Flora and Naomi were handsewing the stone felt pieces which had escaped the sewing machine.

Well, it might have been the last week for making the felt portal at the Portal in Govan, - it certainly was not the last days or week for the felt portal process:
at Galgael in Ibrox on Thursday and Friday many hands (Flora, Laryna, Mary, Ali, Luis, and who else was there ?) were busy making more details such as plants, leaves and animals, and the tree begun to take shape at last.

The greatest headache was how to get a supporting frame right for the big felt hanging..... As the welded version idea had to be scratched - due to lack of volunteers and overall weight of the iron rods - Flora's glorious idea of using bamboo canes proved the saving grace.

Albeit it was a public holiday on Friday, Galgael was opened for the wool crafters (+ and a couple of saw mill workers) that day to make headway on the portal banner and it's frame.
Luis, who had also taken a liking to needlefelt details (including a Bhirlin boat!), heat-bent the bamboo rods into arches and structures which can support the double layers of the felt portal.

woolcraft log week ending the 20th of September

2008-09-20T20:26:00.001+01:00

This Week saw the first stages of assembling stone felt arch-wall to become the gate for the picture-felt. Flora begun to sew the stone-felt pieces together with the sewing machine, whilst folks needlefelted more tree branches, butterflies and birds as well as wet-felt sheets for similar features,

and Mary transformed a postcard from the outer Hebrideans into a felt for a cushion cover.

Thursday and Friday saw more hill and sky details being needled on the picture felt by Ali, Lynsey, and Naomi, as well as Debbie needling some cute sheep and an even cuter doggie to populate the emerging felt landscape.

It is now waiting for it's stonefelt arch to be assembled properly and for more details to be cut and felted...

Thanks to Martin the bothy now at last has a bookshelf for our books and thanks to Jackie, Lynsey and Anneruth it got all tidied up for the Open Doors day on Saturday, when Flora, Sarah-Jane and Verene took turns to welcome visitors and do craft demonstrations.

week ending the 12th of September

2008-09-12T16:02:00.013+01:00

This week, at long last, saw Frances and Innes from Sgioba Luaidh at Galgael. They were rather taken by the vastness that is Galgael, and when we all cramped into the wee bothy, to look at Innes's folders and hear Sarah-Jane sing her latest Gaelic song Norman was also part of the party. You can see him here enjoying a quick waulking song demonstration with Innes using a felted Blackface fleece as cloth. And then we were literally blown away by George, friend of Norman, filling the bothy and all Galgael with the mighty drone of the pipes.

We are looking forward to have the whole bunch of waulking song singers with us in November, on the 21st, where they will entertain and teach everybody on songs and traditions of the Highlands and Islands. As the woolcrafters we are now looking into doing something together with Sgioba Luaidh, combining our love of the lore and our skills for ... well, watch this space!

Meanwhile Sarah-Jane and Flora had started to wetfelt the last light grey stonefelt sheet, so that at the Plantation project it could get finished, and we embarked on sizing the prefelt for the Portal picture felt, and on laying out the contours of the scene to be depicted, as well as getting the tree stuffed:

The prefelt turned out needing a lot of backing with white wool, all needle felted into it, before we dared to lay the wool for the scene, which was decided to be a landscape spanning the 4 seasons.

You can see it here grow in its fourfold bands under Mary's and Alison's hands back in Galgael the next day:

Once the colours were laid out thr needle felting begun, and it was lovely to have Tawny join us, too. Meanwhile Debbie wetfelted her cushion cover in the bothy, listening to a CD of birdsong.

On Friday at the regular woolcraft group time, more folks carried on with the needlefelting of the background colours - quite a big job that, actuall. But many hands (Lynsey, Sarah-Jane, Ali, Naomi and also Anna from Helensburgh) made light work. Laryna and Jackie carried on preparing the dark wool for the mittens (also a big job, it seems!), and were joined by Jeanne, the partner of one of the Galgael volunteers, who finally had managed today to come along with her knitting, too.

For more pictures - remember to visit: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/September08Woolcraft#

week ending the 5th of September

2008-09-06T02:13:00.005+01:00

It is the last week of our 3 German girls, and Katie had been busy teasing the carding the shetland wool and all 3 were needling away on the hat foam block to create the basis for their hats, and the colours of the hats. But, alas, the clay hat moulds turn out to be too short for the full hat to be shaped on it! So Patricia and Melanie, gracefully are not too phased about it (thanks God!), inspite of the hard detailed work they had put into it, and are content to have their master piece fulled as a flat round piece which will adorn their home made into cushion or bag.
Katie needled a very strong hut material and is taken the dry felt piece home to find a proper hat-mould to finish it off on. Henry the foam-hatmould has his hair stand on end now thinking he is left alone now!

Seeamless bag making at the Plantation project this week, with the action spilling over again into Galgael on Thursday to finish the fulling of the bags. Everybody admiring the bold and beautiful colours.

Lynsey had a go at felting the sheet for the tree (for the Portal), and the washing machine shrunk it considerably to just the right kind of narrow piece of felt a tree needs.

On Friday Mary came with a very nice Sultana cake and Naomi came for a shoulder massage to have the burden of the week being taken of her shoulders. Woolcraft action by Laryna, Jackie, Verene and Lynsey included more preparation of the dark wool ( a blend now of Hebridean and Shetland/Jacob) for Jackie's mitten project, as well as spinning and weaving. Anna from Helensburgh (via the Portal project) also had managed to come along for the first time to Galgael and she enjoyed the wool handling and company.

Friday saw also the farewell party for the German students, who will be missed and who will miss us, as well as visit from Nicola Sturgeon MSP, and a tripple birthday party for Gehan, Heather - and who was the third?
Verene got caught on video spinning and explaining to Nicola our woolcraft project and the very special story of the Hebridean sheep.

week ending 29th August

2008-08-29T21:13:00.018+01:00

Big group this week at the Plantation Production felt making workshop, which was mainly about designing and sizing the "Portal into Wholeness and Wellbeing" wall hanging. Ali came to continue laying and felting the inner arch of the portal at Galgael, as well as getting her hands into clay and ceramics with Luis.
Sarah-Jane was also getting rolled in by making stone-felt for the felt portal with some clever effects such a wool neps! Plus:, she is getting Eugune rolled in too! ;-)

Wednesday saw also our participation at the Bridges Programmes Stakeholder meeting in the Pearce Institute. Bridgesprogrammes is a local organisation which help refugees into work in Scotland. It was very nice meeting them all, albeit some of the affiliated community groups we were hoping to meet for possible future working together had not been able to come. Still we hope that future working together is possible between Bridges and Galgael.
Sarah-Jane performed her spinning song she learned from Norman, and we met Sgioba Luaidh properly at last! You can watch Frances giving an introduction to the waulking tradition on
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kb_EVaRWXE
and as snippet of the cheerful energetic singers on http://uk.y outube.com/watch?v=Oz8HO8gfBhY. Some of the young African men thought the song and rhythm was perfect for to do break dancing to it! Well there would be meat for a future project? !

More pictures can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/BridgesProgrammesStakeholderEvent#

The next day, back at Galgeal, the German girls were enjoying themselves with the woolcraft, and would like to felted hats!
So, Anneruth was sourcing a firm foam roll to serve as a base for shaping a hat via needlefelting, which Luis the potter sawed into an oval shape. He also prepared to create hat moulds via plaster pouring for the perfectly measured German heads.

Today on Friday, Laryna and others met for the usual group, with Jackie deciding she will embark on felting one or more pairs of mittens made from Hebridean wool, and got started with stage one: teasing the Hebridean wool. Katie from Berlin also got down to teasing wool for the hats, and thus partaking in the full wool craft process = from fleece to fabric.

Phew - this was a very busy week!

wool craft log week ending 22nd August + more fun in the woods!

2008-08-24T05:38:00.013+01:00

On Wednesday Laryna and Sarah-Jane practised the Gaelic spinning song this week, especially in preparation for our day out and for the Bridges Programmes AGM next week.

Flora and Anneruth had a very small group of 2 only at the Plantations Productions. The decision was made today to go ahead with the Round Portal Felt-piece imitating natural stones, and we made a beginnng by felting the sheets which will be cut to provide the stone slabs for the Portal. See first piece below:

At Galgael, the 3 German girls, Katty, Melanie and Patricia, who are part of an exchange project Berlin-Galgael, got very enthused at the many woolcraft projects sights in the Bothy and are keen to try their hands on woolcraft anytime during their stay the next couple of weeks.

So they can be seen (above) making a flat sheet felt piece for the round Portal felt, a piece of felt which is to imitate the stones for the inner arch.
The girls learned fast and did a second one by themselves more or less... with Lynsey keeping an eye on it all too.

On Friday, after a wee gathering in the bothy, admiring the 2 cones of wool Helen got for us and discussing what we could do with it (see above), it was our big day out: the Nurturing day in Pollok Freestate. Gehan, Issy and Heather were - naturally - part of the party. There was bring and share herbs - which is a vey old tradition: women would gather in the month of August and early September to collect herbs and share herbal lore for the benefit of the whole community.
We had lots of homemade good food and fun to share, such making a fire and singing - and practising singing Gaelic in that.

It was so good to hear Gehan share of how Colin started here in 1997, as a local man, concerned about the local woods and lands, given over to the motorway; and how the protest camp developed into a true community, where the roots of the Galgael lie, including the cradle and playground of the kids, such as Heather's Arran (can you see her above, all shy :-) and Gehan's threesome who were in school though, this sunny afternoon. Shame - Oran would just have loved to make a fire again! It took us a wee while, but we managed, and went home all wonderfully smelling of wood smoke.

woolcraft log week ending 15 August

2008-08-15T04:32:00.006+01:00

Anneruth made a sun, moon and stars wall-hanging mobile style: sculptured felt and plantdyed wool. The stars, flat felt and cut, birch leaves and silk; moon with birch leaves and sun with onion skin dyed wool. Presently it hangs at the Portal and serves as a demonstration to the feltmaking project folks there. This week they were 3 folks there further intrigued with the craft: 2 did sculptural felting with Anneruth, and one did a wet felt picture under the 4 element theme. The class this week there also included the brainstorming session for the planned wall hanging on the theme of 'wholeness'.

On Wednesdays also: Learning a Gaelic spinning song with Norman Maclean continues at Galgael. You can watch a teeny weeny glimpse of him on our spot on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/woolcraftatgalgael

On Thursday Eileen made another attempt on planning a weaving on the frameloom, but then decided that wool craft was not necessarily something she wanted to learn. She had very much enjoyed the Galgael company and we hers, so we shall miss her very much. Good luck, Eileen, to you finding a good job really soon (touch wood!), and come and visit us again sometime soon, too :-)

Anneruth made another attempt in tidying up the bothy again, but there is just too much stuff now for the small place, and the real tidy up thing has to wait till Marie, Rab and Alan will have made the shelves for Martin's desk and our one spare wall, and may be even painted the place up a bit.

On Friday Laryna sorted and plied more of the handspun wool (the various practise balls). Anna picked up the knitting needles again, and finds she can still knit and is now looking for nice coloured wool to try her hands on a baby blanket. Lynsay made more progress on her fine weaving project, too.

woolcraft log week ending 8th August

2008-08-08T01:40:00.001+01:00

The week started on Monday with Sarah-Jane dyeing with 'crottal', lichen grown on rocks. Laura had collected this precious handful of lichen 2 years ago in the Northwest of Scotland. It takes hundreds of years to grow crottal, which was customary used by the weavers of the Highlands and Islands to dye the wool for the tweed. Sarah dyed the wool in the traditional way: alternating the layers of wool and lichen in the dyepot. It yielded a gorgeous reddish gold (picture still to be taken), and has the mossy scent characteristic for lichen dyed wool. It also softens the wool, especially as one does not stir it.
The wool dyed with sorrel last week had become quite hard, possibly due to stirring too much?

Wednesday morning Anneruth picked up the felting gear from Naomi, plus the loan of Emma's electric keyboard to help us with learning the Gaalic songs with Norman at noon, which was another treat, esp to hear Sarah-Jane's fine voice taking hold of the tune and words. Laryna returned from her stay with friends in Germany and was warmly welcomed by the Galgael guys and girls, bringing it home to her that she has got a home here now :-)

Flora and Anneruth had difficulty leaving Galgael for the workshop at the Portal, as Flora got roped in to appear in Sunny Govan radio this evening, as part of their ongoing Galgael slot, to talk about the woolcraft group...!

At the Portal then, setting up for the first proper workshop of the programme there, we found our participants numbers having more than doubled. Flora felted round a stone with the 3 who had been along last week, and the new four participants dived into sculptural needle felting a ball with Anneruth.

On Friday

Laryna plyed the grey North Ronaldsay and the Texel Cross wool spun on the Riverfest. It yielded 2 skeins and each skein can now become a knitting craft item such as a wrist warmer or a hat. Also there is still more of both wools, so if anyone wants to spin it finely as it was spun so far – go ahead, ladies!

Mary brought a new tool to make cords with, the Lucet, and tried it out: It looks a promising little thing, to make cords with, and also a device which Galgael wood work folks could make in wood? Esp as it has been used from Viking times to the Victorian times (http://www.thelucet.co.uk/index.htm)

Sarah-Jane and Eileen washed a whole Blackface fleece from Gravir – to be made ready for the next woven rug.

And lo and behold, straight from Gravir, Colin's father was here and admired the 2 rugs woven so far from his flock. Do we want more fleeces again this year?

A friend of Marie showed interest in the rugs, and might order one in a darker colour scheme?

Sarah-Jane and Laryna practised singing the Gaelic spinning songs we have begun to learn, whilst being at the wheel and at the drop spindle which Sarah-Jane is now beginning to master as well. She might even make her own spindle with some help of our wood turner friends at Galgael....:-) !

wool craft log week ending 2nd August

2008-08-07T18:23:00.014+01:00

This week was one the busiest ever - and there has been little time to take photos or write things up. So here is therefore only a brief summary of all in one.

The week kind of started with Anneruth and friends on the East-coast of Scotland collecting dye-plants (sorrel from the Pentlands and yarrow from the Bamburgh coast), as well stocking up on fairy wool via another visit to Moondance Wools near Eyemouth.

On Wednesday the 30th of July the feltmaking workshops at Plantation Productions, Govan, kicked off with the Taster session facilitated by Flora and Anneruth, alongside other craft acitivities in the large room at the Portal in Govan Road, as part of the launch of an Art in Mental Health Project. Everybody marvelled at the colours and the feel of the wool and the display felts, and the four woman who dared to dig in with soap and needles were enthused by the felting fun.

Here is the first dry felting practise work of four of the students: based on the theme wholeness and the four elements .
It is great fun to teach folks who are so keen!

On Thursday Eileen and Anneruth worked out how to mordant 500g of Blackface loose wool and how to operate as dyers in the main workshop - quite an adventure, with the gas zylnder fired dyepot, and long ways to lag the water to and fro.

It was so great to see Luis and Eugene, 2 Galgael wood, clay and iron work volunteers, being so fascinated by the plant dye process and especially by preparing the dye plants. All sharesd this experience: how much the smell of the plants reminded them of childhood in the countryside! Eileen and Anneruth would not have managed all that work of separating seeds from stem (sorrel) and bundling (yarrow) without their help.

The next day, Friday, Eileen and Sarah-Jane then put a third of the mordanted wool through the dyebath of the sorrel seeds, carefully trying to time the temperature of wool and dyebath. This is the fawn colours the sorrel seed dye yielded, the darker one being the one left longer in the dye:

Meanwhile Mary and Lynsey lovingly packed dozens of bags of coloured wool for the Pollok Family Day event, some with the sticks for bead felting, some just with loose wool.
They were accompanied by Sarah-Jane, Eileen, Verene and Anneruth trying to learn Gaelic spinning songs and woolcraft terms from famous Norman Maclean. What a treat to have the 'real thing' - a man from the Hebridees, to teach the gab! VERY difficult, though! Will take lots and lots of practising!

Whilst Sarah-Jane and Eileen hang up the dye plants behind the big loom in the foyer and in the sail loft, Anneruth and Lynsey went forth to find the place in Pollok Park they were supposed to do the felting with kids the next day at the Family Fun day. Upon return the car got loaded with the gear and taken to the activity centre at the Pollok stables, near which the site of action was. Anneruth then still had to do the signage, heading for a late night.

Next morning, Saturday 2nd August, around 8am, two bleary eyed folks (Lynsey and Anneruth) unpacked the gear under constant showers into a slightly flooded gazebo! The day ahead seemed very daunting! So little space and so wet! But thanks to the help of our host and neighbours, Woodland Workers, our own inventiveness (in sheltering the tables from the rain with tartan plastic) and above all for the breaking through of the sun :-) .... we felt soon ready for the crowds with our colourful display and various felt and weaving crafts to do.

Naomi came, too, and with her, it seemed, the crowds. We were kept very busy and the kids and parents loved the felting and weaving. See and read more of that on http://picasaweb.google.com/woolcraft.atgalgael/AtThePollokFamilyFunDay

The day and one of the busiest of woolcraftyatgalgael weeks ended beautifully in Naomi's garden with a lovely meal she had cooked for us and her family, and with lively entertainment provided by our new Galgael angel, 6 year old Emma. Thankfully, Naomi was also able to offer to store the felting gear until next week... !

This week was very confirming of the strength and purpose which our woolcraft team has reached: people are ready to follow their own initiatives, to do things and to learn things, - there is a real demand both for goods to sell and for teaching and demos to deliver, - and there is supportive community of women, catching up on the rich Galgael lore ("how did it start? who is who? what is the community magic we all feel about?") and taking leads for projects.

The more learning and giving there is, the more abundance there is and the more there is to learn and to earn....

In many ways this week was a true 'Lammas' festival, by default: celebrating hard work and good skills, first harvests and making plans for the fruits of our labour ...

woolcraft log 25-7-08

2008-07-25T17:52:00.001+01:00

Quiet day at Galgael today with many folks on Holidays, but the bothy was buzzing with the wool crafters :-)

The only one who did not make it today, apart from Laryna who is on Holiday, were Naomi (and she had been to and fro here during the week to take things out of the boxes from the Riverfest), Hazel and Sarah (have not seen her for ages - hope she is all right?)

Apart from tidying up and welcome Kentucky fried chick Sarah-Jane back (she did get a lot of sun over in Kentucky!) the 3 main tones of today were:

how can we make our wee Bothy a more practical and beautiful place?
getting things ready for the felting projects next week
sorting Verene's beautiful longwool crossbreed fleece from the Woolfest

The latter was done by Verene and Sarah-Jane in the sun in the yard, whilst the Ian and the guys cooked a barbeque.

Flora, Anneruth and Linsey got the wool, display and felting tools for next week together,

whilst Anna and Eileen brainstormed ideas for the beautification of the bothy, and drawing also Martin in who holds his office here, too: better lights (clip on ones from Ikea?), more upper level shelves, reshuffling tables... Next week when more of the Galgael folks are back we all would like to get cracking!

Everybody got roped in to tidy things up, especially under the tables, and we expanded our wool and rags material storage to Verene's loft! Mary did the laboursome business of unwinding all the handspun yarns from the spinning wheel bobbins into balls. Some of it will be great knitting wool!

Speaking of winding wool off: at the end of the day Sarah-Jane found some time to at last pick up the spinning wheel again and prove to herself that she has not forgotten to spin, and - at long long last she had enough wool to learn how to spin and how to wind it into a skein on the niddy noddy, and here she is with her first skein!

Next stage, after washing it, will be dyeing it! It seems that Eileen and her are now set to explore what seasonal plants can be harvested and used.

One other happy face to show you: Ian's! He has been gifted by us the small Hebridean fleece rug for his support to the woolcraft group. He plans to take it on the voyaging boat trip to Iona - where the sheep that grew and gave it is still grazing!

Woolcraft at Galgael at the Glasgow River Festival

2008-07-19T21:54:00.006+01:00

whilst we write up the notes, check this:

http://picasaweb.google.com/woolcraft.atgalgael/WoolcraftAtGalgaelAtTheGlasgowRiverFestival/
our photo album

and a wee video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c03vqn0ECfo

we found also this: h ttp://www.nowpublic.com/culture/glasgow-river-festival
Thanks coal2k for a picture of Sunday's main attraction: Mary at the wheel

The Galgael were as always the best show on the fair - everybody agrees on that!
The 9 wool crafters women took their turns over Saturday and Sunday and it was great to talk to people, make contacts, kindle interest, and get new ideas for kids crafts and wool crafts.
What sold most were of course the small wee things, such as the felted bracelet. We did not selll any of the rugs as we had hoped - but then this is maybe not the kind of scene where people want to spent that kind of money, esp in our current credit crunch climate. The more important it would be to get people to spin their own wool and make their own clothes, weaving or knitting? Knitting wool for sure was not being sold - so we need to find better ways of 'educating' the public, as one team member put it.

Making your own rag rugs - when Flora brought hers on Sunday - seemed to jog the older people's memories and the younger ones got interested, too, as it means recycling and make new out of old.

The definite crowd pleaser was the spinning demos. Surely every visitor who went with a camera through the tent must have one or more pictures of Mary or Laryna (or one of the other girls) spinning the ancient tune. And indeed, like tune it seemed - that action of the wheel turning, and the fluff transforming into thin thread: people of all ages stood transfixed and like hypnotised as they watched and listened as the wheel turned...

The other popular action was kiddies crafts: be it making felt balls or weaving bracelets on cardboard or having a go on a one of the little looms, or the big frame - again this ancient movement of fingers and threads on looms, and the creating of some semblance of a cloth, reaches very deep in everyones soul, regardless of age, race or gender!

Next year we must have a full length strip on the big frame loom again: as this is most popular with the kids, because - not only in actual fact is it easier than the little frames, but it just feels also so much more 'real' on the upright frame!

As said before: Hazel's bracelets sold well - but even more so sold her cards which she had to cramp in at the wool craft stall on Saturday, as there was no other space in the tent. On Sunday she had more space than to herself. It was a great encouragement for her!

Laryna's mobiles went, too, but more because the customers were connected with German crafts, where these things are more custom. Again: do we need to educate folks? How can people feel that a mobile out of fine light colourful wool is so much more heartwarming for young and old than anything plastic? As the mobiles are a little bit of work they can not be sold too cheaply (Laryna reduced them already from £12 to £8), the best route is really this: workshops for the mothers so they can make them themsleves!

We hope that we will get some commissions for workshops and demos out of our presence at the River Festival. And maybe even a few more craft-skilled women to take turns in delivering them as a pride for Galgael community and for themselves?

Next on our agenda, and in preparation also for next years Riverfest is teaming up with the Gaelic Waulking Song group and have a bash at proper waulking the cloth in ture Gaelic style!

Before that... making more of the little things that people can afford to buy, including the also popular bead craft-kits,........ and advertising our bigger products, such as the rugs and handspun knitting wool?

countdown to Riverfest

2008-07-18T21:24:00.001+01:00

Thursday the 17th was spent by Anneruth and Hazel with making up a flyer, writing labels, and making a few small felt-ball bracelets. Galgael istelf was bursting in the seems with action but still there was Eugene, a Galgael volunteer, who was free for an hour to help with beaming up (= putting the warp) on the big frame, another 50cm width, with every second pair of dents strung. Lynsey came in, too, and prepared more wool for the next rug, learning also how to card on the drumcarder, as well finishing off the little woven bag. Anneruth's job was then to finish spinning, plying and washing the brown Jacob-Shetland cross knitting wool, as well as plying the red wool for her weaving demo on the rigid heddle loom.

Friday 18 th, - the day of emptying the workshop and setting up a woolcraft residency in Riverfest Marquee:
A flurry of activities - balancing things across wood work packages ready to go, as well as puppies tied to a moving bench and trying to get to a working PC and printer to finish off the flyer- who was there from the woolcrafters anyway? Well, Flora, Anna, Anneruth, Laryna, Lynsey, Hazel. Hard to remember now who did what. May be it suffices to say that inspite of the rain and the marquee not being ready as planned by midafternoon, we managed, with an extra evening shift to set up residency almost complete by 8pm. It was incredible how many baskets and things great and small came together, for our sale, displays, demos, and kids activties,.... and that we got 3 tables after all, in what turned out to be a very cramped full marquee again.

Riverfest fever: preps day + much more!

2008-07-16T21:28:00.006+01:00

Riverfest fever filled the bothy today... a Wednesday afternoon!

Sorry, no camera at hand so your imagination will have to fill in the gaps :-)

Naomi brought in not just one but 2 crochet hats from the single ply chunky spun Jacobswool. One larger 'garden one' (done with the big wooden crochet hook with the small hook!) and one with a smaller size hook. The heads of all present had to sport them - and clearly Eileen's head stole the show! But the hats are already sold at material cost, the handspun wool, to Naomi herself! But we will still display them at the Riverfest with sign 'sold' on them.

Anneruth and Flora refreshed themselves on how to flat felt. But Anneruth (typical!) never had time to finish hers! Flora did a nice wee piece that looked like a sea scape.

Hazel came in with a felted bead bracelet she made and embarked on needle felting a 'what's it' (sheep?) as well as showing Lynsey how to wet and needle felt round and long beads, and needlefelt a 'what's it' (mouse?), and then doing another bracelet.

Lynsey had finished stringing the little loom, which proved to have a 'what's it' of a different sort: the little heddle-plate would not fit into the gap it was made for ! Nevermind, one can operate it by pushing it up and down with one hand whilst operating the shuttle with the other. She took it back home again for experimenting with yarns to get a good weave set out of it.

Mary was not only plowing her way through the whole basket of white Texel-Cross, but also phantastically brushed the Hebridean fleece, the small half one we felted ages ago, to get it ready for a possibe sale on the weekend.
Good that Mary brought her handcarders in! Has anyone seen the red tube bag with Anneruth's carders and the Merino rainbow wool in it? :-(

Eileen did a great job first of cleaning the drum carder from the Blackface Kemp, and then tackled the Texel on it - it is a nobbly kind of wool and kind of refuses to get streamlined! It is good to have a few batts now to get us started on the weekend, with the rest probably getting hand carded by Mary on Sunday.

Anneruth had set up (at home) her rigid heddle loom with the red woolen mill yarn as warp, in a loose weave, as the little loom is struggling with its warp beam comig out of the glued joint at the wheel plate. Weft same as warp, it is an experiment now for a shawl, where the woven cloth is going and brushed. Let's see what will come of it!
She also brought back the washed Blackface first rug. Still damp - as the thickness of the wool takes ages to dry (that was it for 2 days outside in the wind!). It will not be sold, esp as it has many imperfections (the edges are not neat and it is not evenly woven with so many hands having been invloved on it), but used for further experimenting with, such as needlefelting a Celtic knot onto it.

Naomi took the finishing off of the woven little pouches on, which proved (as these things) more tricky than thought at first sight. Handspuns and chunky wovens are just so different to handle from factory fibre or fabric and make the finishing off part of a product a little more challenging. But with Mary leading the cord making it is heading into the right direction, and Naomi again taking homework away with her :-)

The Riverfest Rota is looking good now with everyone putting in a shift or two, before and after and on the days. Now we must keep our fingers crossed that we are getting the space we need to do the various demos and kidscrafts. It would be good if we could take the drumcarder safely with us, too! It is such an important piece of the wool processing!

Still so much more to do, though: stringing the big frame; making the labels, carding wool for the weaving demo on the big frame, plying more red wool for the weaving on the rigid heddle loom..

Which reminds me: Davey and Jack made these long shuttles for it - and are now waiting for a Blackforest Gateaux as a reward!

Then there were two more happenings today:

Four staff from the Bridges Programmes Project came to link up with us again after we had met two of the senior staff, Zuki and Elio, at the Reschuffle in May in the PI. They are working with Refugees to help them find jobs. (See their website for more details.) We talked about possibilites how we could be involved together in projects, esp with women and with youths. Some good ideas were passed round - so watch this space to see what transpires over the next year or so! First step: for us woolcrafters to have a stall at their AGM/Stakeholder event end of August in the PI. Wider vision: partnering in our 'The Unbroken Thread' idea, with using traditional song and dance to make a craft-sharing session a real must to go to! More leads for funding to be explored (especially for that portable foot pedal loom!) as well as seeing whether Galgael can manage to open their doors on a Thursday eve, as nothing is more inspiring to be in here.

In the evening Flora and Anneruth met in Aziza's (shame Laryna was off duty by then!) to discuss the Plantation Felting project. We are ready for the taster session, and have also the framework for the 8 weeks sessions. The finer details of the 8 weeks will be set once we know who signs up on or after the Taster day on the 30 July.

Woolcraft log 11-7-08

2008-07-11T19:09:00.012+01:00

Full bothy today again! We are real miracle workers to fit all and everything into that tiny space!
Luckily people came at different times over the day: Anneruth, Eileen, Flora, Hazel, Laryna, Linsey, Mary, Naomi.

The last one first:
Hazel came in just before shop closing and took commission for some felted items as demo for Plantation Project. Hopefully she will be enthused to join in at The Portal and will be enthusing folks there.

Lynsey, a community art worker with experience in weaving, made it along today ("at last", she said, "been meaning got come for ages ever since I saw this exciting bothy - there is nothng like that in Glasgow!") and went hood line and sinker for weaving action: threading up the little loom Nori gave us....

Meanwhile Eileen continued weaving her choice of green weft on the frame, learning successfull how to make a weft facxed weave.
Both processes - threading a little loom frame and weaving on it - are actually quite tricky and taxing and take a lot of practise and training of the small hand muscles before it comes with ease... And, above all: yes, the weaving processes all in all are VERY SLOW processes.
Even professional and long experienced weaver Laryna, when today at last seeng the finished rug laying on the floor - sighed deeply: 'So small - and it took so long.'

YES, the ca 1 meter long and 50 cm wide beauty with those fabulously neat edges got cut off the frame today (see picture on top of blog and on our July album) at long last! Down came with it also the small (50cm long) but thicker rug that got started by Anneruth last year and woven on by several people learning. It did not reach perfection as the beginning is slightly wider than the end - but it is a good examply of a chunky rug. They got both tied off by Laryna (deciding together with us it should only have two rows of orangey end threads) and taken home for washing.

Taking about washing: Anneruth had washed 4 lots of wool over the week at home (as drying wool in the garden is still the best in summer) : the gorgeous grey-blend North Ronaldsy from the Woolfest (for fine spinning and fine felts), a whole Blackface from her 2007 Pentland lot (for rug weaving) as well as some Blackface-Texel (for spinning demos), and some of the moorit Shetland-Jacob from Kilmichael Glassary.

Under the pressure of the River Fest approaching next week, and the rug getting finished, Naomi slaved away at the newly regained drum carder, and Mary prepared the Texel-cross wool for spinning demo.
Anneruth tried to keep her head together and making sense of her lists of rota and to-dos for next week, Riverfest as well as planning felting practise sessions with Flora, as well as not loosing it over the Bothy PC simply not going online....
Well, all in all, it was avery busy day, ahead of the VERY busy week next week..
=>

GLASGOW RIVER FESTIVAL is a big event for the whole of Galgael to go to every year. You can see our all input on a photoalbum of the 2006. When the River Festival got launched around the turn of the Millenium, the Orcuan was top feat. Looking at this year's website of the Festival it looks ever bigger and every more fun fare - BUT: very unlike every other year: the Galgael are not mentioned! Strange, given that the pay Galgael is getting to 'put on their show' as well as set up general stuff on the ground has not gone up and that they get asked ever more to do...
Real craft is still not quite valued in the fast race....
lets see what we meet this time next week..
see you there...

planning a felting project with Plantation at The Portal

2008-07-04T18:28:00.004+01:00

Galgael was asked by Plantation Productions in Govan whether we could facilitate a 2 month felting project as part of their mental health community network art project. Laryna and Anneruth went along to meet Angela at The Portal in 978 Govan Road to see the venue and discuss requirements.

It is a new project for Plantation Productions, and will be part of preparing for an exhibition at the beginning October, sourcing the material from 4 art projects: filming, animation, ceramics and felting.

We also the ceramic studio next door, called Deepfired and owned and run by Julia. It feels great to have a real craft workshop there right in the centre of Govan...

We have accepted the commission and are now getting our heads together to plan the project which will be launched on the 'taster session day', Wednesday the 30th June with a two hour introduction to felting which is to enthuse participants to sign up for the 8 weeks course starting on the 4th of August.

Gathering ideas, Anneruth was very pleased to be able to visit later on at home the Penicuik art in health group (remember the felting exhibition from May?) and see how they work their felting project. She learned that the brilliant big banners there ( see this and this) were done by one woman over the period of several months with just a few hours per week, mainly through needle felting upon a prepared wet felted basis.
It was good to see how quickly the women there had taken to needlefelting and learn about the foam cushion (see the pictures here) ! Anneruth went straight to Dunelm to get one for the taster session at Plantation!

Woolcraft log 3-7-08

2008-07-03T19:05:00.009+01:00

This week Galgael is closed on the Friday, and with most woolcrafters away on holidays anyway, it was not too bad to have to cancel at very short notice.
As Laryna's day off work was Thursday this week, it was just as well that Anneruth and Eileen came as well to catch with loose ends and from the trip to the Woolfest last weekend.

Anneruth had finished weaving 2 test pieces on the wool-warped little weaving frame:

one with grey milling wool as well as handspun Jacob, and one with a mixture of 2-ply milling wool, exploring patterns possible in this tabby weave. The outcome of the 'set' (the relationship between warp and weft, as it sets) was especially for the handspun wool fairly 'see-through'. Each strip had a brought and a narrow end, due to the non-conformed spread of the weft: more weft length in a shed => weftfaced set; less weft length in the shed => warp showing. Anneruth did not like the outcome of her long efforts of that weave, nor did Laryna!
But, Eileen was keen to practise a bit of 'waulking the cloth' with this strip, and gave it a good hour or so of fine fulling on the donated glass washboard (sorry, no pics of that feat!) with a precious handmade plant soap.
The outcome was phantastic: a soft and fragrant piece of woven material, where the gaps had closed and even any uneven edges had been nudged away. It shrunk by 10%, though!

You can also see Eileen getting down straight away to starting a new piece on the little frame loom - her first weaving experience!

Laryna and Anneruth meanwhile calculated the next warp for Anneruth's rigid heddle loom on the 50/10cm reed. And Laryna came up with the great idea to use a pegloom as rattle (a spacer for the threads as they get beamed onto the warp beam)! She also mobilised Davey in the workshop to cut some flat sticks to be used as warp sticks (stciks put in the warp whilst beaming it up, to stabilise the threads on the beam). Anneruth took them away for sanding and - as the weather was nice, she used the lovely eve at home to set up the warping pecks on the garden table to make a woolwarp (with the red effect millen wool plied x 2) - as well as getting the chimnea going to take away the chill.

Slowly but surely, step by step, we get the equipment needed for the complex art and craft of weaving together - esp as much of it is woodwork...

Later on that weekend Anneruth's friend Stephanie came round to help with the beaming up - just as she helped with the first warp on that little rigid heddle loom, the narrow silk warp.

The camera was not always at hand for much of the various stages of this week's wool actio, but you can visit our July Album for some shots of the goings-on.
Oh, and one the things you will not see a picture of, but which was what Laryna did devotely otherwise all day: teasing more white wool for her rug as some other Galgaelians were out and about with the drum carder!

Woolfest 2008

2008-06-28T20:54:00.019+01:00

3 members of the woolcraft group, Anneruth, Eileen and Verene, made it this year to the Woolfest in Cumbria. It was an early start and a late finish of the day, and it was worth every ounce of it and it was still not enough time to take in all the wonders of Woolfest.
Check their website (http://www.woolfest.co.uk/ for full details about this unique Festival of Fibres and its fans.
We felt so lucky that it is within a one-day-return-trip driving distance of Glasgow!

The gist of our experience:
wonderful hands-on down-to earth people with a creative vision and a re-generative mission, especially those who have farms or small holdings with animals. The warmth and wonder of people and their projects on show or on sale was truly astounding.

Our highlights of the day

The 'Big Bash' workshop

Experiencing and learning traditional Gaelic Waulking Songs with Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh, the Gaelic Waulking Song Group. Sitting round a long table with a dozen or more women - first observing this old practise of fulling the finished woven Tweed cloth and then learning about its history and practise, before getting a bash at bashing the cloth. Dry, of course, not wet in amoniac as it ought to be! Please go and read about the practise and the group on their website. You can also hear and see a few snippets of the workshop from today on our own youtube channel.

The women of Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh have a most refreshing down to earth way of introducing , teaching and performing. And the costumes of pinnies and scarves, and sackcloth decor makes it even more looking authentic, esp when they tell about actually having shrunk a cloth in Auchindrain. The rhythm is hypnotic and healing. That the words of the song lines are the usual blurbs of romance and robbery, doom and gloom, doesn't matter as the refrain to them sung by the group are rhythm sounds. The 4 beat 'bashing' and sunwise circling of the cloth is transforming all. What a great way to connect with other women and with one's work! Me wonders: how about writing song-text which is telling present day dramas and stories...?

Been asked whether they would like to connect up with Galgael in general (other work-songs! boat songs esp.) and with us (woolcraft) in particular: Sgioba would love to :-). Now I can't wait for this to develop...

Egyptian Landscape: tapestry from the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre

Talk by Hilary Weir, OBE, chairwoman of he Exhibition Trust gave an in-depth talk with slides on the second generation, relating to us the unique story of this most remarkable art and craft project in Egypt. Again, you go best to their website to learn more about a project that brings to life true community and art in craft.
Here is a quote by the inspirational founder of this community of weavers, spinners and dyers, who all get paid regardless as to whether their tapestries get sold or not:

"I had this vague conviction that every human being was born an artist, but that his or her gifts could be brought out only if artistic activity was encouraged from early childhood by way of practising a craft... The creative energy of the average person is being sapped by a conformist system of education and the extension of industrial technology to every sphere of modern life."

It was a priviledge to touch and feel these intricate tapestries - cotton or wool - and it would have been eeven more of a priviledge to be able to buy one...

More tapestries can be seen on our Woolfest 2008 photoalbum, along with many more pictures we took at Woolfest of the wonders we found there. Why not take the slide show now?

Now, how to choose more highlights from this basket of plenty?
The animals! The real stars! On whose backs and bones grows that wonderous fibre called wool. Be that now sheep or goat, alpaca or yak. Well, the latter we did not see. but we learned more about rare breeds again, and their keepers and guardians.

Here are the curious looking freshly shorn alpacas, and the also curious looking local sheep, the characteristic Lakeland Herdwick. We met a wonderful woman who owns 600 or them and who showed us how to spin thick junky rug wool on a small (= normal) wheel and bobbin, and how to make firm rugs out of it then on peglooms, and as well as soft cushions.

Whilst Verene took a liking to the bold Herdwick (having a go at spinning the wool) inspite of learning about French Merino earlier on, Anneruth fell in love with the delicate North Ronaldsy (and could not resist buying the last fleece!). Both breeds are just so right for the land they belong to - the latter to the Orkney Isles.

Then both of us got carried away buying yet another fleece in the fleece auction: a beautfiul white medium stapled cross breed. What were the names of the breeds again?

We hopefully made a contact for John Maclean from Iona who is looking for a weaver who could weave somethng stylish from his Hebrideans.

Eileen's second day with the woolcraft group, and what a day she has had... check the photoalbum to meet 'Josephine' and her family, a new friend she came away with from the day

.......... to be continued..........

................................................

woolcraft log 27-6-08

2008-06-27T21:46:00.001+01:00

Who was here today?
Anna, Anneruth, Eileen, Laryna, Naomi, Sarah, Verene. Later in the afternoon also Hazel come along again.

Today we welcomed Eileen from Paisley, who got started with wool fibre handling and carding.

Naomi had a new idea for the strap for the book cover: crocheted! And it worked! Elastic and firm with double woolen mill yarn:

Sarah came with one or two dozen blue knitted squares and Naomi showed her how to cast off.

Anna came with her two joined-up pegloom weavings as planned: shrunk and slightly felted in the wash, as planned. She was so pleased with it she wants to buy it - once Laryna has shown her how to put tassels on - which was another finishing off project for today.

Whilst Naomi did the strap crocheting Verene explored and demonstrated how to make the felt balls Naomi wanted to make since she joined up with us in the PI event.
Laryna progressed further on the rug, which now got pulled round the frame again, and looks like aiming for over a meter soon.

Anneruth brought 3 new Blackface yearling fleeces, freshly clipped at the Pentland farm on Midsummers day. She had gotten 6 fleeces - 3 for Heather in Edinburgh and 3 for herself and Galgael. Last Monday Heather and her had been sorting and 'skirting' them in the sunshine, that means to remove the very dirty bits:

There was no time today to bag the fleeces properly, as a lot of time was taken up by other business, including planning the trip to the Woolfest tomorrow. We very pleased that Eileen wanted to join Verene and Anneruth in this once a year 'outing'. Others would have oiked to come but for various reasons had to sigh and say: 'Next year'..

Hazel came by later in the afternoon, and started to look at crocheting or knitting a hat out of the single chunky Jacob thread, to be ready in time for the River fest.

(remember to check here for more photos)

woolcraft log 22-6-08

2008-06-22T22:07:00.011+01:00

Today we were:
Flora, Naomi, Laryna, Mary, Anneruth and Verene

Remember the Hebridean felt-piece as base for the Barmaddy comments book cover?
It is now been needlefelted upon:

and we were brainstorming as to how it best can be fastened upon the book and still stay the rough and ready look that has been requested. Mary showed us a beautiful way of making a spiralling cord (using various warping threads) on a piece of cardboard:

or it would look prettier than simply elastics?

Flora finished off the double knotting of the little sunrise wallhanging (and now Anneruth needs to find a nice stick for the hanging), and then joined Laryna and Naomi with the neverending teasing and carding of white washed wool for the rug weaving.

Verene and Anneruth went into the wood workshop to make some 'cross sticks' for warping of one of the little school weaving frames, and then Laryna and Anneruth set up the loom with a 2m woollen warp (50 threads width to ca 20cm).

This little weaving project should provide opportunites for folks to weave little purses with different wools (such as the ones we got given from the woollen mills as well as our handspun), which could also be wet-felted later and/or needlefelted upon.

(remember: more pics in the June Album)