Exciting news to share with you this month, including details of an imminent tv appearance (!) and, to celebrate, a special offer for all my newsletter readers!
  
But to begin, an update on what's keeping me busy. My new workshop is a great place to work, with visitors popping in on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I have been sampling quite a few ideas on the loom installed inside, working with my own woollen yarns in new and different ways, as well as weaving a clutch of new silk scarves. As most weavers will know, as soon as you start to weave a host of new ideas pop into your head. A notebook is a handy device to have nearby. In my case that's usually a scrap of paper which I try not to lose!
We are rapidly approaching the time of year when I start to visit local farms to collect fleece. The sheep are being shorn of a year's worth of wool and I will be turning it into yarn and woven products in the coming year. Although it has been a rather wet and blustery summer so far here in the western Yorkshire Dales most farmers are managing to shear on the few dry days. Sorting wet fleece is a messy business so I really appreciate a dry bag.
Here are a few pics of a Bluefaced Leicester tup being sheared:
  
The shearer aims to take the fleece off in one piece, leaving a clean skin on the beast with a nice even cut. The fleece is then rolled and bagged ready for collection. My job is to unroll each one, remove any dirty matted bits and all traces of vegetable and foreign matter (wire, string, etc - it's amazing what you can find in a fleece sometimes!) Once that's completed I will bag up the fleece again and send it to the scourer for cleaning. A haul of 100kg raw greasy wool will yield about 50kg of clean wool. The difference is dirt, grease (lanolin) and moisture, all of which are removed by the scouring process to leave a mountain of fluffy wool ready for the next stage - spinning. You can read more about the process my wool goes through on my website.
Last week I had the opportunity to watch shearing in action when the BBC Countryfile team came to Sedbergh to learn how it's done and find out how a weaver (that's me!) turns locally sourced wool into finished products. I'm far more comfortable behind a camera than in front of one but I really enjoyed the whole day, from watching the film crew in action, to wearing a funny little microphone inside my t-shirt, to reliving those dreaded school drama lessons all over again as the camera-man got the shots he wanted. We visited my workshop in Sedbergh (all spruced up for the occasion!) and spent time discussing the age-old craft of weaving as I worked at my loom.
The programme is scheduled to go out on BBC1, Sunday August 2nd at 7pm.
 
(a view from inside my workshop and the camera-man filming the action!)
To celebrate the BBC coming to town I am offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders placed during the month of August. I have some fabulous new cushions, a Viking-inspired throw, a selection of colourful walking socks and, of course, plenty of scarves! There is also now a special sales section on the website for older stock.
Visit my website to see what's available and order online using the coupon code LLBBC.
2015 EVENTS
I will have a stand at the following events this year:
And don't forget to visit Sedbergh for Sheepfest which this year runs from September 12th to September 20th. Celebrating the town's historical wool links and the Chinese year of the Sheep, it promises to be as much fun as last year. I will be opening my workshop both Saturdays and Wednesdays as usual, from 10am until 3pm on each day.
With best wishes,
Laura
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