My fantastic time at Armley Mills as artist in residence

I have recently spent a fantastic week as artist in residence at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills. When I first visited the museum with the IFA in April 2017 I did not think that I would enjoy the luxury of a week in the museum , dyeing and felting. How lucky I have been.                 Armley Mills , was once the world’s biggest woolen mill.  It is therefore a very appropriate venue for an artist in residence with a  love of wool and a passion for felting with naturally dyed materials. I am fascinated by most machines, but especially those which process wool.  My felt pictures using commercially dyed wool inspired by the machines are in the current exhibition at Armley Mills. As artist in residence, I wanted to take this work further. But also limit myself to using naturally dyed wool fibres. A…

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How to felt a Hebridean vegetarian fleece rug

First question what is a vegetarian fleece rug ?  Its like a sheepskin rug, but has been made from the fleece of the sheep  by felting and the sheep lives to eat some more grass.  Whether using animal products at all is acceptable to vegetarians is of course questionable. My friend Margaret leant how to felt Gotland fleeces into vegetarian fleece rug at the IFA conference this year in Sweden. Her tutor was Erik Torstenson the ' Man of wool ".  The unwashed rug accompanied us to Copenhagen and dried on our very small hotel balcony.  It looked so lovely I wanted to make one for myself. So when I went to Woolfest , I was looking for a Gotland fleece. However even being there very very early I still could not find one to buy. So I bought a Shetland fleece and a Hebredian Hogg fleece instead. What was a Hogg…

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