It’s raining…. it’s pouring…..

The weather forecast for today is showers. Light here, but heavier further north. Watching the broadcast this morning I could see a cloud that hung heavily over the Chilterns.

The area around the Chilterns is beautiful, and that’s where I’m heading later today – to teach at Missenden Abbey. I’ve seen some beautiful weather at Missenden – glorious sunshine, beautiful views too, of course, however, each time I have had to unload my teaching ‘stuff’ from the car I have had to do it in pouring rain! It would appear that this weekend will be no exception. So, while you are basking in sunshine elsewhere, please spare me a thought!

However hard the rain falls, though, the sun will be shining in the class as we colour our fabrics with various shades of yellow – and other colours too. I’m really excited as I love teaching dyeing. We will definitely be having fun, but also learning something too. That’s the thing about dyeing….. it’s a continual learning process for everyone. Here’s a sneak preview of something they will see.

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This won’t mean a lot – and they aren’t the colours we will be dyeing – but this sequence illustrates a very useful point. It just represents one of the aspects of the course. With permission I will show you some photographs after the weekend.

It’s true to say, however, that every cloud has a silver lining. This weekend will be no different! I have just discovered that Eurovision is being broadcast tomorrow. I won’t have to make an excuse to avoid it! Hooray!

Playing with dyes

Dyeing is a serious business. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. Observations of health and safety can easily be incorporated into most techniques, and of those (techniques) there are many. I love teaching people to dye. The exciting thing is that given the same dyes and the same instructions each person will produce their own individual results. I have taught it for many years, but this year I am only teaching it once – at Missenden Abbey over the second weekend of May.

What will we be doing? Well I have plans to cover several techniques, and we will be using a variety of different types of dye. I know it will be a fun session, though. Want to join us? The information is here. The class is very nearly full, so you had better be quick! Last time I taught a similar class we ran out of drying space and had to use what we could find

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