From Field to Fashion, Derby Museum of Making

 

I've had it in mind for a while to hop on a train to Derby and visit the Museum of Making which features many, many different items that were made locally from motorbikes to ceramics and the fact that this exhibition was on made it a possibility. Honestly, anything with a sheep in the picture will make me glance twice.

Fortunately the museum is a pleasant walk from the train station with a footpath/cyclepath hugging the River Derwent and even at my slow pace only took twenty minutes or so.

The museum is housed in an old silk mill sat by the side of the river and easy to spot. The mural of Falcons by the entrance was commissioned by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and design and painted by Sarah Yates in 2022

The exhibition is on the third floor with its own shop showcasing local fibre crafts, craft kits, handspun yarn etc.

The exhibits aim to show different uses for wool ranging from clothing to seating along with reusing and recycling. 

I particularly liked the signage at the beginning giving details of the characteristics of different breed and the explanation of words that I use regularly but probably confound many people. There were also several sacks of raw fleece, labelled with the breed, that you could dive you hands into ( and the all important notice also there to wash hands ) along with examples of processed fleece so that you could feel the difference between washed, carded and and combed fibres.

I could happily taken this grey mule fleece home with me, it would soon be on the wheel !

As usual, put accessible fleece near almost anyone and they will instinctively rub it on their cheek to check the softness and a surreptitious glance across the room a couple of times confirmed that this is still the case.

A rainbow of hand dyed yarns by Carrie Warr on Bleatingbecka Derbyshire Gritstone yarn. This is one breed that I have yet to spin, it's on the list in case I spot a fleece being sold.

From the traditional use of fleece to the more obscure, I hadn't envisaged furniture being on display but if you mix fleece and bio resin then this is what happens.

Black and white welsh mountain fleece , chair by Solid Wool and Roger Oates Design.

 

The art of Felting wool was represented by several pieces by Valerie Wartelle which reminded me of a cross between Turner and Monet.

Amongst other exhibits I spotted this community project

and these amazing lightshades by Janie knitted textiles.

All in all , worth a visit and the exhibition is on until 4 October and a quick look at the website shows a number of workshops also relating to fibre and thread. In fact there is one in October on Sashiko embroidery which is tempting me.

The main museum also holds examples of textiles etc so look out for another post from myself soon and I nearly forgot, there is a cafe so I had a coffee and ciabatta, both very good !!

Tour de Fleece day one, 2026

Well, here we are again, I'm thinking about spinning natural coloured fleece that I have prepped myself on the Ashford 3, The World of wool dyed 50gm packs on the Louet Victoria, the dyed fibre from Petes Fibre Studio on the Argonaut and if I happen to need to take a spindle anywhere I will have some Shetland to hand.

I may reassess at some point but I have plenty of bobbins for the Argonaut and the Ashford so I will be able to swap around if needed.

quick update, builders turning up on Monday so replace kitchen ceiling so it looks like I won't be spinning in public quite as much as anticipated!

Also my senior !! bus pass has turned up, not sure if I have to wait until actual retirement date to use it but will try on the bus on Saturday, fingers crossed. Update... it works :-)

Day one

 New T-shirts and empty bobbins, let the games commence.

I was awake early so I had a little practise and spun 100gm Texel quite thick but tested out new brake band etc.

My plan for today was to head into town, grab a coffee then catch a bus over to Wollaton Hall and Deer park as they are holding an open weekend in the walled garden which isn't often open to the public.

Coffee done, off to the garden. I arrived a little early so wandered round with my camera for a few minutes.

There are a few old tree stumps scattered around, the decaying remains revealing interesting patterns.

Once inside the walls I explored the gardens and grabbed a few pics of the flowers before buying a cup of tea and getting my wheel out.

However, once my wheel was out on the table, I had a steady stream of people wanting to ask about it and the spinning, my brief tea break lasted for two hours !

As I made my way from the park I spotted a squirrel and he obviously saw me, ran up the tree and froze. Not a flicker until I passed by,

I'm home now, trying to decide whether to stitch or spin tonight, whichever it is will be revealed in the next post.

Final TDF prep 2026

 Here we are, poised to start spinning on Saturday morning. Most of my bobbins are empty, just one on the Victoria that I need to finish and ply but I will be ready.

My fibre choices are  a little different this year, I have the usual selection of Ryeland, Jacob, texel, Shetland etc all combed and ready to go.

I also have some more commercial fibres ( I know, so not like me ! ) including this selection from world of wool as I couldn't resist the colours. 50gm of each to be spun as a 4ply weight for some fair isle knitting.

I also have a selection from Petes Fibre Studio on facebook just because I love how his dyeing has progressed over the years. These may end up as a holiday spin later in the year if I don't get round to them during TDF

Usually we end up with a couple of festivals in July but this year they are later in the year so I will be looking at local locations to spin. I will be getting my senior bus pass halfway through so I may be heading out a little further around Nottingham.

As usual posts will be either daily or 2/3 days depending on how busy I am, wish me luck :-)

Tour de Fleece 2026 prep and chat

 I know that it is only June but its less than a month until the start of the 2026 TDF and I really don't have  a lot of fleece prepped at all !

I have some washed ready for combing, I have lots that needs a wash including this large bag that I found on my doorstep last week. Nearly 5 kilos of what I suspect ( from previous fleece from the same source) is going to be texel. I am waiting for a dry day to make a start on washing and maybe even dyeing it ready to spin. Seriously, its rained pretty much everyday since it turned up

My plans for TDF are the same as ever, work on spinning down the stash, make use of my wheels and maybe finish a couple of half spun projects before it starts.

I could just use the texel as my challenge but I may get bored spinning the same breed for three weeks. I do plan to take my wheel to as many local destinations as possible, we won't be going away as Ian will probably be doing his bike thing down south and the van will be back at the dealers for annual service, mot etc but I will be getting my bus pass halfway through so I might see where else I can get with it.

later

between showers today I popped 300gm or so of raw fleece into a net bag and started to wash it.

Surprisingly its really not that dirty and not looking to bad considering the fact that someone who knows absolutely nothing about fleece volunteered to grab me a bag full just after the sheep were sheared.

Once washed and rinsed I'm left with this which will go in the dye pot for a change.

It looks like I am going to busy over the next couple of weeks or so prepping ready for the big spin. Also I'm hoping to get out and about most days with a wheel of some kind or maybe even just a spindle.

Now out of the dye pot weighing in at 250gm 

First Fleece wash of the year

 I ordered this fleece a couple of weeks ago but its been sitting in the kitchen untouched due to a minor domestic disaster involving water and a ceiling!

Today, the forecast isn't too bad and in fact next week is looking even better so I thought that I had better get my finger out and wash it. Also, having had to remove the raw fleece stash from its hiding place ( the disused outside loo) it has become apparent to both of us how much I actually have.

This is a Shetland fleece, just over a kilo in weight. It looks pretty clean and open so hopefully it will be an easy spin. 

sorry if the photos aren't brilliant but I had to use my phone as the battery had run out on my camera.

It washed up pretty clean and very soft.

In the meantime I found another box, this one dated July  2025 containing a black cheviot shearling so guess what I'm doing tomorrow.