I love finding a peaceful, historic place to spin and this particular historic place is Buildwas Abbey. Tucked away down a lane, not far from Telford and the Ironbridge Gorge museums, this free entry English Heritage property was the perfect place to fill a spindle. #distaffspinning #handspunyarn

It’s not often these days that I get the chance to do some spinning in costume, so I really enjoyed a day out filming at Cosmeston Medieval Village last week.

Last week was just too warm to do very much, but my neighbours six foot high fence provides some welcome shade in my garden. #handspinning #distaffspinning #handspunyarn

I’ve been experimenting with bundle dyeing using natural dyes just recently. These are the four main colour ways I have come up with so far and, whilst I like them all, I think the autumnal browns and orange are my favourite. Which is yours? #naturaldyes #plantdyed #bundledyeing #handspunyarn

Each time I have posted this video on other platforms the response has shown how useful people have found it. I teach face to face lessons in distaff spinning in the UK, but I know there are so many people, worldwide, interested in learning this technique and tutors are few. Hope this helps.

Is my hand spun yarn suitable for tablet weaving? Looks like the answer is yes. Three ply Romney yarn dyed with cochineal, genista tinctoria and Saxon blue. The pattern is a variation of the Oseberg band. #tabletweaving #cardweaving #handspun #plantdyed #textilecraft

This scarf has been on my knitting needles since last December. Knitting long, straight pieces has never held much enjoyment for me, so it did get neglected for long periods. Yarn is handspun cashmere at around 26 WPI. Glad to have it finished at last! #cashmere #handspun #handknitted

My current WIP is a granny square knee blanket. It started life as squares for a cardigan, but I think I will get more use out of a blanket, so here it is. All hand spun yarn, dyed with plant dyes many of which are from my garden. #grannysquares #crochet #handspun #plantdyed #homegrowncolour

The sulphur cosmos have produced a bumper crop this summer. This hand spun Romney yarn takes the colour very well. The skein on the left is from 50% WOF of dried flowers, on the right is the exhaust colour. #plantdyed #handspun #sulphurcosmos #naturaldyes

In the current hot weather it's a treat to find some shade outdoors and just sit and spin for a while. The wool on my distaff is hand combed Romney from Fernhill Fleece and Fibre. #distaffspinning #suspendedspinning #handspinning #wool #heritagecraft

The latest batch from the dye pot, all hand spun Romney yarn this time dyed with sulphur cosmos on the left, logwood in the centre and cochineal on the right. #handspun #handdyed #naturaldyes #plantdyes

Three more hand spun Romney skeins, fresh from the dye pot. Left and centre are dyed with home grown madder, the skein on the right is dyed with Saxon Blue (sulphonated indigo). #handspunyarn #handdyed #plantdyed #naturaldye

After finishing spinning the first of four Romney fleeces, I have made a start on dyeing the skeins. This first batch is dyed with cochineal, logwood and home grown coreopsis. #handspun #romney #plantdyed #cochineal #logwood #coreopsis

These are my finished skeins from #tourdefleece2025. Some were spun with distaff and spindle whilst on holiday, the rest were spun on my Schacht Matchless at home. Full details in alt text. #handspun #handspinning #wool #handspunyarn #heritagecraft

My final spin of #tourdefleece2025 took place at Tretower Castle. I'm spinning Romney wool, using a distaff and medieval style spindle and a short suspension technique. #distaffspinning #handspinning #Romney #wool #heritagecraft

Yesterday’s spin for #tourdefleece was a gorgeously squishy Romney fibre from Fernhill Fleece & Fibre. Spun on my Schacht Matchless. #romney #handspun #handspinning #wool

Whilst on holiday last week, I came across a walnut tree, a rare find here in the UK. We’d had a couple of windy nights and the ground was covered with immature walnuts, which I quickly scooped into a bag. Today I dyed a gradient set of hand spun mini skeins using the outer husks from the walnuts.

Last week I was on holiday in Lincolnshire and, as usual, my distaff and spindle came with me. I found some lovely places to spin, but probably the best was in the Great Hall at Gainsborough Old Hall. The wool I am spinning is Portland, a British rare breed and one of my favourites. #handspinning

The French marigolds and coreopsis are flowering well in the garden and I have been picking and drying them for some time. I have just used up the remainder of last year’s marigold flowers and dyed one skein of Romney yarn and two of Portland, all hand spun. #plantdye #naturaldye #handspun

My hand spun Icelandic socks are finally finished. They are a very warm, sturdy pair of socks and hopefully will prove to be hard wearing. #handknittedsocks #handspun #icelandic

I’ve been told that hand spun Icelandic yarn makes good socks, so…. #handspun #icelandic #sockknitting #handspunsocksarethebest

It was a lovely afternoon for sitting in the sun, spinning, at Caldicot Castle. With children playing on the grass, jackdaws calling from the tops of the towers and the scent of roses filling the air. #distaffspinning #handspinning #caldicotcastle

This þel fibre, from the Icelandic fleece I have just spun, was so beautifully soft the temptation to face plant into it was huge! (Yes, I did, more than once.) #icelandic #handspinning #cardedfibre

My latest spin, newly completed, is an Icelandic fleece from a sheep called Gústi who belongs to @becbriar.bsky.social

Two more sets of mini skeins in a gradient of colours. The yarn is hand spun Romney, the left hand set are dyed with cochineal and the right hand set, with onion skins. Each skein is approx 50m. #handspun #handdyed #plantdyed

Demonstrating medieval style distaff spinning at The Spring Festival. #distaffspinning #handspinning #medieval

This coming weekend I will be demonstrating distaff spinning on the European Wool Association stand at the Spring Festival. I will have some of my hand spun, plant dyed yarns with me for sale. #distaffspinning #handspinning #springfestival #plantdyedyarn

Last year I had too much Japanese indigo to use it all fresh, so I dried it for future use. Today I used it for the first time and was very pleased with the results on this mini skein set. #japaneseindigo #handspunyarn #plantdye #naturaldye

Another set of gradient dyed mini skeins, this time dyed with cochineal. The yarn is hand spun Romney fibre. #handspun #handdyed #naturaldye

Third set of hand spun Romney mini skeins. These are dyed with coreopsis tinctoria, grown in the garden last summer. #handspun #plantdyed #coreopsis