By now the UK parcels for the April Non-Wool Club have arrived, so I sat down and filmed some short video clips showing me spinning them. I am aware that these are probably not the most professionally shot videos in the world, but do hope you find them helpful. 

If you aren't a member of this club and are thinking about joining then I plan on opening up the next round of 3 month subscriptions at the start of May. The cost will be similar to the current prices for the club, though may alter slightly depending on the exact fibres I use. There will be some repeated fibres, but will  be some new ones as well. 
These are the colours that are going to inspire the next round, if you're interested in joining then select the option on the poll below, I pre-order all the fibre required for this club before putting it on sale to make sure I have adequate supplies. So voting helps make sure I can meet demand. 

The colour options last time were inspired by the Italian landscape, and this time we're going to Spain. 

So with the admin out of the way, on to the videos and spinning hints. 
The first fibre that I recommend you start with this month is the mulberry silk. We spun 2 fibres last month that were similar, the tussah silk , and the viscose. If you still have your tussah silk, compare and contrast the 2 types, you may also find this old blogpost on types of silk useful. 
The main thing is to remember the staple length. Mulberry Silk is more like spinning a long wool, so a relaxed grip with you hand holding the fibre supply is crucial. I favour a short forward draw for my mulberry silk, without using too much twist, it maximises the shine and makes the yarn feel very soft and luxurious next to your skin. 

The next fibre I recommend you spin is the Ramie. Ramie is a bast plant fibre like linen, so hasn't needed the same level of chemical processing as that required for viscose of rayon. Ramie is processed from plants belonging to the nettle family;  Boehmeria Nivea and Boehmeria Tenacissima. These plants grow incredibly quickly, they can reach a heigh of 2 or 3 metres and be harvested several times in a single year. When linen is processed you can remove the outer stem by hitting it, but this isn't possible with ramie, which is one of the things that contributes to the price. The inner stem is then treated with lye (the same chemical used to make soap) and that dissolves the pulpy material, leaving behind the fibrous vascular bundles. The fibre is then combed to make the length of top we're spinning from. 

The final fibre to spin this month is Hemp. This is a very ancient textile plant, one of the first to be spun in to yarn as long ago as 10,000 years. Unfortunately the familial connection with the plant that produces cannabis meant that this very useful, very ecologically sound textile was largely abandoned. The Hemp plant that is used for textile production is completely different to the plant that produces the THC chemical which is needed to produce a high or be useful on a medical basis. Hemp was commonly grown until the 1900's, but is now experiencing a revival particularly as it is one of the fastest growing plants, producing a crop very quickly, and requiring half the amount of water and yielding twice as much usable fibre as cotton grown in the same field.  
In the video I recommend reading the Flax edition of Ply magazine, this is available as a digital download and is well worth the money to get a sense of how to work with this bast fibre, as in essence you can treat flax (linen) the same way as the hemp. 

Finally some advice on finishing this yarn. I treated it as I would linen thread, and gave it a gentle boil in a washing soda solution, the yarn came out much softer and more flexible. I wanted to test it because this normally something that's done with undid thread, and I was a little concerned that the colour might leach out from the fibre. However, the water was slightly lilac, but not really enough for me to not recommend this method. 

I suspect for everyone reading it's felt like this month has been rather quiet....
But in reality it's been rather busy. I decided to get on with my dyeing for the stand at Wonderwool Wales so I knew if I was short of any particular fibre base. I also wanted to tick the job off my list. I suspect I'm not alone in finding that the political uncertainty is making me somewhat anxious, and getting the Wonderwool dyeing out of the way meant I had one less thing that I was worrying about. 

Speaking of political uncertainty, I always try to be respectful of people who have different political views than me, however I am going to come out and say this bluntly. Brexit will be a disaster for our country. It in no way allows us to "take back control" and leaving the EU will solve none of the fundamental issues with unfairness and lack of political representation in our country. On a very personal basis the British wool trade has never actually been just the British wool trade, it always relied on imports and exports, and this is no different now to how it was in medieval times.  I use suppliers that are based in Europe, and even suppliers that are based in the UK are in turn reliant on manufacturing partners that are based in Europe. At the moment I still don't know how much it will cost when I re-order certain fibres, and that makes planning for the future impossible. We are already poorer as a result of Brexit and that will only get worse if crash out with no deal. Bank of England estimates that the British economy is already 2% smaller than it would have been if voters chose to remain in the EU. That translates to a loss to the UK economy of £800 million ($1 billion) a week' (Source- CNN)
My first job was working for Britannia Building Society, the headquarters were based in my home town, and part of the first week training focused around what to do in the event of an attack by the IRA. The Good Friday agreement had been signed, but it was recent enough that the treat of a bomb was not one to be taken lightly. I am a comparatively young person but it's easy to forget that in my lifetime we have gone from the horrors of the Troubles, to  a border that I got to ride over on horse back as part of my summer holiday without any problem. Brexit means an end to that peace, and I find that thought to be completely  horrifying. 

So earlier this month I went on a protest march for the first time. I went down to London and was part of the Peoples Vote March on the 23rd. I am privileged in that I was in a position to attend, so felt that it was something I had to do. I am also lucky in that my MP (Liz Saville-Roberts) is one of the MP's who is coming out of this with her head held high.
I know some pope would like to just read about spinning and look at pictures of my chickens, but all that is only possible if I earn money by selling fibre, and despite being very capable at running my business Brexit places my entire livelihood at risk. So I'm afraid I am not in a position to be able to just keep quiet and pretend that everything will be alright, because it won't. If you choose not to buy from me due to this position, then I am sorry that you will loose the pleasure of working with my fibres, but I will be even sorrier if I don't speak out to try and stop the catastrophe that will make all of us poorer.
I know that many of you are not so blessed with your elected representative, if you've not sent them an email then please do so (form letter here asking for a people's vote on any final Brexit decision). Also, I'm going to share the link to the petition to revoke Article 50, and move on to happier topics!

We had a bit of a soggy week in March, where the rain never seemed to stop falling. Thankfully the end of the month bought some beautifully sunny weather and we've dried out nicely and the garden is now starting to show all the signs of spring. There are tulips popping up everywhere, and we took advantage of the warm weather to check the bee hives for the first time this year. 

With the Wonderwool Dyeing complete I've been able to move on to getting the online shop a bit more sorted. There is a drying shed full of hand dyed fibre that I will be photographing tomorrow. 
I've also added lots more colours of Superfine Merino & Silk (this is one of the bases that comes from Europe and I am lucky that I am in a financial position to stock up now, there is no guarantee that future deliveries will remain at this price). In particular I've added quite a few very beautiful neutrals, those of you who got the 12 Days of  Christmas parcels will recognise a few of the shades. 
And, there's  a new fibre to add to the range. I've been thinking about this addition for a while, drooling over the colour palette in my shade cards, but not sure whether to take the plunge... But I made a decision, so there are now 7 colours of 19 micron Merino which has been naturally dyed. I hope you like them as much as I do. 

I've been busy with lots of personal projects as well... there's a freshly sewn top that's waiting for a photo, more lace shawls. the start of a new lino print to celebrate the arrival of spring, and some more tapestry weaving. 
​I know there are quite a few of you that love the hand turned wooden items that appear in my Dad's shop, and be wondering why there's not much listed at the moment.... he's fine, but now the owner of a new hip, which has finally been replaced. Hopefully he's going to be back on his feet in no time, not least because sympathetic nursing is not a personality trait that comes naturally to either my Mum or I!