The Gun Barrel Canyon Farm Blanket
Earlier in the year, I was approached by Deb of Gun Barrel Canyon Farm (Nanaimo) with a request to weave a bed blanket using wool from her animals. Deb has several breeds of sheep on her farm and has been…
Category projects
Our 2025 Shearing Support Program in review
Many sheep on the Island are raised primarily for meat but that doesn’t mean that their fleeces don’t have value! Healthy sheep produce good wool. The Vancouver Island Fibreshed Shearing Support Program assists farmers, helping to improve their revenue streams…
Comparison of Sock Yarn from Vancouver Island Fibreshed Sheep Breeds
We have many different breeds of sheep here in our Fibreshed and their wool characteristics differ. Jill studied 10 different local breeds to try to see which would make the best socks – a garment we all need. Suitability of…
Yarn Choice – More Adventures in Weaving Vancouver Island Fibreshed Rugs
What makes a good yarn for weaving rugs? Bobbie has been exploring different breeds of wool in her rug making. Sometimes she processes and spins her own rug yarns but it’s always nice when she can find a commercial product…
Workshop Report: Mushroom Foraging and Dyeing with the Alberni Valley Fibre Guild
Local fibres, local dyes, local labour. The fibres we choose for our projects are important. But so are the dyes! And colour can tell such stories – of who we are, of where we live. Here, a member of the…
Growing a linen vest in Comox
A short story of a long project When I declared to my guy Jim that I wanted to grow flax and make linen textiles, he said, “Well if you do that, I want you to make me a linen suit.”…
From Fleece to Sweater: A Spinner/Knitter’s Tale
by Janet Ware Last Spring, when I first saw this large fleece from Alexa at Somerset Farm, I was first taken with its lustre. But, as a spinner/knitter, I was then quickly impressed by the soft yet tough feel of…
A Joint Project to Create a 100% Vancouver Island Fibreshed Rug
This project has been, and will continue to be, a Work-In-Progress! Two Vancouver Island fibre artisans – Bobbie and Karla – have combined their talents to create something special – a rug woven entirely of fibre grown or harvested from…
Using Wool Batting in a Quilt
The Gabriola Fibreshed pod wanted to prove to island farmers that local fleece is well worth processing, so we sent a number of fleeces from Alexa Boultons’s Somerset Farm off to Custom Woolen Mills in Carstairs, AB. We got back…