A Day Out, A Finish and Some Shopping

It's been a beautiful, sunny day today and I just want to share a few things with you.
Firstly, DH and I went to a garden on the north Norfolk coast at a place called Beeston Regis.  It's called Priory Gardens and it was the first time we'd been there.  We shall return as the gardens were delightful - maybe rather wild for some people's tastes, not exactly manicured - but a wonderful collection of plants, ponds and walks.  The cakes and lunches were also top notch,  broccoli and Stilton quiche for me, a fillet of fresh plaice for Al, all eaten in beautiful sunshine with the birds singing.  Here are a few pictures and here's the website, www.priorymazegardens.co.uk  Oh yes, I forgot, there's a maze, created in 1995 to echo the floor plan of the original Beeston priory and planted with purple copper beech, hornbeam and escallonia, great fun.

I've finished my New Zealand wallhanging today and so I've made more progress through my "to do" list for 2011.  I made a brooch yesterday which might or might not go to my swap partner in Susie's brooch swap, I'm not giving any clues away!  It's Friday Night Sew In tomorrow and I'm looking forward to an additional sewing project using the lovely collection of six inch floral fabric squares I received in a giveaway recently, from Susan, the Quixotic Crafter.

Finally today I want to share the goodies I bought at the Woad Centre - all those of you who commented were dead right, I didn't come away empty handed, you know me so well! 

 

Some woad pigment as I can't imagine I'll be successful in growing my own.

Some goodies from Woad-Inc's delightful range of toiletries.

Some wonderful indigo threads:  

And I couldn't resist this delicious woad-dyed throw designed by Bernadette with the Woad-Inc flower trademark woven into the design.

Wonderful Woad

Al and I had a wonderful day with woad on Saturday when we joined Ian and Bernadette Howard for one of their Woad Workshops.  We followed a series of country roads, which were getting narrower and narrower until there was actually grass growing in the middle and ended up at The Woad Centre in deepest Norfolk, the countryside that would have been familiar to Queen Boudicca and her Iceni tribe who are believed to have painted their faces with woad before going into battle.  Ian explained that woad has antiseptic and healing properties and it might have been against potential wounds as well as to frighten the enemy that the indigo blue dye was applied.
After coffee and learning all about the production of woad, which Ian grows in his fields that used to be a standard arable farm, it was time to make the dye bath and for the mess and excitement to begin.  We used silk to make a small hankerchief trial piece, tying the fabric and adding various items to create areas where the indigo dye wouldn't adhere and so the fabric would stay white.

Even though we knew it was going to happen it was still like magic to see the fabric come out of the dye bath looking yellowy green and then develop into a beautiful blue as the oxygen in the air reacted with the dye.
Happy with our small pieces we started work on silk scarves.  This time Al made a very controlled design (not like him at all) and I went for random (so unlike me).  These pieces stayed in the dye bath for a longer time and we had the opportunity to learn more about Ian's woad business developments and his future plans.  I encourage you to take a look at the website, woad-inc, where you can learn more about the history of woad (the last woad mill in Lincolnshire closed in 1932), read all about what they are doing at the Woad Centre, see (and buy) the gorgeous products they create and study the science bit too.
Time to go back to the dye house and see the magic again:

Now I love those earthy shades that appeared in my scarf but according to Ian and Bernadette they shouldn't be there and none of us could work out where they came from.  Nothing I used to tie my cloth could have rusted and I didn't spill my coffee.  Whatever it is it adds to the uniqueness of what I created and I love it.
Our final stop of the day was in the woad showroom.  This is the result of the creative talents of Bernadette.  Do you think I bought anything?