Wildflowers and Wool in Wicklow. Saturday June 22nd, 10am - 4pm

 
Wildflowers and Wool in Wicklow 
 
A Foraging and Natural Dye workshop, Saturday June 22nd, 10am - 4pm
In association with Made in Wicklow and supported by Wicklow Craft Foundation
 
Location Loughanna Studios, Blessington Lake
 
Welcome to the Garden of Ireland in County Wicklow where we are offering you a guided, immersive tour workshop event at the foothills of Black Hill in Lackan overlooking the stunning Blesssington Lakes, next door to the Wicklow mountains.  
 
Come meet your tutors, feltmaker and horticulturalist Miriam Brady and Feltmaker and former Archaeologist and heritage enthusiast Sharon Wells. Spend a relaxing and enriching day learning about ournative plants and how they were used for medicine, food and for dyeing wool and fabric. 
 
Miriam will introduce you to the culinery and medicinal benefits of native wildflowers and plants which you will collect from her wild garden.  With your gathered leaves and flowers you will make your own natural teas.   Miriam will prepare a lunch of organic treats from the garden for you to enjoy. And you will take away some recipies for jam, cordial, dandelion tempura and sorrel soup. 
 
In the afternoon Sharon Wells will show you how to dye wool using traditional plant dyes, some of which will be gathered that day.  She will discuss the heritage of natural dyes, the use of woad, weld and indigo, and the history of wool in Ireland. You will learn about dyeing wool fibre and yarn using lichen, gorse, nettles, dandelions, cornflowers etc and how and when to use a mordant for fixing colour. 
 
You will be introduced to Soapwort, a natural plant that produces a gentle soap which was used to wash wool. 
 
Some more of the plants we will be gathering are sorrel, nettle, gorse, violas, primulas, elderflower, calendula, blackberry leaf, valerian. 
 
This workshop is a unique opportunity to learn about the lost wisdom of our ancestors and how they lived off the land.  It will be a special experience and one you won't forget.
 
Join us on Saturday 22nd June. 
Plan of the Day
10am Welcome and tea and scones/meet the alpacas 
11am Gathering and foraging walk - Miriam
12pm Make your own teas
1pm  Organic Lunch - Soup, salad, bread and ice cream made by Miriam (vegetarian food, please let us know of allergies).
2pm - 4pm The heritage of wool and dyes in Ireland, natural ways to clean wool, how and when to mordant wool, how to extract colour from plants, preparing a natural dye bath, and dyeing raw wool and yarn.
 
After a lovely relaxing and informative day you will go home with your own tea, some homemade jam, dyed Wicklow wool fibre and yarn, recipies and dyeing notes. 
 
This class is suitable for anyone interested in plants and their uses, natural dyes, wildflowers of Ireland, Irish wool, feltmaking, knitting, textile art, food etc. And a lovely class to do with a friend.