The title for this post comes from one of my new Estonian buddies, Liis. I think it translates more or less to mean “Natural plant-dyeing workshop”. Here is my English press-release for the workshop, with an Estonian translation at the bottom, kindly translated by Liis, Kata, Tuuli and Siiri.

KNITSONIK™ WOOL EXCHANGE NATURAL DYE WORKSHOP – dyeing Estonian and British yarns using Estonian Birch leaves and British Woad balls, co-organised by Felicity Ford and MoKS

Woad ball! – in Estonian: Sinerõikapallid

Saturday 26th May 2012, 12pm – 6pm
MoKS, Mooste 64616, Põlva Maakond, Estonia
Tel: +447835136201
Email: felixbadanimal@hotmail.com

In this workshop we will dye a range of British and Estonian yarns with British and Estonian dyestuffs in a spirit of cultural exchange, mutual learning, and woolly goodness!

Using breed-specific wool spun into yarn by The Natural Fibre Company in Cornwall in the UK, and wool processed at spinning mills in Estonia, we will create a range of blue and yellow yarns using dyestuffs derived from British Woad balls and Estonian Birch leaves.

The workshop will cover:

• Using Woad balls to create blue dye
• Using Birch leaves to create yellow/greenish dye
• Different qualities of the wool from different sheep breeds
• Different qualities of wool from different spinning mills
• Over-dyeing coloured wool as well as white wool (grey, brown, black)
• Creating a tester-strip or swatch of knitted yarns as a reference for future dyeing projects

By the end of the workshop you should have a selection of Estonian and British yarns dyed in yellows and blues to take home with you, full instructions on how to recreate those colours in future dyeing experiments at home, and – if there is time – a nice knitted swatch which demonstrates your work throughout the day.

All the British yarn used in this workshop has been kindly provided by Blacker Yarns/The Natural Fibre Company. Blacker Yarns/The Natural Fibre Company is the official UK yarn sponsor for this workshop, and the source of a huge variety of breed-specific yarns in Britain.

Attending the dyeing workshop is FREE, but participants must register in advance to confirm attendance. There are only enough materials for ten participants to dye yarns to keep and take home, but if you just want to come and watch the process, you are also very welcome to come along! This project is part of Felicity Ford’s KNITSONIK™ residency at MoKS, which is supported by the British Council, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, and Cultural Endowment, Estonia.

In keeping with the rest of the programme there will be a focus on recording the sounds of the dyeing process in action; in order to attend the workshop, you must be comfortable with the idea that recordings of the sounds of dyeing will be being created throughout the day, which might be used in further public performances and radio shows.

A simple lunch of soup and bread will be provided, though donations of cakes will be very welcome!

To register for this event, please email felixbadanimal[at]hotmail.com, or call or send an SMS to +447835136201

KNITSONIK™ Taimedega värvimise töötuba – Eesti ja Inglismaa lõngade värvimine Eesti kaselehtede ja Inglise sinerõikapallidega. Õpikojas juhendab särav Felicity Ford!

Lisaks sellele kuuleb huvitavat briti lambatõugudest, saab näha erinevat briti lammaste villa ja värvida töötuba sponsoreeriva lõngafirma Blacker Yarns lõngasid.

Õpituba on tasuta, ent vajalik on eelregistreerimine meiliaadressil felixbadanimal (at) hotmail.com, siiri (at) moks.ee või telefonil 5330 6679 (Siiri), 447835136201 (Felicity). Töötoas saavad värvimist proovida ja lõngaproove koju kaasa võtta kümme inimest, aga kõik teised võivad niisama vaatama tulla. Osalejad saavad suppi ja leiba ning koogid võib ise kaasa võtta 🙂

NB! Kuna Felicity on helikunstnik, toimub päevaprogrammiga paralleelselt tööprotsessi helide salvestamine. Osalejad peaksid olema päri sellega, et neid helisid võidakse edaspidi raadiosaadetes või performance‘ites kasutada.

Rohkem infot regitreerimise ja töötoa kohta leiab siit: http://moks.ee/site/pmwiki.php?n=Workshops.Regulaarsed

Photo by Liis, whose blog can be found here!