This October (October 12th 2024 through to early/mid December 2024), there will be a showcase of Wensleydale fleece through handweaving and other wool crafts at the Handweavers Studio & Gallery, 140 Seven Sisters Rd, London, N7 7NS.
Thanks to the hard work of one of our members – Lois Gardner and a hard-working group, they have secured a 6-week exhibition of Wensleydale fleece and we are asking our members to be involved in several ways;
Firstly, the exhibition is being curated by the gallery and we invite members to submit pieces for possible inclusion. These can be made already or a project you have in mind to complete by August; they must be of course made with Wensleydale wool but they can be in any medium from weaving to felting to knitting etc. We hope to showcase all submitted pieces on the WLSBA website for those that can’t be included in the gallery showcase itself. Please contact Lois by the 11th March 2024 if you are interested – her email is watersedgeseaview@gmail.com – please do feel free to get in touch with Lois if you have any questions.
Secondly, Lois has a small army of professional weavers chomping at the bit to create Wensleydale pieces for the exhibition and we are hoping members might be able to help with the donation of either yarn/roving/combed tops/curls for specific projects. Each one would be linked to the flock or place of donation and there will be a catalogued produced for the exhibition detailing all who can donate to the pieces. We hope this exhibition will be a real chance to promote the Wensleydale fleece on a big public stage and bring it to the attention of a much wider market. Please do let Lois or myself know if you are able to help in anyway please
Finally Lois has asked that she is creating a “Word Cloud” to display at the exhibition and to provide inspiration to the weavers as they go along so they really understand the Wensleydale breed and she is inviting you to submit words you associate with the breed under the following topics; Fleece, Sheep Character, Tradition, Showing & Other. Could you please email secretary@wlsba.co.uk with a few words that spring to mind.