Richard Friar loves growing dope. His backyard on the northern beaches is full of the stuff - 500 plants, to be precise.

But Mr Friar is no dealer, and this is no underground plantation. The 66-year-old and his wife, Wendy, are the proud owners of Australia's first licensed industrial hemp crop to be grown in an urban area.

"I'd prefer you didn't publish exactly where we are," he says.

"Even though this is no good for smoking, you can imagine what would happen if people found out."

The Friars are hemp evangelists, firm believers in the world-changing potential of this most versatile of plants, which can be used in everything from food to fabrics and building materials.

With permission from the Department of Primary Industries, they are in the first stages of a pilot project aimed at teaching farmers how to grow hemp and commercialise its myriad byproducts.

Weed is good - hemp comes to the city — Sydney Morning Herald

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Clothing and textiles derived from bamboo must be labelled as rayon or viscose to counter a widely held but mistaken perception that the fabric is environmentally friendly, the Competition Bureau has ruled.

The bureau announced last week that labels and advertising have been corrected on 450,000 textile items, as well as on 250 websites that sell clothing and textile products.

The changes came after an investigation in the U.S. and Canada found that rayon derived from bamboo was no more natural or environmentally friendly than rayon derived from oak and beech trees.

Bamboo textiles no more 'natural' than rayon — CBC News

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This congress will take place at Rosehill Gardens Event Centre over five days during April and will include congress sessions with a trade exhibition showcasing innovative products and the latest developments in the wool, sheep meat, fashion and textile design industries. There's also a social itinerary with fine food, wine and entertainment, a welcome reception and trade exhibition, the Australian Wool Fashion Awards cocktail reception at the RAS and a congress dinner cruise on Sydney harbour. The congress will present a forum for active discussion and debate of the future and opportunities of the sheep meat and wool industries. Pre and post congress tours will concentrate on best practice in the wool and sheep meat industries as well as visits to leading sheep producers, studs and associated industries.

Info: 9th World Sheep and Wool Congress

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Fourteen species of the blue dye indigo producing genus Indigofera have been described as new to science in 2009. Few natural by-products have played as prominent a role in history and in international trade as indigo. It has been a valued dye from the earliest human civilizations because of its compatibility with all types of natural fibers and its ability to be combined with other natural dyes to create a range of colors not possible to produce with synthetic substitutes. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has had a long-standing interest in the research of this genus and these discoveries arose during ongoing research in southern tropical Africa. Of the 14 new species described, 11 are highly localized and are threatened with extinction.

Indigofera has more than 750 species and occurs throughout the tropical regions of the world. It is member of Leguminosae (pea family).

Kew: 250 Years And 250 Plants Species Discovered — redOrbit

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The Handweavers Studio in London is a favourite destination for many visiting, international weavers. The redoubtable Nancy Lee Child, who was synonymous with the studio for thirty-six years, retired at the end of July. They have moved from the residential enclave of Walthamstow to the much more central location of Finsbury Park in north London. They reopened on August 21, with a new address, a new website and new opening hours, but the same ethos and the same commitment to providing the textile community with the largest possible array of yarns and fibres in affordable quantities. If you are passing through London, they would love you to come by and visit.

Info:

Wendy Morris
Handweavers Studio & Gallery
140 Seven Sisters Road, London N7 7NS
+44 20 7272 1891
www.handweavers.co.uk
wendy@handweavers.co.uk

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Elders Primary Wool have introduced technology that will identify the source of wool in their carpets. New Zealand claims to grow the best strong wool in the world. Most of this wool is used in carpets. They want to be able to certify that their carpets contain NZ wool so have knitted a tracer fibre, invisible to the eye, into the wool fibre. This tracer can be doused with a signature marker and detected with a hand held scanner. The technology has been developed by AgRearch in New Zealand in conjunction with scientists from CSIRO.

If people, world wide, need certainty that what they buy is what retailers claim there may well be more of these tracer fibres in our food and fibres in the future.

Traceability technology in carpets — Otago Daily Times

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A report on a biofibre with potential for artificial skin, heart valves, bone repair and blood vessels derived from a family of amino acid-based polymeric biomaterials called polyester amides (PEA) that have been engineered and fabricated into fibres, 3-D microporous gels, micro- and nanospheres or electrospun fabric membranes.

And a very tiny spinning wheel?

Intercampus research team develops artificial skin, heart valves and blood vessels — Cornell Chronicle

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2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres.

The Black & Coloured Sheep Breeders Association Central Tablelands Branch is organising the Wool and Natural Fibre Muster in Mudgee on the 30th of May.

We would like to invite you to the Muster and would like you to participate in the "Great Western Tea Cosy Challenge" to find the best tea cosy in the West. Attached is an overview of the Muster and an entry form into the Tea Cosy Challenge. We would like to see as many people to participate as possible.

Additional information and entry forms can be found on the web site: www.gulgee.com.au

See you at the Muster,

Janos & Marianne Farkas,

Gulgee Wool Shed

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A woollen mill on Speyside which has manufactured cloth since 1784 has been given a lifeline through lottery cash.

Knockando Woolmill, which featured in the BBC Two series Restoration, is in danger of collapse and school trips can no longer visit because of the risk.

The mill has been given a grant of £1.3m and development funding of £120,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Lottery cash to restore wool mill — BBC

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This summer's Olympic Games in Beijing are putting new focus on China's handling of human rights. But there's another area getting new attention — animal rights, and a group from Portland is helping with that effort.

Continue reading "Portland Animal Group Helping Bears in China" »

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It was not just another show. It spoke of Bibi's tryst with the magical thread. Shobha De in a cream and gold khadi sari, again Bibi's weave, told the audience what Bibi was made up of, Bibi ruled as a model in Paris but she came back to Bangladesh to give the weavers a life of dignity. Bibi does not belong to Bangladesh, Africa or Rajasthan, she is a global citizen.

For Bibi, fashion has a conscience. She makes sure her weavers get their recognition and a sustainable income. She made sure that, in one evening, the rustle of silks and the whisper of chiffons was blown away by the khatak of Khadi. Bibi made Kota Doria go contemporary and Khadi go trendy. Not surprisingly 45,000 weavers in Bangladesh have escaped the web of poverty.

Fashion with a conscience — The Hindu

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Once famous for its brocade, local authorities are now fighting to preserve the dying art of weaving in Nghia An Commune in the northern province of Yen Bai.

Not long ago, almost every girl in the village knew how to work a loom, but imports of Chinese cloth have led to the virtual extinction of the traditional cottage industry.

However, the local authorities have stepped in to help revive the centuries old handicraft.

Since the Nghia An authority set up a weaving team, which is funded by Yen Bai's Tourism-Commerce Department, many foreign and domestic visitors have started coming to Nghia An, said Hoang Thi Duoc, the vice president of the commune's Women's Union.

Visitors enjoy watching weavers work their looms, and welcome the chance to buy beautifully made brocade, Duoc said.

The local authorities have provided the village with 12 looms on which local women weave handkerchiefs, pillow cases and bedspreads — ranging in price from VND12,000 to VND30,000.

It is hard work and incomes are small — each woman can expect to earn around VND15,000 a day, but scheme has helped revive the traditional art of weaving and brought a measure of prosperity to the village.

Reviving the lost art of brocade weaving — VietNamNet Bridge

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Folk legend Norman Kennedy visited Aberdeen Gallery to present a hand-woven suit to curators.

The suit is a historical monument of Scotland's weaving heritage.

Norman is an expert spinner and weaver, and has been practising this rare craft for more than 30 years. The suit was hand-woven by Norman in preparation for his move to the United States.

He has only worn it twice, as they weight of the thick green tweed proved to be more suited to a Scottish climate that than of New England in July.

Norman first proudly wore his hand-crafted fabric when he was invited to sing in the US in 1965, and its second outing was for meeting Maria Von Trapp in the mountains of Vermont, where she fed him fried chicken and apple strudel.

Receiving the suit on behalf of Aberdeen Art Gallery, Assistant Keeper Victoria Ward said she was delighted to accept this unique representation of weaving in North-east Scotland.

By making this generous donation to Aberdeen City's costume collection, Norman is playing an important role in preserving traditional skills for future generations, she said.

Folk legend presents hand-woven suit to Aberdeen Art Gallery — Aberdeen City Council

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Two new Australian Merino wool products took centre stage at October's Intertextile Fabrics Fair in Shanghai, highlighting Australian Wool Innovation Limited's (AWI) collaboration with key Chinese manufacturers.

The launch of the two textile innovations, Merino Travel and Merino Retro, builds on the strong reputation Australian Merino wool products have established in the fast-growing Chinese market.

Intertextile is one of the leading apparel fabric trade fairs in the world.

Australian wool steals show in China as mulesing options on track for 2010 — Farm Online

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The dye in your blue jeans could soon be used to kill cancer cells, say scientists.

UK researchers are employing tiny gold nanoparticles, 1/5000th the thickness of a human hair, to deliver the chemical compound directly into cancer cells, tearing them apart instantly.

The common dye found in blue jeans and ballpoint pens is called phthalocyanine and is a light-activated, or photosensitive, agent with cell-destroying properties.

This has been known for at least 15 years but, until now, scientists have not been able to successfully deliver it into cells; hence there's no harm in wearing blue jeans.

Blue jean dye kills cancer cells — BBC News (via digg)

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According to report of Manipur State AIDS Control Society (MACS), the number of HIV positive women in Manipur till August this year is 5323. Besides tapping their weaving skills, formation of SHGs have also provided a platform to understand each others' problem and share each moment of happiness and sorrow among the HIV infected/affected women who seem to have at also found purpose and joy of living alive.

Female HIV sufferers strive for economic emancipation — The Sangai Express

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Chiltern will take a look at the past on Sunday with wool-spinning, barrel-making and a display of television and radio equipment from the 1960s.

The Chiltern Ironbark Festival has its biggest line-up yet this year, with new tour addition Chilternwood Studios expected to be a highlight.

Lights, camera, action at Ironbark Festival — The Border Mail

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It sank in a violent storm taking its precious cargo of silk, muslin and calico to the bottom of the North Sea. Now, 250 years on, the wreck of the Svecia is providing an unexpected bounty to the islanders of North Ronaldsay.

While the sumptuous textiles may be long gone, a rare dyewood, used to colour the precious fabrics, has been recovered from the wreck and is being used to produce a unique line of designer knitwear.

The red sandalwood has lain on the ocean floor since the East India Company cargo ship bound for Gothenberg was caught in a gale off the island in 1740 and sank with the loss of 24 men.

Historic dye puts island on fashion map — The Times

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A Ba Na ethnic minority woman, Y Thoai, has become as one of the most successful businesswomen in her birthplace of Kon Tum Township, in the Central Highlands province of the same name.

The 30-year-old woman who started her business from scratch six years ago is now managing the Tay Nguyen Brocade Weaving Co-operative that was established entirely through her efforts.

Ba Na minority woman in Kon Tum develops art of brocade weaving — Nhân Dân

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Rifka Knox hates being referred to as a knitter. But Knox, who was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia for launching Knitters for Melbourne's Needy, is more than happy to talk about spawning the charity that has just donated its 125,000th garment to the city's disadvantaged.

Spinning a yarn for the needy — AJN

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Turkmen Carpet Day was widely celebrated in Turkmenistan. It is marked on the last Sunday of May annually.

As the Ashgabat correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru reports, the sixth conference of the World Association of Experts of Turkmen Carpet Weaving was traditionally timed to this event. Famous scientists and researchers from Asian and European countries whose works and scientific findings contributed significantly to the development of handmade carpet weaving arrived in the Turkmen capital to participate in the conference.

Turkmen carpet day marked as national holiday — TURKMENISTAN.RU

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To promote a new soft drink called Tansan Bombe,, Japanese beverage maker Suntory decided against television ads in favour of a giant hand-knitted bottle cosy for the window of a new Tokyo shopping mall.

Drink company knits giant bottle cozy — Riding Sun (via Boingboing)

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Pastora Asuncion Gutierrez Reyes showed off traditional rugs woven by women of her indigenous Southern Mexico community Monday night at the Many Nations Longhouse.

The story she brought, however, was of the inspiration behind the weavings.

In 1994, a group of women got together to organize change in the community, Gutierrez said through translator Lynn Stephen, a University professor of anthropology. Imagine what happened when people saw women trying to make a difference. We started to have disrespectful comments directed toward us.

Continue reading "Weaving the Way to Equality" »

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This is a yarn about yarn, one that has a Georgia textile manufacturer tangled up with other domestic mills in an international trade dispute about its quest for a particular type of fine-spun cotton yarn.

The saga began when Galey & Lord Inc of Atlanta was searching for a source of compacted, plied, ring-spun cotton yarns to fill an order for a big customer and found it was no longer made domestically. Compacted yarn, which is used to make a high-end fabric, goes through a special spinning process that produces a smooth yarn with less air between the fibres — hence making it less hairy.

Continue reading "Search for Finer Yarn Becomes a Trade Tangle" »

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When PK Chithrani was 10 years old, her mother taught her how to use a traditional lace-making machine to weave thread into intricately detailed strands to adorn hems on pants or dresses or as a border on pillows.

Little did she know at that young age how this traditional craft would later help her recover from the most traumatic experience of her life.

Continue reading "Weaving Their Way Back from Disaster" »

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Some people are pressured to work for the family firm.

Roger Berkley chose to, and found himself facing one of the more daunting tasks in North Jersey commerce today: running a successful textile company.

A staple of Paterson's hustling, bustling silk industry in the early 1900s, Berkley's company — Hackensack-based Weave Corp — is one of the few surviving relics from that era.

Continue reading "A Family Pattern for Success" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 3:32 PM | Permalink

Michael Gardner has his heart set on a cashmere blanket — canine cashmere, that is.

Beth Guislin already has a large afghan made from canine cashmere and cherishes the keepsake from her dog, Leo, a golden retriever mix who died in July.

After saving their dogs' fur for years during grooming, both Gardner, who lives in Los Gatos, and Guislin, of Palo Alto, found their way to VIP Fibers in Morgan Hill.

The 5-year-old company offers a distinctly different... uh, spin on a niche market: For a fee, Victoria Pettigrew will spin the fur from your dog or cat into yarn that can be used to knit or crochet into almost anything.

Continue reading "Spin Zone for Fur" »

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Pat Thompson says the music made by her loom is just as relaxing as music made with instruments.

Weaving is very peaceful, Thompson said. It's like playing the piano; the rhythm of the loom is music that you lose yourself in.

Thompson, 59, shares her love of weaving with members of Hartland's Black Sheep Weavers, a local fibre guild dedicated to keeping the weaving heritage alive and growing in Hartland and the state.

Weaving has been a part of Hartland Township since the 1930s when founder J Robert Crouse Sr urged the training of farming women to learn weaving as a home-based skill to supplement their agricultural income in the winter. As a result, in the 1930s and '40s, Hartland's was the third largest hand-weaving industry in the country.

Continue reading "Black Sheep Weavers Spinning a Proud Tale" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 2:32 PM | Permalink

She might be an American by birth, but Shalini Devi Holkar is attached to rural India.

In the news once again for Almond Eyes, Lotus Feet, which she co-authored with Sharda Dwivedi, she is not one to rest on her laurels. Already working on another book and taking forward her organisation Women Weave, Shalini Devi Holkar or Sally as she is better known, has her plate full.

Continue reading "Weaving a Global Partnership" »

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The Feltex carpet plant at Braybrook turns fleece into floor coverings, a true survivor of the era when Australia rode on the sheep's back.

On Monday workers in the factory's yarn spinning mill learnt that 205 of their jobs had gone elsewhere — across the Tasman to the cheaper, deregulated and largely non-unionised labour market in New Zealand.

Continue reading "Long-Held Textile Jobs Axed" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 10:51 AM | Permalink

TRAID is linking up with London Recycling Ltd to launch a new textile recycling scheme targeted at office workers.

The Suit into Loot campaign will encourage businesses in London to hold week-long events promoting the recycling of textiles, in which staff would be able to bring unwanted clothing or shoes to work for collection.

Continue reading "London's Textile Recycling Scheme" »

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Sheep and llama wool, alpaca, goat and dog hair and even rabbit fur from across the country comes to Gail White's doorstep.

Mrs White and her husband Jim have operated Ozark Carding Mill from a shop behind their home in rural Warsaw, Missouri for a decade.

Mrs White, 63, takes bags of wool and other animal hair shipped in from cottage industry producers throughout the US, cleans it, picks it, cards it and turns it into rovings, long stretches of clean wool ready to be spun into yarn or woven.

The operation is not your grandma's spinning wheel and hand-held carding tools. It consists of a laundry room with seven modified clothes washers, a drying room and four large pieces of heavy machinery used in an assembly line that runs almost all year. In 10 years, the couple have expanded their shop three times to meet demand.

Continue reading "A Hairy Situation" »

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A hundred-and-one-year-old Rajaram Padalkar, one of the few Puneites who believed in practising the Gandhian principle of vastraswavalamban or fulfilling one's clothing needs by spinning yarn, passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness.

His enthusiasm to spin khadi and to teach how to do it remained unwavering 'til the end. Until a few days ago, he spun yarn on his ambar charkha and was ready to teach the domestic help how to read and write, his son Dr Ajit Padalkar reminisces.

Padalkar, who, through his career had been a banker and lawyer began to spin yarn regularly in 1975 after his retirement. He used clothes and sheets made from his own hand-spun yarn and on special occasions, he would present gifts of khadi which he had spun to family members, his son remembers.

Padalkar leaves behind three sons, two daughters, grand children and great grandchildren.

Gandhian Padalkar no more — Pune Newsline

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Communal harmony surfaces in most parts of India in the most novel of ways.

Take the example of the Rajasthan village of Kaithoon, located 15 km from the town of Kota. Here, Muslim women weave saris for Hindu women, a tradition that has been maintained for several generations.

Kaithoon has hundreds of Muslim families engaged in spinning, dyeing and weaving of the exquisitely designed Kota Doria Saris, a drape patronised by millions of Hindu women across the country.

Continue reading "Sari's weave strands of Hindu-Muslim love in Rajasthan" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 1:31 PM | Permalink

What was heralded as the world's first Renaissance Knitting Faire, took place last weekend in Stratford. Over a three-day period, which began with a reception on Friday, a total of 185 people came to watch demonstrations, take classes or in some other way, learn about the fiber arts employed by women of the 14th through 17th centuries.

The themed event featured costumed local instructors offering classes in knitting, lace-making, spinning and other techniques appropriate to the Renaissance period, an era of artistic and cultural enlightenment in Europe that began in 1300.

Continue reading "World's First Renaissance Knitting Faire" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sara Lee Branded Apparel has purchased National Textiles, a yarn and textile maker based in Winston-Salem.

National Textiles has 2,900 employees and operates NC plants in Gastonia, China Grove, Forest City, Sanford and Eden, as well as a distribution center in Advance.

Its other plants are in Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia.

Sara Lee Branded Apparel is in the process of spinning off from its parent firm, Sara Lee Corp of Chicago, and becoming an independent publicly traded firm.

Continue reading "Sara Lee Purchases National Textiles" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Talk of converting a historic western suburbs textile mill into a $300 million housing development has enraged the clothing union and could close down Yarraville's textile industry.

The plan comes three years after the state and federal governments allocated substantial funding to ensure the viability of the Bradmill denim mill.

Textile Clothing and Footwear Union Victorian secretary Michele O'Neil said the Federal Government's Strategic Investment Program had been flagrantly abused by Bradmill owners, the De Lutis Group. The Federal Government has continued to give millions of dollars to companies like this, who take the money and run, Ms O'Neil said.

Continue reading "Yarraville Textile Mill in Danger" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 5:51 PM | Permalink

A lucrative export deal for Tasmanian woolgrowers, which will promote the Tasmanian brand to some of the world's top fashion houses, has been made with a Chinese textile company.

Delegates from China's largest wool textile enterprise, the Sunshine Group, visited the state yesterday and signed a memorandum of understanding in a commitment to do future business with Tasmania.

The textile company, one of the world's largest, plans to create a new line made exclusively from Tasmanian wool and promote Tasmania's clean, green image to the fashion houses of Europe and America.

In the first year it will buy up to 5000 bales of wool, which usually sell for $1000-$1200 each, and demand is expected to increase as the rest of the world recognises the wool's quality and strength.

Continue reading "State in Wool Deal with China" »

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The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has opened a training course on brocade weaving techniques for 50 Bahnar people in Glar commune, Dak Doa district.

This is a part of a programme to preserve and develop local people's traditional brocade weaving.

Continue reading "Vietnam Province Works to Preserve Brocade Weaving" »

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British troops combating the heat and dust of Iraq and Afghanistan have a new weapon in their armoury — germ-fighting underwear.

The antimicrobial underpants have been introduced by the Ministry of Defence as part of a new desert uniform for soldiers. They are the first undergarments issued to British troops, who traditionally have had to supply their own.

Military officials said the unisex trunks were made from artificial fibres for comfort, with silver particles woven into the material to prevent sweating.

Continue reading "Germ-Fighting Underwear" »

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While Iraqi political leaders were debating the constitution and women's rights this week, Mary Hamza was busy running a state-owned company with more than 800 workers, most of them women.

The company, which produces handcrafted carpets, was on the verge of collapse when she became general director in 2001. The State Company for Handmade Carpets was established in 1971 with 17 factories scattered around the country. By 1991, the company was making carpets mostly for the government, which meant many went into Saddam Hussein's palaces. Some of the palace carpets took three years to make, Hamza says. Exports had dried up.

Wars and sanctions continued to take their toll. By 1993 the company had shrunk to seven factories.

Continue reading "Women Weaving New Image for Iraqi Carpets" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 11:51 AM | Permalink

More than 60 students have traveled back in time this summer at the Prairie Adventure Camp in McKinney.

The camp is hosted by the Chestnut Square Historic Village. The village is modeled after a 19th century town, complete with a one-room schoolhouse. During the camp, which lasts three days from 9:00am to noon, campers, ages 7 to 12, participate in a variety of activities in the village buildings.

This summer marks the first time these camps were held (four camp sessions with approximately 15 students attending each), but the idea has been a long time in the making, according to Heather Boykin, the curator at the Chestnut Square Historic Village.

Continue reading "A Hands-On Approach to Teaching History" »

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Modernists in the textile arts seem to be passionate people who favour genteel clothing.

There's a lot of linen in the audience, Peter Shaw told his wife Polly Leonard, reassuring her that the talk she was about to give at the recent Stroud textile festival would fall on sympathetically radical ears. His savings helped her to launch, exactly a year ago, the magazine Selvedge, which is hailed as a revolution in textiles journalism.

Continue reading "Read What you Sew" »

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There is an instinctive altruistic quality that certain creative individuals develop as their craft progresses, one which enables them to focus on furthering their artistic pursuit in philanthropic ways.

Patricia Cheesman belongs to the group.

An English woman who was born in Singapore and raised in Hong Kong, Cheesman is a textile consultant to the Thai Ministry of Education as well as to the Lao Women's Union, and a professor at Chiang Mai University in the Thai Art Department. For more than 30 years she has been involved with in-depth field research on textiles throughout Southeast Asia and has established herself as a permanent fixture in the Thai and Laotian art scene.

Continue reading "Weaving a History" »

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A complex art form called ikat is weaving a spell on Washington museum curators and New York fashion designers.

Ikat is a style of weaving that has been performed worldwide, from Japan and India to Mexico and Argentina. Before weaving, the threads are tied into bundles, dyed and untied. (Ikat is a Malay word meaning tied or bound). The dyed threads are then woven into intricate patterns.

Continue reading "Ikat Fabrics Highlighted at DC Museums" »

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The scent of roasting lamb filled the air as blacksmiths hammered nails on an anvil and men locked swords in scenes typical of medieval times.

But the year is 2005 and conjuring up past eras in Zurich was the triennial Medieval Spectacular held outside the Frauenmünster Church.

Continue reading "Middle Ages Charm Crowds in Zurich" »

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Interweave Press, publishers of high quality craft magazines including Spin Off and Handwoven, have sold the company to Aspire Media.

Continue reading "Interweave Press Sold to Aspire Media" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 12:57 PM | Permalink

The receivers of Launceston's Waverley Woollen Mills, will start advertising the sale of the 130-year-old business this week.

More than 50 employees at the historic weaving operation were told last Friday the business was going into receivership.

Continue reading "Historic Waverley Woollen Mills to be Sold" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Prince of Wales is to receive a carpet specially woven to mark the 250th anniversary of the industry in a country town, it emerged today.

A replica of one of the first carpet designs made by hand in Axminster, Devon, is to be replicated on computerised looms.

It is to be unveiled in the weaving town on midsummer day — June 21.

It was on that day in 1755 that Thomas Whitty began to weave by hand the first Axminster carpet.

Continue reading "250 Years of Carpet-Weaving" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

World Fair Trade Day is 14 May and this year's theme, Fair Trade Is Peace is brought to life in Rwanda, where 400 Hutu and Tutsi women work together, weaving baskets for peace as part of Rwanda's rebuilding efforts after the devastating 1994 genocide.

Helping create a market for their products is New York City-based Economic Development Imports (EDImports). Founder Liz Wald, a former strategy consultant and Internet entrepreneur, partners with women living in marginal socioeconomic conditions in Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda to design and produce goods for export to North America.

After the genocide many Rwandan women were widowed and left without any economic means of support, stated Ms Wald. Experts have shown that building a viable economy is essential to building a lasting peace. Women are crucial to this process. EDImports' bridge to the west gives local women an opportunity to create sustainable enterprises.

Continue reading "Weaving for Peace" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 6:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ghana — Eighteen orphans in the Bolgatanga municipality have passed out after a two-year cloth weaving skills training at Bolgatanga.

The training and passing-out, the second in three years, was sponsored by the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS) in collaboration with the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) at the cost of 51 million cedis (AU$7,400).

Continue reading "Eighteen Orphans Complete Weaving Training" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 6:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A sheep in country New South Wales has celebrated its 21st birthday — a milestone in the ovine world.

Born during the 1984 drought, George was rejected by his mother, who could not feed him, and he was not expected to survive.

But he has now come of age and has enjoyed a party in NSW's west with 30 guests and a sheep-shaped cake, even though George has no teeth.

His owner, Myra Tolhurst, says she has tried to ascertain whether George could be the oldest sheep in Australia or the world.

We've never ever had a sheep as old as George. Normally they go to about 12, she said.

I did ring the Guiness Book of Records without success. They just told me they don't have a category for them.

George the sheep comes of age — ABC NewsOnline

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Scientists at the Babraham Research Institute in Cambridge have discovered that sheep experience complex human emotions like love.

Ewes fall in love with rams, sheep have best friends and they feel sad when members of the flock die or are slaughtered, studies have found.

New research shows 'sheep can fall in love' — icNorthWales (via The Register)

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The nature protection group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has asked Christmas gift buyers to avoid coral jewellery, crocodile skin and Beluga caviar if they want to enjoy a guilt-free holiday season.

The Swiss-based body included the three on a list of 10 items whose commercial exploitation was endangering animal and plant species already threatened with extinction.

Well wishers imbued with the Santa Claus spirit should also avoid buying tiger products or tigers for pets, it said.

All international trade of tiger products, whether used in traditional Asian medicine, as souvenirs or for good luck charms, is illegal, the WWF declared in a statement.

Ivory in any form should also be avoided, it admonished, because the ivory trade was threatening the survival of elephants whose tusks are its primary source.

The WWF warned Caspian Sea sturgeon, the source of Beluga caviar, face extinction due to illegal plunder and should only be bought in jars certified by CITES, the United Nation's agency fighting trade in endangered species.

High fashion shahtoosh scarves woven from the hair of Tibetan antelopes should be avoided altogether.

To obtain the wool, the antelope has to be killed, the WWF said.

Many cactus species are banned from international trade.

There is a flourishing illegal trade which is wiping out native populations, particularly from Mexico, WWF warned.

Finally, the WWF advised shoppers to avoid buying appliances like televisions and stereos that consume large amounts of electricity while on standby, arguing that the drain on energy they present was another threat to the environment.

Editor's Note: It's a bit late for Christmas, but it's worth knowing about anyway.

10 Things Not to Buy for Christmas — ABC News Online (via Gina Sirabella)

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Sportswear Giants Nike have designed a new range of trainers featuring Harris Tweed from Luskentyre

There was great news for the Harris Tweed Industry this week with the announcement that the multinational sportswear company Nike have ordered nearly 10,000 metres of the world famous fabric for a new range of trainers to be launched in October 2004.

Luskentyre Harris Tweed, run by Donald John Mackay and his wife Maureen, at their home in one of the most beautiful villages in Scotland, have landed an order from one of the world's most famous companies.Nike intend to produce a range of five different ladies trainers of the baseball boot type and these will have panels of the Luskentyre designed Harris Tweed. The amount of tweed wanted by Nike would have taken Donald John more than two years to make on his Hattersley handloom as his usual output is 100 metres a week.

Continue reading "Harris Tweed Trainers from Nike" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 4:15 PM | Permalink

A Yorkshire farm has raised one of the biggest sheep in the country — weighing in at an incredible 20 stone (127kg).

And five-year-old Griff the giant Oxford Down ram is still growing.

Farmer Jean Richardson said: Oxford Downs are the biggest breed in Britain. We've never seen one as big has him and he's getting bigger by the hour!

The woolly mammoth, as he is known by locals in Leven, East Yorkshire, is the stock ram of the third oldest sheep flock in the British Isles.

A continuous line of ewes has been bred by the Richardson family at Lamplough's Farm since 1898.

So Griff's doing a great job keeping up the tradition, said Mrs Richardson.

He's quite a character and really very tame despite his size.

So tame in fact that Jean's grandchildren, five-year-old Sam and eight-year-old Rachel can often be found riding around the fields on Griff's back.

The kids love him, said Mrs Richardson, and he's become quite a celebrity round here.

Griff, who has been stock ram for the last two years, has another year of siring duties ahead of him before he must be replaced to avoid in-breeding in the pedigree flock.

Farmer amazed by 'woolly mammoth' — BBC

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What was once a Monty Python joke has become reality with a renegade sheep eluding live export now set to live happily ever after.

The Monty Python team once joked about the most dangerous of creatures — a clever sheep called Harold who escaped after realising his life was about standing around and then being eaten.

Continue reading "Sheep Hides Out in Mutton Cove, Escapes Dinner Plate" »

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It's official. The Pembroke Merriwa Jumbucks from the NSW Hunter Valley region is the fastest shearing, spinning and knitting team in the world.

The team recently took out first place in the International Back to Back Wool Challenge held in Merriwa.

Fifteen teams from Canada, Japan and Australia competed.

Continue reading "Straight from the Sheep's Back" »

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Illana Weiner is young, single and living an edgy college lifestyle. Brooke Adams is in her early 30s, settled down with her hubby and expecting her first baby in November. The two have nothing in common, yet they drive across town to see each other several times a month — all in the name of stitchin' 'n' bitchin'.

Stitch 'N Bitch Phoenix, their knitting group, is more comforting than the name implies. Rather than chanting a solidarity mantra of knit one, purl two in front of the TV set at home, yarn enthusiasts from all walks of life are taking their needles to coffeehouses, churches, bookstores and community centres. They show up to meet new people and dish the dirt while churning out everything from beanies to bikinis. Today they are meeting in full force, taking part in National Knit Out at two local venues for 10 hours of needle-on-yarn action.

Continue reading "Knitters Gather to Exchange Yarns and Weave Fast Friendships" »

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Wool has finally cracked the 12 micron barrier thanks to this Queensland farming family's dedicated work.

A small 'Warroo' sign beside the road east of Inglewood, in Queensland's border country, points the way to the home of 2004's Golden Fleece — fleeces, rather from the housed Merino sheep that produced the finest bale of wool every grown in the world.

Continue reading "Warroo's World Beating Wool" »

Posted by Red Wolf at 2:35 PM | Permalink

Members who are registered in these courses are requested to note the following changes in the programs which are designed to reduce the work load in Part B.

Part A: mohair and alpaca must be completed in Part A for all who have registered this year. Members who registered earlier, i.e. up to and including 2003, may choose to spin both fibres in Part A or carry out the exercises as stated in the programs — via Mary Evans

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It appears Shrek the merino sheep has come down from the mountains of Bendigo Station not only to entertain the world's media but also to do good works. The high country renegade turned media darling will donate his 27kg fleece to the Cure Kids cancer charity, it emerged yesterday.

Amid of further day's flurry of interviews with international news outlets in Britain and Canada, Shrek's owner, John Perriam, told the Otago Daily Times the sheep would be shorn by 20 times New Zealand shearing champion David Fagan, possibly live on Holmes next week. Just where the event would take place was yet to be confirmed.

Continue reading "Shrek" »

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