Felted Primitive

Värtsilän Villa ja Värjäämö Workshops.

Dates:
From Friday 15th August to Wednesday 20th August

Cost: 150euros

Dyeing Wool Fibre with Natural Dyes

Due to popular request we are running a Natural Dyeing “Experience” over 5 days this summer, here, at our place in Värtsilä. From the 15 to the 20 of August. (I know, that is 6 days but everyone has to be here on the Friday evening and we finish up on the Wednesday evening…)

We have decided to run this as a natural dyeing “experience” rather than a “workshop/class” doing samples etc. It is more real for a start and more practical when dealing with multi-lingual groups. This all happens outside, using wood as a heat source. (It also keeps the costs for the participants down to a minimum… 150 euros or less, per person, for the 5 days, plus materials for any of your individual dyebaths. The materials cost will also include a small amount for wood.)
As a group, we will gather, process and make several 80/100 litre dyebaths of various plants to dye wool fibre in lots of two kilos or so.
Once this is up and running it gives us a chance to help you make any number of smaller dye baths, of 10 or 15 litres, to dye smaller amounts of fibre for yourselves… It is up to the group how this will work… if you work together as smaller groups or as individuals, we can make it happen…
We can supply the raw wool, mordants, etc. (and of course, all the instruction) and it will be up to you to choose and collect the dyestuffs and run your own dyebaths.
Any fibre you dye can be carded into batts of aboout 1kg.

There is no fixed schedule as such… once the main dyebaths are cooking it is up to the individuals to make their own choices of how much they want to do… if you want to stay up half the night dyeing wool, that is fine by us and if you want to sleep all afternoon that is equally OK… it’s up to you, we will try to accommodate everyone’s wishes…

We will provide morning coffee/tea and of course, whenever anyone wants to make some, they can, but otherwise it is strictly self-catering. Bar-B-Q type food is probably the easiest, but for the campfire connoisseur we can provide a wok, frying pan, pots etc…
Otherwise; they do meals at the “Inn”, including take away Pizza, and there is also shop in the village with everything you need… (If you want to buy wines or spirits it is a 100km trip… so come prepared if so inclined….)

Accommodation would be self-catering and runs from…
Cabins or tents at the campsite (kitchen area and sauna, riverbank communal barbecue and log shelter and a brisk, 250m swim downstream will find you in our backyard…) or B&B at the village “Inn”. 50euros a night for a double; and 32.50euros for a single, Including breakfasts… They have canoes so a brisk paddle, of a few hundred metres upstream, will also end up in our back yard.

We are in a very convenient place for short trips to Russian Karelia (Lake Ladoga, Valaam and other ancient monasteries) but you would have to organise your own visas etc… We would be only to pleased to take a short trip to Russia with you and show you a few of the in’s and out’s after the workshop has finished…
Contact us from the Värtsilän Villa ja Värjäämö web page… www.villivilla.org
Hope everyone is well and happy…

Take care now…
Roderick and Karoliina…