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In France, lavender flowers from mid-June to mid-July. This is when large fields of mostly lavandin bloom. But did you know that true lavender – Lavandula angustifolia – often flowers already from May? My lavender garden is at 1200 metres in Andalusia, Spain, and here the lavender is already in bloom. I can imagine that lower down the lavender blooms even earlier. Flowering season has started!
Last spring, four lavender plants had aphids. I didn’t take it too seriously and that wasn’t a good idea. Within a short time, the plants were covered in aphids and ants were coming and going. The plants looked worse and worse. I knew they would survive, but I could forget about harvesting these plants for the time being.
I am going to wash raw wool to test the quality as felting wool. Maybe for the last time because I hope to have a large batch of sheep wool washed soon. Over the past 2 years I have gained a lot of experience in washing raw wool. While washing this small batch I tell you about my experiences.
After the first step of washing and carding discarded sheep’s wool in my neighbourhood in small amounts, I am now entering a new phase. Will I succeed in washing and carding the wool of an entire flock of sheep? The long road to putting sheep’s wool back into use.
Wild flowers and spring! Every day that I go out the wild flowers surprise me. It seems as if they agree at night, to suddenly be all there the next morning. They pop up from nowhere. I will try to make this spring every day a picture. Most species are common but no less valuable for that. Wild flowers are good for biodiversity, for us humans and for the bees. They all tell the same message that it is (almost) spring!
The dandelion has just started to bloom in the fields. I’m curious to see how natural dyeing wool with dandelion will turn out. Now that I have an abundance of sheep’s wool, the time has come to make something of it. I bought the book Wild Color by Jenny Dean and I’m eager to get started.
Sheep’s wool is a beautiful material, but unfortunately in general it scores poorly on animal friendliness and environment. Positive is that it doesn’t contain any plastics and it stays warm en beautifull a very long time. Against this background, it’s pretty crazy that the shepherd in my neighbourhood can’t get rid of his wool. He has a shed full of it and nobody wants it.
Today I tell you how to make lavender soap with dried lavender. The result is a wonderfully smelling, nourishing soap for your whole body.
Soap making always went well, but maybe it was beginner’s luck. Since a few years I make my own soap with laurel berry oil. And a basic olive oil soap. I had excellent results. Until today. What went wrong with the soap? I tell you.
