The Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers - UK - Issue 296, Winter 2025

The winter quarterly issue of The Journal WSD highlights inspiring dyeing and quilting projects, explains the Journal’s role as a long-term record (unlike the Guild’s monthly newsletter), and showcases new contributions such as natural feather dyeing research. The editor notes efforts to make past issues searchable and invites reader expertise, while encouraging enjoyment of the rich content inside.

Welcome to a packed issue of The Journal WSD to read during the dark, dreary days of mid-winter. I hope that there will be something to bring you both colour and inspiration when they are in rather short supply. After reading about Sandra Robb’s Dyeing Project (p.36) and Cathy Plummer’s amazing quilts (p.10), I’m going to use of some of my ever-increasing collection of foraged dyestuffs to dye parts of a charity shop Shetland knitting wool find for a Fair Isle sweater.

Have you ever wondered why this publication is called a journal, rather than a magazine or newsletter? One obvious reason is that the AGWSD has its own monthly Newsletter which is circulated as an online document via your Guild Secretary. If you are not seeing it, that is the person to go to. You should find their email address on p.49. Again, if not, ask them why not!

The newsletter contains items of immediate interest and has a short time between its compilation and circulation. In contrast, The Journal WSD is a document of record: a publication to keep and refer back to. This issue is no exception. When Frankie Owens wanted to know how to dye feathers with natural dyes, she could find very little information. Now, thanks to her sharing the results of her experiments on p.16, there is a record of this. No-one else need repeat her work, but instead there is a base on which to take the concept further.

As well as the index at wsd.org.uk/articles the Editorial Committee is now looking at ways in which all back issues can ultimately form part of a searchable database of content. If you have experience of projects of this kind, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Meanwhile, I hope you find something to delight you in this issue.

Lesley Fidler, JEC Chair