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Charlotte

@wanderandstitch

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• Aotearoa artist crafting textiles 🍉
• restoration ecologist + sheep farmer
📍Banks Peninsula NZ, see my store ⤵️

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Lambing season is upon us here in Aotearoa New Zealand and one of my sweet 2 year old Blacknose Valais x Romney ewes has had her first ever lambs - and she wants to introduce them! Say hello lambies 🐑

It is such an immensely special treat to be greeted and shown babies like this; after forming a bond with this curious lady over the last year and watching her grow from a wee one herself into a mama.

Although she’s a 75% Valais Blacknose ewe, I didn’t get the ladies tupped by a purebred Blacknose ram last year, instead letting the local farmers Suffolk rams do their work - and let me tell you, the ewes loved those boys. So, one of the lambs has the Blacknose fluff, and I’m hoping is a girl, and the other has the classic Suffolk short-curl which is not so great for wool but will still be a cutie nonetheless.

More lambs to come! Can’t wait to meet em all 😍

#sheep #lambs #valaisblacknosesheep #wool taken in New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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2 months ago

‘Oracle’ is a durable Romney lambswool in one-off colourway. Romney being a stronger wool has a coarser feel and is perfect for hard wearing outerwear like socks, gloves, a jumper or blanket

Available as two braids: 120g and 170

I picked this wool up from a local farm with a craft mill that utilises big old equipment here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The wool is unique, and rustic, in that it’s not been processed commercially

You can find this, and more special spinning fibres, handspun yarn and knitting yarns at www dot wanderandstitch dot com

#newzealandwool #nzwool #spinningyarn taken in New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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7 hours ago

Orange possum fur is something special I’ve been working on for the last year.

Orange possums aren’t common, and we seem to have an unusual amount here on Te Pātaka Banks Peninsula where I work as a restoration ecologist, helping our native forests regenerate following colonial deforestation.

Part of this work involves culling brushtail possum, which are a treasure to Aboriginal people in Australia, yet, they are considered an invasive species in New Zealand where they consume huge amounts of vegetation and impact the health and regrowth of our forests.

But, possums didn’t ask to be here, they were imported by colonists intending to start a fur trade. And now, they are demonised and scapegoated as a scourge on our landscape. Millions of dollars have been poured into eradicating these honestly quite cute beasties, and with possums reproducing at a rate of 30% increase per year, their populations do need to be managed and kept under control.

Being a fiber artist working in conservation puts me in a unique position where I am able to honour these animals by collecting their fur and turning it into fiber blends for spinning yarns.

After realising how many different shades of fur are out there, I have taken care to separate the fur from orange possums and am pleased to be offering to other fiber artists this very rare and special fiber. I hope you too will be able to treasure this precious resource.

To any fiber artists out there who are keen to give possum a try - i am happy to give advice for blending and working with this very short yet extremely snuggly fiber. The results are worth the trial and error, I promise! It’s the perfect way to level up your skills.

Find orange possum fur, and regular gray possum fur, at www dot wanderandstitch dot com taken in New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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3 days ago

‘Void’ is a one-off, only two braids available, peep into the depths.

100% NZ Corriedale wool, local grown and farm milled just 40mins from my studio in Aotearoa New Zealand.

A rich, deep purple giving lots of mood with dashes of pink undertones. Void will be pair well as a contrast with soo many other colours.

See Void, and the rest of the new collection at www dot wanderandstitch dot com taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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3 days ago

Here it comes! I’ll be getting all the latest goodies loaded up in my tiny store today, including new item - bookmarks!!

I have been painting up these pretty bookmarks after rekindling my obsessed with reading and finding that I need a bunch of bookmarks for all the books I end up having on the go.

I also dyed a bunch of local sourced wool fibre, it’s all pretty rustic which reflects its farm grown and milled story.

I have orange possum fur! For any adventurous fibre preppers keen to test their skills or try something new - hmu for advice!

And I got my hands on a limited qty of English Leicester wool roving which is coarse and strong yet lustrous, another one for the keen fiber preppers to try out - will make for lovely sock fibre if you blend it in with softer wools

From my studio, to you - with love!
Find it at www dot wander and stitch dot com taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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4 days ago

Very pleased to be back in my studio packing up beautiful orders to send to lovely fibre artists in Canada and USA! I cannot describe how much peace it gives me to sit down and label and pack my work, reflecting on the season of my life that it was made in. And how great it is to be sending local New Zealand wool, straight from the farm out into the world!

August/September are hyper busy months for my ecology business, on top of my responsibilities in my local community (and the drama that goes with it), I was starting to feel pretty overwhelmed and really needed the couple days I got to spend in my studio last week.

Now I am feeling revitalised, and thrilled to have extra studio space and mental capacity to make even more beautiful wool goodies 🐑

And on that note - store update with new stock coming super soon!! taken in New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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7 days ago

She’s only gone and done it!!!

New work whip acquired taken in Banks Peninsula by @wanderandstitch

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15 days ago

Being on the cover of a publication was not on my bingo card for this year but I’m thrilled to introduce my feature article in tinyStudio magazine - a publication about fibre artists, by fibre artists!

It is truly a privilege to be included amongst such incredible artists and art history. I am so grateful to Suzy of @fiberygoodness for reaching out to me and her enthusiasm to share my story, to write about what inspired and has led me on my journey into the world of fibre arts.

With a huge spread, I had loads of space to share about my adventures and how they’ve got me to where I am today.

I write about my time abroad discovering traditional textile arts like natural dyeing and silk production, my journey travelling Aotearoa in a van stopping a every yarn store I could and how I picked up spinning along the way, my last few years in Birdlings Flat as I’ve become an artist, a sheep farmer, and a restoration ecologist.

I also talk about my aspirations for the future and where I what direction I’m heading in with fibre arts from here.

You can pick up a digital copy and enjoy it over the weekend with a nice cuppa, with over 120 pages of fibery goodness to explore, it truly is a wonderful publication and you can get to it from the link under my bio or via @fiberygoodness.

There’s also physical copies available (incredibly beautiful!), and you can take a look at past editions too, so i definitely recommend popping over for a gander - im sure you’ll draw some inspiration! taken in Aoraki / Mount Cook by @wanderandstitch

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a month ago

A very busy, loud and exciting knitting experience awaits with these skeins of no-nylon sock yarn featuring the natural strength of coarse Lincoln wool blended with a lush base of soft merino

I have three skeins available in this colour

The base is the 80% merino 20% Lincoln wool sock yarn by @wildearthyarns. This yarn is reported to be hard wearing, with heels felting and reinforcing naturally; the way they should.

You can see this and more at www dot wanderandstitch dot come taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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a month ago

Only one Vintage Rose braid left!

Another of my tiny batch, one off colours in 100% Polwarth wool sourced from a farm-mill near my studio

Unique and rustically produced, yet soft and lofty when spun. She’s lovely.

Find this fibre for spinning, and more goodies like indie dyed yarn at www dot wanderandstitch dot com! taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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a month ago

Shop update is live and both braids of ‘Mulberry’ have already been scooped up!

A dreamy blend of gray smudged with pops of pinks and blue like an oil slick.

100% local sourced and farm milled New Zealand Polwarth wool

Just two 100g braids of this colour in existence, snapped up already. I’d love to see how this spins up!

See what else is online at www dot wanderandstitch dot com

#wool #spinning #handspun #indiedyersofinstagram taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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a month ago

Update is live! Indie dyed yarn and fibre for spinning available at www dot wanderandstitch dot com

All made by me using local-sourced wool, and local possum and mohair too!

The handspun yarn is Polwarth wool that I dyed and spun on my espinner, it’s a soft sports weight yarn and will feature beautifully in colourwork knitting or a weaving project

Which is your favourite? 😻

#yarn #handspun #wool #knitting taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @wanderandstitch

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