Win an Elizabeth 30
Ashford Wheels and Looms – the global leader in the manufacture of quality spinning wheels, weaving looms and textile equipment – is celebrating 90 years in business. We are excited […]
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Author: Tina Gill
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Ashford Dealer Spotlight – Twilight Fiber and Yarn
Welcome to the Ashford Dealer Spotlight! Where we highlight Ashford dealers from around the world, giving you a chance to learn more about their journeys and businesses. We’re excited to […]
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Knit City Montreal
May 16th – 18th, 2025 Montreal, Canada What a fantastic weekend at Knit City Montreal! We were thrilled to attend this vibrant event alongside our local Ashford dealer, Catherine of […]
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Ashford Dealer Training Canada
May 12th-14th, 2025 Montreal, Quebec Canada Kate, together with Marc from Harmonique Fibre Arts Supplies—our Canadian distributor—hosted a three-day Ashford Dealer Training Workshop in Montreal. With over 20 enthusiastic participants, […]
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H + H Americas
May 7th – 9th, 2025 Rosemont, IL, USA Earlier this month, Kate and James exhibited at H & H Americas, a B2B event for the fibre and textile industry. It […]
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Susan’s Fiber Shop Visit
May 4th 2025 – Columbus, Wisconsin USA Kate recently visited Susan’s Fiber Shop for an Ashford demo day. While Susan was away attending the Maryland Sheep Show, her wonderful team […]
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The Yarn Barn of Kansas Visit
May 2nd-3rd 2025, Lawrence, Kansas USA Kate visited The Yarn Barn of Kansas in Lawrence for the first time to do some staff training and in-store demos. Established in 1971, the […]
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The Woolery Visit
April 29th– May 1st 2025, Frankfort, Kentucky USA Kate had a great time visiting The Woolery, spending time with their fantastic customer service team for hands-on product training sessions. The […]
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Wonderwool Wales
April 26th – 27th, 2025 Builth Wells, Wales, UK Kate worked with David and Kathy of Frank Herring and Sons, our UK Distributor, at Wonderwool Wales hosting a demonstration and […]
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Wingham Wool – Ashford Demo Days
April 22nd – 23rd, 2025 Berkeley, UK Our thanks to Ellie and Tom of Wingham Wool for organising two fantastic one-day Ashford Demo Days. Wingham Wool has been a cornerstone […]
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The Ashford Award Winners for 2025
Due to the high caliber of applicants this year, Elizabeth and Richard have chosen two joint-winners, and James has increased the award to $7000. We are delighted to announce the […]
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Creative Fibre Festival
Creative Fibre Festival, 10-13 April 2025, Christchurch, New Zealand. Creative Fibre is the New Zealand organisation that brings together people with a passion for fibre crafts and textile arts. Spinners, weavers, […]
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Twill on a rigid heddle loom – no pickup sticks required!
Have you ever admired the consistent perfect patterns of twill and wished you could weave it on your rigid heddle loom? Well, you can. Here are the instructions to weave […]
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Ashford Artist of the Month – April 25 – Asle Tveitnes
This month’s artist of the month has been working with textiles for more than 60 years! Originally from the Hardanger region of Norway, he re-discovered his passion for weaving about […]
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Remembering Betty
Betty Booth 1940 – 2024We remember our treasured friend and mentor, Betty, who has been such an important part of our family, and our business, for many, many years. For […]
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Ashford Dealer Spotlight – Wild Hand
Welcome to our second post in our new Blog series – the Ashford Dealer Spotlight! Where we will be highlighting Ashford dealers from around the world, giving you a chance […]
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Same, same but different!
Hand dyed fibre is so beautiful but it can be intimidating. How do you know what your yarn will look like once spun and plied? How will the colours merge […]
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Double Delight
The Jack Loom shows its versatility by weaving very delicate yarns into a soft, beautiful fabric. My journey with “Jack” (my Ashford Jack loom) has been a busy one. Recently, […]
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Ashford Artist of the Month – March 25 – Sarah Finley
As we weave our way through 2025, with March already upon us! We are thrilled to introduce our latest Ashford Artist of the month – Sarah Finley, from the UK. […]
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Hearts, leaves and more – on an Eight Shaft
I’m constantly amazed by the endless possibilities you can create from a single threading on a table loom. What I love most is the freedom it offers—you’re not locked into […]
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Four colour double weave
Agnes Hauptli is an award-winning member of the Professional Weavers Network of New Zealand. Agnes loves her 16 shaft Ashford table loom and with these four colour double weave placemats, […]
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Unapologetically Enthusiastic
Andrew, an enthusiastic weaver, creates eight different tea towels on a Jack Loom using the same warp. These beautiful, lush teatowels (in Ashford 5/2 cotton) featured in The Wheel magazine, […]
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Ashford Dealer Spotlight – Blackwattle Yarn and Fibre
Welcome to a brand-new segment of our Blog – the Ashford Dealer Spotlight! In this series, we will be highlighting Ashford dealers from around the world, giving you a chance […]
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Ashford Award 2024 Update
Ashford Textile Award 2024 – Final Report from Lauriston Farm, Goldhanger, Essex, UK Website: www.lauristonfarm.co.uk Facebook: LauristonFarm Instagram: @lauristonfarm Lauriston Farm was thrilled to win the Ashford award in 2023 […]
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Ashford Artist of the Month – Jan 25 – Kate Zazzara
We are thrilled to feature you as our Ashford Artist of the Month! The Ashford blog reaches 25,000 subscribers, and we’re excited to showcase your work and share your story […]
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Sheepish Fields
Ewe won’t baa-lieve how adorable this pattern is! Fleece your eyes on the fluffy rows of sheep grazing in the field! Whether you are the black sheep or part of […]
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Making waves
Another fun and simple way to add some flair to your weaving is by using a wavy shuttle. These patterns are not only enjoyable to experiment with, but they also […]
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3 NEW Corriedale Colour Theme Packs
We are thrilled to offer 3 NEW Corriedale Colour Theme Packs to our popular CSP collection. Convenient seven colour packs of 30 micron Corriedale sliver pre-packaged in 100gm bags.Perfect for […]
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Ashford Dealer Retreats
We recently hosted two, week-long dealer training courses, designed to empower dealers with in-depth knowledge of Ashford products. Over the course of two consecutive weeks, approximately 24 dealers each week […]
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NEW Sliver Colours
We have added two NEW beautiful colours in our Corriedale and Merino dyed sliver ranges – Aqua and Seafoam. To view the full colour range of Corriedale and Merino fibres CLICK HERE To […]
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NEW Silk Merino Colours + Scarf Kits
We have added two NEW beautiful colourways to our Silk Merino Blend collection. Arizona – a stunning interplay of vibrant turquoise, earthy terracotta’s and soft white. Reminiscent of the warm […]
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Fun with Pickup Sticks – Part 1
We were thrilled with the fantastic response to our recent blog post about colour and weave techniques on the rigid heddle loom! It’s always exciting to see such enthusiasm for […]
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Simply Wool – Local wool empowering local women
In the heart of South Africa’s Free State, an inspiring initiative is empowering local Basotho women to transform their lives. Chantelle Hamilton founded Simply Wool to help mothers earn an […]
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2 Scarves – Houndstooth and Log Cabin
Christmas is approaching quickly but there is still plenty of time to make handmade gifts. Here are two of my favourite colour and weave patterns, woven in plain weave on […]
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Ancient Techniques from Modern Day Masters
Elizabeth and Richard have just returned from a trip to Canada and were honoured to visit Haida weaver Evelyn Vanderhoop in her Masset home on Haida Gwaii. Evelyn has helped […]
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Cromwell Spinners & Weavers workshops
In August the Cromwell Spinners & Weavers held two weaving workshops with great success. Over two days (10-11 August) 6 students learned the basics of Rigid Heddle Weaving. The course […]
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NEW Table Loom Shuttle Race
When our current folding table loom was designed in the late 1990’s, Richard sought advice from weavers around the world to ensure we incorporated the most important features requested by […]
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Hemstitching
Hemstitching is a way you can secure the ends of your weaving without having to sew or tie knots in the warp ends. There are several variations of hemstitching – […]
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Colour and weave on a rigid heddle loom
Colour and weave is a way to create the illusion of complex, interesting, and just a bit fancy patterns within plain weave. So your rigid heddle loom is perfect for […]
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Hybrid warping on a rigid heddle loom
There are several ways to warp your rigid heddle loom, the two most common methods are direct warping and indirect warping. Direct warping is fast and easy and is the […]
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Tea Treasures – A Hand Spun Art Yarn Tea Cosy
Lea transports us to a magical wonderland of creativity and delight. This hand spun, crocheted tea cosy is fun, creative and very functional! A great addition to your afternoon teatime. Lea […]
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16 Shaft Twill
The Ashford 16 Shaft loom – Twill – featured in Handwoven Fall 2024 This threading can also be woven as a tumbling blocks pattern. I have included both drafts below. […]
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Inkling Around: Turned Krokbragd
Joan Sheridan created these beautiful sheepscapes in turned krokbragd woven on an Inkle loom. The first band (in the 5/2 cotton) featured in The Wheel magazine, Issue 32. Joan has […]
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Australian Sheep and Wool Show
Libby recently attended the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, held in Bendigo, Victoria. In conjunction with Ashford dealer, Winterwood Felt & Craft Supplies, owned by sisters Verity and Clancy King. […]
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Stash busting with a multi-coloured twill
By Robyn Spady. ‘As seen in Heddlecraft, issue #42, shared with permission. Robyn Spady was introduced to handweaving as a baby with her handwoven baby blanket woven by her great-grandmother. […]
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Unique Experience
Have you ever dreamed of visiting the Scottish isles and the Faroes? Joy Ashford ‘s family came from the Orkneys and Richard and I have always wanted to visit – […]
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Cottolin yarn review
Can Ashford’s cottolin yarn change my mind? A yarn review by Robyn Spady, Heddlecraft As seen in Heddlecraft magazine, issue #42 and shared with permission. I like weaving cotton. I […]
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Ashford Artist of the Month – Aug 24 – Michaela Cordes
Imagine living and working, together with your husband, on a beautiful canalboat travelling the waterways of England and Germany. Michaela Cordes does not need to imagine it – it is […]
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Treasured Gift
Elizabeth was overwhelmed when she received two beautiful shawls from Daniela Rýznarová from Dalin Praha, on Elizabeth’s stepping back from the daily operations of the business. We have had the […]
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Felted Frilled Vessel
I meet Helene when she visited us here in Ashburton last year. Helene has been felting for over 10 years and enjoys working on flat and structured 3D pieces, loves […]
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