Soaking in the Seasons
A four part seasonal exploration into natural dyeing, foraging and nature connection.
The cost of this workshop is on a sliding scale (pay what you can afford) of £650 , £750 or £850
A collaborative workshop between Emma of Miscellaneous Adventures and Lorna
Soaking in the Seasons is a series of workshops for women exploring nature connection in diverse landscapes through natural dyeing, foraging, traditional skills, creativity and seasonal celebrations.
Each season, we will gather in a new landscape in the Lake District, Cumbria to search out natural dye plants and learn more about the flora and fauna surrounding us.
Each location is carefully chosen so that over the seasons, you will encounter a huge variety of plants, fungi and wildlife. We’ll adventure together in forests, mountains, mosses and coastland.
After exploring and foraging our dye plants, we will return to our base to experiment with the material we have gathered, making dye baths and applying the dyes to a range of natural fabrics.
The fabrics we dye will be used to create textile pieces over the four sessions. We want this to be a community experience, working together to create beautiful things and as such the creative direction of our textile projects will develop organically through the sessions. To give you an idea, think wall hangings, weaving, quilting, sashiko and more!
Who is this workshop for?
The workshop is for women who want to slow down and spend time connecting to the natural landscapes in the community of other women.
To be creative
To learn new skills
To form new connections.
Places available
There are 10 available spaces on the course. Participants are signing up to all 4 sessions.
Accessibility
Some level of fitness is required as each session will include a foraging walk in various terrains and all weathers. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Emma or Lorna and we’ll be happy to help.
About Emma and Lorna
Emma is one half of Misc Adventures, she lived in the woods for 11 years where she taught workshops designed to encourage people to connect with nature and learn traditional woodland skills. Now based in Cumbria, she has studied ethnobotany and teaches foraging and medicinal plant use. Her background is in graphic design and she specialised in textiles and embroidered type.
Lorna is a specialist in split wood basketry and has been working and teaching in woodlands since 2010. She studied archaeology and social anthropology and she is interested in how people create a sense of belonging from land-based work and crafts. She enjoys sewing her own clothes and soft furnishings when she isn’t running her basketry business.
They are both passionate about sharing their knowledge and skills, empowering people to connect to the landscape and it’s history, and fostering a deeper connection to their natural surroundings.
Where is it?
Each session will be a different location which will be revealed closer to the date, but they will all be in and around the southern/western fells of Cumbria.
Please bear in mind that some of the locations are likely to be remote and you will need your own transport.
We’ll be happy to suggest suitable local accommodation for those who will be travelling to join us.
What is included?
All materials and tools.
A Soaking in the Seasons journal and pencil.
A cooked lunch and plenty of hot and cold drinks, cakes and snacks.
Dates and season details
Each session run from 9.30 - 4
4th August 2024 - Mountains - Lammas
For our first gathering we will be exploring the wild landscapes of mountains and valleys. We will have an indoor base (with outside space) to prepare this season’s dyes and we will be heading out into the fells to forage for plants and learn more about the landscape it’s history and ecosystems.
We’ll be celebrating Lammas together, which traditionally was a time to honour Lugh, the Celtic craftsman god so we will take the opportunity to celebrate our own skills with a small ceremony and fire.
3rd November 2024 - Mosses - Samhain
November is the darkest time of year, so we will gather indoors to make our dye baths and experiments but venture out again into another new landscape to gather materials whilst the sun (hopefully) shines. Mosses are areas of raised mires (peat bog), and are a prominent feature of the Cumbrian landscape. They are home to a wide variety of plants and wildlife and even in early winter, we will have no trouble finding things to forage and experiment with. We may even be lucky enough to see the local Red Deer.
After a day of connecting and creating, we will gather around a fire to celebrate Samhain with warming, seasonal foraged teas.
2nd February 2025 - Coasts - Imbolc
For our February session we will gather at the coast. Winter will be coming to an end, but the days are likely to still be cold. We will have a cosy base with a warming fire and will spend a lot of this session working with the fabrics we’ve dyed, to create textile pieces of art. We will also spend time outdoors, exploring our natural surroundings and discovering what there is to be found in winter by the sea.
Our seasonal celebration will be Imbolc. A celebration of the end of winter.
4th May 2025 - Woodlands - Beltane
Basing ourselves in a beautiful Cumbrian woodland in the Rusland Valley, we will prepare a fire to gather around, cook on and heat up our dye baths. For the first part of the day we will be peeling oak. A traditional woodland skill, bark peeling involves removing the bark from felled oak trees. The bark is traditionally used by tanneries to tan leather but we will use it in our natural dyeing experiments and the now clean, smooth oak we can use in our creative projects. After bark peeling, we will walk in the woods to forage other plants to experiment with before returning to our fire to prepare dye baths and soak the fabric.
The rest of the day will be spent learning about the woodland, connecting with our surroundings, checking on our dye experiments and finally, we will stoke up the fire and have our own Beltane celebration to celebrate the end of our time together
During all the sessions, there will be plenty of time for experimentation, adventure and connection. We will be guided by nature, letting things unfold organically rather than sticking to a strict sylabus.
We hope you will learn more about the Cumbrian landscape, plants and their uses, and traditional craft skills, as well as creating a beautiful item imbued with the colours of nature.
Terms and Conditions
This course is for over 18s only.
Sadly, due to location restrictions, we are not able to accommodate dogs on this course.
Participant cancellation:
If you need to cancel your place on the course please give us as much notice as possible.
If it is up to 21 days before the course start date, we will re-advertise and endeavour to fill the place. You will get a full refund
If it is less than 21 days before the course start date you will not be automatically eligible for a refund, unless the space can be filled.
I know that emergencies happen and they aren’t always conveniently 21 days before an event. Get in touch and we’ll try to help in any way we can.
Course cancellation:
If there are not enough bookings for a course to be viable by 21 days before the course date, then we will contact all course members immediately by phone or email and all payments will be refunded in full.
If we have to cancel the course at short notice due to any unavoidable circumstances, then we will contact all course members immediately by phone or email and all payments will be refunded in full or vouchers issued.
