Here’s a little story about spinning dog hair or ‘chiengora’ as it is also known.

Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived a woman named Lian. She was known for her remarkable skill in spinning and weaving, creating the warmest and softest garments anyone had ever worn. But her secret wasn’t wool from sheep or fur from rabbits—it was something far more unusual.

Lian lived with a pack of loyal sled dogs, powerful and thick-coated animals who pulled her sled through the snow-covered forests as she gathered herbs and firewood. Each spring, as they shed their thick winter fur, Lian carefully collected the tufts of soft undercoat, spinning them into fine, luxurious yarn. This yarn, known as chiengora, was warmer than sheep’s wool and softer than cashmere, and Lian’s hands worked magic with it.

The villagers at first scoffed at the idea of wearing dog fur. “Who would wear something made from a pet?” they whispered. But as the winters grew harsher, Lian’s scarves, gloves, and coats became highly sought after. Even the elders, who had survived countless brutal winters, admitted that nothing kept them as warm as Lian’s chiengora garments.

One particularly harsh winter, a young traveler arrived in the village, nearly frozen from the cold. Lian wrapped him in a coat made of chiengora, and within minutes, warmth returned to his pale face. When he awoke, he revealed that he was a merchant from a distant land, and he had never felt anything as warm and light as the coat she had given him. He begged her to teach him the art of spinning chiengora, promising to share it with the world.

Lian smiled and agreed, but only under one condition: he must always honor the bond between humans and their dogs, using only the shed fur and never harming an animal for its coat. The merchant swore an oath, and soon, chiengora became a treasured secret passed down through generations, warming people across lands near and far.

And so, the legacy of Lian and her beloved dogs lived on, their fur woven into stories as rich and enduring as the warmth of the yarn itself.

I have been involved in helping to facilitate a few workshops over the last week or so, funded and delivered by the Department for the Economy, and Ards & North Down Council.

The aim is to help develop and enhance numeracy skills within the adult population using events and workshops such as knitting and crochet, rather than formal numeracy training. 

Recharge Retreat has been involved in the delivery of a number of knitting and crochet sessions with the Ards and I have been helping with this element of the scheme.

Each group has been supplied with wool, hooks, needles etc and charged with producing baby blankets for a charitable cause, and no matter what each individual’s skill and experience level is, everyone has been very productive and creative, giving the scheme a much wider impact that the development of numeracy skills

Lots of chat, sharing of skills and experiences and a warm cup of tea or coffee, scones, sandwiches and tray bakes to help cope with the cold, damp weather!

And the Ulster Bank came along to give a very helpful talk in how to identify and avoid scams.

This week’s project at Ards Arts Centre was to crochet or knit ‘worry worms’. These little wiggly worms are packed into a pretty bag, along with an uplifting message, and the idea is to leave them in various places within the community – park benches, gateways etc where they can be picked up by members of the public.

The idea comes from a movement called ‘The Random Act of Crochet Kindness’ with the hope that they will give the finders a little lift to their day.

Find out more at these links:

Their website.

Their Facebook page.

We made St Valentine’s Day decorations at Ards Arts Centre on Tuesday evening.

We wrapped wool around pre-cut wooden hearts, sewed hearts from fleece remnants and went daft with beads and ribbons.

I am very happy with the results and everyone went home with their own decorations for their home.

This evening’s workshop at Ards Arts Centre was so much fun. We made St Brigit dolls from wool.

St Brigit is celebrated at Imbolc, 1 February, and this marks the beginning of spring. St Brigit crosses are traditionally made as part of the celebration, from straw or reeds.

I think that some of our Brigit’s were looking a bit bohemian by the end of the evening!