Home & Hearth-Side Skills Exchange

At Judith Hoad’s Home in South West Co. Donegal
This series of working weekends with Judith is organized to welcome participants on Friday evenings with a simple meal. Up to six people can be accommodated. There are two bedrooms, each with a pair of adult sized bunks and one double bed sleeping loft in the main living room. The Saturdays will be spent with Judith showing and assisting in the learning of a selection of simple skills that have fallen out of fashion during the last generation or so. The Sundays, up to 3pm, will be spent by the participants undertaking tasks around the inside and outside of Judith’s home; these may be home decorating, or hedge cutting, or firewood splitting, gardening etc. etc. Judith intends to offer these weekends on the third weekends of each month from January to July, 2009. This may be extended, depending on the interest. Judith has other skills, not listed here, which may be useful.

Judith offers:
DARNING, PATCHING & MENDING January 23-25th 2009
KNITTING SIMPLE GLOVES, MITTENS, PUDDS & SOCKS February 20-22nd 2009
MAKING BUTTONS & TOGGLES March 20-22nd 2009
HANDSPINNING WOOL April 17-19th 2009
MAKING A BRAID LOOM May 15-17th 2009
WEAVING A BRAID AND FINGER WEAVING June 19-21st 2009
LICHEN DYEING/VEGETABLE DYEING (wool & silk) July17-19th 2009

Judith asks:
Each participant to bring any ORGANIC fruit and/or vegetables as a contribution that she undertakes to cook ; bring materials and tools, as requested when you book to come; bring working clothes for Sundays. Please DON’T bring any processed, convenience, non-organic food as a n offering.
Judith’s home is ‘off the grid’ and totally eco-friendly; there is no indoor plumbing, so no shower ; there is an indoor, compost toilet that needs emptying on a daily basis; no proprietary chemicals are used anywhere around Judith’s home, so no washing-up liquid, or usually cleaning materials; the lighting is by electricity which is generated on site by both photovoltaic panels and a wind turbine; it has to be used economically. There is, therefore, more to learn than just handskills! The life-style is simple, but it is NOT austere – the living spaces are warm and comfortable and warm/hot water is always available on the range.

Enquirers are asked to telephone or email, initially – 0749 736 406, judithhoad@gmail.com