Still Distracted

I continue to be distracted by the weaving - it is such an easy thing to sit down and weave a few strands every so often without having to get the messy stuff out! I've turned my last little piece into a brooch.

I think it goes this way round, although originally I thought it might go this way...







Either way works for me!

It will be making its way into my Etsy hypsela shop shortly.

And I have a new piece in the frame already...

I have had a request for some more seaglass cards in my hypsela shop so that's what I shall be doing today - no weaving for a while!

Distracted

So, I have a new printing press which I had been waiting really impatiently for, and what happens?  I get distracted by a bag of woolly bits!

I find weaving on a small scale like this to be really calming and therapeutic, and, after all, things have been rather hectic round here lately!  I think this piece might make quite a nice little brooch when it's finished, with the addition of a button perhaps, and maybe some beads along one edge... what do you think?

I haven't neglected the printing completely - I made up these 3 little test plates, here all ready for their shellac coating.

 

 

And I decided I wasn't all that keen on the composition of the plates I made the other day, so I cut one of them in half

and chopped the top and bottom off the other one.

Maybe a little drastic, I shall let you know how they turn out!

Experiments with Basket Weaving

I belong to a lovely textile art group - we meet once a month and have workshops from visiting tutors and try out all sorts of different techniques.  At the last session we looked at different traditional basket making techniques.  We were shown how to make simple woven baskets from paper - I had a go at home with strips cut from a paper carrier bag.  It was a bit fiddly but I was chuffed when I finally got them to hold together!

 

I have long admired the little baskets made by SewDanish on Etsy - I am even more in awe now I know how fiddly they are - hers are so much neater than mine!  I think I need more practise.  A lot more practise.

Basket by SewDanish

Basket by SewDanish

During the session on Saturday I worked on using a traditional knotting technique - not to make a basket, but to cover a rather nice piece of driftwood I had in my bag.  And of course I had to add a few of my favourite shells...  I really enjoyed this, it was a very calming process and I'm pleased with the result.  Makes a nice sound when you shake it too!

 

The coloured thread is all waxed linen thread.  It is a bit strange and sticky to work with but makes really satisfying knots, and I love the subdued colours.  There is a bit of a problem with this stuff though; it is apparently made in Northern Ireland - it says 'Crawfords Belfast' as clear as anything on the label - and yet it seems you can only buy it in the US.  It's not cheap and by the time you've added on shipping, VAT and the good old Royal Mail handling fee it's going to be exorbitant.  So if anyone knows where you can get it this side of the pond do please please let me know.

More Weaving

I have been stuck at home today with a cold, feeling sorry for myself. Well enough to want to do stuff but not really well enough to do anything much... and bored! I did take some photos of some little weaving experiments I did the other week - not very good pics because of a certain lack of light at the moment - but here they are anyway.

The first sample I made, I was experimenting with including strands of a fine copper thread to add a bit of sparkle - very subtle and doesn't show too well in the photo, you can see better if you click on the image for the larger version.  Part way through I decided it needed a bit of green - I do like using little bits of fluffy yarns, they add interest to the texture but the weaving manages to keep the fluffiness under control!

The next piece is my favourite - the coloured bits are pieces of grass - I was really pleased with how well they worked.  This is where I discovered I had holes in my slippers as I kept rushing outside in the wet to get just one more piece of grass...

And the last one I got a bit carried away with the whole using natural materials thing and used some bits of twig - they don't hold together so well so I think I need to rethink the technique for this.

Weaving

Yesterday the textile group I belong to were lucky enough to have Sue Lawty as a visiting tutor.  Sue is an amazingly inspiring and generous teacher and her work is fabulous - do go and have a look.  I have done a little bit of weaving before but not 'proper' tapestry weaving.  Usually after one of these days I am far too tired to do much in the evening but yesterday, tired or not, I was back on the weaving the minute I got home!  Here is my little sample, not much, it is only 2" wide and I have been using fine threads so it grows very slowly.

I don't really have a plan for it, I am experimenting with combining different fine threads together at the moment to see the effect I get.  Then I want to try using grasses, and wire, and...  I am finding it totally addictive!