Wonderwool Revisited

It is hard to believe that it is already two weeks since our wonderful visit to Wonderwool in Wales where we met so many enthusiastic fellow weavers and shared our love of the rigid heddle looms and the lovely fabrics they can produce.

This year as well as selling our three weaving books we were promoting Sarah’s range of Get Weaving sewing patterns especially designed, by her, to fit onto narrow widths of handwoven fabric made on the rigid heddle loom. With over twenty different designs for all members of the family these patterns proved very popular, especially as we had actual garments made from the patterns for people to see and handle and try on.

It was also a great a pleasure to catch up with old friends and fellow weavers.  Here is Rosie Green from the Saori Weaving stand wearing a very beautiful dress made on the Saori loom using the clasped weft technique.

It was also a delight to meet up with the Ashford Boys who were over here in the UK for this show and then off to Europe to meet up with all their suppliers. They are the new, young face of weaving and it was great to have their support as we do so love the Ashford equipment, though some of you may have spotted a Schacht rigid heddle Flip loom hanging on the wall behind them!  We do like to use all types of rigid heddle looms and we are so pleased to see so many new ones on the market today. To find out more about the sewing patterns go to Sarah’s facebook page.

 

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Wonderwool in Wales 2017

We are so looking forward to being at Wonderwool in Wales this weekend (April 22nd and 23rd) with our new and exciting collection of garments made from narrow widths on the rigid heddle looms.

This year as well as selling our three books on weaving on the rigid heddle loom we will also be promoting a new and innovative range of sewing patterns especially designed for narrow widths of handwoven fabric so that you can make so much more than just scarves and bags from your lovely weaving.

Sarah and I will be on our stand GET WEAVING (T3) in HALL 2 on Saturday and Sunday demonstrating all day and we will be happy to answer any questions or help if we can.  We also look forward to seeing some of the lovely things that you have woven on your rigid heddle looms.

We will also have our three books Simply Woven, Creative Weaving and Get Weaving for sale at a special show price so do come and give us a look if you are there.  If not, we promise to tell you how it went in our next update. Happy Weaving

Scarf # 12

Hard to think that this little chap could have been the inspiration for all the lovely yarns used in this scarf. They include silk, merino wool, Shetland wool, lurex thread and tri-lobal nylon! Quite a mixture, but all lovely and soft to the touch so easy to weave with and nice to wear.

 

 

More Yarn Ideas

Scarf # 10

Sometimes its good to let nature do the designing for you so remember when you are out in the garden on a sunny day to take lots of pictures which you can use later on for reference. Not all scarves need to be woolly and this one is made from cotton yarns along with a viscose boucle and a rayon ribbon yarn.  This makes an attractive scarf for spring wear and is ideal for people who are allergic to wool.

 

Scarf # 9

Sometimes a few spring inspired colours can get us through the grey days.

Three or four fine threads in varying shades of green, white and lemon were combined to make one thread for each pick of the warp. The weft was a light yellow mohair yarn beaten down very gently.  Although each individual warp thread is very fine their combined strength will allow you to keep the warp nice and tight. The better the tension on the warp the neater your selvedges will be and the easier it will be to weave.

Scarf # 8

This very cold and frosty morning here in the UK really calls for an extra long scarf to wrap around your neck several times. This pink and green scarf is made from handspun alpaca fibre and is especially cosy. If you are a spinner, new to weaving then these scarves are a great way to try out your handspun yarns. The plastic reeds that come with all the new rigid heddle looms are very kind to the warp threads, so using your handspun for both the warp and the weft is quite possible.  Just remember to beat gently to allow the yarns to breath.