Aileen writes: “A pic of my Stay A While shawl pattern by Louise Zass-Bangham.  It’s about a 4 ply.  Dark purple is Merino and silk.  Light colour is a 100gm bag of mixed fluff with a wrap of a thin boulle from a cone.  As usual I enjoyed spinning it, and this time I didn’t have to be clever to … Read More

Aileen has been at it again! This cushion has turned out beautifully, and I do like the large button. Woven on the rigid heddle loom.

I always weave on a rigid heddle, which I love.  It is quick to warp up and it is easy to produce fabric easily.  With my “landscape weaves” I try to mainly use Aran or chunky weight wool.  This makes a reasonably heavy weight fabric which holds a cut (when washed at 30 degrees or hotter), is easy to work … Read More

I’ve been trying in my own way to work out how to use techniques which seem to appear by accident, in an intentional, and eventually creative way. When I like an effect, I need to be able to do it again! Easier said than done. Tablet weaving seems a bit like understanding computer- code, and there ‘s not a chance … Read More

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at natural dyeing for some time and last summer I finally put aside 2 weeks of sunshine to have some fun. Granted some of the dye pots were inside (like the madder) because I wanted finer temperature control than the open fire could give me, but most of the pots were done outside. … Read More

Aileen, like quite a few of us, has been experimenting with weaving, and asks “Can we use waste for weaving”.  It’s the sort of question we pose to ourself that can spark a myriad of answers.  She  has experimented using nibs and some of the poorest of wool to produce 8 bobbins worth from the Joy, and then set off weaving with … Read More

This is a detail of a Fair Isle jacket made with Jameson and Smith top spun to 4 ply. The spinning and fair isle was good.  Unfortunately I chose a bad pattern.  It took an age and I never where it.!

Hand woven on 16″ rigid heddle.

Hand dyed 100% wool pencil rovings (food dyes and a microwave!), hand spun and 2 plied.

Aileen Wilby has sent me this lovely project to share.  I’m most impressed with the soft feel of this (yes I have stroked it !) and how those bright colours added into the blend give the finished piece a lovely zing.

… to share what you’ve been doing creatively. When you’ve got your site access from the admin, by making a request in our “contact us” form, you’ll be able to log in and tell us about your recent project. It would be good to add in a picture to let us see ! I’ll give you full directions of how … Read More