I’ve always loved textile work and got my mum to teach me knitting basics in my teens. I have made my own clothes since I left school. I make patchwork and quilts with the left-overs. Some years ago, while on holiday in Yorkshire, we visited a weaver’s
workshop and I was tempted to take up this skill. But I decided I had
enough on my plate at that time, but always wished I had the space and skill to do it.
In the summer of 2023 I visited the Worstead Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, had a try of a rigid heddle loom and that was it. I decided the moment had come, so I bought my own table top loom and joined the Guild in the Autumn. It has been a joy ever since. I have made several scarves from my beloved stash of yarns and have begun to weave finer yarn on my new Saori loom.
Both the rigid heddle and the Saori looms enable me to create practical, surprising and unique fabric. And now I'm learning to spin and to ply yarns to make art yarns, the endless combinations of colour and texture are quietly addictive.
Spring Tartan
Woven on a rigid heddle loom in a mix of slubby green, yellow and white cotton.
Red Cross, Yellow cross
A generous wrap woven on the rigid heddle using a wool mix with darker flecks of fleece.
Pretty in pink
A pure cotton wrap, woven on the riged heddle using a clasped weft and clasped warp.
Soari I
My first Saori weave, using cotton warp and a mix of cotton and wool yarns. Techniques include inlay and clasped weft.
