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COMMON THREADS

Where Did The Summer Go?

I don't know about you, but the last three months since the Summer Show seem to have flown by. In my non-weaving life, I run a hand dyed yarn and fibre business, so part of the summer has been taken up with preparing for some of the large yarn and fibre shows up and down the country that I sell at. In between all of that there has been New Designers, the Saltaire Makers Fair last weekend and a lovely week at the biennial Summer School organised by the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, held this year at Sparsholt College, just outside of Winchester in Hampshire.

So first, New Designers. Sue G has already shown you some of her highlights from when she visited; here's a quick whistlestop tour of the Bradford School of Art stand from an exhibitor's point of view. First off, here's the Common Threads crew on Preview Day:

Then a couple of wide shots of the full stand. BA and HNC work was mixed in together, with a focus on the colours flowing from one collection to the next.

Finally the five Common Threads members' work. Firstly Lin's:

Then Sue C's:

Mine:

Sally's:

And finally, Margot's from various angles, as you needed to circle it to get the best of it.

It was an exhausting week, but exhilarating too.

August saw me travel to Hampshire for the AGWSD Summer School. I was lucky enough to have half of the fees funded by an Association Bursary (otherwise I would have been unable to attend) and I loved it. I attended the workshop led by Sue Hiley Harris entitled Silk Weaving with Tapestry Inserts. I didn't know quite what to expect, but the first day I picked up a lot of tips and techniques that have significantly speeded up my warping. Eye are some of Sue's pieces. The handspun is used in the colourful inserts woven using tapestry techniques -some colourful, some more subtle.

It became a real exercise in striping my weaving techniques right back to basics and building it up again. Plain weave in cream silk does not give you anywhere to hide wonky selvedges or changes in beat! I didn't get much done (spent too much time spinning the Silk which was a real joy!) but I made a start on something that might be a scarf or might be a wall hanging.

Everything in the groundcloth that is level with or below the grey will be removed once the work is off the loom, to leave the three coloured inserts as points. It's an interesting technique- not at all like what I am currently working on, but I can see places in my design where I could use this technique.

Finally, last week I attended the Saltaire Makers Faire as a maker! I was invited to take one of the recent Bradford graduate stands and found it a really interesting experience.

It's not a great shot as the light was beginning no the stall, but it was lovely to talk to so many people.

And now? Well, now to return to yarn show prep - Yarndale is just round the corner!

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