39 steps to weaving the Borders way
Twelve miles out in the borders last July, I arrived fresh off the sleeper from London to take part in the Heriott Watt intermediate weaving summer school (sadly not handcuffed to a dashing companion). The promise was to explore weave structures possible with up to 24 shafts; since, a month or or so before, I had acquired my first loom, a 24 shaft Louet Magic Dobby, this seemed ideal.
I thoroughly enjoyed the four days. There were about 12 of us on the course, with one tutor, a technician to keep the somewhat temperamental looms going, and about 4 student helpers, all HW undergraduates on various textile courses. Many of the participants were keen to explore use of blocks and double weave. I wanted to develop skills in translating a design into a weaving draft .....
The weaving room had around 40 looms, mostly very tall old dobby floor looms.
Warping up was an education , involving various nifty bespoke devices and a stage of stretching the warp.
At the end of the course there was a sharing get together.
Good things: access to an experienced tutor (albeit shared amongst 12 of us), a fantastic very well ordered yarn stash, including many duplicate cones in a wide range of shades (hence the warp winding with 4 yarn threads at once), and beautiful surroundings (we did have very nice weather), easy on site (student) accommodation and food. Even better with: more time (as ever) a visit to the other textile facilities, print studio etc, arriving with a clear project in mind to get weaving at least by day 2; most of us it was day 3.
