2008 Creative Weaving & Knitting

Workshops at the Burnside

From Lace to Cable and Back Again

Creative Knitting

Sunday February 10th

2 - 3:30 PM

Monday February 11th

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

2 - 3:30 PM

Easter at The Burnside

Creative Weaving and Knitting

Sunday March 23rd

2 - 3:30 PM

Monday March 24th

2 - 3:30 PM

Found Objects

Weaving Workshops at the Burnside as part of the Arran Wildlife Festival

Creative Weaving and Knitting

Sunday May 25th

11 - 1:30 AM

2 - 3:30 PM

WEAVEFEST

The Burnside

August 23 - 26th

Come and Weave for 1 or 2 days, or drop in for demonstrations and a “wee shot” at the looms

Spinning & Natural Dyeing Workshops

Summer Weaving ‘06

I’ve completed a new work for the Website Gallery and exhibition this summer, inspired by a gift from a friend, a lovely wooden “found object” from the beach on Arran.

I’ve had the idea for awhile to weave the pattern formed when the waves ripple along the edge of the beach - looking like the cables from The Arran Sweater.

I sketched this one day about five years ago when I came home from a walk on Brodick beach.

It was November and I had been in Northern Iceland for a week working on a European exchange project. It was so stark and cold there and dark most of the day.

I wrote in my diary “… .walked on the beach with the dog today. It was so beautiful. We were followed along the beach by a seal not 20 feet from shore, coming as close as he dared to communicate with us. The mountains were covered in snow and the sky was a beautiful red colour. I felt grounded and happy to be here for now. The energy on Arran is much clearer than in Iceland, easier for me to relate to and feel comfortable with, even when it’s stormy.”

Weavefest ‘06

Burnside Gallery, Brodick, August 19-21, 2006

To celebrate the Weavefest I set up my Swedish rug loom which was built in 1888.

It still has the original natural reeds in the front comb which fits into the beater.

I used a 2-ply Shetland wool for the warp which looked beautiful against the old wood.

We had a steady stream of visitors “having a go” on a table loom set up by Tessa Smith of Lochranza to demonstrate 4-shaft weaving. Tessa also demonstrated weaving with alpaca yarn which she had brought back from Peru.

A group of foreign students came down to the Weavefest from Glasgow Unviersity with their mentor Grace Franklin.

I was weaving on the indigo warp. A wonderful discussion took place when Mingson Xue from a small village in Guangxi province, South China recognised the dye.

With the help of an electronic pocket calculator we discussed the growing and processing of indigo.

In Mingsong’s village indigo dying was an essential part of clothing production to provide the dark navy cloth needed for their work dress.

Mingsong “had a go” on the Swedish loom and reminisced about weaving in the village when she was a child.

Another example of our common worldwide heritage in textile traditions providing a link and a source of very human communication.

Cityzone Arts Club

A few days after the Weavefest another group from the Cityzone Arts Club came from Glasgow to visit the Burnside and see the loom in action.

I gave them a talk on “The Art of Traditional Textile Skills” with examples of very basic objects from my childhood - a pair of mittens, an embroidered picture and some handwoven pieces from the Swedish loom.

As usual, there were several among the group who were skilled knitters and embroiderers who had never thought before that their expertise could produce “art”.

Easter Workshops at The Burnside

Creative Knitting & Weaving

Easter weekend at the The Burnside was an inspiration for me.

On Friday the Duffy family from Glasgow came for a taster workshop and discovered that weaving not only shifted their focus as a family, but provided them with new skills and creativity which they have decided to pursue.

Out of the same basket of yarns they produced five very distinct and different weavings, incorporating materials they had found on the beach.

They decided in what Alison described as the quickest family conference ever to put a red spot on my “Found Object” weaving which was part of the Gallery’s open exhibition.

This weaving combined natural dyed yarns from birch leaves & indigo with yarns which I bought in Sweden on a return visit to Händarbetets Vänner, where I learned to weave in 1975.  The yarns represent the colours of the sea. The driftwood from Kildonan Beach & the hand blown glass ball pay homage to the influence of the sea and beach on my work.

On Easter Sunday a group of adults & children took part in a creative knitting workshop. They were on Arran to celebrate the combined 40th birthday party of a couple who were close family & friends.

The children learned the basics quickly and challenged each other to learn how to knit. The adults produced creative knitted landscapes and learned new techniques that they hadn’t managed before.

One of the children was there with her Gran. She reminisced about knitting squares for blankets during the war and produced an example in multi-coloured wool.

I have used her idea for a knitted version of the Galway Shawl. This pattern will be published soon on our new website for the Arran Pattern Company.

A few days after Easter Jenny & her daughter Catriona came to the Burnside with their “found objects” from the beach to learn the basic principles of weaving.

They enjoyed weaving so much that Jenny has ordered a frame so that they can continue to develop their skills and experiment with techniques.

For more information on courses at The Burnside or any of my work you can reach me by email.

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