Mastercrafts weaving

by seileasdar 12th March 2010, 10:04 pm

I am just watching the programme on BBC2 about Mastercrafts.
It's the weaving episode,
and I love every minute of it. Takes me back into a very happy place I used to be a few years ago, watching and looking after the tapestry weavers at the castle.
I still have a loom sitting, warped up, yet a tad weak, I think.
I have the thread, and a sort of idea, and need to brush up my Hachures, hatching, etc. but I think it would be great to do, will ground me again.

Now I can't wait!

Anyone else weaving? Fabric? Tapestry?

by Adrian 12th March 2010, 10:10 pm

Oh yes, I have lusted after weaving ever since Tom Good bought his loom for a tenner from the Junk shop.

by Dandelion 12th March 2010, 10:11 pm

I loved weaving at college, but haven't had the opportunity since; actually, what I loved most about it was the chance to play with colour, and can still do this with things like knitting.
I personally loved Holly's fabric the most: it may have been less exciting technically, but to me it 'sang' - heart rather than head again?

by seileasdar 12th March 2010, 10:37 pm

I agree, Dandelion, I loved how she played with the colours and made the fabric sing its song by itself,
while Trevor's piece was very elaborate but did not really appeal to my heart.
But then, I am an abstract and colour woman.
Loved the colours on the other woman't fabric, so vibrant and alive!

by Compostwoman 12th March 2010, 10:57 pm

I really felt she could have been so good if they had come back in about a months more time...she just needed time to master the technicalities, and in a proper apprencicship she would have had the time I guess...

My "to do " list just got longer.... I have a peg loom project on the go and a simple wool weave I am in the middle of...and I have a half finished design for a loom in the process of me collecting wood for it..

I have SO MANY things I want to do/ have on the go! Programmes like this just add to the list......( head bang emoticon goes here....)

by MrsC 12th March 2010, 11:02 pm

Damn, damn, damn - why do I always forget this is on??? Right iPlayer tomorrow - too tired now. Never tried weaving, but have always wanted to!

Mrs C

by Compostwoman 12th March 2010, 11:03 pm

Well worth watching Mrs C!

by seileasdar 13th March 2010, 6:38 am

... and doing! Surprised

So peaceful and rewarding in a slow sense.

by Compostwoman 13th March 2010, 8:38 am

I make simple card looms to weave with children, and often do weaving with natural materials and raffia or jute when we are in the woods...it utterly engrosses even the most easily distracted, boistrous, lively child for a long time....

Something very hypnotic about it...

by polgara 13th March 2010, 8:48 am

I remember doing that when I was a child, also remember when the boys were young.

With thin enough wool I could even do some rugs for the dolls houses mmmmmm will have to think about that. Thing is how do you take it off at the end, is it just a cut & trim thing? Do you have it on your blog CW?

by Compostwoman 13th March 2010, 8:52 am

I have some pics of doing it with paper strips Pol, on my work blog...(moorswood etc...)

Look in the crafts section...it IS a cut and trim, with paper I turn back the edges and carefully gluethem down, with wool, I tend to use a bit of pva glue painted around the cut edges to stop them fraying, or leave them on the card and frame them....

by polgara 13th March 2010, 8:54 am

Thanks for that. I sometimes wish the grandchildren were younger so I could do a bit more with them.

by Dandelion 13th March 2010, 11:17 am

polgara wrote:

Thing is how do you take it off at the end, is it just a cut & trim thing? Do you have it on your blog CW?

On something fine, like dolls' house fabric, you could zig zag it if you have a swing needle sewing machine to keep it all together at the ends. It would save having to turn over a hem which might be a bit bulky

by Dandelion 13th March 2010, 11:19 am

You could also divide the warp into bunches and knot them, making them into tassles if this fits in with what you are making.

by polgara 13th March 2010, 1:36 pm

Had thought of the tassel idea, but the whole thing will have to go in the whenI box at the moment.
Pol

by seileasdar 13th March 2010, 6:59 pm

I remember very vividly the time when I had cracked my hatching,
and was so in the zone that I could not stop weaving.
I just had to go on and on, and under my fingers, this wonderful lovely wafty colour arrangements of three colours going in and out of each other grew. loveflag

by MrsC 13th March 2010, 11:26 pm

Just caught up with this on iPlayer. Fab programme! Will go to sleep happy and dreaming of weaving now. Another thing on my to do list.

Mrs C

by MrsC 14th March 2010, 6:54 pm

If anyone's interested there is an interview with Margo Selby here (a short version of what I believe is in the Mastercrafts book.

I have also come across Holly Berry's blog here.

Enjoy!

Mrs C

by Adrian 14th March 2010, 7:02 pm

seileasdar wrote:I remember very vividly the time when I had cracked my hatching,
and was so in the zone that I could not stop weaving.
I just had to go on and on, and under my fingers, this wonderful lovely wafty colour arrangements of three colours going in and out of each other grew.

You make it sound so beautifully dreamy

Managed to download Weaving today, so pretty excited to see it tonight

by seileasdar 14th March 2010, 7:24 pm

It is a very relaxing art when you are in the flow.
It can be rather concentration demanding when you want to create shapes and images, but when you are in full possession of what you do, then it's magic.
I don't know if the same is true for fabric weaving as they do in the mastercraft episode, but I assume it will be rather similar.

by Luath 14th March 2010, 8:28 pm

The weaving section in the book is interesting. I have several and various looms - a 4 shaft table loom, rug loom, peg looms, small rigid heddle looms. They are headed for the studio/cabin in the garden for the summer, when I aim to get to gripw with them all this year. I have done weaving on the small rigid heddles; very therapeutic and relaxing, I can recommend it!
If anyone wants a go, contact your local branch of Weavers Spinners and Dyers Guilds - there will be someone to teach you if you wish, probably lomm/s to borrow (and spinning wheels), talks to attend, equipment to buy and just generally spend time with like minded people.

by Adrian 14th March 2010, 10:52 pm

Oh my oh my

Just caught up with the programme and my goodness what beauty. All three had such joy on their work, each piece sang.

I loved Mumtaz's colourway and her perseverance. I understood completely her dissatisfaction with the obsession with perfection. Hollys final piece was astonishing, I would be proud to own that piece, so beautiful, loved it. I loved Trefs work too, a little busy for my tired old eyes, but I loved the complexity and colourway.

And what lovely empathetic people. Seriously blown away this evening.

by Dandelion 15th March 2010, 10:26 am

yes, it was the empathy which really came over to me as well - it seemed to be about people as well as weaving.

by Adrian 15th March 2010, 10:42 am

Well as both Tref and Holly have joined us, I do hope that they will be able to tell us more about their experiences over the 6 weeks of their training. I for one would be fascinated to hear more.

I learned a lot from the program, mainly that I could never be a weaver. I lack the meticulousness that it needs, and would be completely confounded by setting up the loom stage, let alone holding a pattern.

The longsufferingspouse did remind me that with knitting, crochet and needlepoint tapestry, I do enough fabric arts anyway and for once, I am happy to agree with him.

by MrsC 15th March 2010, 3:01 pm

You see I think I'm the opposite Badger in that it's the idea of having to understand the mechanics of it all that appeals to me (being an engineer and all). Then again that doesn't mean I'd be any good at it.

Would definitely like to have a go at some point. I just need to work out how and when (certainly I don't think it would be easy to sit at a loom with bump in the way!)

Mrs C

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