Tartan Pink

Last month I visited Moffat in the Borders. It was very cold and frosty but the weather for the two days we were there was perfect.
There were many lovely walks and we enjoyed following the river around the outskirts of the town. I  love taking photographs and keep a file on my computer with images which I think might be useful for inspiration  for weaving.  Close up pictures of flowers can transform into colour studies. The texture of tree bark and moss covered walls can translate into weaving ideas.

snowdrops by the river

A moss covered wall

 This lovely little town has a strong weaving tradition and in the local mill shop this loom was set up to weave.

Moffat mill in Scotland

I have just finished the FutureLearn course about Robert Burns so I was delighted to find this information on the outside wall of a pub.

I love tartan. After seeing a shop full of tartan products, I went home inspired to design my own variation.  I decided to use up some of my yarn stash and weave an unusual version of my own.  I chose two colours of wool, pink and red, and devised a pattern. The weave structure is plain weave on four shafts. Using only two colours it is really a check pattern. I used a tartan pattern as the basic outline and reduced it to the two colours.

This weave draft shows 1.5 repeats.  Look at the actual scarf for the pattern.

Drawdown for tartan pattern in two colours

Here is the finished scarf. It was quick to weave.  It has been washed carefully as it is pure wool and will felt if treated harshly. The ends were knotted to form the fringe.

My pink and red tartan.

I like the two colours.It is very bright and cheerful for a cold, dull winters day.

The latest edition of the Swedish Weaving Magazine

I have just received the latest Vav Magasinet.  The editor travelled to the Shetland Isles, Elgin and then on to North Uist and Harris and Lewis.  Quite a trip!  It is a lovely edition with lots of fascinating details about tweed and the people who weave this sturdy cloth.

Happy weaving

Susan J Foulkes March 2016

Fashionable Woven Bands

Wandering through the centre of Durham in January, I saw a white coat in a shop window. Around the waist was a lovely black and white woven band.  I went inside the shop and it was part of the coat not a belt to be bought separately.

Black and white woven belt.

It is really lovely.  It has 27 patterns threads.  Here is a close up.

Close up of pattern

It is very unusual to see a woven belt on a garment.

The pattern is lovely but I have not had time to analyse it yet.
Here is a close up of one of the motifs.  The white pattern on a black background is very striking.

The ends of the belt were finished with a simple fringe.

A few weeks later they had this jacket in the window.  Such lovely patterns on the cuffs.  They are reminiscent of band patterns.

Geometric designs are fashionable at the moment.

I have just received the latest Journal for Weavers, Spinner and Dyers.

Go to the web page for details   www.thejournalforwsd.org.uk

I have a book review published in this edition.

Die fabelhafte Welt der brettchengewebten Stola und Manipel zu St. Donat, Arlon
By Claudia Wollny
Published by Claudia Wollny edition.  Paperback 128 pages
ISBN 978-3-00-047682-2

This beautifully illustrated book is in four languages German, French, English and Dutch.  Her web site is lovely   http://www.brettchenweben.com/ and will be of interest to all tablet weavers.

Susan J Foulkes  March 2016