Braid Society Exhibition, Workshop and AGM

The AGM for the Braid Society was held in the Gateway Education Centre in Shrewsbury.

Gateway Education Centre in Shrewsbury

http://shropshire.gov.uk/the-gateway-education-and-arts-centre/

This Arts Centre is also hosting an exhibition of members work.  I have put a short video on my Facebook page but here are some close up photographs of some of the exhibits. If you can get to the exhibition, you will find a fascinating range of work from 3D hangings to practical garments made with a variety of techniques.

display in the window at the entrance. 

exhibition room

The exhibition room is beautifully lit and the exhibits looked stunning in this setting. A lot of work had been put in to set up this display of items by members of the Braid Society.

The vibrant jacket - I want one!

Close up of jacket by Jaquie Carey

The jacket is a splash of colour. I remember seeing the work in progress for this garment.  It took many many hours of work.

Bridget's carpet slippers and Ian's archery strap.

These comfortable carpet slippers are made with carpet wool on an inkle loom. The archery strap is tablet woven.

The Return of the Owl by Anne Dyer .

Two of my woven crios 

The Workshop

 On Friday, I ran a workshop where participants could learn to weave and to design pattern with 9 pattern threads.

The heddle is a specially designed double slotted heddle with shorter lots for 9 pattern threads. It can be also be used to weave patterns with 7 and 5 pattern threads.
The 9 pattern slot heddle is an ideal way for beginners to learn to weave patterned bands.  Even if you are experienced, this heddle is an excellent way to introduce non-weavers to the delights of producing creative woven bands.
Why not teach someone else to weave?

ready warped heddles

Here are eight of the warps I made for the workshop.  I decided to use bright colours which were inspired by volcanic lava flow. One end of the warp is tied tightly and a loop fixed around the warp. This loop is attached to the G-clamp on the table.

setting up the room

a Shacht cricket loom

 Two participants used their own small rigid heddle looms. These are ideal with the narrow 9 pattern thread heddle.

A comfortable weaving position.

 A comfortable weaving position is important.  Kay found it easier to sit on the floor.

Concentrating hard

Most participants used a g-clamp on the table to attach their warp. In the afternoon, everyone tried design work and then had the option of weaving their own design or following a pattern.  By the end of the day, the work produced was wonderful.

Talk: My Takadai Journey to the third level and beyond.

After the AGM, Jennie Parry gave an inspirational talk.

Setting up for the talk

Jennie provided some beautiful items for us to examine. As you can see, her pieces are three dimensional and move. Hearing about her creative weaving journey was a real inspiration for all of us.

Some of the wonderful samples Jennie provided.

The takadai

Strands: the Journal of the Braid Society

Finally, the latest edition of Strands, the Journal of the Braid Society was available. If you are not a member  of the Braid Society, it is worth joining for the Journal with its range of expertise shown in the various articles each year and access to a a group of lively craft minded individuals with a range of interests.

The Braid Society is easy to join. Here is the web address so that you can check out the details.

https://thebraidsociety.wildapricot.org/

Susan J Foulkes November 2018

Here is the address of my Facebook page so that you can see the short video.


https://www.facebook.com/sue.foulkes.5

Workshop at the Old Kennels in June

Workshop June 2017
The Old Kennels

The Old Kennels - the conservatory and the gazebo.

Thursday 15th June and Friday 16th June 2017

This two day workshop on Swedish Band Weaving provided the opportunity for a small group to learn how to weave patterned bands using a double slotted heddle and backstrap. The Old Kennels prides itself on organising courses which have a small groups of participants so that tutors can tailor the workshop for individual needs and skills.My workshop has nine participants and filled very quickly.

Day One

• Learned how to set up a backstrap and rigid heddle in a good weaving position.
• Start to weave a selection of heart and flower patterns or knots and meanders.
• Started a band neatly.
• Learned how to add in a new weft thread.
• Gained a good understanding of the pattern draft and weave structure.
• Examined a range of different woven bands from Sweden.

Day Two

• Opportunity to weave more patterns of choice.
• Learn how to make a warp and thread the heddle.
• Learned how to finish a band neatly.
• Examined different ways of finishing bands such as decorative tassels and knots.
• Learned about lettering and started to weave a letter.
• Learned how to design a decorative border.

The setting is idyllic and the weather was very hot indeed. We started the workshop in the conservatory but soon moved outside to the gazebo.

Inside the conservatory

One of the delights of the Old Kennels are the alpacas and the cats.

Unfortunately, it was too hot for the alpacas to stay outside.  However, Christine managed to take this lovely photograph.

Some of the newly shorn alpacas.

One cat in particular liked to feel part of the workshop. Sylvester was quite a character.  He would leap onto the work table and find the place where he would be most in the way.  He then would fall instantly asleep!  He was the most restful cat I have known.

The best place to sleep

All the heddles were ready warped so that the group could begin quickly.  I demonstrated how to start the woven band and the first few picks.  Then everyone could have a go.

Demonstrating the start of the band.

We had a break and then on return it was to find Sylvester stretched out as usual.

An even better place to sleep

The booklet to accompany the workshop gives lots of patterns for hearts and flowers.  We started with hearts but everyone soon moved on to the pattern of their choice.

Following the pattern.

The first two hearts

Lunch was amazing.  I am pleased that we were only there for two days as the food was plentiful and very very tempting.

After lunch and for the following day, we moved outside. Having the opportunity to work outside was great.  The gazebo offered shade from the sun but was also cool.

working outside in the gazebo

On the second day, Christine started to weave letters and produced quite a long piece.  Unfortunately I was so busy I did not have time to take many photographs and it was soon time for the workshop to end.

A sample of work at the end of the first day.

I managed to get together pieces of work from day one. People who had never tried this type of weaving before managed to complete many designs.

Looking through the brochure made me keen to try an attend a workshop next year.

Take a look at some of the wide variety of courses that they provide at this lovely venue.
The Old Kennels at  http://theoldkennels.co.uk/

The Old Kennels,
Stentwood,
Dunkeswell,
Devon, EX14 4RW
tel. 01823 681138

Thank you to all the participants and to Christine for sending me some of her photographs.  I hope that you all had as much fun as I did.

Online Band Weaving Workshop with the Braid Society

 October 2017

Do check out the details for the online workshop in October.  The details are on the home page of my blog.

My travels around the Baltic region have shown me the colourful heritage in many countries. I would like to share some of the lovely patterns with you in this online workshop.

The workshop will be spread over three weeks and will be open to anyone who has joined the Yahoo group, Braids and Bands. All the patterns will have 13 pattern threads.

If you are a member of the Braid Society, there will be a fourth week with more complex patterns.  Do think about joining the Braid Society.

Happy Weaving

Susan J Foulkes July 2017

The Braid Society November 2015:

The Braid Society is a fantastic organisation for anyone interested in narrow wares - braiding, plaiting, band weaving, tablet weaving, sprang, etc.  There is a facebook page for the Braid Society on https://www.facebook.com/groups/BRAIDSandBANDS/

It was founded in 1993 and has members around the world.  The aim of the Society is to promote the education and practice of the art and craft of making constructed or embellished braids and narrow bands. Next year is exciting as the 3rd International Braiding Conference is being held in Tacoma in the USA.

Check out my blog for details of the workshop that I will be running at the conference.

Click on this link to see what other workshops are on offer. https://thebraidsociety.wildapricot.org/
Booking is now open for Braid Society members.  Non-members will have to wait for a couple of weeks.

Cover

Here is the latest annual journal Strands.  I always look forward to it as there are so many different craft interests and so many interesting craft practitioners.

This edition is no exception.

Contents page

My article about the stunning Latvian belt from Lielvārde has an accompanying YouTube video to illustrate the weaving process. The Lielvārde belt: weaving motifs can be found at this link.
 https://youtu.be/t9Dekjt8uog


The article by Celia Elloitt-Minty is a wonderful detailed examination of some of the tablet woven textiles from the Hallstadt culture 850 - 450 BCE.  It is fascinating to see some of the motifs which also appear in patterned band weaving. Tablet weavers will be interested in the details of threading tablets explained by Gail Marsh.

There are three articles about different aspects of braiding. Barbara Walker describes one type of braid with six variations. Rosalie Neilson shares her red white and blue braids inspired by the US team at the Sochi Olympics and their sweaters. Jacqui Carey tells of her search for Naxi braids in China. The final article by Shirley Berlin looks at prayer ropes.  The instructions for making these lovely knotted strings are given in detail with an excellent series of photographs.  I will definitely be trying this technique for myself.

The centre pages are a set of beautiful photographs from the Braid Society Travelling Exhibition 2015. The theme for the exhibition was Spring is Sprung and the different interpretations of this are so colourful.

Curiosity and experimentation are such important foundations of innovation.  It is an inspiring issue, as usual.

Online discussion group. 

https://groups.io/g/braidsandbands is a discussion group moderated by the Braid Society and primarily exists to provide members with information about Braid Society activities. Non members of the society with a genuine interest in braids and bands are also welcome to join this group. Members can ask questions about any narrow ware technique, or share details of their latest project. For details on how to join, go to the Braid Society home page.

I have organised five online workshop for Braids and Bands over the years.

I will be running another workshop next year for Braids and Bands.  I thought that it would be useful to go 'back to basics' and take a closer look at bands with 5, 7 and 9 pattern threads. The workshop will be useful for beginners but also remind more experienced band weavers that using only a few pattern threads, delightful bands can be produced.  I do not have a date for the workshop as yet as I am still working on the materials.  It will probably be later next year.

AGM of the Braid Society.

The AGM was held in a beautiful building in the centre of Leeds.  The facilities were excellent.  I was thrilled to be asked to give the talk in the afternoon.

I brought along examples of the bands that I have  woven and set up a display.  Here is one of my tables showing bands from Lithuania, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Latvia.

One of my display tables showing bands that I have bought or woven myself.

The title of my talk

I am showing the fragment of a marriage band from Leksand Sweden dated to 1850. I am wearing the Delsbo belt from Sweden.

I wove this Lithuanian belt which I saw in the museum in St Petersberg, Russia. I am wearing a copy of it which I wove.

Examining some of the bands I used in my talk.  I am now wearing the Lielvārde belt from Latvia.

The Lielvārde belt I am wearing was made by Ziedonis Abolini.  You can see other examples of his beautiful work on their web site. 

Click here to go to the English page. http://www.audejudarbnica.lv/#!home/mainPage

It was a lovely day.

Susan J Foulkes November 2015