Weaving
Please take a look at my gallery of weavings here.
Whilst at University we covered a section on teaching arts and crafts to children - right up my alley, I thought!
One craft idea which particularly appealed to me was weaving. Having experimented with various materials and styles with my youngest daughter, I then had an urge to create a piece myself.
First, I went to a DIY store and found a suitable piece of wood - in this case spruce. Then I carefully hammered in small tacks along the top and bottom edges. The warp was then wound round the tacks, up and down and secured.
Now for the fun bit, having tried tapestry needles, I then found some large curved needles in a haberdashers which made it so much easier to take the materials over and under the warp.
After many long evenings this was the result - adopting a colour scheme, I basically used wools, threads, strips of material, wire, beads, shells, buttons and wicker.
The only problem with these is that they attract and retain a great deal of dust - but a not too powerful vacuum cleaner nozzle soon takes care of that!
Now I was hooked - and fancied doing some smaller, more intricate pieces. Each was done on thick plastic sheeting into which I cut tiny notches for the warp.
I found this frame and decided on 5 different colour schemes and directions, diagonal, vertical and crossed. This frame also included glass so no need to vacuum!
Such a simple idea - with so many possibilities and the result - a completely unique and individual piece.
More weavings to follow - the next one being a striking black and white theme.
