Weaving is a truly ancient skill, an integral part of so many aspects of our lives, from the most elegant designer clothing, to the humble tea-towel hanging from the hook above the kitchen sink.
New developments in terms of equipment, and easier availability of materials mean that weaving is now far more accessible to the crafts person than it has ever been, and this is reflected in the growing number of new weavers who are enjoying the possibility of making their own, totally unique textiles for use in home and fashion.
My fascination with the craft of weaving spans more than a few decades, and I am committed to sharing my knowledge and encouraging new weavers.
Through the medium of live workshops, on-line courses, my weaving resource on the Patreon platform, and good, old fashioned personal contact, I explore and teach this wonderful craft, mentoring new weavers in the same way that I was mentored when I started out all those years ago..
Loom based thoughts from my little piece of paradise and beyond.
This past week has been a slight departure from the norm for me – apart from glorious weather and spectacular sunsets which continue to be enjoyed from my deck with a glass of the good stuff in hand at the end of a day spent at desk and loom. Why …
For the past week or so, I have had our house all to myself. This is a very unusual state of affairs, as it is usually me that is off on a trip to teach or promote my product. However, this time it was M’s turn to climb into his …
This past week has seen some really epic weather systems moving through the country. The Cape has been battered by gales and torrential rains, there is snow on the mountains in the Western and Eastern Cape, and Natal. The highveld is shivering, and yesterday, I spend most of the day …
After a hectic first half of 2024 I am back home for the Winter. As most of you will know by now, the time I spend at home during the cool months has become very precious to me – and hopefully also very productive – but not always, and this …
We are all living in the hope….. that 2021 will allow our lives to go back to some semblance of normality, but that really doesn’t look very likely – at least not in the foreseeable future. Let’s face it, 2020 was, apart from ridiculously challenging, also very interesting. It rocketed …
Sometimes, I go somewhere, meet someone, or see something that makes it really difficult for me to keep my bum on my desk chair! Today is one such day – and before I go any further, I need to clarify that the special project in question is not one on …
Somehow it seems as though we look forward to something for such a long while, and then in the blink of an eye, it is done and dusted and behind us, as though it was a little bit of a dream. So it feels with the first Drakensberg Fibre festival. …
……And if that sounds like a complaint, it most certainly isn’t! After one of our driest Januaries on record since we moved here eighteen years ago, this month has been nothing short of miraculous, and we will be going into Winter with dams full to overflowing which is always very …
Well, what can I say? The Winter has been and gone, and in the Lowveld we have simply moved from Winter to Summer without the benefit of Spring to gently transition us from one to the other. Today is sitting up at around 36 degrees Celcius and we have Bergwinds …
I think that I am right in assuming that most of us are looking forward to the first signs of Spring, after what has been, for many people, a pretty torrid Winter. Of course, we get off quite lightly as far as Winter is concerned in the Lowveld, but even …
……….is currently empty! For the first time in a very, very long time, I find myself in a situation where I don’t have a warp on any one of my harness looms! I can’t honestly remember when last this happened. My Rigid Heddle looms are well in use I have …
