Feis Cothlam: Gaelic Wool Festival 2014

Looking forward to a weekend of all woolly things!

 

On Thursday you can find me at the market demonstrating needle felting and displaying my needle felted fairies, dwarfs and more felted goodies. Friday morning and afternoon I'll facilitate a 2,5h needle felt workshops. You'll learn to needle felt a gnome, or a fairy or other nature related items. On Saturday 10am - 4pm there will be a market with all wool- and wool craft related items and stalls where you can see and buy all the goodies around wool, sheep & textile craft. You can find me there at a stall with my felted fiber craft goodies.

Here you can find out more about the event:

lorn.org.uk/woolfeis2014 
Here's a link to an article about the event: 

Needle felted ornaments

Needle felting a leaf

The dwarfs say "Hello"

Inkle loom weaving

The inkle loom got a new warp, so we could use it at the Royal Highland Show. When I started to plan a warp for the inkle loom, I remembered that I was given some coloured cotton yarn a little while ago. It was actually perfect for a pretty warp in 6 different vibrant colours: Royal blue, purplish red, pink, lilac, light pink and bright yellow cotton yarn. I had a vague idea how I wanted the strap to look like. So I started winding the warp thread after thread on the inkle loom. I wanted the warp to be symmetrical. After 23 threads I decided that's the centre thread and mirrored the warp symmetrical to what I had warped already.   

Warped loom

After the the inkle loom was warped I had to make the leashes. I used a strong fine white cotton thread for the leashes. The distance between the two top pegs was just perfect to make the leashes, winding the thread around the pegs and tie the ends with a double knot together. That's how I made 23 leashes for every second thread.      

I then wound the leashes around every thread wish went over the upper front peg, leaving always a thread witch went over the upper back peg in - between. The leashes make it possible to have two different sheds. The method wish is used here to build a shed is simple and unique to inkle loom weaving. 

Inkle loom warped and I had started with weaving

For the weft I wound royal blue cotton yarn around a wooden shuttle. The shuttle is also used to push the weft into place. 

 

That's how it looks like after the first couple of shots

I used the same royal blue yarn for the weft as for the outer threads. That makes it easier to weave a proper selvedge. It is a warp faced strap and you see the weft only at the edges.

Almost finished strap

When we went to the Royal Highland Show the vibrant colours attracted the attention of visitors. Many children and adults had a few shots to try out the weaving on this special and quite simple loom.

...and here it is!

The finished strap has a length of 2m and is 5,5cm wide. It can be used as a guitar strap, a strap for a bag or as a belt.