New Lambs spotted near Cheltenham
Editor’s Note – March 2011
Janet Holman
Spring has arrived and with it some exciting plans for Guild meetings.
With a trip to Wonderwool Wales in April and a visit to the Guild in June from Woodlands Turnery, who have taken over as producers of the beautiful Timbertops wheels, the temptation to dip into the savings will be strong. If you need an excuse and you've been able to make items for sale at the Farm Park some purchases could be considered as business investments (just a thought!). The results from the Dyeing Skills Day last year were impressive so it's good to know that there will be another opportunity to take part at the May meeting.
Sue Skrine's article missed the January newsletter for technical reasons (sorry Sue!) but it will remind us that Summer is not that far away. Thank you to all contributors - volunteers to write a report on meetings are always welcome.
Committee for 2012
ChairmanCaroline Faulkner-Aston
SecretaryChristine May
TreasurerMargaretta Williams
Membership SecretaryElaine Allen
Programme SecretaryMargaret Tattersfield & Anne Clarkson
NewsletterJanet Holman (editor)
Sally Dopson (production, printing & distribution)
Sales TableVeronika Madsen
Library & Notice BoardsCarole Evans &Cristine Bailey
The Faroes Jumper
Fashion has often been influences by costumes designed for films and TV but I don't ever remember any single garment that has caused such a stir as the jumper worn by SofieGrabol as the detective Sarah Lund in the Danish TV serial The Killing, shown last year on BBC4. Although I had a job to keep up with the subtitles I couldn't help but notice the jumper which was obviously hand knitted The yarn certainly looked like natural coloured wool, and I also wondered if it could be hand spun. I put this curiosity down to a slight obsession with spinning, wool and knitting but it seems that 'the jumper' has fans all over the world. It has even featured in a 'look-alike' competition in the Radio Times.
Apparently the original garment was spotted at a fashion fair in Copenhagen by one of the programme's producers who thought it would suit the character of the woman detective.
The pattern was based on a traditional Faroes design adapted to make a more feminine garment by Gudrun Ludvig, who with her business partner Gudrun Rogvadottir runs the shop Gudrun & Gudrun in the capital of the Faroe Islands, Torshavn. Gudrun Rogvadottir discovered, on a visit from Denmark to her home on the Faroes, that there was no demand for the fleece of the local sheep and it was being burnt when the sheep went for slaughter, so she asked Gudrun Ludvig to make designs using the wool. The hand knitting is all done by women, some in the Faroes and some in Jordan who were found to have a style of knitting similar to that practised on the Faroes. An article in the Telegraph magazine by Tim Ecott quotes from Gudrun Rogvadottir 'For women, empowerment starts with having their own money in their pocket. Knitting at home is something any woman can fit around their role as a wife and mother. It is one of those jobs that is flexible in terms of hours, and it's also the kind of job that doesn't make husbands feel nervous or threatened. You do it at home in the company of other women, you don't have to neglect the home or go out into the big wide world' (Personally I am a bit uneasy about some of the implications in this view but perhaps island communities are different!)
For business reasons not all Gudrun & Gudrun products are hand knitted but the jumpers that are retail at around 300 euros. The design for the first series was in white with black snowflakes and the second series was all red but with snowflakes worked in different stitches, so not so obvious. There is, apparently a new variation for the third series due to be broadcast in the autumn which is eagerly anticipated by fans of the jumper and the series.
Janet Holman (Thanks to Elaine for spotting DailyTelegraph article)
Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Summer School 2011
Queen Margaret University, Musselborough, Edinburgh
Tapestry Weaving
This was my first summer school and I had a wonderful time.
The tapestry weaving course was tutored by Dot Seddon who was in every sense an excellent tutor.
Dot brought many samples of her work to the summer school and used then to illustrate her teaching. The context of the week was colour and we came away with a lot of information about colour theory.
As a “beginner” in every sense of the word I spent the majority of my time practising “picks”, hatchure and attempting to blend colours and work out how to wrap the threads at the end of each row! A not inconsiderable amount of time was also spent unpicking rows so, my samples are few, but the learning was huge and I am keen to continue and improve my skill.
Dot also showed us slides of her visit to Stirling Castle where there is a large scale reweaving of the Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries. Unfortunately time did not allow for a visit so that will have to wait until next year (perhaps!). We did however visit the Dovecote Studio in Edinburgh, a professional tapestry weaving studio and had a guided tour of the work and a chance to talk with some of the current weavers about their work. It was brilliant and very inspiring.
Dot’s generosity and northern humour meant I laughed as much as I weaved and the group atmosphere was brilliant. Each class were asked to do a write up for the Journal and we were fortunate in having a poet in our group – so look out for Rita’s poem.
Sue Skrine August 2011
Scrap Store Workshop – February 2011
What a sight I was greeted with when I arrived at the Scrap Store Workshop, in the centre of the hall was a large table piled high with all sorts of fabrics ranging from fine organza type material to heavy upholstery material and all sorts in between. There was card, wooden strips, buttons, all sorts you name it and it was there. Everyone was busy creating their own thing; some people were knitting with fabric, some weaving and some cutting and making rag rugs.
There were also lots of members who were not in a creative mood and just wanted to continue with their work in progress projects, so there were lots of spinners and knitters deep in concentration and also a spinning wheel being rebuilt by Frances! As usual this day was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with like minded people and have a good old chat and swop information and ideas
Many thanks to all who organised the day and provided all the materials for us to experiment with. Sally Dopson
Programme 2012
March 17 Teresinha Roberts A True Blue – Woad & Indigo: covers the properties of indigo and the various plants that produce blue. The talk then concentrates on woad, starting with the history from the Neolithic to the present day. It discusses briefly how to grow woad and how to extract and use the pigment. Teresinha brings several examples of the plant and of items dyed with woad and indigo, from soap to feathers. Read more about woad at
Sales table themeEquipment, large and small
April 29Coach Trip to Wonderwool Wales
May 19thSkills Day - Dyeing
Sales table themePlants
June 16thTimbertops/Woodlands Turnery
Sales table themeFleece and tops etc.
Workshops are held fortnightly on Wednesdays
Venue : The Committee Room,
Norton Village Hall
Time 09:00a.m. to 4.30p.m.
Phone Frances Taylor –
01452 730891 for details
What's on
25 January – 5 June 2012 Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Room 17a. Free admission. In January 2012 the V&A will put on display a four metre hand-woven, brocaded textile made from the silk, collected in the Madagascan Highlands, of over a million Orb spiders.This display will showcase the world’s largest pieces of cloth made from spider silk. It will include a brocaded shawl made from the silk of more than one million female golden orb-weaver spiders collected in the highlands of Madagascar, as well as a cape on public display for the first time. The display will also feature background material and a short film revealing the process.
17th March – Cotswold Farm Park, Guiting Power opens for the season.
17 March - 22 April 2012 Museum in the Park, Cloud Nylon:
The Jewellery of Nora Fok
This is the first ever touring solo exhibition by the extraordinary jeweller, textile artist and 3D designer Nora Fok.
The artist has established herself as a pioneering maker, transforming organic forms into wearable, ethereal sculpture. Her delicate, intricate forms are woven from an ordinary material, nylon microfilament. The processes Nora uses – knitting, weaving, crocheting and knotting – transform the linear nylon into simple and complex structures inspired by her fascination with the natural world and the mathematical models that underpin it.
14th April – 5th May Wool in Winchcombe will be holding a series of events to be shared and enjoyed by textile enthusiasts of all ages. More details from Margaret Tattesfield or from the following websites.
April 28/29
Wonderwool Wales, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells
April 28 –May 27 2012 Stroud international textiles.
Pairings ll
Stroud International Textiles presents a major exhibition where newly commissioned work from international and established national artist makers will be showcased. The Pairings project explores the potential of collaborative creative practice. Working together over a period of time artists have engaged
and exchanged ideas, materials and skills to push the boundaries and create innovative and exciting new work.
Museum in the Park, GL5 4AF
May 5 2012 Symposiumlinked to Pairings II Museum in thePark, GL5 4AF
Other Parings llevents at the Museum in the Park
Sunday 29 April 2pm; 'The work belongs to itself' –
Illustrated artist’s talk with Alex McErlain
Sunday 29 April 3.30pm; Alice Kettle in conversation with Mark Cazalet
Sunday 6 May 2pm; Illustrated artist’s talk with David Gates
Saturday 12 May & Sunday 13 May; Workshop: ‘Stitch and Think: The Muses’ - Tutors: Basil KardasisDailBehennah
Friday 11 May 6.30pm; Illustrated Talk with Jenny Balfour Paul - ‘Adventures in Indigo from ancient Arabia to modern Manhattan’
Sunday 19 May 2pm; Illustrated talk on Textile Conservation: An Introduction to Principles and Practice - Speaker: Alison Lister, Director/Principal Conservator at Textile Conservation Ltd
Sunday 20 May Workshop ‘Guerilla Embroidery’ with Sarah TerrJuly 19 - 22
Art in Action ,Waterperry House, Nr. Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1JZ
May 12th Back to Back Challenge to be held this year at Cotswold Farm Park. More details to follow.
July 14 - 29G W S D National Exhibition 2012
The Exhibition will be held at the Weald and Downland Museum, Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0EU from 14 to 29 July 2012. The Rare Breeds Show will take place on the middle weekend of the Exhibition. The selection will again be from a photograph accompanied, where practicable, by a small sample of the piece. Application forms are already available and have been emailed to Guild Secretaries. The closing date for submissions is 2 June 2012. There will also be an open exhibition of pieces that will fit inside a 6 inch ring. They are to be submitted already mounted within the ring. As we have been offered plenty of space at Singleton it is also hoped that some work from this year's Summer School and work from the Certificate of Achievement will also be on display. A new trophy will be awarded to a novice weaver. It has been given by the Smart family in memory of their daughter Lylie. There will be a space on the application form for anyone wishing to be considered for this Trophy.
Oct 27 - Dec 31 2012
'Architecture of Cloth, Colour and Space’, Gloucester Cathedral
Ptolemy Mann &Anna Glasbrook
The Guild Gallery
Busy Folk at the Scrap Store Workshop – February 2011
Photography Ann Clarkson