by katie | Jun 26, 2015 | Blog
Today I was lucky to be able to attend a knife making workshop with Grace Horne. She currently works in Sheffield making handmade knives and scissors, she has been making beautiful knives since her degree in 1992. Please have a look at some of her work at http://www.gracehorne.co.uk/.
There are quite a few elements to knife making and I was introduced to just the most simple parts today. There wasn’t enough time to be able to completely finish the knife but I just have some finishing touches before I can begin the final assembly of the knife. I am finding that knife making is about getting everything absolutely perfect, all of the pieces need to be made very precisely to enable it to work properly and visually it needs to be flawless. I like this because in this sense it is very much like weave, there is no leeway for imperfections.
I am looking forward to finishing my knife and very much hope to continue learning more craft skills.
by katie | Jun 15, 2015 | Blog
Three new teddy bears have been added to the current selection, Sampson, Willem and Dale.They have all been created using wool yarn to ensure they are soft and tactile.
by katie | May 10, 2015 | Blog
As you may remember from my previous blog post, I was commissioned to make some ties for a wedding. Following on from this the couple wanted something a bit different and special to remind them of their wedding day. The below teddy bear, Donald, was created using the same fabric design as the ties.
by katie | May 2, 2015 | Blog
I have now finished my tie commission. The ties were commissioned for a wedding, three ties in total for the Groom, Best Man and Usher. The Bride and Groom wanted grey ties with a very subtle hint of pink to coordinate with the Bridesmaids. The fabric was hand dyed, woven and constructed by myself, the tie is 100% Worsted wool and the lining 100% silk.
They were more difficult to make than I first imagined. It is always the case that the more simple the thing being made the more it shows up the smallest of imperfections. I found that if the pattern was not cut out exactly right then it wouldn’t line up perfectly and this becomes very obvious in the final tie.
I am pleased with the final ties and more importantly the Bride and Groom are happy with them too.
by katie | Mar 17, 2015 | Blog
I have now started weaving my small samples for the ties, using a Countermarch loom for the first time. Working at UCA has made me realise that if you know how to weave then most looms are based upon all the same basic principles, once you know how to use one then you can work out how to use most looms. Of course, I have not used every type of loom and I’m sure industrial looms are very different. UCA is very unique in having Countermarch looms, there are not many universities with these types of looms.
Countermarch looms can take a bit longer to set up as the loom needs to be set up before the warp can be put on. Each time it is used, the shafts (up to 12 for this one) needs to be put on the loom, then tied to the lams (which decide whether the shaft rises or falls) and finally tied to the treadles. This set up includes a lot of ties so it can take anything from a few hours to a day to set up, this depends on how many shafts and treadles need to be tied up and the experience of the weaver. Each treadle represents a single pick so on this particular loom so I am restricted to 12 different picks, although there is a lot that can be done with 12 picks. With a Countermarch loom every shaft moves with every pick, it will either rise or fall, meaning that it is kind to the warp so ideal for more delicate yarns.
It is lovely loom to use, particularly as I am used to using a table loom. When it comes to using the outside treadles it took a little time to get used to it as they are quite far apart so it seemed awkward to start with but i am not enjoying it and looking forward to weaving more.
by katie | Mar 10, 2015 | Blog
I have been putting together some colour windings for the ties I have been commissioned to make for a wedding. The commission is for a tie with different greys and a small amount of pink to compliment the bridesmaids dresses, I have matched the pink to the bridesmaids dresses to ensure I have selected a matching colour. There are a range of proportions even though I know they only want a small amount of pink because I have found that when I actually show the winding to my clients they sometimes change their minds and I like to give them as many options as possible. They have been designed so that they can be stripes and others are symmetrical so could also be a check.
