Weaving: Weave a British Wool Sampler with Rebecca Connolly

SATURDAY 1.30-4pm
Everyone will have their own body-tensioned loom, set up ready to get weaving!This loom is easy to use; it has a rigid heddle which raises each of the two sets of tensioned warp threads in turn - your woven cloth grows quickly as you pass the weft yarn back and fore.Rebecca guides you as you learn the key skills of weaving, creating patterns utilising the qualities of the wools from British sheep breeds.Experimentation will be encouraged; selecting from a wide range of yarns and colours (undyed, natural dyed and commercially dyed). The weaving you create is yours to take home; typically a 75cm length 20cm wide. Enjoy it as a hanging, to trim a garment, to use as a decorative panel in a cushion or with some simple stitching made into something practical such as a small bag.Enjoy this creative, meditative ‘time out’ session embracing the concept of Slow Textiles.
Participants are welcome to bring a yarn from their stash; perhaps a hand-spun or an ‘art’ yarn they would like to try weaving with. An image or object with colours or patterns which appeals to themcan be a useful start in choosing their yarns/colours.
 
From her studio in Cirencester, Rebecca Connolly designs and hand-weaves textiles, embracing the slow process of producing fabric on old wooden looms.She specialises in creating woven cloth with provenance, utilising the  diversity of British wools complimented with natural-dyed colour. Commissions for bespoke items are hand-woven or designs developed for clients destined for production weaving in British mills.Rebecca graduated from Bath School of Art & Design, is a Licentiate of The Society of Designer Craftsmen, and a member of Southwest England Fibreshed.She teaches in her studio, locally, for The Kings’s Foundation at Highgrove Traditional Crafts and futher afield at West Dean College.