However in the foyer was a large tapestry of Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly. It was woven in Portugal at the Portalegre Tapestry Workshop. It was a finer weft than usually seen woven in Australia but it made me think that perhaps Australian tapestry weaving is quite special and developing in wonderful ways. The weaving techniques here create detailed shading and textures even though a thicker weft is usually used, at least for large works in public spaces.

I see so many fantastic sites on the web. Inspirational weavers, textilers and other artists give me so much hope and inspiratation. Here are just some:

Small Scarf Virtual Exhibition This is a proposed exhibition by NZ weaver, Meg Nakagawa. What a great idea. You can contribute via blog entry or photo submission.

Virtual Tour of Bonnie Tarses Studio in Seattle.This is just the most wonderful way of getting to know an artist from afar. The studio is an extension of ourselves and our work and you can see more artists here.

Weaving Finlander is the blog of Elsa Eriika and the photos are a feast for the weavers eye.

The weaving bench is the traditional seating for a loom and although I’m loath to break with tradition, I must. Handweaving at a loom for long periods is tiring. At workplaces we try to have comfortable office chairs so why not in the weaving studio. Laura Fry’s article in WeaveZine recently went into the ergonomics of weaving and when I saw a chair especially designed for weavers at RMIT in Melbourne I thought it was essential to have one in my studio.

If you look at it’s back it allows a lumbar cushioning and support for your back but also allows free movement from side to side.The chair seat is definately a step up or two (or many more) from a hard wooden bench and it comes with a myriad of adjustments so all can be satisfied.

The back can be adjusted up and down and forward and the seat can tilt forward and adjust up and down. Of course it doesn’t have any wheels like office chairs; that would be for the extreme weavers. A nice ring footrest finishes off the chair which can also be adjusted up and down.

I know it seems the ultimate decadence to have such a wonderful assistant for my weaving but I’m so happy to have it as it will make such a difference. The only problem I forsee is the lack of shelving at each side that the traditional benches offer. I’m sure I’ll sort something out as the trade off is comfort.

This special weavers chair is available from Chairmakers in Melbourne.

I made up my own purse pattern again for the frame which worked out really well and fitted perfectly. Using a warp faced fabric I attached the woven interfacing onto the back and cut the purse weft ways instead of on the straight grain. Although this approach would usually weaken the strength of the fabric it seemed to work well here.The interfacing and the purse lining ‘upheld’ the textile, as subsidiary textiles should do for us.

I was pleased with this prototype for several reasons.

1.The fabric itself is my kind of fabric with crisp bright lines, warp painting and high setts (over 100epi).

2.My purse pattern provided a very pleasing shape.

3. The fabric can actually be created on an inkle loom! This is my absolute favourite loom because of its versitility, portability and potential for creativy.
The fabric is created from two strips. (see Conquering the warp from Hell). I made special joins and reinforcement but I found this very exciting. Just as in West African strip weaving, once again the concept of limitation in tools or resources creates inspiring take off points for design.