Look at the ’seams’ on the bamboo photo. These are more interesting than the bamboo itself for weave design. So I’m trying to include lots of these in an intermittent way. This possibility is only achievable with lots of shafts. I have 4 shafts devoted to the basic ribbed weave structure. The other 20 shafts offer another 5 arrangements of bamboo ’seams’. By changing the tie up again I can also combine arrangement to create more ’seams’. The ’seams’ are simply an exchange of the 1/3 twill with the 3/1 twill in small areas.

Here is a design showing the front and back view of the structure, followed by photos of the warping process.

 See all my Pic to Picks entries so far.

With so many babies being born in Australia’s baby boom I’ve taken to jazzing up singlets so the little ones feel connected to the textile world from the get go.

I used to buy the pale coloured singlets and do bullion roses on them. This looked great but the roses are a bit lumpy for their little chests. Also who wants insipid colours on a child when you can have your own shades of tie dye flocked with simple flower embroidery or applique. I was disappointed that some of the neck bands, from the same packet of singlets, didn’t dye with my cellulose fibre reactives as they must be polyester. Don’t you think the manufacturer would warn us of such horrors! Perhaps if weavers ran the world this would attract a major fine or even a jail sentence with the Textile and Weave Protection Board!

These photos are especially for Alex – the mum to be -  so she can see how to make them. I just concertina folded (or pleated) the singlet then wrapped string around them very tightly. In another lot I used clothes pegs to do the resist rather than string. You can see this effect in the two purple singlets above.

Any children on site get dragged into the studio for activities around here. Painting easter eggs, building with duplo, drawing pictures and, of course, weaving.

Darby started weaving a flower garden on the Saori loom with her 3 year old, super inquisitive brother supervising. It is a few years since she first wove on this loom and I was amazed and very encouraged by her ability to work the pedals and shutlle so efficiently and f a s t!. She was also able to change the shuttle bobbins and pick up the shed she was weaving on after a change of colour quite intuitively. We had some silk flowers to insert in the warp to make the garden.

I’m off to study Saori weave in Osaka later in the year….just can’t wait.