dreaming of the new year

Having met the last of my pre-Christmas weaving commitments (yay!) I thought that this week I would add to the surplus scarf population chez Booker. Stuart actually asked me for another scarf, please, and could it be purplish to go with a particular shirt and tie? Since I like purple too, I had a soft-focus vision of lovely his-n-hers scarves from the same warp for Christmas… but then Phoebus got himself beaten up again and we have to take it... Read More

SIMD again

In case you were wondering, no, I haven’t forgotten about the SIMD project. Far from it. I am finding my new space offers a definite thinking-advantage, simply by virtue of being less crowded and cluttered. For instance, I am currently the owner of a big blank wall (although there is a plan to store table looms here by hanging them on big hooks, this plan is as yet unrealised) and so I have been trying out possible shapes and sizes with sheets... Read More

Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

That’s a bit of a mouthful, so most people who need to use it call it SIMD. And most of those refer to it by sounding out the initials — Ess Eye Em Dee — but there are a few geeky types who have to deal with it day in and day out and they just say “simmed”. When it was first produced, in 2004, I was in that last category and have kept the habit, even though I’m no longer immersed in it. In fact, I was never very... Read More

data and design

My first consideration in choosing a theme for prolonged use is that it has to be something I am deeply interested in, otherwise I won’t be able to sustain the work — that’s the kind of lightweight I am, I’m afraid. And even a deep interest may not be enough if something bright and shiny distracts me! The best choice for me is something I’m thinking about (and, to be honest, talking about) all the time anyway. So what’s... Read More

competition and darkness

I’ve been set to thinking by a couple of recent posts — well, fairly recent — on other blogs. A couple of weeks ago, Meg was reflecting on “what makes attractively-installed textile exhibitions” while, over on the Textile Blog, John Hopper was pondering the role of competition in the world of art and design. My perspective on both of these things is very strongly rooted in my childhood and my school education. The outcome... Read More

contemplating options

Sometimes it is good to raise yourself above every day concerns and dream of higher things… Phoebus is not quite the mountaineer that Polly is, but all three of us have something in common: wherever we are, we are looking at the next thing, the one that is a bit higher up. I have nearly finished my P2P2 projects, so I am thinking about what to do next and the options are a bit overwhelming. There are things I have set myself to do by certain... Read More

packing and the thoughts it engenders

So at the weekend I parcelled up my stuff — that is, the fruits of my handweaving labours — and took it over to the Collins Gallery in Glasgow. There were two categories of “stuff”: stuff for display and stuff for sale in the gallery shop. (I should mention, for those who aren’t familiar with the Collins that the words “gallery shop” may be conjuring up the wrong mental image. The Collins Gallery is a large... Read More

food for thought

Thanks for all the feedback on my last post: some hearteningly positive vibes and lots to think about. Several of you like the tooty frooty floats more than I do, which suggests that the put-it-away-and-forget-about-it approach may offer some success. It’s not the float length that bothers me – they are only about half an inch — but the messiness. I am probably too much of a control freak ever to be comfortable with differential... Read More

weaving personality

This is a subject which has popped up twice in less than a week, so I thought I would allow myself a few moments to muse on it. Over at weaving today, which is the online extension of Handwoven magazine, a recent blog post takes the form of a “weaving personality quiz”. Based on your responses to the questions you are classified as a “colour/texture” weaver, a “structure/pattern” weaver or something in between that... Read More

new ideas, version 2

There are more of these than will fit in a single post, I am sure, but I have to start somewhere. At Convergence I attended a most thought-provoking day class with tapestry artist James Koehler on “The Emotional and Psychological Aspects of Colour”, and came away with all sorts of notes and exercises. One exercise I managed to finish in class, one I finished afterwards at the B & B, and one is still unfinished… James spoke to... Read More