30 Nov 2018

Christmas markets

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While not quite believing that December is almost upon us, I’ve nonetheless been getting myself organised for a couple of festive Christmas markets.

First on the calendar is CRAFTED at Dundee Contemporary Arts tomorrow (1 December) from 11:30 – 17:30. It’s one-day-only so seize the moment! (And if you are in town at the DCA, you might also pop along to WASPS where Dundee’s Etsy Made Local market is taking place. Many of my artist and designer neighbours will be taking part.)

Then next weekend I will be down in St Monans at Bowhouse for the Tea Green Festive Market. That’s a fabulous market with lots of amazing food as well as lovely handmade work, and it is on both Saturday and Sunday (8 & 9 December) from 10:00 – 16:00. Yes, I’ll need to be up early to get there and set up!

I have some lovely new purses and cowls for these occasions, but I confess that I have a soft spot for the pieces I haven’t woven at all… these thrums, all naturally dyed blends of wool and silk, made up into little bundles. They are just the right length for embroidery, or for keeping.

“Christmas markets” was posted by Cally on 30 November 2018 at https://callybooker.co.uk

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6 Sep 2018

Tangible Sounds

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One of the projects I have been working on this summer is now just about complete. The Aural Textiles collaboration began back in March and we have come a long way since then. I can’t wait to see the final pieces my co-conspirators have made: the glimpses on Instagram have been tantalising! Anyway, there is not long to go now: our exhibition opens on Monday 24 September and you are all invited.

As well as finished textile pieces – knitted, woven and screen printed – the exhibition will showcase the processes we have used to create our designs and feature samples in the different techniques. There are six of us, so we used six different sound recordings from the Scottish landscape – one made by each person – and swapped them around. If you can’t get to Forres (and I do realise it is a bit of a stretch for most!) then watch this space for digital content… and do read our blog too.

For the last week I have been beavering away on my own final piece and on getting all the documentation together: there’s a lot of it! Sound files, images, drafts, notes… All that remains now is to take the photos and package everything up. In the meantime, here are some sneaky peeks at Sound of the Sea: naturally dyed wool/silk yardage based on, you guessed it, the sound of the sea.

On the loom…

…and modelled by Doris:

“Tangible Sounds” was posted by Cally on 6 September 2018 at https://callybooker.co.uk

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30 Jul 2018

Useful purses to put things in

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Here are a few examples of the purses I have been making for the Craft Scotland Summer Show in Edinburgh. Because we all have different things we need to stash, I’ve made them in a variety of shapes and sizes…

These little guys with the clips are my favourite to make, because they are so cute when you turn them right side out at the end. (It’s a bit tricky to tell how large they are from these photos, but this wee chap is about 4″ square and one inch deep.)

I delivered these and their several brothers and sisters, along with a selection of scarves and cowls, to White Stuff on George Street this morning. The show opens on Friday and is then open every day until 26 August.

“Useful purses to put things in” was posted by Cally on 30 July 2018 at https://callybooker.co.uk

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30 Jul 2018

Loom drama

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Most people probably wouldn’t classify the Megado as a simple loom, but a mechanical dobby does have a pleasing transparency to its operation. So when weaving stops dead and cords are seen trailing on the floor, it is fairly easy to identify the cause of the problem. In this case, it was a metal bracket at the back of the dobby box which had succumbed.

On the face of it, this is pretty bad news. I phoned around several Louet suppliers in the UK and nobody happened to have a spare one of these stashed on a shelf, so I had to get in touch with Louet themselves to organise a replacement and that takes a bit of time.

However, on the plus side, it is actually perfectly possible to weave on the Megado without this piece, because the dobby can be advanced by hand. It is slow and a bit awkward, and the awkwardness introduces a greater risk of error than advancing the dobby by treadle, but weaving is weaving … and when there are deadlines, slow progress is better than no progress at all. And the second plus is that a useful person – one such as S, for instance, who has patience and the relevant skills – can produce a facsimile to be going on with.

The original is of a much sturdier type than the homemade replacement, and I am not sure how long the latter will bear the forces that are placed on it by the dobby advance, but it is doing fine for now. And for the last couple of days the loom has had a wee rest, while the sewing machine has taken the strain. I have been busy turning small pieces of my Dotted Quarter fabric into purses for the imminent Craft Scotland Summer Show. More on that in another post!

“Loom drama” was posted by Cally on 30 July 2018 at https://callybooker.co.uk

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