Northerly Textile Creativity

For me, 2020 will be the year that I nurtured my textile creativity like no other before.  With so much that had felt certain rocked to the core, like many, I focused as much energy as possible on using newly available time in a positive way.  And so at the end of a summer of much reflection, I journeyed to the North of England - my area of birth and my paternal ancestors.  Walking on Bamburgh beach on the North East coast on a bright and blustery day, I had the joy of blowing away cobwebs that had accumulated in force.

My journey to Northumberland was on much more than a whim.  My hours of lockdown contemplation had landed some uncomfortable realisations and of particular note was how many creative textile experiences I had denied myself.  Take wet felting, I am passionate about textiles and wool and yet I had avoided wet felting for years because of a fear of lack of physical strength.  Pondering this sad assessment, I recalled wet felter and willow weaver Anna Turnbull of Biteabout Arts, who had come onto my radar after a chance find of an exhibition of her amazing St Cuthberts Cloak in Wooler Church.  I had really enjoyed chatting with Anna at Woolfest last year and remembering that she was a teacher, I made a plan of action.

And so on a bright Sunday morning after a number of twists and turns, I arrived at Biteabout Farm near Wooler, feeling happy that I had got myself as far as starting my challenge.  Anna has made a fabulous studio where she teaches her felting and willow weaving skills and encouraged by Anna's quiet and friendly disposition, I settled down at my work table by this attractive window.

Chatting amicably while I followed Anna's instruction, it was most interesting how quickly I made progress and how my long held concerns barely surfaced.  Before I knew it, I was putting down my 2nd layer of merino fibre and looking forward to a hearty and delicious home made soup lunch.

While felt making is certainly a physical process, I was delighted to find that it was way more achievable that my long held perceptions.  Like most crafts, it is all in technique and as Anna guided me in applying the correct amount of soap and water, by early afternoon my felted piece was looking very promising.

A little more rolling and pummeling and my felting was complete and ready to be pulled onto glass lamps.  I look at my lamp every day and marvel at its completion and wonder how I had denied myself such a rewarding experience for so long.  I am so grateful to Anna for making my learning session happen and for so generously sharing her knowledge and in doing so opening a new door that may have otherwise remained firmly shut.

My time at Biteabout Farm was over all too quickly and this very attractive creation caught my eye as I took one last look at her work.  Anna purchases much of her willow from the Somerset Levels and I have a mind that this stunning willow and felt bag may yet find its way back!

With a few extra days for taking in the natural beauty of the Northumberland, I also followed up a recommendation to visit Whistlebare in the nearby Cheviot Hills.  What a glorious greeting to be met at by these gorgeous Angora goats as I drove along Whistlebare's picturesque driveway.  Whistlebare produces mohair and other yarns from their own goats and sheep with the utmost care and attention to each stage of production.

The newly extended Whistlebare studio was a delight to safely visit and savour the yarn and patterns that they produce.  Such friendly and knowledge people who are delighted to share information about their products and to help customers make informed choices, I highly recommend a visit to all yarn lovers who are in the area.

Of course I had to take a little something away with at least another small challenge.  Circular needles are new to me this summer and lacy knitting with Whistlebare beautiful Angora wool is work in progress - I have lots of long winter nights ahead to crack this one!

I left my biggest challenge of the year sitting quietly in the wings to the point that it only just happened.  Living with mild dyslexia and struggles with counting, I have long told myself that pattern weaving was one textile skill that would never be for me.   When a visit some years ago to Farfield Mill at Sedburgh repeatedly came to mind, I rustled up a last minute visit for some end of summer inspiration.  This renovated 19th century woolen mill has been saved from closure on several occasions and is now home to numerous textile artists of various persuasions.

On the day of my visit, Keith Barber of Gneiss Rugs was working away on his Harris Tweed rugs and chatting with me about his creations.  Making use of top quality Harris Tweed selvedges that would otherwise go to landfill, Keith's rugs are woven on a peg loom - likely one of the oldest forms of weaving.

The stripy in their Hebridian colours rugs reflect the 'Gneiss' rock structure that can be found on the Isle of Lewis.  With 3000 grams of wool in each rug, they are incredible value for money and this short informative video shows the beginning to end rug making process.

Laura's Loom studio certainly had lots of colourful textile inspiration and examples of her work from British wool from Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales.

Bee Textile had some very interesting woolly work in progress and I wished that I had been able to chat with her about this piece particularly.

As indeed was the case for knitwear designer, Angela Bradley.  Her yarn filled studio posed many questions and left me with a strong desire to try my hand at yet another textile skill!

And so it was to be at Farfield Mill, that I sampled pattern weaving for the first time with visiting Cumbrian weaver Jan Beadle of Woolclip.  The experience of simple silk shuttling felt vaguely familiar yet strangely demanding.  While I certainly felt satisfied to have achieved at least a little dodgery pattern weaving, I quickly found that this creative textile experience needed lots more more planning and certainly time to partake.

And so this autumn I have been taking a slow and steady path to learn weaving on an 8-shaft loom with much appreciated guidance and support from local weaver Sally Parker.  Working with Sally's recommendation to use beautiful Tencel yarn for my first start to end weaving experience and I am following a traditional twill pattern without much of a to do!  Even better I am really enjoying the experience of slow shuttling in the comfort of my Somerset Levels studio and hope that I may yet inspire others to have a go at this very grounding textile craft.

As we head into the final weeks of this unprecedented year, I have returned to reflecting all that I have learnt.  I feel enormously grateful for the fortune of good health and that I have found ways to thrive despite the upheaval and restrictions.  I have learnt beyond doubt that my creative imagination can go off at a serious tangent and when this happens, I can miss out on very rewarding experiences.  Above all else, I have found that there are always ways and means to nurture nuggets of textile creativity that keep tapping at my door :)