So here's a bit of pointless fun...a tiny weaving. Last time I was in Tiger shop (on every street in London all of a sudden ; ) I bought a pack of two mini looms for £1. Late one night I thought I'd give it a go. It actually took me the same time as it would for a normal sized weaving...work that out!?

I used silk embroidery thread and some black cotton thread and some gold metalic sewing thread for some dots...bit experimental!

I was thinking to make it into a necklace or a brooch...

or a plant decorations...or a ...

tiny room accessory? ha ha ; )

So if you've been following me over on instagram you'll probably sick to death of my weaving explorations by now. I have been reading many 1970s books about weaving that have given me all sorts of ideas. I really love the Navajo traditional rugs with geometrical patterns, and the textures of the 1970s wall hangings with metalic threads all mixed together. I have some way to go, but these are a couple of latest weaving I have done.

and bit of an experiment using fine mohair, with single weft threads and unspun wool.

I saw a beautiful vintage triangle quilt that gave me an idea for this one, but it didn't come out quite as I had imagined!

this is what the back looks like before trimming.

lots of ideas from these things our kiddo found in the woods.

this big triangle was going to be a diamond shape but i ran out of space on my loom so it turned into a huge triangle instead.

So this is my latest creation! I'd say it is an experiment, just making it up as I go along and the end result is something a bit abstract ; )  I am quite happy about some of the colours and textures that occurred unexpectedly so I think this way of weaving is a really good lesson in understanding yarns and how they work together and using colour a bit like paint. All very good fun indeed.

Usually whenever I use wool, its to make something to wear, so it has to 'go' with other things and has to be washed ok. But using wool in a decorative way is totally different so you can just go for it!

There is a bit of a resurgence of woven wall hangings I have noticed, particularly the more native american style patterns from the US even being sold in Athropologie and the like. I think in general, people are starting to find handmade rough textures and wonky things more and more attractive in interior decor. I am all for this trend.

My inspiration comes from the 'bible' of fiber arts...Golden Hands magazines. Not sure if it is because I was born in the 70s (yes, shut up), but I blimmin love that decade. Macrame choker anyone? Hand embroidered hanky case? Crocheted wedding dress? Patchwork maxi skirt?...words fail me...I just LOVE it all.

Each magazine comes with a short guide on many different methods.

Smocking and macrame are next on my list. 

I expect a lot of our mums are shuddering with nostalgia right now, 'macrame pot holders?? NO, not again'!

I haven't been weaving for a couple of years now. I love weaving on my loom but it takes a day of intense concentration just to put the warp on it, and this tends to put me off. BUT, I had the notion the other day that I could get a simple frame loom, and make some small tapestries instead. It only takes a few minutes to set up the warp and I can make more creative pieces which are much smaller, but can be undertaken on the sofa, with feet up and glass of vino at my side. Much more agreeable hobby me thinks.

I found this little frame on the internet, they are quite cheap so I bought some different sizes to experiment on. I decided to make the width between the warp smaller on this one so I hammered in lots of tiny nails.

I can keep all my tools in this canvas roll so it's totally portable.

unlike weaving, tapestry uses shorter lengths of different coloured weft threads, and so you use a wooden bobbin. However I found it much easier to use a knitter's needle (large eyed metal sewing needle).

I experimented with some gold and other metallic threads, making shapes in this way on the loom is totally new to me, so it was a bit of a learning curve.

Tah dah! a wall hanging...

and some other experiments with different thicknesses of warp.

I love that it all fits in my basket. I used to use a loom that took up half the room!

I space I rearranged for weaving, and some flowers from our garden that were clinging onto summer.

Here are some of my previous weavings and looms. I started with my first loom which had four heddles. Heddles are devices that lift up certain threads to create a pattern, the more heddles, the more complicated patterns can be achieved. In tapestry weaving you just have your needle to create the pattern, so although it looks simpler, tapestry weaving takes more brain power!