Weaving for a Collaborative Art Show

13 Jul 2017 Leave a comment

by inspirationalvillage in Silver Circle Weaving Tags: , , , , , ,

The local winery here on Pender Island offers their large tasting room to local artists each weekend of the summer for art shows, and this summer I was invited to add my weaving to a group of four artists- painter (and my mother!) Margaret Alpen, photographers Eve Pollard and Derek Applegarth, and glass jeweller Nancy Westall.  The room at Sea Star Vineyards is open and bright, with lots of wall space and a large, plank style table in the centre.  It was wonderful to have so much room in which to display scarves and ponchos, rather than trying to fit everything in on a market table!  I also really enjoyed seeing my designs blend with the work of the other artists.  The colours of Nancy’s jewelry really matched beautifully, and Eve had a photograph that she took of my and Rosie.  Also my mother’s west coast arbutus trees and forest paintings created a wonderful sense of place.

I was inspired to focus mainly on pieces in which I had incorporated my hand spun angora fibre from my angora rabbit, Rosie.  I have been spinning it in a blend with other fibres, mostly merino and alpaca, and the pure white result is refreshing to weave with.  Having a few display mannequins really helped to show the shape of the ponchos, which were the pieces that sold the best!  This was my first art show, and it was lovely to chat with the folks that came by, and show them my Saori loom which I brought along to set up.

Another nice touch is the Winery’s request for the artists to donate to a local non-profit organization in lieu of rent for the space.

Winter Collection~ Blending Angora

17 Nov 2016 2 Comments

by inspirationalvillage in Silver Circle Weaving Tags: , , , , , ,

drum carderIn the past few months, I have been blending my collected angora fibre with a variety of other fibres.  After changing out the cloth on my old drum carder to one that has a higher tpi (tooth per inch), which is better for finer fibres such as angora, I started with alpaca roving, which is very soft and also white, the same as my angora.  It carded and spun up beautifully!  I moved on to using a heavier merino wool that was hand painted in shades of light blue and purple, which became more diffused when I added the angora, but which held a lovely softness.  I also tried out some long staple llama locks in auburn, which produced a heavier weighted blend.  Lastly, I have blended the angora with a black merino wool, which gave a very tweed-ish grey, and was still very soft.  Here are some photos of replacing the carding cloth on my drum carder.  I took the whole thing apart, and pried off the old cloth.  The new cloth was cut to the correct length and stapled back onto the large drum, as well as the small one.  It was important to notice the tooth direction when putting the cloth on!  (Teeth at the top of the drum need to bend away from the loading tray).  Everything got a good cleaning before putting it all back together.

taking off the old carding cloth
new carding cloth

Making a blend on the drum carder-  I didn’t do any specific ratio measurements, as I am still getting a feel for how much angora I need to include at a minimum to still have a predominant angora feel.  I have been estimating a half and half ratio to start.

loading the tray
blended on the drum
a fluffy, light blue cloud

Generally, I loaded the tray and carded it through, doing about three loads before I pulled the batt off the large drum.  Then I carded the whole batt through once again very slowly, letting it spread out while it was pulled in to get a smooth, overall mix of the two fibres.  I didn’t take any photos while I was spinning it!  Here are some scarves I wove with the yarn from that combination, and a skein of angora/alpaca in which I spun little coloured bits.

angora/alpaca with colourful bits

I am very excited about exploring more options with the angora I am getting from my rabbits.  The neutral colours of the angora are flexible with colour combinations, and the added softness and warmth are simply divine!  These and other creations are for sale on my etsy store~ Silver Circle Weaving.  I also look forward to having all my weaving for sale at the Christmas Craft Fair at the community hall on Pender Island this weekend!

Silver Circle Weaving on Etsy

30 Mar 2016 1 Comment

by inspirationalvillage in Silver Circle Weaving Tags: ,

silvercircleweavingI finally decided to test out the services of Etsy to sell my weaving online.  So far, I have been offering my creations at the local farmers’ market during the summer, and I have often received inquiries from visitors about how they can see my work online.  I have really only used this blog to post photos, but never really had a purchasing format.  I am hopeful that Etsy will help connect my hand woven creations with those around the globe seeking to support small home businesses focusing on hand made items.

Visit my shop:  Silver Circle Weaving

I also realized that I needed a name… so I did some research on spinning and weaving and the symbolic associations with Celtic mythology, which I have always been interested in.  This is what I found:

83117db14f606e3e121892b219b44076Arianrhod, Celtic Welsh Star Goddess of Reincarnation, is known as “Silver Wheel”, “Silver Circle”, “High Fruitful Mother”, “Star Goddess”, and Sky Goddess. She is considered by many to be a Moon Goddess.  She is a primal figure of feminine power, a Celestial Mother Goddess who through her role as Goddess of Reincarnation, rules fertility and childbirth.  Arianrhod also rules arts, magic, and manifestation. As the Goddess of the Silver Wheel she is associated with spinning and weaving.  With Her wheel she magically weaves the tapestry of life.

Things sacred to Arianrhod are the owl, wolf and the birch tree.  The owl has long been associated with death whereas the birch tree is the tree of new beginnings.  To the Celts, the wolf was associated with the power of the moon.  Thus, Arianrhod’s wheel circles the continuum from birth to death and to birth once again, and creating the journeys therein.

Her palace was found in the far north on the magical, rotating island of Caer Sidi, which probably means “Revolving Castle”. She lived there with her female attendants. The ancients believed that her domain and her castle, Caer Arianrhod, were in the Corona Borealis, the constellation of stars moving around the apparently motionless North Star.  Legend tells us that poets and astrologers learned the wisdom of the stars at Caer Sidi.

As “Silver Wheel”, Arianrhod was responsible for the souls of warriors who fell in battle. She gathered them aboard her ship, the Oar Wheel. and transported them to Emania, also know as Moonland.  In the Northern sky, whirling around the enduring stability of the north star, Arianrhod presided over the fates of departed souls, nurturing their journeys between lives.

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I like the simple image of a silver circle, and I hope to also create a little design to go with it.  I also hope to be offering more items with my hand spun angora fibre that I have been harvesting from my own french angora rabbits.  I am still in the process of learning the skills of blending and spinning the very soft and silky fibres so that I may integrate it within the weaving.

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