Serinde lives up to her name update 30 Mar 2024

[Serinde]

Yes, it is, isn't it! I don't understand enough about the way these are formed to even think about designing such clever braids (and the watermelon slice, uses more strands than I'd come across before, so was tricky), but I do have the colours to attempt carrots next! I'm going to try to adjust one of the braids I'm familiar with to make blueberries... or maybe raspberries... how about a yellow courgette...

[Mabel Figworthy]

Bananas?

[Serinde]

I'm not sure there's enough colour contrast for a banana, unless it was a very ripe one...

[rcperryls]

What about a banana that is in the ripening stage of green to yellow (though all of mine always seem to go from totally green to overripe yellow with no in-between, good for banana bread though)?

Carole

[mags]

I have a kumihomo set. Made a bracelet once. Love the effects - these are very pretty.

[Serinde]

Can you just about see the the Santa hats? (I've just about used up my stock of dark green and red...)

[wendywombat]

Very festive colours.

[Garnet]

Oh my, are they all handwoven? Just right for this time of year.

[Serinde]

This is a kumihimo braid. Basically very easy to do, although some braids are much more complicated. Very simple to get in the rhythm of it and, voilá!, a very strong braid. There's a lot of basic information online, as well as instructions for making your own kumihimo wheel. I would also say that it's a great stash buster... right up there with a peg loom.

[Squirrel]

Most unusual and totally fabulous

[Mabel Figworthy]

Definitely see the santa hats!

[Serinde]

Here's a little something I put together over the weekend. I'm making gift tags (more on that later) and little hanging things for our stitching group's Nov sales table to raise funds for ourselves (for a change; and needed, alas). It's amazing what you can do using cookie cutters as templates!

[mags]

Oh that's lovely and what a great idea. Love the berries.

[rcperryls]

that is really pretty and festive! And what a great idea to use cookie cutters to get the right shape. Hope your group has a great sale, and if this is an example of what will be sold, I'm sure it will!

Carole

[fccs]

I love it and I think your sale will be successful. And how clever to use cookie cutters as templates. I would never have thought of that.

[Serinde]

A fortnight ago, just after my sister went back Stateside, I went to a paperweaving workshop run by a (loom) weaver associated with the Guild I belong to. What gentle, stress-free fun it was! All sorts of paper was used, including strips of botanical printing, and I also took two pieces of pretty yucky wallpaper samples, and cut them up into something rather pretty, I thought.

In case you are wondering the two examples on the left are just plain tabby weave (over 1, under 1). The other is twill (over 1, under 2; over 2, under 2; under 1, over 2; under 2, over 2). Took that one apart after I realised how many mistakes I'd made, so this is the second go.

[rcperryls]

What fun that looks like! I can understand why the twill could get confusing. Are you planning on doing some more?

Carole

[Serinde]

You know, Carole, it was great fun, and entirely stress free (apart from not being able to count to two reliably from time to time). I'm hoping there will be another workshop in November. I also have some ideas of my own to do with fabric, iron-on interfacing and weaving, so watch this space!

[Mabel Figworthy]

What a great way that would be to get people into "real" weaving! Is that partly why she does it? Or is it just a nice relaxing alternative?

[Serinde]

Interesting question. The artist/weaver is Katherine Cowtan, and you can find her on Insta, for example, if you'd like to see more of her own work. It certainly is a simple way to understand different weaving structures, how colours work together (or don't) and even texture, depending on the types of paper. It's immediately accessible, even to children -- perhaps especially to children, which is why for an adult it is such a relaxing thing to do. So, to answer your question, both, I guess.

But it can stand up to scrutiny all on its own, as here. This is an exhibition piece Katherine did with the botanical dyer and cultivator of indigo, Elisabeth Viguie-Culshaw, last summer. As you can clearly see, the choice of the paper used for warp was not at all random -- it looks as if she took pieces of dyed paper, cut and then reassembled them so that the images could be seen. Nor was the weft random, come to that-- the larger (thicker) pieces are obviously meant to be readable. I'd judge this a piece of art, myself.