The Weaver's House

Tag: weavers workshop

  • A Welcome Sight

    A Welcome Sight

    During 2021 some of the Weavers’ Workshop, a group who meet regularly at The Weaver’s House and who participate in the Open Days, were involved in the Welcome to Coventry sign, a collaborative piece of textile art.

    The community artwork, developed by artists Luisa Freitas and Charis Esther on behalf of Coventry City Council and in partnership with Avanti West Coast, is one of the new pieces of art at the railway station. It is located in the recently opened building on the first floor near the access from Warwick Road.

    Welcome to Coventry artwork at Coventry Station

    The individual embroidered pieces were made during the Covid-19 lockdown, via online sessions. Weavers’ Workshop member Margaret embroidered an image of her weaving loom which actually includes a small piece of weaving made from woad dyed yarn.

    Margaret’s embroidered loom
    Bicycle by Ingrid

    The collected work was then sealed in a clear resin in which it is now displayed. You can view some of the detailed images on Instagram @welcometocoventrysign or visit it next time you are at the station.

    Perhaps you can spot the two images in the main picture? Scroll down for a clue!

    Welcome to Coventry textile artwork

    Clue – you can find the loom and the bike if you ‘try’.

  • Sunny Spring Open Days, looking forward to summer

    Sunny Spring Open Days, looking forward to summer

    We were lucky that our Open Days in May and June were generally sunny. Always lovely to spend time in the Tudor style garden, and many visitors have commented that it is hard to believe we’re in the heart of Coventry. Our next Open Days are July 9 and August 13. Come along and explore the history of the house and garden and enjoy a slice of homemade cake!

    Finding out about the art of spinning!
  • Season’s Greetings

    Season’s Greetings

    Usually at this point we would be recapping a full year of Open Days and other events at The Weaver’s House.

    The year started well with the announcement of ‘Moving Blue’ the City of Culture colour based on the famous ‘Coventry Blue.’ The Weaver’s House team were involved in the research process for the development of the colour and were excited to see the results come to life across the city.

    window frame painted a mid bright blue
    Moving Blue on The Weaver’s House

    With a #CelebrateNationalLottery25 funded community garden day kicking off activities in March, and the loom rewarped, all looked set for a memorable year of events.

    As we know, 2020 would be memorable for very different reasons.

    Throughout this challenging year The Weaver’s House and Weavers’ Workshop provided online resources for seasonal craft projects and reading including:

    Eco-printing
    Easter and May Day crafts to make at home
    Suggested local history reading
    A photographic tour of the house
    Celebrating other local venues
    Lockdown in another lifetime
    There are many more posts to browse on our blog!

    • six squares of blanket sewed together with different plan and flower outlines
      Eco print
    • the end of the terracce showing the wooden timber structure of the house
      The Weaver’s House
    • Hidden Gem
    • Carved stone fish emblem
      An interesting detail on a famous Coventry building, but do you recognise it?
    • Lockdown Rainbow
    • Old, weathered timber intersects with new timber
      Touching the past
    A sample of this year’s posts

    We also carried out some essential site maintenance whilst we remained closed this year, we made costumes and revised our Family History book, amongst other things. So work has continued behind the scenes.

    We hope to welcome visitors again soon, and will post our plans for 2021 in the New Year. And speaking of the New Year, perhaps it is time to revive the tradition of wassailing? Wassail comes from the Old English was hál, literally: be hale/healthy).

    Traditionally it is a beverage of hot mulled cider, drunk as an integral part of the English Medieval Christmastide rituals, to bring a good apple harvest in the coming year. Perhaps some New Year wassailing will bring everyone better fortunes in 2021.

    Wishing you a healthy and happy Christmas from all at The Weaver’s House.

  • A Crafty Christmas

    A Crafty Christmas

    A row of tiny Christmas elves with red hats
    Christmas elves made from corks, Tunisian crochet hats, with kumihimo braiding scarves

    There’s no doubt that Christmas is going to be a little different this year. With a lockdown once again in place, we are looking to crafty ways to stay occupied and even make some Christmas presents.

    Here are some of the creations by Weavers’ Workshop member, Anne-Marie, decorations and gifts, all home-made.

    A pair of cheerfully coloured rugs made of recycled materials:

    • purple and red striped red rug
      A bathroom rug woven on a rigid heddle loom using ribbon as a warp and old linen strips for the weft
    • striped rug, colourful mixed wool and ornage fringe
      Twined rag rug made of old linen fabric strips on a weaving frame

    The ‘warp’ is the long pieces of yarn or other textile which is held in place on a loom or a frame. In the above left example, ribbon has been used.

    a wooden loom stands on the floor of the kitchen
    Making the twined rag rug from old linen fabric strips on a weaving frame.
    • small wooden loom with a textured wool on it
      A waistcoat woven on a four shaft loom using Scottish Tweed wool.
    • dark textured wool
      The finished waistcoat.

    Looms and frames can vary in size from small handheld frames to huge industrial looms, but the principle is the same. You don’t need a loom or a frame to weave, simple weaving sticks or backstrap are other traditional methods. Find out how we set up our large replica medieval loom here.

    • cushion cover, red and gold with a central circular motif in shades of blue
      A round woven cushion cover done on a round pin loom
    • detail of cushion cover, red background, edge of circular motif in blues
      The cushion cover is made with home spun & dyed merino wool
    cream and grey oval rug
    Amish style rag rug, made from old linen strips, a weaving needle and blanket stitch.
    This style is also called a toothbrush rug
    A row of tiny Christmas elves with red hats
    These festive little elves have been made from repurposed corks. Their hats are made from Tunisian crochet which blends techniques from knitting and crochet. Their scarves are kumihino, a traditional Japanese braiding craft.

    Have you taken up or revived any textile crafts this year? We’d love to see your creations on our social media pages.

    Huge thanks to Anne-Marie for sharing her beautiful creations.

  • Weavers’ Lovely Lockdown Creations

    Weavers’ Lovely Lockdown Creations

     

     

    The Weavers’ Workshop have been busy during lockdown.

    Here is a gallery of some of their creations.

    grey & blue woven basket, sunset tones tunic, red and purple rug, rainbow, brown waistcoat, lady weaving outside, red tartan shawl, grey shawl

    Big thanks to the Weavers who sent in pics of their amazing creations:

    Anne-Marie: rag rugs and waistcoat, Merino/cotton woven tunic with knitted rolled collar.

    Ingrid: basket, open air rug weaving on twining frame, finished rug with Harris Tweed selvedges, red shawl woven in cotton yarn on rigid heddle loom.

    Beryl: Rainbow

  • Warp speed ahead!

    Warp speed ahead!

     

     

    In this post Sara of the Weavers’ Workshop takes us through the process of rewarping our reproduction loom, a mammoth task!

    The replica medieval floor loom is at last warped up following several wintry sessions in the freezing upstairs ‘solar’ of The Weaver’s House. We had no heating, but thankfully we had the benefit of electric lighting, so we cannot really claim to be replicating the task that faced John Croke in 1540, who would have only had a rush light with which to see by.

    working on the loom illuminated by electric bulb shining on the threads

    The warping up process was managed over several cold, lengthy sessions thanks to the technical expertise of Ian McClusky from the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and support from The Weavers’ Workshop (Margaret Annetts, Heidi Campbell and me). The Weaver’s House trustee, Peterson, assisted to get the technical elements of the loom working – so the shafts and foot pedals synchronised to create a workable ‘shed’ through which to pass the boat shuttle.

    plain wool is carefully added to the loom
    Ian hard at work on the loom

    long flowing threads of wool across the loom

    The loom is a faithful reproduction of the type of narrow floor loom used in medieval times to produce undyed cloth for the artisan workers in the area. It is hoped to demonstrate the weaving process as it would have been done at that time using a boat shuttle, but there is still work to do to find a suitable shuttle and master the technique. While weaving cloth seems straightforward enough in principle, setting up the loom and achieving a rhythmic approach to the weaving process requires great skill and it is amazing in these days of advanced technology, how the craftsmen of old achieved great things with what we regard now as relatively simple equipment.

    You can see a full picture of the loom in the gallery.

    If you are interested in traditional weaving, you may be interested in our post on weaving in Mexico, on a very similar loom.

  • Happy Blue Year!

    Happy Blue Year!

     

    We’re delighted to be involved with the Moving Blue project, which sees the colour with a Coventry history going back hundreds of years revived ahead of the City of Culture year.

    The project kicked off on New Year’s Day and will run throughout this year.

    Our trustee Sara Maycock is an experienced dyer and weaver and was able to contribute her knowledge to the project, as well as some pieces of woad-dyed wool!

    At The Weaver’s House we have long been fascinated by the history of the famous colour Coventry Blue. Sara explained: “We’re thrilled to be involved with this project as the subject of ‘Coventry Blue’ is very close to our hearts. In medieval times, when The Weaver’s House was built, Coventry was a centre for the weaving trade, when the city was best known for its fine Coventry Blue cloth.

    “We grow the woad plant in the garden, and although the plant is green and related to cabbages, it produces a fantastic range of blues. We have experimented with this natural dyestuff to see what shades of blue it produces, so we have an idea what Coventry Blue might have been like.

    “We’ll never truly know what the medieval Coventry Blue looked like as the recipe was a closely guarded secret, but it’s wonderful to see the colour being revived as we head towards 2021.

    “Blue is a thread that runs through Coventry’s history for hundreds of years and we’re excited that Moving Blue will be a connection to the weavers of old as well as looking to the future of the city.”

    During our tenth anniversary year the Weavers’ Workshop created weaving inspired by Coventry Blue. If you would like to see more of this previous experimentation with natural woad dye and weaving, you can read more here.

    During 2020 a different item will be painted in Moving Blue every day. You can read the full details on the 2021 website.

  • That was 2019 at The Weaver’s House

    That was 2019 at The Weaver’s House

    What a busy year it has been for The Weaver’s House. This is the first year that we have had a special theme for every Open Day. Let’s take a whistle-stop tour…

    It doesn’t seem a blink of an eye since we began the open season with Signs of Spring, on a sunny April day. A few weeks later, we had an extremely memorable day as reenactor group Coventry Militia brought expertise, costumes and weaponry for an authentic historical experience and some exciting medieval action! We are hoping they will join us for a future Open Day.

    June and July delved into delicacies and dirt respectively, with Open Days on Tudor cooking and an archaeological dig. The Tudor recipes included Pease Pottage which visitors sampled on tiny trenchers (bread plates), and mostly declared that it was better than they expected! Coventry And District Archaeological Society (CADAS) ran the on-site dig for July, which unearthed finds including medieval pottery and later dated items such as glass, animal bones and pipe bowl/stem.

    August brought a day of Summer Fun in the Garden. Young visitors enjoyed making woolly snails, weaving and “rub-a-bug” a brass rubbing style activity, featuring mini-beasts.

    Before we knew it, it was September, and the annual festival of Heritage Open Days, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. Back in the 90s it was just a single day. It runs across nearly two weeks now, and we opened for both weekends.

    This year, the first Saturday coincided with the Spon Spun Arts and Heritage Trail, with the house hosting artwork by Karen Rose Textiles, marking the connection between weaving and the nearby river Sherbourne. This work is currently displayed at the Healing Arts Gallery at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire. During the second weekend, we celebrated the centenary of the birth of previous resident, Sid O’ Neil, with his descendants. Of course, we had cake!

    Thanks to the skills of the Weavers’ Workshop, throughout September the window of The Weaver’s House was turned gold, along with most of Earlsdon, in tribute to Ben Crowther.

    Although Open Day season ended in September, the house was open in October and November this year for Coventry Biennial. Three artworks were brought together to explore weaving as a historic and contemporary practice which is undertaken in almost every community across the globe. The exhibition closed in late November, ending our public openings for this year.

    We also had some private groups in of course, including the Design Nation project and visitors with ancestors connected to the area.

    What a busy year! We have next year’s dates in the diary and once we have finalised a few details, we’ll be listing them here very soon! We always welcome new volunteers, so if you have an interest in heritage, Coventry history, gardening or would just like to get involved, find out more here.

  • Weavers’ Workshop Go Gold for Ben

     

     

     

    Visitors and passers-by during September will have noticed our beautiful gold-themed window.

    The woven gold decorations are for Be Bold Go Gold in memory of Ben Crowther. Ben loved visiting us, and had some happy times here. In honour of him, The Weavers’ Workshop have created the display  to support Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

    There are events to remember Ben, and to support his named fund. You can find out more here: Pass the Smile for Ben.

  • Artwork marks the connection of the River Sherbourne and weavers of old.

    Artwork marks the connection of the River Sherbourne and weavers of old.

     

     

     

     

    We enjoyed a sunny September for the first Heritage Open Days weekend of 2019, the 25th anniversary year of the festival.

    On the Saturday we, and visitors, were treated to an extra slice of culture as The Weaver’s House hosted part of the Spon Spun Arts & Heritage Trail in the form of an exhibition by Karen-Rose-Textiles.

    The Spon Spun exhibition featured artworks entitled ‘Scir Burna’ (Clear Stream in Old English) representing the river Sherbourne that flows through and under the city. The pieces representing the ‘life giving force’ of the river are made from naturally dyed felted wool and were accompanied by a soundscape during the installation.

    The river itself would have been used for washing and dyeing in the time when the house was lived in by the medieval weaver and family. The artworks, created especially for display in The Weaver’s House, connects the river and the history of Coventry’s weaving, dyeing and spinning industry and the house’s previous residents. The pieces also pay homage to the dye colour Coventry Blue “as true as Coventry blue.”

    Framed textile art in medieval house, beams and wall

    Earlier in 2019 Karen was commissioned by Artspace Coventry and Spon Spun to plan and deliver a community based intergenerational project linking together The Weaver’s House and the pupils from neighbouring Spon Gate Primary School. The project introduced pupils from year 3 and 4 to the ancient craft of weaving and its strong links with medieval Coventry. They also visited The Weaver’s House and learnt some weaving techniques from the Weavers’ Workshop.

    The work has been selected for exhibition at The Healing Arts Gallery at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire from November 2019 – March 2020.

    To find out more about Karen’s work visit karen-rose-textiles.com.