Weaving my way back in...

So this is my third week back of uni, and inbetween the freshers events, lectures and work, I've barely had any time to post anything on here! (That's kind of a lie- I have 3 half written posts in my draft box that I never got around to finishing and posting, and are now no longer relevant!) But anyway, I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to!

 As a second year at UoD, we spend the first semester doing 4 week rotations of Weave, Print and Knit. Its relatively similar to last year, however this year, I'm being trusted with machinery! Looking at using the Jaccquard in the Weave rotation, and digital printing in the Print part! The above image has probably given it away, but I'm starting this year off with a bit of weave!

When I started Uni, I thought I was going to almost definitely going to become a printer, and go on to design a wallpaper range or something like that. The truth is, other than a few sessions with an WI lady, I'd never knitted on a domestic knitted machine, and the only weaving I'd ever done was a large abstract piece for my A-levels based on the lack of sustainability in my local area... The only thing I knew was printing!

The truth is, I'm not 100% sure I want to be a printer anymore- weave is becoming more and more appealing!

And last week we were taught how to thread our own looms! Its something I've never done before, and I'm not going to lie, it took me 3 attempts to get it right! But when I did, I was so proud! (And releaved- everyone else managed to do it straight away!)

The colour scheme I've chosen, is based both upon the African Artisan project completed over the summer, and the naturally dyed weaves I created. (The colours are a bit brighter than the natural dyes- but I like it that way!)

As you can see, I've only worked on this piece a little, but that's because we haven't started our pattern practicals yet! I've started drawing up a few patterns and I'm excited to get started!

Bethan Rose x