Woolfest for Weavers

YarnMaker, spinners, and spinning supplies were my reasons for being at Woolfest in Cockermouth in June. However, I took a little time here and there to look at weaving supplies.

One of my friends ordered a new Saori loom at the show. She's been doing Saori weaving for sometime now on rigid heddle looms so knows that the two-shaft Saori loom with the benefit of foot treadles is ideal for the weaving she does. We now have a Saori agent in the UK and The Saori Shed had a large stand where I happily sat and wove a few inches of cloth.

I was very interested to see a beautiful range of Estonian wool yarns spun for weaving now offered by Jane Flanagan Textiles alongside her dyed wool batts for feltmakers. Jane is a weaver herself although spends much of her time running textile workshops for schools.

I enjoyed meeting one of my weaving blog friends, Dorothy Stewart, who was helping out on the Ripples Crafts stand. Dorothy has been weaving beautiful silk scarves and I was delighted to see them for real and talk with her about weaving. Helen of Ripples Crafts custom dyes silk yarns for Dorothy so she can work with whatever colours she chooses.

The yarns I fell for however were from the range stocked by Helen Brotherton My Fine Weaving Yarn. She seems to be constantly extending the yarns offered and it is wonderful to visit one of her stands and have a choice of modern yarns all spun for handweavers in a range of colours like I have never seen before in the UK. I know other people do stock a large range but selection is normally from shade cards or samples that arrive in the post. It is rather different to be surrounded by yarns of different fibres that you can see and touch! And pick up and buy... here are the yarns I brought home, all silk. I made two colour selections of four cones for scarf weaving, each including one varigated yarn. However, having got them home I think that the green I chose could belong to either group.