Yikes! Can it really be a couple of years since I last updated my PickOne Blog! Lots has been happening since I last posted ... which I will endeavour to update in the next wee while ... in the mean time please look out for a series of flyers documenting workshops, some of which I will be leading and some of which I will be hosting in the PickOne Studios.

The silly season is almost upon us and the next few weeks is going to be a tad bonkers!

This weekend sees the Coburg House Art Studio's having their second and final open studio event of 2012, of which I am participating in - you can read more about this event at the following link on the STV website in an interview I gave a few days ago.

Monday sees me teaching up in Ullapool for three days, with a variety of workshops at this independent college, before heading back to my regular teaching stint at Dundee College on Thursday.

There may be also be news of a fairly substantial order with a leading retail space ... more of that later as you never know if these things will come to fruition, but all the leg work has been done and now its a waiting game - so fingers crossed! More news of this if and if it comes off.

In the mean time it would be great to see as many of you and your friends as possible over the weekend at Coburg - please see previous postings on this blog about what I will be demonstrating and selling from my studio.

New Work available to purchase exclusively at Concrete Wardrobe, Edinburgh.

I will be demonstrating some double cloth weaving over this weekend on my 32 shaft computerised loom, as well as selling off sample pieces from previous collections, which will included pieces from my digital collections. So come on down and grab a Christmas bargain or two. 

Pieces from current double cloth collections will also be available to purchase, as well as my boxed whisky glasses and shot/nip glasses.

Information will also be available for collection on future classes as well as my week long summer school in 2013. 

Please feel free to share this information!

 Hebridean Green

Hebridean Sunset 

Hebridean Gold
























Above are images of the three collections that are finished, pressed and labeled all ready for my stint as Maker of the Month at Concrete Wardrobe, which kicks off from the 1st of November 2012. 

Each double cloth scarf is in excess of 2.00m in length with an average of 2.30m, depending on repeat length before finishing and felting.

I am really looking forward to launching these collections and other collections at Concrete Wardrobe from the 1st of November as well as being in Concrete Wardrobe as part of the "Meeting and Greeting the Maker" scheme from 12.00 till 14.00 on Saturday the 3rd of November. 

As part of this event I have set up a 4 shaft loom for visitors to have a go at weaving simple weave structures for the duration of that day to which you and all your friends are invited to!  

Threaded heddles.

View from the back of the loom looking through to the front from the back beam. The threading has been complete.

Pulling the individual threads through the front beam, two ends per dent with a fish eye hook.

Once the all the threads have been drawn through the dents attached to the front beam they are then tied onto the front stick in bundles of 10 or so. Weaving can now begin. 

This is a couple of shots of the beginning of the cloth collection that has a working title of "Hebridean Shore" ... well for the time being anyway. It's always tricky giving your products a name, I usually come up with a name fairly early on but they do tend to go through various incarnations before I settle on something that I either like or is fitting to the piece.

Like the other double cloth collections "Hebridean Green, Gold and Sunset" wefts are limited to the warps and I am really linking the contrast of the mercerised cotton with the lambs wool, which all hark back to my original drawings made whilst out in Shetlands and the Outer Hebrides - hence the names!

Complicated!

Is it me or did Blogger just get really complicated?

Missing out

Lordy lordy lord! Blogger has changed it's format(s) and it has taken me an age to figure it all out, what with it's new templates and gadgets etc ... Just when I figured it all out I realise I have left all my connecting cables at home ( I am currently stopping off at my parents place in the North East of Scotland due to teaching commitments in Dundee) so can't up load additional pics of my developing weave structures I am working on for my next stint as Maker Of The Month at Concrete Wardrobe, which begins 01.11.12 ...

Also gutted to report that I am missing out on what would have been a great exhibition opening tonight at the Dovecot in Edinburgh for the Nuno exhibition opening, which I am sure I will see anyway, but the main reason for being so not chuffed was that the brilliant Reiko Sudo is in attendance. I know several folk  were able to say hello on my behalf, which is great, but I also know that Reiko so rarely travels these days and I am unsure when I will be swinging by her Roppongi Tokyo store in the near future to share a bowl or two of miso soup.

It is also happened the other way round when I missed out on attending an exhibition opening by Judy Scott at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee ... when I was in Edinburgh, working at Concrete Wardrobe.

Tis the trouble of splitting my time between Dundee and Edinburgh in a week - I physically can't do everything and be everywhere at once - finances and energy levels do unfortunately come into play. Shame.

I will however be taking a group of students along to see this show, thats the plan and failing that I will ship up and show up myself.



Till next time ... 

  

Feels like an age and a half since I have had a proper posting on my blog and after having come back from a great trip to Edale (see previous posting) where I met wood turner Robin Wood, I now feel all inspired to get blogging again.

So here we go ... 

These are some pics that I tweeted from @PickOneWeaver earlier today from my Leith based studio.

I completed warping up and began threading/dressing my 32 shaft Louet Loom for my third and final double cloth collection, using my v. handy sectional warping back beam.

As with previous warps yarns used consisted of the face cloth being a warp of 2 weights of mercerised/mercerized cotton and the back cloth a lambs wool. 

Both cloths are beamed directly onto the single back beam.

I will be weaving this piece during the next open studio event in the first week in December - more details on that to follow.

I anticipate getting approximately fourteen 2 meter plus pieces out of this warp.

More pics to follow as I move through the weaving and finishing process.

I have just returned from a very relaxing time in The Peak District, specifically Edale, where I stayed in The Old Police Station.

Please do have a look and feel free to share/cut and paste them both with anyone you think would be interested in a wee get away!

The Old Police Station is very comfortable, with the best wet room/shower ever and in an amazing area close to Hope, Hathersage, Matlock, Bakewell as well as a 2 minute walk to a train line that will take u to both Manchester and Sheffield. 

The place is run by Robin Wood who also appears in the following episode of the BBC's "Paul Martins Handmade Revolution" 

Robin appears 25 mins or so into the program and I was lucky enough to see some of his work at close hand. I also made a purchase of some of his beautifully hand carved spoons. More information on Robin can be found at this link.

I will post up some other pics at a later time ... but in the mean time I can't recommend a visit to this place which is situated in the centre of The Peak District.

Please feel free to follow these instructions from Concrete Wardrobe in Edinburgh and help promote Scottish based and trained designer makers! 

I know what the prize is and it's FAB!

https://www.facebook.com/events/235149083278060/

"COMPETITION TIME! ... We at Concrete Wardrobe want to see all you keen bloggers, blog about this event, it's as simple as that!

Cut and past the above link on to you blog telling all your followers about this brilliant event, then send us an e mail to concretewardrobe@hotmail.co.uk with your blog name as the title, and a link to your blog as proof, once we receive 10 or more links you will be entered into a free prize draw, if your followers also cut and paste this link onto their blog, they will also be entered into the draw as long as the e mail us a link to their blog at concretewardrobe@hotmail.co.uk ... and so it goes on! 

The dead line is this Saturday at 12.00 and Lesley Thornton from Crimson Textile Design will draw the winner!

Get blogging!"

If your out and about in Edinburgh this weekend, please do pop in and say hello.
I will be here on the 13th and the 15th of July.
Fiona McIntosh, my business partner at Concrete Wardrobe will be holding the fort on the 14th, while I will be in Concrete Wardrobe selling original craft from some of Scotland's leading makers.
I will be launching a new collection of double cloth woven structures as well as a new collection of smaller whisky classes, which as before have been designed using a variety of i-phone apps.
Please feel free to pass this e-flyer on to any interested parties.

If you are in the area please do feel free to pop in.


I will be launching my new double cloth structures at this event as well as displaying and selling my whisky glasses.


Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think may be interested in coming along. 

April 2012 Weave Class.

The April weave class at Coburg House Art Studios is fast approaching!


All information to book onto this course is here on this poster.


Places are limited to 5 students per class.


If you require more information please feel free to contact me, using the contact details documented on the poster.

Weaving Master Class.

I will leading a weaving Master Class this summer at Leith School of Art in Edinburgh all dates and information can be found by clicking on the title of this posting.


I am quiet excited to be leading this week as all the woven work will be based on an initial day of drawing an mark making as detailed in the above link. 


Please contact the School directly to make bookings as spaces are very limited and I know that there have been bookings already!

Photo Shoot Part II

Photo Shoot Part I