Welcome to a new issue of tinyStudio magazine, and we are turning 21 this time! To celebrate this coming of age, we are actually looking into the past a little, exploring some of our spinning history, starting with a DIY project for making a medieval spindle. I love all those beautiful ancient images of the women in their long robes, strolling along with their distaffs poised and their spindle in hand, gathering weight with the yarn they are creating. In this excellent article from Anna Macnaughton Lindemark, we learn about sticks, whorls, and notches, and Anna steps us through the process of making our own spindle in a very traditional way. This partially fulfils my dream of being a medieval maiden, skilfully twirling up a cloaks-worth of yarn under the rose bower in the castle gardens…
We take a slightly more modern look back to our closer fibery ancestors with a rummage through the eclectic and fascinating ‘Vintage Vibe’ collections of Milissa Ellison-Dewey. I was especially enamoured of the two ‘Wool Ladies’ who quite charmingly hold your yarn as you knit, to prevent tangles or losing the ball to an errant cat or mischievous puppy. Milissa also takes us for a wander through her collection of vintage needles and knit related gadgets, see if you recognise any!
We are inspired again with the next article in Ineke De Brouwer’s Dynamic Weaving series, in which she takes a rather glamorous 1920’s noir concept and creates a wearable piece of art! This is a trip down to Agatha Christie’s country estate for a little dancing, a little champagne, a slice of intrigue, and a lot of style. Ineke has made a particularly clever use of a chiffon type scarf to create the base for this piece, segmenting it to weave into something transformational, take a close look to see how she did this!
Suzy (me) has an extended article for Issue 21, not so much historical as whimsical. It started earlier in 2023 with the making of a stuffed toy Narwhal, and continued to a custom woven bucket hat. The process however is far more important than the item made, because this is a process that can be applied widely to many different projects. Essentially it involves selecting a sewing pattern (and in the article Suzy describes what to look for when making that selection), and then re-creating each pattern piece as a bespoke weaving loom, using foam board and pins, ready to warp and weave into the exact shaped pattern piece for the project. This is great for two reasons, firstly, it eliminates the need to cut (or waste) otherwise standard width woven ‘fabric’ to create the correct shaped piece. Secondly, it allows the weaver to really take control of the direction of the weave and the elements in the design, made to fit each individual piece and thus to also interact with the surrounding pieces in the final garment in really exciting ways, your weave can actually follow the shape of each piece. And thirdly (ok three reasons!) the looms are made from easy to find and low cost materials, and this is also a great way to use up your left over yarns! The article contains all the info you need to get started on your own bespoke weaving.
Another article which is astoundingly beautiful, is our feature of the work of Lacey Ingram of Melior Fibers, each one of Lacey’s outstandingly gorgeous art yarn skeins tells a story; of mystery, love, of forests and meadows, and most of all, of magic! It is impossible not to be inspired by the beautiful fiber work, and photography, of this talented artist.
This is also followed by a really fascinating article from Ashley Martineau of Neauveau Fiber Arts, in which we learn about all the different kinds of fibers that go to waste within the textiles industry, and how they can be saved and used! I love the luxurious textures these fibers bring to art yarns, and the mixes and batts that Ashley is creating from these previously lost fibers is really fantastic!
In future issues of tinyStudio you will also be seeing even more art yarns, art yarn tutorials, fiber prep methods, and art yarn inspirations as I go back to my roots and refocus on sharing the inspirations behind concept yarns, themed fibers, and the uses that these magical yarns can be put to.
There really is such a great deal more in this issue, I have only scratched the surface here! We have a wonderful article from an Archeologist fiber artist about yarn twists in ancient weavings. We have an article from our friend Charan Sachar about the ‘cross-pollination’ of mediums and crafts and how they can enhance your practice (rather than be something to feel anxious over!). We visit with Naomi Merx in Spain with some of her very textured weaving, travel to Switzerland with Sonja Broekhuizen, and we learn about the trials and joys of lambing on a New Zealand farm with Megan Balks.
I hope you will really love this issue, now available in both Digital and Print formats in the tinyStudio shop! Remember if you are a current tinyStudio Digital member you can purchase the print issue with a 15% discount from the Digital Subscribers page, as well as any back issues you may have missed! If you are not a subscriber you can still purchase either print or digital straight from the shop. All prices include global shipping!