The studio has been in an in-between state lately. Not messy exactly, but mid-transformation.
There are loom parts stacked against walls, cones gathering in corners, repaired spinning wheels back in motion, and small woven experiments beginning to appear between larger projects.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been spinning a series of rare single-flock Shetland and Ryeland yarns for Caledonian Wool Co. These won’t be repeatable once the fleece is gone, which changes the feeling of the work slightly. Less manufacturing, more preservation of a particular flock, season, and fibre character.
At the same time, I’ve been experimenting with a new version of RSL using a cable ply structure instead of the smoother original construction.
The resulting yarn is softer, loftier, and much more textural. The stitch definition is less crisp, but the fabric has movement and depth that I’m increasingly drawn toward. It feels less polished in the industrial sense, but more alive in the hand.
I’m still deciding whether this version will head to the Made in Stirling gallery pop-up or remain separate as its own branch of the project.
Alongside the spinning, I’ve finished two crochet shawl samples and started writing the patterns. Both are built around gradual colour movement and layered texture rather than dramatic contrast. Slow transitions, shifting skies, weather patterns, worn stone, lichen, cloud shadow. The usual things that find their way into my work whether invited or not.
The high loom is finally beginning to come together as well.
Warping a large loom always feels strangely architectural to me. Tension lines stretched through space, turning an empty frame into the possibility of cloth. There’s still work to do before it becomes fully operational, but it has crossed the line from hypothetical object to functioning tool.
I’ve also started weaving small sampler and ends pieces using leftover handspun, textured yarns, and experimental fibres from around the studio. Small studies assembled from fragments and remnants. Useful partly as technical experiments, partly as a way of letting materials speak before planning overwhelms them.
More soon.
Samantha
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