Starry, starry night

When I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to travel the universe, boldly going where no person had been before. At that time, most pilots came from a background of fighter pilot training: men with "The Right Stuff." The film of that name is still one of my favourites, though it does require some commitment, coming in at over three hours.

As a short-sighted female it was highly unlikely I'd be piloting my way to the moon or anywhere else and so eventually that dream of adventure was replaced by more modest ambitions, though my curiosity regarding what exists in the velvet blackness beyond our atmosphere remained undiminished.

In April 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Telescope, what, for me, has been one of the most thrilling pieces of technology since the moon landings. There were teething troubles, notably an error in the shape of the mirror, but repairs were made and now, nearly thirty years later the telescope continues to delight and educate through the stunning images captured by its various instruments. If you want to know more about the telescope, take a look at the website.

Both stunning and inspiring the Hubble images are perfect for interpretation in any medium. For a while now, I've been trying to work out how to interpret the images in fabric form. Tapestry is of course an option, but capturing the energy of an exploding star (planetary nebula) might be a bit of an ask. Not that I've totally ruled out the idea. I just need to think about that one for a while longer.

I turned to collage and an image of the Crab Nebula. Initially using organza to try and create the translucent clouds of ionized gas. As you can see, the result was vibrant and had some translucency, but it hasn't quite captured the wispy threads of the Hubble image. (Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))

A workshop on free motion embroidery suggested a way forward. One exercise had us creating "new" fabric out of scraps using water soluble stabilser.

Sandwiching off cuts of embroidery thread between two layers of stabiliser created a surface on which to embroider a web. When the stabiliser was rinsed away what remained was a firm fabric with the wispy texture of a nebula's cloud.

At home, I couldn't quite bring myself to cut up yards of embroidery thread and didn't have enough off cuts to make enough fabric, so I delved into the bag of organza scraps. Using those scraps the main colour blocks of the nebula were laid out between two layers of "Solvy" and then the details were embroidered over the top. Once the stabiliser was rinsed away the web was embroidered onto a black flannel background.

The result is perhaps a little too densely embroidered and the colours a little too bright to be an accurate representation of the Hubble image, but I think as an interpretation, it's not bad for a first attempt.

At the top of the post is my follow up embroidery, based on the Bug Nebula. The image suited the denser stitching better and I'm very pleased with what I achieved. My next challenge is to reduce the puckering that the embroidery created. If you've got any tips on that, do let me know in the comments.

Zig a zag. Ahhhh!

Do you ever get those days when you want to make something stylish, but you just don't want to have to think too hard? Yeah? Well me too. That's how this fabric got woven.

I love clasped weft. It is such a simple idea but the effects you can create span the highly controlled piano keyboard patterns to my favourite - the random zig zag.

A ball of "Schoppel Zauberball Crazy" in the "Spring is Here" colourway turned up one day. A gift from a very lovely friend. There wasn't enough of it to do a full scarf, so mixing it with a rich black to really pop the verdant greens and hints of turquoise seemed the best way to do justice to such a pretty yarn. Clasped weft struck me as a perfect way to add a little interest without overpowering the beauty of the yarn. A random clasped weft would have worked nicely, but for a change I decided on a bold (for me) graphic design of triangles spanning the whole width of the fabric.

I warped up the 24" Ashford using the 7.5 dent heddle and a half and half stripe of the black and the Schoppel, doubling the threads to get the right sett for a clasped weft.

Once the warp was tied on the weft was clasped with the rest of the Schoppel on the shuttle and the rest of the black sitting in a crocheted string back, hanging off the back roller of the loom. The triangles were created using the grid of squares of the weft against the warp to inform where the next interlock of yarns should sit. It took a few rows to settle into the pattern but once I was in the zone this wove up quickly and was the perfect project for a lazy evening in front of the TV.

There's probably enough fabric for one full cushion (all in this fabric) and another with this as the front and probably a black brushed cotton for the back. The triangles will fill one side.

If you want to find out more about how to add clasped weft into your own weaving, then take a look here.

And if clasped weft isn't your thing then add a comment and tell me what's your lazy day weave.