Sunshine after the rain (Krokbragd #6)

It is a spectacularly warm and sunny day out there. The kind of day that wreaks havoc with my crafter's "pale and interesting" complexion. So what's a woman to do? Many of my friends are posting images of their newly weeded flower beds, neatly trimmed lawns and other fruits of their gardening labour. I have no interest in gardening though I do very much enjoy the gardens others create, but I forced myself outside for fifteen minutes with a coffee on the patio to top up the vitamin D and then it was back inside to do what I do best: avoid the sun.

So was I relaxing with the inkle loom and that pretty band I warped up earlier in the week? Nope. I was back with the krokbragd.

I know, I know, I keep saying I will just work on a limited number of projects at a time but this is only project number three if you don't count the pile of mending that needs doing and the trousers pattern that I need to recut and...

If you remember from the 21st May 2021 - I was so enjoying working on the krokbragd sampler than I decided to warp up my 24" loom to make a rug for the bedroom.

So far I have completed two pattern blocks - as you can see. I was toying with the idea of interlocking them, but I quite liked the separation between the patterns in the sampler so I've kept that aesthetic here.

I originally thought I might go for softer colours with a lower contrast than you normally seem to see in krokbragd. These blues and green certainly produced what I wanted, but I am really liking the striking contrast between the soft grey and the navy and black marl yarn used in the top image, so I suspect the finished rug is going to have a mix of those high and low contrast blocks. It will be interesting to see how the colour scheme progresses. Well I'll be interested to see it.

What are your thoughts? Do you like the low contrast colours or are you all about the sharp definition? Why not share your views in the comments?

Sampler samples (Krokbragd #5)

The krokbragd sampler is coming along nicely. I'm very much enjoying the design process and working with a limited palette of colours. A trawl of the internet reveals there are lots of examples of krokbragd with a rainbow of colours but I felt drawn to some of the more muted colour schemes. Don't get me wrong some of those brightly coloured designs are gorgeous - okay, they're all gorgeous it's in the nature of the weave - but I like my decor to be more gentle on the eye, the colours of the coastal landscape are my go to paint samples.

I toyed with the idea of going all natural and maybe sourcing some undyed alpaca but decided to work with what I already had rather than splash the cash. After all I bought that yarn because I thought it was lovely and letting it sit in a box isn't the best way to use it.

After trying colours against each other I chose some British wool I'd bought from a weaver in Scotland who was having a de-stash. I decided to use just three colours throughout the sampler - cream, blue and green - to let the patterns speak for themselves rather than let the colours be the star of the show.

The first image is overlapping bars. I think of it as being a more modernist take on krokbragd. With bars of various lengths it could make for a very interesting pattern and kind of reminds me of some of Anni Albers' weaving. Perhaps not up there with the Bauhaus trained weavers but it has a pleasing rhythm when you see it across the width of the fabric.

The second pattern I think of as interlocking tuning forks. There is something fascinating about the way the patterns interlock and change colour at the same time. Perhaps if MC Escher had been a weaver this is the kind of pattern he might have come up with. I think it deserves a variation with more colours to really show off the colour changes. One to think about when I'm back to the design sheet.

So that's a little taster of what I've been working on and I've enjoyed the process so much that I took some of the money I saved by not buying a load of alpaca and finally bought a set of double heddle blocks for my 24" loom. I had considered selling it a while back but now I am going to warp it up and make myself a lusciously thick krokbragd mat for the bedroom. Just the thing to step onto when the mornings get cold again.

So what's inspiring your work at the moment? Why not share it in a comment