Bryony Studio

Snow and wind; beauty in shadows. Niagara Falls remains breathtaking even in winter.

I will be the first to admit I tend to the cool spectrum. My favorite colors are, and probably will always remain, black, purple and silver. According to color theory, that combination makes me creative, mysterious and elegant. Not certain about mysterious and elegant, but creative, definitely. What I don't choose on a regular basis are warm colors. I can't wear them well, so I tend to avoid them at all possible costs. Warm colors are wonderful for kitchens and dining rooms. They're great accent colors, but I tend to use them rarely even when weaving. Unfortunately as a designer of woven wearable art, I can't limited myself to my color choices. I need to create clothes that work well on other skin types and attract other people. Summer Color Scheme Choosing colors such as the ones above can prove frustrating to me. I wouldn't normally choose the colors, but advice was given to me last week that I will take to heart: visit stores in the mall. I'm not o

I focused last week on overshot coverlets as opposed to quilts. For a brief distinction a coverlet is woven, a quilt is not. Quilts and coverlets co-exist in equal appreciation during the Nineteenth Century, but as the Twentieth Century progressed, quilts became more popular and coverlets less popular. Part of the reason is simply the time  it takes to weave a coverlet let alone setting up the loom. To put this in perspective, it takes me roughly twelve hours from warping the loom to weaving the cloth to finishing off the edges for me to make the two scarves below. Both are around two yards in length. These scarves were done on my rigid heddle loom at a 7.5 dpi. What slowed them down was the pick-up stick pattern. On Helen the loom, I'm weaving at a sixteen dpi plus weaving a tighter weave so it takes longer. Take a look at the two projects below. First is the purple scarf from above before it is washed. Looking closely at it, you can tell that there is plenty of spac

Mixing copper with blue provides a cool cover with a dash of warmth and surprise.

No, I haven't created a monster ... yet, but I've been arguing with my Grandmama's looms over the past ten years (she died in 2003, and I took over the looms a year later). They have been a trial, in every sense of the word, both good and bad. The Loom Called Helen For most of the past six months or so, this monster (above) has sat beside the studio door waiting. Yes, it does appear to be sticking out its tongue, and yes, that is how it behaves. It is, to say the least, ornery. On this loom, however, is an experiment in weaving. It's a simple pattern called bird's-eye which creates a beautiful pattern. The pattern is quite old, but very practical. Researching looms, how they work and are made, also plays into the books. Thankfully, the frustrations with the looms have provided first-hand accounts that might show up in a book. Grandmama's looms are called counter-balance looms which means to weave everything has to be balanced. Other types of looms includ

  Coverlets. What are coverlets, and what do they have to do with American history?  Good source book of American weaving history According to the National Museum of the American Coverlet , a coverlet is:  "[a] woven bedcovers, used as the topmost covering on a bed. The weaver worked on a loom to construct the textile itself one row at a time, and the pattern was woven in as part of the process." 1   Coverlets were predominately produced during the Eighteenth and  Nineteenth  centuries. Today, they are seen  traditionally  as Colonial pieces, and are often placed in colonial settings. The coverlets were used to cover beds as well as to provide extra layers of warmth.  Created from cotton and linen or cotton, these items are warm, sturdy articles heavy enough to keep away drafts. The coverlets also incorporated many beautiful woven designs including overshot, double weave and  Jacquard , the last providing many of the highly complex weaves on the coverlets. 

The spicy scent of tea fills the house bringing memories to the front. Relax, sit back and enjoy the time alone or with a good friend. Peace.

If you've read the blog for a little while, you'll have learned that in addition to weaving, I'm a writer under the pen name, Bridgette ni Brian. One of my great loves is combining weaving with writing, and usually it takes the form of story telling. I'm fortunate in my heritage, because my grandmother and great-grandmother both wove. I've inherited two of the looms they used, and somewhere in my parents' home is a photograph of Grandma weaving at the smaller loom. Close-up of loom Weaving, for me, is as a much about what I do now, as it is what my ancestors have done in the past. When I'm able to combine the heritage with story, life becomes interesting. Over the course of the next couple weeks, I'll be starting a trilogy about colonial weavers. What piqued the interest was an article about weavers on the Colonial Williamsburg's website ( here ) as well as my own research into weaving. Here at Bryony Studio, I'll focus on the actual

Summer storms break suddenly, darkening the sky, tempting the nose and scaring the dog. Bright colors stand out against gunmetal skies.

Irish roads are full of greens and grays. Stone walls topped with shrubs; churches and moss. It's a cool country in more ways than one.