October Travels

Yes, I’m travelling again. Now a member of the ancient textile society associated with the Textile Museum in Lyon, France, aka CIETA, I decided to attend their biennial conference. The conference coincided with the opening of an amazing exhibit at the museum, Antinoé à la vie, à la mode. The exhibit included almost incredible pieces found in Egypt in the late 1800s, some of it never before on display, quite the celebration of ancient fashion.

The Textile Museum in Lyon, waiting for the exhibit opening

From a textile perspective it was an amazing view into the time period. Yes, the exhibit included two sprang caps.
Tours were part of the conference. I opted for a bus tour to le Puy-en-Velay

More amazing textiles on display.
From Lyon I went to London. There I had a visit scheduled at the Petrie Museum.

Located on the campus of the University College of London, the Petrie Museum houses an amazing collection of Egyptian artifacts.

I was accorded a visit with two sprang caps. I’ve since mapped out the patterns, and am giving samples to the museum.

Based on UC 28009a I created this sample.

It is a fascinating piece, combining multiple twist interlinking and another technique where a single thread traverses the open space between vertical lines of interlinking.

Based on UC 28073 this piece features twining and intertwining patterns on a ground of interlinking.

Later that week I experienced the Alexandra Palace Knit and Stitch Show. How heartwarming to see such crowds interested in textiles. I helped staff the booth belonging to The Braid Society. We managed to teach an awful lot of people how to do fill-the-gap kumihimo.
On to Reading for a sprang class at Aldebourne. Aldebourne is a tiny community, but home to a large group of individuals interested in braiding techniques. Imagine the community center in a small village, and on a Sunday afternoon the space is crowded with people and their inkle looms, tablet weaving, and kumihimo. This is where I taught a sprang class. What a pleasure to teach to such apt students.
On to the Pitt-Rivers Museum.

The Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford, England

The Pitt-Rivers Museum, if the artifacts are not of interest to you, then certainly the architecture will strike you as spectacular.

Page 67 of Sprang Unsprung features the photo of an amazing bag with a design of 5 people, worked in beads. I was privileged with a close examination of this bag, as well as several sashes of Great Lakes interlacing (oblique weave) design.
Presently I’m in Devon. I presented a class in sprang to the Devon Handweavers, another group with a keen eye for structure. It’s always a pleasure to open up the world of sprang for people.