We went to another convention on the weekend. It’s a yearly one, and last year the secondary theme was craft. I did a weaving demonstration, putting in a lot of preparation including teaching myself stick, inkle and card weaving. I brought in the table loom and set up the rigid heddle so people could give weaving a try.

This year I was asked to bring some weaving in for “We do this stuff so you can write about it”, where several people made themselves available for writers (or anyone else) wanting to ask questions about their hobbies or jobs. This time I’m bringing in stick, inkle and rigid heddle looms, but not the table loom because I’ll be using public transport.

This time I set up a stick loom using dowels rather than straws:

I have one of the heddles I bought along with the Sunna heddle to demonstrate making inkle bands using a ‘backstrap’ method rather than a loom.

And I have the Ashford Knitters Loom set up with a scarf warp on it for people to try out weaving on.

I thought I’d try backstrap weaving, too, but after two failed attempts using a not particularly clear tutorial I gave up on that idea. I don’t know whether it was the tutorial or me, but all I seemed able to make was a big tangle. Fortunately I was able to salvage most of the yarn.

I also put a pick-up project on my mini inkle loom, but decided I would take a photo of it instead so I have less to carry.

And I got Paul to take video of myself weaving on the inkle and table looms.

I was occupied for most of the session, though I know as a writer I’d have been more interested in taking advantage of experts in police procedures, fencing (the sword-wielding kind) and horse management. But the weaving attracted interest and two willing testers. In fact, I suspect that one of the testers may be venturing into the realm of rigid heddle ownership quite soon.

Unfortunately, for most of the con I was hovering between being in pain from my back or zonked out on pain killers, so I’m pretty amazed I managed to make any of it sound exciting. And now I have ‘con crud’, the inevitable cold/flu/whatever that does the rounds at these things. Thankfully I have this week off, though it is always annoying when you’re sick during your ‘holidays’.

Still, I’m well enough to browse the internet, read and do some stitching. I nearly finished my Slinky Cat piece over the weekend, so I need to design a few more cat portraits to embroider.