weaver dublin seol studios ailbhe beatty girlmeetsloom

Follow my weaving journey on @girlmeetsloom on Instagram

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View fullsize Woven textiles present endless possibilities of patterns, yarns and colour combinations, even within the limitations of a four-shaft loom that’s best suited to twill and tabby weaves. This pattern has been in the pipeline for quite some time a
View fullsize Excited to have been awarded the @artscouncilireland Agility Award to work on a project dear to my heart that I couldn’t do without this support. 🙏 When looking for a loom to call my own, I came close to not finding one at all. Donegal fly-sh
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View fullsize A departure from weaving but a return to what led me to the loom in the first place - knitting. Over the summer I’ve been one of many helping @ryankoenigstudio with reconstructing the 16th Century Ballybunion Cap as part of a research archaeol
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View fullsize A change in the tides this week moving back to Dublin after a dreamy 6 month(ish) stint in the lovely Donegal. You may take the girl out of Donegal, but everything I’ve learned this year will be travelling with me. My experience of traditiona
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View fullsize The final step was to prepare the loom for weaving. This involves transferring the warp to the beam, drawing-in the pattern through the four shafts, and pulling the threads through the reed. This sleigh had been set up to weave with three shuttles,
View fullsize One thing I naively didn't expect to learn so much about in this process is tying knots. John's 50+ years in handweaving and familiarity with fishing seriously put in perspective how little I knew about this before. Tying-up the loom is really somet
View fullsize When it came to choosing a stain for the wood, I initially wanted to maintain the integrity of the material and highlight its natural qualities. Following sanding it was clear the majority of the loom was built from Norway Spruce aka white deal - a s
View fullsize The loom's shaft system is the perfect embodiment of organised chaos. What first appears as a haphazard collection of strings and sticks is actually a meticulously planned and measured system, where tensions and distances have all been pre-determined
View fullsize Bringing this bad boy back to life was a real victory for me. The sleigh is the longest part of the loom measuring just under 3.5m in width, and is a mobile part that hinges from the top and swings back and forth. I won't go on about it, but this doe
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View fullsize Nearly two full weeks into refurbishing and I'm only just beginning to see the finish line. Who knew every timber section has six faces to sand, treat and varnish?! My hands and shoulders are in bits. And if anyone saw my nails over the last fortnigh
View fullsize Meet my Donegal double-width, four-shaft floor loom. Something I was very fortunate to come by, and very grateful to now have the pleasure of breathing a new lease of life into. Many stars aligned before getting to this moment, from Tony's willingne
View fullsize a girl and her loom