Quimper Hittys

We were conveyed to a little farmhouse in the middle of the Skåne countryside…

…where Hanna and Anna Jönsson were born and lived all their lives.

As was the custom, the two young women prepared dowries for their eventual marriage, but neither of them ever married so their spectacular textiles were never used.

Each sister wove tapestries in the Flamskvavnad style, including enough intended to upholster a sofa and 12 chairs (each!)

…using a large upright tapestry loom.

Besides the dining room sets, they wove many cushion covers, table cloths, wall hangings and other necessities.

It was all so beautifully made and colourful – never used and very little exposed to light.

All quite overwhelming! The kind docent invited me and the Hittys to sit on this bench in front of the stone table top so she could take our photo!

So amazing and wonderful to see these tapestries and after a week spent learning the techniques it was sure enlightening to see the skill and creativity displayed – and in a home in the way they were intended to be used. And what a treat to be driven through the Swedish countryside for a day!

Thank you so much to the Lilla Rödde Museum for allowing us to visit and admire!

The end of a week of weaving has come too fast!

We learned how to tighten up the edges if they were drawing in too much…

…and how to weave a circle with spots in it!

This is where I stopped. There is a whole technique for dealing with the warps after the weaving comes off the frame, which I hope to remember when that step comes…

…but meanwhile the looms with weaving attached are being posted home!

Coriander and Arianell made the leftover yarns into skeins and butterflies…

…and went for an evening walk along the waterfront in Landskrona. Here they visited the statue of Selma Lagerlöff, who lived in this town for a few years.

What a wonderful place the Hemslöjden I Skåne is…a bright and cheerful workshop area, generous, dedicated and helpful staff, a situation convenient to the town centre and a very welcoming well-stocked shop. The dedication to preserving local and traditional crafts is so impressive especially as they have been doing so for over one hundred years. This is their website:

https://hemslojdeniskane.se/

We are not really ready for the weaving to be over, and were very sorry to say goodbye to our wonderful teacher Mrs. Marianne Asp. But we are on to the last day of the tour which will consist of visits to nearby museums.

Bye for now!

What a great course! Mrs Asp brought in several examples of weavings she made in past years…and look! A tapestry from the very same pattern that my Great Aunt made!

(more…)

Weaving has been a tradition for generations in my Swedish family. My grandfather’s loom resides in my living room and my Great Aunt worked at many different kinds of textiles including a style of weaving from southern Sweden called Flamskvav.

Lucky lucky me! I am participating in a workshop, taught by Mrs Marianne Asp, at the Hemslöjden Skåne in Landskrona Sweden.

First thing in the morning, we saw the sunrise from our hotel bedroom.

Then walked to the Handicraft centre where we launched right in to the workshop . First we warped up our weaving frames with linen warp thread looped round the nails at bottom and top, starting and stopping at the bottom. These frames were collected from all over Skåne from people that didn’t want them anymore- see on mine where the lines of previous warps have marked the frame? I wonder what treasures this frame has seen?

The warps are stabilized and separated by crocheting a line across the bottom, catching two threads with each loop, the ends are tied to the frame sides.

After the crochet line is a centimetre or so of plain weave in linen.

…then Arianell and Coriander helped make “butterflies” …

…and we started weaving the colourful part of our sampler!

We had a lovely walking tour of Landskrona at the end of the day – and will continue with more tapestry delights tomorrow!

We have been in København for a few days but due to telephone trouble, unable to post an update, however, luckily the issues were resolved in time for a visit to La Glace pastry shop …

…and spent some time with the little mermaid!

Now we are on the way to Sweden… bye for now!

James James is taking Arianell and Coriander to the airport!

Arianell and Coriander are both coming with me!

The Quimper Hitty human is getting ready for an adventure! A couple of Hittys are joining me, the cat is not! I will do my best to document the trip using WordPress on my phone!! This is totally new to me so hopefully it all works!