Doors and Weaving!

While traveling through Sweden, I was struck by the designs on doors!  As a weaver I am always looking for weaving designs and color sequences in architectural structures and in nature.  I  can't help it!  My eyes and brain are always seeing things from that prospective.  I was not disappointed in Sweden.  The doors were amazing and much to a weaver's delight could be translated into weaving patterns. Just take a look..................(if you are a weaver, what weaving patterns do you see?)



Door at

Sätergläntan craft school



Door at Jons Anders Garden (a hotel)





Can you see the twill diamond  and point twill diamond pattern?



Door in

Orebrö Castle



Door in

Orebrö Castle



What about here? Might these be broken twill patterns?



Door at

Orebrö Castle

OK, here's a tough one.  Could this be networked draft or an overshot pattern? Any ideas how this could be translated?



Door at

Wadköping, Orebrö

Barn Door, Orebrö

Some more variations on the diamond pattern.

As you can see, these doors are not just functional. There is a beauty about them. I was totally fascinated.

I'd love to hear what you think. If you weave, what weaving patterns do you see? If you are not a weaver, how do you see these patterns translated in the environment around you?

This blog welcomes discussion so share your thoughts and ideas. Let's see what we can come up with and design together.



Artistic Inspiration

I have been traveling throughout Sweden and Denmark and will be on the road to Scotland tomorrow.  This will be a short post but wanted to say that my mind is filled with inspiration and so many impressions.  Due to limited internet access I have not been able to upload pictures.  When I get back I will share some of those pictures with you.  We have seen many wonderful things including great artwork.  We have visited many wonderful places including Skagen, Denmark where the famous Skagan artists painted on the beach. We walked that beach and I can see why they loved painting there.  The light is fabulous.  We visited my favorite Swedish artist's, Carl Larson, home.  Who knew his wife Karin was also a wonderful painter, fiber artist, and furniture designer!  Her fiber art was way before her time - very contemporary in design - and is throughout their home.  So my journey will continue.  There is much more to see!

Sweden on the 4th of July

I had the experience of being out of the country on the 4th of July. It's a strange experience to be away on a special national holiday. The funny thing was we did celebrate in a very special way.  We have friends who live in Sweden and they have been our hosts while here.  Our families have stayed connected through the years. We have visited with each other (they have come to the US more times than we have gone to Sweden). We have met their friends and learned about each other's lives.  So on the 4th of July we had a picnic!  One of Ingemar and Kristina's friends is a transplanted American who is married to a Swede.  We went to their house and had a little touch of America in Sweden!  We had grilled hamburgers, chips, and strawberries along with some wonderful elderberry juice that they made from the flowers on the elderberry tree in their yard (that's the Swedish touch).  We played Bocci (not quite an American game) and had a great time.  What a special time to remember.

One of the highlights for me was seeing our Swedish friend's loom and her weaving. Elisabeth has a large (maybe 60") countremarche loom and she was weaving a beautiful blanket of yarn's she had hand dyed with natural dyes. It's interesting to me that weaver's share a common language and it doesn't take long to begin to talk pattern design, thread counts, and yarn diameters. (The world is not so big!) A weaver's signature is always there in the weaving hand of each person and is what makes each weaver's work special. It's so much fun to see another weaver's work and learn about their process.

So I share here some pictures from my wonderful 4th of July.  Hoping that you can share special holidays in new and interesting ways.

Elisabeth's Loom

Close up of Elisabeth's blanket

International Friends Celebrating