The workshop:
These Isles workshop on the move, by Alice Carfrae ©
Inside the workshop, by Alice Carfrae ©
The kit:
A loom with a view, by Alice Carfrae ©
Tools in the morning, Alice Carfrae©
Donegal Tweed stash, by Alice Carfrae ©
Scottish wool from various Hebridean islands, by Alice Carfrae ©
The 90kg wool stash, by Alice Carfrae ©
Warping frame pegs, by Alice Carfrae ©
Workinterpersonal, by Alice Carfrae ©
Raddle, reed hook and mane combs, by Alice Carfrae ©
Warping frame. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
8-shaft Ashford folding table (or treadle) loom.
The process:
- Pondering
Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
2. Deciding
3. Calculating 
4. Winding the warp
Winding the gorse colourway. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Inserting the warping frame pegs. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Considering Iona wool. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
5. Setting up the loom
Tensioning the warp. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Eloise Sentito of These Isles, tying the (warp) ends after threading and winding onto the beam, by Alice Carfrae ©
Repairing a broken warp thread. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
6. Weaving
Weaving with a 30″ shuttle in a small space. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
7. Finishing
Blanket-stitching to secure the weft. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Cutting the cloth from the loom. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Unrolling the cloth from the loom – I love this bit! Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Shaking free the cloth – I love this bit too! Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Removing scrap yarn from the tension border. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Darning skipped picks (stitches). Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Darning the cloth by night. Photo by Alice Carfrae ©
Showing fulled (greens) and unfulled (red) cloth (but not showing the soaking, washing, tumbling, beating, steam-ironing, drying processes in between). Photo by Alice Carfrae©
8. Showing off my wares
9. Listing, marketing, networking, selling, accounting etc.:
Etsy treasury featuring antipodean makers whose craft I admire and whose attention I want to catch as they apporach winter and might need woollens
Promoting mine and oyters’ work on my Pinterest page – a scrapbook of ideas
Etsy ‘treasury’ of picnic artefacts curated to alert fellow makers to my picnic blankets and my customers to the complementary work of fellow makers
Promoting my work through Twitter
Behind the scenes of my website/blog
Someone else’s cool collection featuring my work among their selection of Etsy treasures
Promoting mine and others’ work through Facebook
Behind the scenes of my Facebook page
Etsy treasury ‘In Solidarity for Turkey’ after 2016’s political turmoil there
Behind the scenes in my Etsy shop
9. Packing and posting
These Isles 
Adorable!!!!
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Thanks Nadine! 🙂
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Wow, I think you have the neatest life. I hope all works out for you. I will enjoy following your blog.
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Thanks so much Carmelle! Time I wrote another blogpost – I’m at least two stories behind, as totally distracted by corrupt UK politics and wonderful inbound torrent of love in response to that Etsy article 🙂 Eloïse
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Pondering …Thought you was on the loo 🙂
Deciding …if you coloured the yarn to the flowers or…
Calculating …with lovely handwriting.
Winding the warp … I wondered where you did that bit, imagined you tamed a number of Aberdeen Angus’s to remain still while you threaded round their horns, whilst humming a gentle gaelic melody. I never had the imagination to think you would do it in your van.
Setting up the loom …How can anyone look so composed doing something so complex.?
Weaving …could put a dogs eye out, love the blur.
Finishing …It is lovely to watch skilled hands, especially if they are moving, I for one would love to see you show moments of your work in real time, like this amazing woman.
Wonderful work, great photographs, I can now appreciate the work that goes into your products.
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Oi, too personal! But I’ll approve it for the poetry of it! 🙂
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I really like the way you select your colors and the way you present your work and researches. Nice pictures and craft to watch. 🙂 I am weaving as well and working on an organic handmade clothing brand.
I try to imagine your trip and daily life in this weavingcar and secretly hoping that you do Couch Surfing and that the day I’ll take the road back I’ll cross your path. 😉
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Hi Vanessa, thanks for this, it’s lovely to hear from a peer. Whereabouts in France(?) are you? It’s possible I may be in Brittany this autumn, or sometime. My van is very full, and I’ve only had one person sleep in it before – a photographer friend doing a late night and early morning photoshoot. There is no couch, so she slept on the floor, though you could sleep on my workbench! It would be nice if our paths crossed, your work sounds interesting too 🙂 Eloïse
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Hi Eloïse, I am in Belgium, I just went to Peillac near Vannes to visit a weaver. http://www.auxfilsdelarz.fr/atelier-tissage.html He is working in a very resilient way. 🙂
I am considering to take some holidays and to come back in Brittany this autumn to go back to Rochefort-en-Terre in the rock hicking in “Les ardoisières”, full of lichens and endemic flowers and see deeply the ornithologic reserve of “Les marais de Senné”. I do advice you to stop there if you drive near. 😉
May I ask you for how long time have you been weaving in your van ?
I am sure our paths will cross this autumn or later. Let’s keep in touch ?
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Hello Eloïse, I’ll finally have some free time in 10 days for easter holidays and we (my bf and I) are about to move to south-East France from Central-South Belgium where will you be ? 😉 (Don’t worry about the couch we will managed it)
Vanessa
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Vanessa, apologies for not replying to this. I wasn’t anywhere on your trajectory unfortunately, but I’ve a friend in SE France, and so now I’ll have two reasons to visit there one day, thank you! Eloïse theseisles@gmail.com
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What a privilege to see your whole process (apart from the soaking, washing, tumbling…….!) and your clever and beautiful workshop/living space. Your finished work is unspeakably gorgeous and I hope when people see the long process which goes on before the finished piece is viewed by the public, they have a new found appreciation of All craft process and an understanding of the costing. Thank you 🙂
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Thanks very much Claudia. Yes, costing (and money in general – see my post on the magic money tree if you’re interested) is such a thorny issue. A perennial one for craftspeople, but never more acute than now as so many everywhere feel the brutal squeeze of neoliberalism… I’m glad you listen to Radio 4 on a Saturday morning and just joined our new Green Cloth Collective on Facebook 🙂 Eloïse
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Absolutely beautiful work 🙂 I heard your bit on radio 4 and felt inspired to have a look at your page. I’d love to learn to weave and it’s work like yours that makes me want to do it more
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Thanks Teresa. And go for it! Eloïse
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I’ve been following for a while and always enjoy your posts. Your stories always bring me a bit of calm. I’m a spinner and weaver in the US and sadly most things valued here are fast, cheap and disposable. My own family thinks I’m a bit mad when I don’t have time for their ‘things’, because I’m busy washing a half dozen Shetland fleeces — lol! I greatly admire what you do. I wish I had been so brave when I was younger. 💖
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Gisela, thank you for this lovely message, it’s heartwarming. Our countries are similar: I think consumer capitalism itself was catalysed in the UK then given a new lease of life to flourish in the US despite valiant attempts from a few visionaries to overthrow it; between us we have created one giant, global, factory farm. A farm in which most of us people serve as livestock too. (I was watching the film ‘Fidel’ last night and so saddened to feel the personal tragedies in that most worthy attempt result, in some ways, with the farmed simply replacing the farmers, since communism ends up being state capitalism and just as harsh on its subjects if the monetary system is not overhauled.) Quietly washing our own fleeces may yet bring the necessary renaissance! All power and love to you. Eloïse
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