There is nothing as relaxing as taking threads, wool and fibers and weaving them into patterns on a mini loom. My loom is only four inches wide and around ten inches long and it’s perfect for my needs. 
As I am working on a large scale wall hanging I want to add texture and a 3 D dimensional feel to it and these little woven pieces will be perfect.
The loom is very simple to set up by just add a strong warp yarn.
The warp yarn runs lengthwise or top to bottom and is held firm by the loom. 
The weft yarns are woven side to side, in out through the warp yarn.
You can use a single or multiple yarns in the weft weave. 
I use a large sack needle to hold my weft yarn as I find it easy to weave in and out through the warp threads.

Weaving has many different tools and patterns but I keep it very simple and easy for myself. The colours that I am working with are very earthy tones which reflect the feel of my textile picture. My piece in inspire by the local abbey near my studio. It is Tintern Abbey in Saltmills founded by William Marshal in c.1200. It has a fabulous wood and river running through its grounds out to the sea by way of Bannow Bay. 
It is a most inspiring place for me as an artist and I cannot help but link the land and shore in my work.

As autumn creeps it’s way into our lives , so too does it’s earthy colours and warm tones. My colour selection of yarns is very much influenced by this. When I have woven my small pieces, I remove them from the mini loom and tie off the ends. I then manipulate them into different shapes to adore my textile pieces. This new work will take some time but I will post the finished work here when completed.
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This shell art was so exciting to do, I loved how the paint and pens took to the shells. I draw with very fine graphics pens .05 in size and I used watercolour paints for the face. I small fine paint brush was required to achieve the fine detail and a steady hand

I have a great love of the sea both above and below the water. As a child we played on my dad’s boat and later sailed along the coast with my son following dolphins who came to join us. I also did some scuba diving in the cold waters around the Irish shore and my longest scuba dive was from the Hook Light House to Slade harbour in Wexford.

Mixing threads and shells together has been interesting and exciting. I searched through my boxes of threads and fine wools and choose those that I felt would work with the shells. I also used some small metal files which I have for crafting to remove sharp edges. You need to be gentle with shells as they can crumble easily. You can also try using a small nail file.
I also decided to add so beads as I felt they created a texture on the shells just like the sea creatures that attaches to them in the sea.

As I worked on the shells, I found that I had to weave the threads around the shell and through the holes to create a foundation for sewing with finer threads. I used a very tiny crochet hook and fine threads to fill in the underneath of the shells. It was interesting and intriguing to hold the shells and decide on colours and beads to use. My mind was full of ideas on what to do with my stitched shells. I decided  I will add some to textile pictures to create texture and others I will make into brooches. 

When adding beads to the stitching on my shells I used a long beading needle. This is a very long thin needle which allows you to sew on seed beads which are very fine. As I was working on my shells the smell of the sea filled my studio even though I had washed the shells. It was a pleasant odour which evokes childhood memories of playing on the beach. I also thought about the life of the shell and it’s inhabitant. From a tiny shell being washed daily by the tides and pecked at by birds , them picked from the shore by a hand and now being treasured. A journey from from shore to land. 

I am very fortunate to live near the Wexford Heritage Park which runs all kinds of courses. I have attended a few and found them interesting and helpful in my learning. I did a basket weaving course where I made a basket at one which I now use to collect found items and plants for use in my crafts. I learned about dyeing wool and natural fabrics at another class using plants and flowers. I bought some natural dyes online and I have also used plants and vegetables from my garden to dye fabrics and threads.
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The latest class was in wood carving which I found very interesting having tried Lino printing. Due to current Covid rules there were only three of us in the class and the tutor so lots of extra attention. 
We choose our designs and transferred them to soft wood for carving.
We worked on some test pieces first to get used to the tools and cutting curves, they were a bit tricky.
Once we transferred our designs to the wood using carbon paper,  we craved them out.
we made some test prints to check out cuts and marks on the wood. This allowed us to alter areas on our wood carving that we were not happy with.
Printing ink was placed on a piece of glass and then went over with a roller. The cut print on wood was then covered with plenty of ink and a piece of Japanese paper was carefully placed on top. A baron was used to press the paper into the design, gently but firmly. A baron is a round flat piece of bamboo with more bamboo around it to allow you to hold it in your hand and rub down your paper on to your wood carved block. The paper was then peeled slowly from the wood print block. And hey presto we had a pint. We made lots of prints on flat sheets, on crumbled paper, on fabrics and even just took prints from part of the wood carving.
It was very enjoyable and something which adds to my learning and my craft knowledge. I would say to give it a try as I am sure you would find it interesting and a great addition to your skills.
I have added some photos above of my process and work..enjoy.