The Warp and the Weft
After a recent visit to the Ulster Linen Museum I was inspired to research the linen industry which at one time flourished in the countryside of my childhood. Although fascinating it is also clear that for the families involved in the production of this beautiful fabric in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was often a story of poverty and hardship.
The hand loom weaver of the 18th century could produce a fine cloth but it was then a well known saying that you ‘should never judge a woman or fine linen by candlelight’. This was the starting point for my first piece ‘The warp and the weft’, leading on to ‘make do and mend’. I plan to continue the theme by looking not only at how linen was produced but also the uses to which it has been put over the years.
