The Wonder of Silk

We are excited to welcome talented, Sculptor Weaver, Sue Hiley Harris to Crickhowell Guild for the day.

Sue will be helping us explore the "Wonder of Silk" with a detailed talk in the morning and a silk spinning workshop in the afternoon - please see details for each session below.

ABOUT SUE HILEY HARRIS

Brought up in Queensland, Australia, Sue worked as a museum artist. After moving to Britain in the 1970s she studied hand-loom weaving in Bradford and settled in the Brecon Beacons in 1981. For many years she wove silk garments in her own distinctive style, made arashi silk scarves, taught silk spinning and weaving and ran a mail order business selling silk fibres. Since the late 1990s she has made abstract handwoven sculpture. She received, in 2013, an Arts Council ofWales Creative Wales Award which led to an interest in drawing landscape and working with silver. Sue has a solo exhibition Weaving Unearthed at the Mission Gallery Swansea from 22 March to 17 May 2025.

MORNING 11.00 am: TALK - SILK & THE SILKWORM

Lecture and images showing sericulture, wild silks, silk reeling, waste silk, the silk available for

handspinning and some slides of Sue Hiley Harris’s silk weaving.

COST OF TALK : FREE for Crickhowell Guild Members £5 for non-members payable on the day

 AFTERNOON 1.00 pm  - 3.30pm: SILK SPINNING WORKSHOP *

SOME EXPERIENCE OF SPINNING IS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE BUT ALL LEVELS OF HANDSPINNERS WELCOME

Silk fibre provides a greater range in length, texture, strength and lustre than any other natural fibre. In the workshop we will spin long fibred silk mawata, worsted spin lustrous combed silk tops and woollen spin strong, knobbly silk noil yarns and learn much more about silk and silk spinning.

Participants will need to bring:

 Spinning Wheel

 Bobbins – it is advisable not to empty bobbins as it is better to spin on a half or nearly full

bobbin or a large core one.

 Hand carders – ordinary wool ones are fine

 Smooth dowels, acrylic rods or knitting needles approx thickness of a pencil

 Lazy kate (optional)

 Niddy noddy (optional)

 Notebook & pencil (optional)

 Apron (optional)

 Silk Fibres: The students will need some silk tops (tussah or white), silk noils (tussah or white) and a mawata cap or squares. If people have other silk I will be happy to look at it and advise on spinning methods and, if there is time, show how to spin it. I am aware lots of people have some silk stashed away and not necessarily sure what to do with it. I will bring some fibres with me for sale in small packs and those of you that have fibres they might

like to sell or swap please bring these along too. Please do not worry if you do not have any silk – there is no need to purchase any before the workshop.

COST OF WORKSHOP: £10 for Crickhowell Guild Members £15 for Non- members payable on the day

BOOKING ESSENTIAL

Please let our Event Secretary Sam know if you wish to attend the talk or workshop or both.

Email: hettiecraft@gmail.com

*No limit on numbers for the talk in the morning, but places for the afternoon silk spinning workshop are limited. Priority for workshop places will be given to Crickhowell Guild Members. 

REFRESHMENTS

 Tea, coffee & biscuits provided. Please bring your own lunch if staying for the day.

PARKING

Disabled parking at the hall, other parking in the main Village car park opposite the hall