Autumn Memories

It doesn’t take long to see that Feather & Hay weaves textiles with a story. I spend much of my time outdoors seeking the feel of a place, soaking up the stories it has to tell, collecting photos, and art to inspire what I go on to create. Whilst I weave the story unfolds, only finding completion when the textile belongs in the hands of another.

When I get to collaborate, it brings another dimension of meaning. I am not just interpreting my own emotion and connection but listening, investing and weaving together the imagination of another. Creating for someone else is a trust and a gift and I always feel the honour and delight of being allowed to turn their ideas into fabric.  

Katie’s story wasn’t just about connecting with nature but as a commemoration to her wonderful Autumn loving mum. I felt privileged to work with Katie on designing and weaving a set of 5 scarves, each one linked but made to have its own individual character to match the person it would belong to.

Read on to see how Katie found the experience…..

“I first came across Feather and Hay when I was searching for a baby blanket for my first niece. I decided on a stunning rainbow hearts blanket, and when it arrived I loved it. I remember gifting it to my sister at her baby shower. We had to hold the baby shower quite early on in my sister’s pregnancy because our mum had terminal cancer and we didn’t know how long she had. A few months later Mum passed away, just days before my niece was born.

A year or so later, I decided that I wanted to give gifts to my dad, my two sisters and my grandmother in remembrance of Mum. I remembered that Feather and Hay offered the possibility of custom items and so I decided I would contact Georgina to ask her if she would make me a set of scarves. Mum loved autumn. In her last letter to me, she wrote that she knew I’d be thinking of her when the leaves begin to turn. Actually, I still think about her every day, but especially in the autumn. So, my idea was to ask Georgina to make some scarves inspired by autumn to remind all of us of Mum.

I wanted each one to have lots of different autumn colours, and for each to be slightly different. I asked Georgina if she would be able to help, and she replied that she would love to. The first thing Georgina suggested was for me to have a look at her Instagram posts for inspiration for patterns. I sent her several screenshots, and from those Georgina suggested some weave patterns and colour examples. Georgina suggested that we could use the same warp (in lots of different autumnal colours) and pattern for all of the scarves, and then use a different single weft colour for each different scarf. That way, they’d be tied together as a set, but each would look slightly different. I chose crackle weave as the pattern to use, as it reminded me a bit of fallen leaves.

Once we’d decided on the pattern and the colour scheme for the warp, Georgina sent me lots of drafts with different coloured wefts. After much thought, we decided on brown, black, dark green, copper and a deep red. Then we discussed fibres. I decided on cotton for the black and brown, and tencel for the green, cooper and red. Then, it went on to the loom! Georgina sent me lots of photos as the weaving progressed, which was really exciting to see.”

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The final results are truly beautiful – even better than I could have hoped. I love that I had input at every step of the process – it makes them so special and personal. My dad, sisters and grandmother were all blown away by them, and treasure them. Mum would have loved them too. I always think of her when I wear my scarf. The whole process was really quite cathartic, and I am so grateful to Georgina for bringing my idea to life with such skill, creativity and sensitivity. I have since bought another baby blanket and scarf from Georgina (you can never have too many!). She has a wonderful talent and produces such beautiful things.”

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Thank you to Katie for sharing her story <3