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Textiles naturales > Blog > Galicia in Spain

Village life in northwest Spain – TVG visit the picturesque hamlet of Cristosende and ask what makes it so special…


Textile course in north Spain

Anna Champeney (r) with weave pupil Ana Roman (l) being filmed by Televisión Gallega for the regional magazine programme "Great Places"


Yesterday and today the habitual tranquility and silence of the picturesque Galician hamlet of Cristosende was broken as the village was taken over by the film crew of TVG for the making of Grandes Lugares (Great Places), a regional magazine programme.   Yesterday a good number of us villagers turned up at the old school, to share a glass of local wine, some empanada (traditional pie), and bread with a selection of cheeses and village-made chorizo and salchichón sausage, and explain to the film crew exactly what makes the village so special for us.

Is it the fact that the village has a stunning view over some of the most dramatic scenery in the Ribeira Sacra area of north Spain?  Or that, in a village of only about 30 inhabitants, there are no fewer than 3 local businesses –  the craft workshops with Casa dos Artesans holiday cottage, the Casa Grande rural hotel and bar, and Pepe´s bodega, Viña Perderneira.   Or is it simply the fact that the village has a pretty good atmosphere, with neighbours always willing to help each other out?

This morning the film crew came to Anna Champeney Estudio Textil and Lluis Grau´s basketry workshop to conduct interviews, both with the local craftspeople themselves and Ana Roman, a weave student who explained how satisfying it was to weave her own soft alpaca scarf on a loom – and how relaxing it is too (except, of course, when 5 members of a film crew are filming you!).

Well, we´re not going to tell you anything else for now, but will post up the video link when we know the date of emission, and invite you to watch – and meet all our neighbours here in Cristosende.


Padded doubleweave textiles – Doubleweave tuition option now available – Weaving holidays for intermediate level weavers in Spain


padded fabrics handwoven on the loom

Photo of padded double weave fabric (Anna Champeney Estudio Textil Spain))



double weave tuition available 2012

Weaving "quilted" fabrics with 2 shuttles on a Louet table loom


Giving an interview whilst weaving doubleweave with two shuttles is no easy task – it´s like trying to whistle and hum at the same time (and I only know one person who can do that!), so the TV crew had to wait and watch a little until the moment came to stop weaving and insert the stuffing into the “pockets” and “tubes” created by the double weave!  Weaving textiles on the loom in two layers opens the door to lots of magical and seemingly impossible options – from weaving a textile which is actually wider than the loom you are using to weaving a tube, to weaving two layers of fabric which intersect to create pockets – which can be filled with filling which gives you an effect rather like a quilted textile.  Applications?  Double weave is great for scarves and (using very fine yarns) for clothing fabrics which are really warm and insulating but which can still drape nicely, without feeling not lumpy or thick.   But the thick quilted-effect double weave fabrics can also be used for thick padded jackets, cushion pads, bedcovers and upholstery fabrics.  The only limit is your imagination.

Anna Champeney and Lluis Grau offer one-to-one tuition in their craft workshops and looms for hire to guests staying at their holiday cottage, Casa dos Artesans.  Their availability as tutors in 2012 is already limited so you are advised to reserve the cottage and any tuition well in advance.  Contact.






Holidays with a difference in north Spain: Weaving, basketry and natural dyeing at Casa dos Artesans holiday cottage with Anna Champeney, textile weaver, and Lluis Grau, basketmaker

Latest photos – Summer weaving, natural dyeing and basketry courses with Anna Champeney and Lluis Grau in Galicia, Spain

Here you can see enjoy a selection of photos showing work made by pupils at AC Textile Studio.  Courses this summer included traditional Spanish pile fabric weaving (“Galician felpa”) for beginners, natural dyeing and Spanish basketry with willow and split wood.   Don´t forget that you can always enjoy one-to-one tution with us when you come on holiday and stay at Casa dos Artesans, our holiday cottage situated in the idyllic village of Cristosende, overlooking the River Sil Canyon, in north Spain.  Holiday breaks with us offer you a chance to unwind, develop your creativity and really disconnect to your busy lives – and surrounded by stunning scenery where you can often walk without meeting anyone else.  Craft is an activity which engages your body, spirit and mind, helping you to relax and at the same time learning something new.  We have a few dates left for September, are almost fully booked for October and November, and are now taking bookings for Spring – Summer 2012 from April onwards.

carmen delgado con diseño felpa gloria cabots design Carmen Ondina felpa adele orcajada diseño textil coffee break in Anna Champeney Estudio Textil course room at Anna Champeney Estudio Textil

Above:  Traditional Galician Spanish textile weaving with Anna Champeney.  During the 5-day course pupils learned the back-to-front warping method for preparing Louet looms with a linen warp and then designed and wove their own piece of loop-pile fabric – felpa.  Inspiration for the designs included American patchwork quilts from Gees Bend, Galician rag felpa coverlets and simple geometric shapes.  During the course pupils used the natural-dyed wools now available online from AC Textile Studio in a range of colours including cochineal (pinks, reds, purples) and yellows (dyers´ chamomile, weld)…  You can book either a 2- or 5-day felpa course with expert guidance by Anna Champeney, as part of a craft-based holiday in north Spain at Casa dos Artesans holiday cottage.

yago y mauro

Above:  Galician Spanish basketry course with Lluis Grau.   You can learn to make this willow and split wood basket in a day of one-to-one tuition, whether or not you have previous basketry experience.

curso tintes naturales Anna Champeney Estudio Textil regina con madejas de cochinilla muestrarios

Above:  An intensive 2-day course introduced pupils to many of the basic principles of natural dyeing.  5 natural dyes were tested out including the fabulous cochineal from Lanzarote, logwood, oak bark, alder buckthorn bark and onion skins.  All pupils took a comprehensive set of samples with them, complete with the recipes to repeat the colours.  We  can offer our guests one-to-one tuition in natural dyeing which starts at 90€ for a short course.

International Textile Conference in Kaunas, Lithuania (September 2011)

Anna Champeney will be taking time out of her busy schedule at AC Estudio Textil to travel to Kaunas in Lithuania for the international European Textile Network conference this autumn.   Instead of teaching, however, she will be a pupil on the specialist dyeing course with the internationally renowned textile designer and founder of the innovative textile company in Japan, Nuno Corporation – Reiko Sudo.  If you are going to the conference this year Anna will be delighted to hear from you if so do make contact!

Basketry Fair in Salt, Gerona (Catalunya, Spain), first weekend in October 2011

Come and see us in the international basketry fair in Salt, Gerona.  We have a stand, as we do every year, at this fun and friendly fair where you can see and buy baskets from Spain and other European countries.  There is also a programme of local music, dancing, and gastronomy.   If there is a Spanish basket you particularly like, then commission Lluis now and we can bring the basket along to you at Salt.

Galician “piteira” -This traditional chicken nesting basket from north Spain makes an unusual and very snug cat basket

piteira comfy door Cat testing out traditional Spanish basket

Above:  “Pele” investigates the north Spanish Galician piteira basket and gives it the stamp of approval!

Lluis Grau, basketmaker, specialises in Spanish basketry forms from the north of Spain and his latest – and very unusual – basket is the piteira or Galician chicken nesting basket.  You can order the basket and it can be sent by post (be prepared for a big package to arrive as the basket measures about 65cm H x 55cm W- or you can come for some one-to-one basketry tuition with Lluis and make a piteira yourself on holiday.  the cost of the basket varies according to its size but an average size would cost 125€ + postage.  We can´t absolutely guarantee your cat or dog will like the basket but we think there is a good chance that he/she will because our cats love it – it took them just 30 seconds to sniff it out and settle in for a first snooze.  We call the piteira their “cat palace” – it´s too grand to be called a simple “cat basket”.  We think it would be the perfect basket for a cat with kittens as the mother cat is bound to feel more secure in this enclosed basket with a door, that gives her a sense of privacy and protection.    The piteira was never made in north Spain for cats, however, but for chickens.  It is one of the traditional forms which is now in danger of extinction, and part of our work is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of these wonderful, little known traditional baskets.




Anna Champeney Estudio Textil and Lluis Grau baskets – where to see and buy hand-woven textiles and baskets summer summer 2011

Here´s a list of exhibitions, open workshops and markets where you can find authentic Spanish fibre crafts made by local textile and basket making artesans, Anna Champeney and Lluis Grau, who open their summer craft shop to the public in the Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, north Spain, this August.  Their work this summer includes delicate one-off hand-woven linen scarves, hand-dyed wool in skeins for knitting and weaving, unusual regional baskets, and craft kits…..

sin disciplina art exhibition at Castro Caldelas CastleSIN DISCIPLINA, group art exhibition Castro Caldelas Castle, Ribeira Sacra (Ourense, Galicia) 23 July – 31 August 2011 See and buy the latest hand-woven felpa wall-pieces / cushions (Galician loop pile fabric) by Galician-based textile designer and weaver Anna Champeney´s in this exhibition of 15 local people working in a range of different media which includes lyrical sculpture, photography, installation art and Galician poetry by Mercedes Madroño. The exhibition is held on the first floor of the castle and in the clock tower.




WOVEN GALICIAN FELPA TEXTILES, selling exhibition of unique woven textile wall-pieces by Anna Champeney Casa Grande de Cristosende, A Teixeira, Galicia, north Spain.  1 August – 15 September 2011.  Experimental felpa wall hangings by Anna Champeney in the setting of the manor house hotel of Cristosende in Galicia (Spain).  The aim of the works on display is to imbue the ancient traditional textile technique of Galician felpa weaving with new life, combining traditional and contemporary styles with a sensitive use of colour, enhanced by the use of natural dyes, extracted by hand.

linen scarves

new collapse weave scarves in linen by Anna Champeney

AUGUST 2011 – SALE OF WOVEN TEXTILES AND BASKETS DIRECT FROM THE CRAFT WORKSHOPS IN CRISTOSENDE August is the time of year when Anna Champeney Estudio Textil opens to the public, so make the most of the chance to visit – without needing to make an appointment! See and buy the beautiful and exclusive linen scarves and a new range of gorgeous natural-dyed woolen yarns, ideal for autumn craft projects. If you are interested in learning to weave or make baskets this is also the ideal opportunity to meet the makers and talk about the autumn programme of courses, look at the range of Louet table looms and other weaving equipment for sale. Spanish basketmaker Lluis (Grau) is also on hand, and is available to talk about his own northern Spanish basketry work ,his forthcoming book on split wood basketry and autumn courses.

Please note our August 2011 opening hours – 2 – 31 August 2011 Tuesday – Sunday 11 – 1.30pm / 5.30 – 8pm (closed Mondays and 19 August)

The rest of the year we open by appointment only (T.669 600 620)

farrapeira

Galician rag rug (traditional, maker unknown)

Finally we have finalised our autumn course programme.  Our group courses are given in Spanish but English language support can be given.  We can also organise made-to-measure courses for your English-speaking group by arrangement, in English.  One-to-one tuition in weaving, natural dyeing (including orchil dyeing) and basketmaking with Anna and Lluis are also popular options, but bear in mind that both makers are almost fully committed for the rest of 2011 so think about spring dates in 2012!   Have a look at the blog section on cottage holidays to see more information about Casa dos Artesans holiday cottage accommodation available for course pupils.

The range of courses on offer this autumn include an introduction to the art of natural dyeing, a 5-day intensive linen weaving course on 4 & 8 shaft Louet table looms (suitable for beginners upwards), the fun art of recycled weaving (the art of turning your old clothes into fun new fabrics on the loom!), alpaca and wool scarf weaving for winter (beginners and intermediate level options) and a theory course for beginner weavers who want to know how to plan a new weaving project.  The following basket courses will also be taught:  mushroom picking basket, spinners´ basket, rectangular basketry, lidded basketry.