Hand Weaving & Yarn Design

Two courses in Switzerland:
1. Spinning various yarns on a drop-spindle. An introduction to spindle spinning (in German, but English speakers are welcome) - 6th April 2008
2.Design your special yarns on a spinning wheel (in German, but English speakers are welcome ) - 25th & 26th October 2008

Info for both spinning courses:
Zürcher Stalder AG
CH - 3422 Kirchberg
Switzerland
email: zsag@zsag.ch
website: zsag.ch

New Forest Guild (WSD): Mini workshop for handspinners and talk
"Angora rabbits and the use of their fibre"
11th October 2008
Information from dawn@aswilley.co.uk
Tel. 01202 823095

Marianne's interest in weaving goes back to when, as a secondary school student in Basle, Switzerland, she was given unfettered access to the handicraft teacher's loom during the holidays. It was the late 1980s, however, before she had her own loom. At around the same time she inherited her great-grandmother's spinning wheel. After minimal restoration this wheel was, and still is, fully functional and on it she taught herself to spin, with helpful guidance from tutors at the national centre for the furtherence of Swiss crafts ( Heimatwerk , Richterswil, Zurich 1987).The character of her wheel and the nature of the tradition she was working in, meant that she developed the skill of spinning fine fibres from the beginning, and as a result is known today particularly for her work with silk, linen and angora fibre.

On her move to England Marianne took further instruction in spinning from Marion Boniface and Rita Sinkkonnen Davies, and attended courses in both spinning and weaving at the Lewes Tertiary College (1990/1). Additional help with weaving followed from Maikki Karisto, Ingrid Eggimann-Jonsson, Janet Phillips and Anna Leutert.

She is particularly fascinated by natural dyes, and one of her earlier projects was a 6m stair carpet with wool she spun and dyed herself with plants from her garden, and wove on a counter-balance loom.

More recently she has expanded her techniques by completing a course in experimental textiles with Kim Thittichai (Northbrook College, 2005/6), and learning felting with Janice Britz. Marianne has also attended a course in tapestry weaving with Pat Johns, and an introduction to Kumihimo with Jacqui Carey, both at West Dean College, Chichester. At present she is undergoing a three-year training as a professional handweaver at the Zürcher-Stalder Centre near Berne, Switzerland (2006/9).

She is a member of the East-Sussex Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, the UK Online Guild and the National Angora Club. She is particularly interested in the Angora fibre, and the yarns and products she has produced from it have won her a number of awards, including "best in show" for a shawl in the Bradford products show, and "best hank" in both the London 06 and Harrowgate 07 shows.

Marianne has three of her own Angora rabbits, which are kept on barley-straw.

A full list of Marianne's designer yarns and woven products is available on request.