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Frederiek Simons      artist, weaver, writer
On one of my walks. Woven blanket with Salún pattern (monk's belt) in the Textile museum. Weaving on a TC2 (digital jacquard) loom. The Icelandic Textile Center. Portraits of former students of the Women's school in Blönduós. Stairs used by thousands of women. Notes by my friend from when she was traveling in Iceland in 2017. The birth of a lamb at Jóhanna's farm. Jóhanna teaching us how to spin. The result of my second spinning attempt. A tour of the Istex wool washery in Blönduós. On one of my walks. Experiment in weaving with seaweed and creating shapes. Seaweed drying. Dyeing yarn with lupin leaves. The quiet weaving attic. Setting up a warp dyed with bark and metal. Weaving on a countermarch loom. Trying out a Salún pattern. Felting Icelandic wool and a lopapeysa (an Icelandic knitted sweater).
In May 2023, I traveled to Northern Iceland to be an artist-in-residence at the Icelandic Textile Centre. A month full of workshops, walks, inspiring encounters, quiet weaving hours, new textile technologies, and stories about the local craft and culture. All set in and around the former women’s school of the village of Blönduós.
 ︎ Supported by Gerbrandy Cultuurfonds. ︎ Read a detailed report here (in Dutch).