Patricia (Trish) Armour, tapestry weaver/artist of Port Nicholson Hand Weavers, gave a lunchtime talk on handweaving on 26 August 2025 coinciding with the exhibition in Toi Gallery: ‘Woven: Tantalising Textiles: Port Nicholson Hand Weavers’.
The exhibition celebrated the group’s 50 years, so it was a good opportunity to look back over the development and place of hand weaving in Aotearoa – from craft to mainstream culture in the 1960s-70s, to the development of ‘serious’ weaving by Port Nicholson Hand Weavers and later groups up to the present day.
Many weavers, current and past came to the talk, shared their own experiences, and as we looked at many of the works in the gallery, gave insights into both the creative and technical sides: looms, design, structure, colour, warps and wefts. It was a lovely event bringing together lovers of weaving and tapestry.