Sally Hands: I have been a printmaker for 25 years, and have recently started wood engraving. In the last 3 years I've also gone back to spinning and knitting. I was lucky enough to learn rug weaving from Jason Collingwood last summer. In Chicago, 20 years ago I saw an exhibition of prayer rugs from the Middle East and ever since then I've wanted to make my own "prayer rugs". This will be an ongoing project for the next few years. Jason seemed a bit surprised when I said I planned to hand-spindle and naturally dye all my wool! I only use local fleece and dye with onion skins, nettles, indigo, cochineal and madder...
I was taught to spin 30 years ago by Lynn Gray Ross on the Isle of Arran, and more recently have become fascinated with spindle spinning... So portable!
I received a Welsh Arts Council grant in 1997 for my printmaking, and you can click here to see some recent original prints, and here to see my rag rugs. I also received a Millennium Award in 1998. I teach piano to pay my way.
Click here for a CV.
Spinning is meditative and I'd like to bring that to my rugs
This is my loom
first Prayer Rug (2010)
Prayer Rug 2 (Spring 2011)
Prayer Rug 3 (Summer 2011)
no dyes used - just the natural colours of the sheep
This is a stole I wove using handspun Welsh lambswool and mohair
Swansea Bay - Lovely Swansea!
Sally's knitting
Local Welsh fleece dyed in my kitchen
My "Summer Berries" yarn
My "Rhossili" yarn
Sally would love to hear your comments
you can click here to send me an e-mail .
In case your system doesn't support this connection, my email
address is
sally.hands@ntlworld.com
last updated 23rd August 2010