It’s been a while…
So I realized when I dedicated myself to the idea of weaving, how long it had been since I had done so. The kick start moment was of course when my plate was full and I didn’t have a minute to spare (or did I ?) well I made time anyways. As I was packing the car to leave for the airport, I was prioritizing by decorating some handmade weaving sticks so I could A. fly with them, and B. upon landing thousands of miles from home I can teach kids to weave, even though I had not done so myself in previously mentioned time span. Ouch. Well it all worked out great, the kids loved it and it re-ignited my spark to create handwoven goods.
In the past I have woven on wooden looms using glass and minerals to create bracelets. I love designing my patterns and then seeing them come to life. I’ve experimented with woven peyote stitch as well as beaded netting, again in making accessories. This time I wanted to weave with fibers instead of beads, and this time I decided not to have a plan but let my ideas happen more naturally.
Choosing to make my looms out of repurposed wood, my husband had some old painting stretcher bars that he was wiling to donate to my cause. I was initially going to use nails when a fellow maker, with the know how and the saw, offered to notch the frames for me. The wood showed signs of staining and mold so I decided to prime them and paint them. It felt a little like breaking an unspoken rule as most of the looms I see are natural wood. (I didn’t research this but I assume its due to not wanting the oils in the paints to harm the fibers)
Who can think about all that when it’s time to weave for fun. Once they were all painted and I added my personal touch I decided to give it a go.It was hard for me to find much guidance other than just a bit of beginning advice so I just went with what I like. I purchased some yarn, I used some white hemp cord I had as a weft and then I just began adding line after line until I had created a triangle pattern running top to bottom. I decided to frame the triangles with a much darker, contrasting color to keep things from being too pastel. This one I kept it simple with over under. It wasn’t until the last few stitches I tried a soumak stitch and really liked the effect. I found this article on abeautifulmess.com by Rachael Denbow to be really great for a beginner learning to weave.
At the beginning I didn’t have a clear plan but by the end it was clear I had made my first wall hanging. It could have become many things, a beginning square of a rug, a start of a table runner, a section of a pillow cover. But this one was not about all of that function. This is art for fun, for dusting off some old skills, about taking something old and giving it new life. I plan on doing a lot more weaving. It takes me back out west and to a time when this skill was used for many things. It is an honor and a gift to carry on the tradition of weaving.
