My grandmother Rose was a weaver. In her back yard was "the shed" where she had her loom set up, not far from Grandpa Carl's Shopsmith. I don't know how much time she spent weaving, but she made skirts for me and my sister Gee Gee, and one for our mother,--the photo on the left is a border remnant of that one-- as well as dozens of placemat sets for various relatives. I have inherited a lot of that and have used bits and pieces in artwork over the years. I remember that her loom came from Norway and had to be assembled in the shed. I've also had the pleasure of watching weavers. My friend Pam spins, weaves and knits in addition to dyeing many of her own yarns and threads. So when I saw a "Colonial Loom" in the gift shop at a nearby museum, I bought it, thinking, "I won't really get into this, but I'll just try and see how it works." The little wooden rectangle uses yarn for warp and makes a mat about 6" x 8". I started out, more or less obeyed the instructions, and eventually ended up with 24 striped mats, enough to make art. Doing the thing over and over is useful; you find out what works, what can stretch and what cannot. where the knots go, how to finish off the edges and so on. Now, this is NOTHING like the elaborate patterns in Rose and Pamela's work, nor anywhere near as fine. But using my stash of yarns and perle cottons, I could create nice color harmonies (because, don't you know, one always buys the colors that resonate internally, my friendly color family, and they go together well.) We had gone to a nearby estate sale looking for things Gee Gee could sell on eBay; I spent a whole $2 for a three-piece 100% linen cinnamon-colored pantsuit in excellent condition. It has yielded plenty of material for sashing woven pieces and bias binding around the whole irregular conglomeration (because the rectangles weren't all the same size! duh) that is going to be "Cinnamon River Delta". I'm embroidering over the woven pieces for complexity and texture and contrast and quilting. Such a good project while watching Hamilton--which I will need to rewatch several times in order to get the lyrics. I'm also reading the biography. |
1 Comment
7/12/2020 09:28:44 am
Bobbe, so good to know you are so very creative. I have a rigid heddle loom. Never how conquered how to weave on my own YET. But I hope to do so before 2020 ends.
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AuthorBobbe Shapiro Nolan, Fiber Artist in Eagle Lake, TX. Trying to learn to call the sewing room my studio, and myself an artist. I retired after 15 years in hospice nursing--so now I have the time!. Archives
July 2021
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