The Very Beginning

 

These are members of the Richmond Weavers and Spinners (of Richmond, BC) working away at their drop in....  

In the fall of 1995 I stood in front of these windows as a total newbie and looked in and admired the looms they have all arranged like bait I was 2 days late for their monthly meeting and 5 days later my Hub told me he was being transferred to the Okanagan.  By the spring of 1996 I was making a start on my weaving journey. All I knew was that I saw the looms and wanted to learn how to do that!

In the years since, I took to weaving, then spinning, then some dyeing.... you know how it goes, but the start of my marvelous journey was all their fault.... 

Thank you so much! 🌹

A New Year: a fresh start?

 Happy New Year to you!  🎉

I normally do a weaving year review, but I took 7 months off recovering from a spine and back injury and so my only effort has been two shawls and a lot of hand spun yarn.   I have yet to photograph them and present them here as yet.   When we finally get a decent sunny day, that is my goal!

I started weaving on a towel warp as shown previously but  nerve impingement in my right shoulder put a stop to weaving yet again.   Then we have been preoccupied with Christmas and trying to stay warm.    Stay warm?   well, our furnace quit on December 13th and we have been without furnace / heat pump heat since then. We are relying on space heater and a gas fire place to keep warm.   Sweaters, socks and fluffy housecoats are in vogue here. 

We called the heating company this morning to "put a fire under them" to see where our new furnace fan is out there. It's coming air freight from the USA. I'm thinking we should have got Amazon to ship it!    But it should be here soon. 🤞 Edit: as of today Jan 3rd  its apparently on back order and we're no closer to a solution.  😢

So what have I been up to?  Well spinning is a nice way to spend time, and I'm all up to date with Netflix, BritBox, Acorn and Primevideo.  I read *a lot* and love my Kindle.

I also spend time at handweaving.net and cruise the patterns.  They just released 4 shaft overshot miniatures:   Bertha G. Hayes Miniature Overshot Drafts

I've also been going through my weaving book collection and in particular " Janna Weaves" by Janna van Ledden- Valk.  A bit on the spendy side to acquire but I'm feeling inspired by the drafts.  Yes, there are drafts for high numbered shaft looms but there are 8 shaft and 16 shaft drafts too.

I'm also looking to do weavings based on themes.... and still working that out in my head for now.  For example, Pompeian art and mosaics.  Some examples....   some neat colours to work with in these.

I'll close for now with a draft I have been working on from "Janna Weaves".  Yes, the warp is wound  so that is encouraging.   (16 shafts/ 16 treadle)   Click on the image to enlarge.