One year ago, I started weaving. That is, I took a weaving class from a really nice teacher, Janet Whittam (http://handweaving.ca). I had bought a 45" Leclerc Fanny 4-shaft loom in June of that year because I knew I wanted to learn to weave, but I was intimidated by the size of it and wasn't sure it was complete. I bought it sight unseen, off Kijiji. For $150, it was a steal. It came with a few boat shuttles, a handful of bobbins and TWO manual bobbin winders. I was in over my head.
Luckily, I had already started researching weaving by reading the huge amount of information available on Interweave and Weaving Today. So I already knew the parts of a loom,the types of looms and how they worked. Now I would learn how to weave.
Janet's Uncomplicated Weaving class was just that; simple! There were four of us in the class held at her home. We started off by winding our warps; a few issues, but we got through it. Then we learned how to thread our looms. We were all using floor looms; the one I was using was identical to mine, which helped a lot! We learned some good tips about threading, and then moved on to tying on, and after lunch, we started weaving! I had chosen to weave a 2-scarf warp of various thickness and colours of wool yarn, with a doubled curly mohair and wool weft. I would later be cursing the brushed mohair in the warp...
In the course of that weaving day, and the next, I became nearly an expert on how to fix broken warp threads, considering how many broke (mostly the brushed mohair). I even helped one of the other students fix some of her broken threads. By the end of the weekend, I managed to finish both of my scarves, each with a different coloured weft.
This is one of them, with a blue weft. I kept one for myself. The scarf is super warm, great for those bone-chilling winter days in January and February.
We also had the opportunity to try some twills on another student's loom. It was great to see many different looms and work in a non-classroom environment. We also had the opportunity to see several of Janet's rag rug creations and her work-in-progress.
Learning at a production weaver's studio is a great experience; we picked up a lot of tips and tricks. One of them was to wind warps ahead of time so you'll be ready for your next project. I took that to heart, and always have several warps to choose from.
To celebrate my one-year weaving anniversary, I'm going home tonight and weaving.
Thanks, Janet, for introducing me to the craft of weaving! :)
Luckily, I had already started researching weaving by reading the huge amount of information available on Interweave and Weaving Today. So I already knew the parts of a loom,the types of looms and how they worked. Now I would learn how to weave.
Janet's Uncomplicated Weaving class was just that; simple! There were four of us in the class held at her home. We started off by winding our warps; a few issues, but we got through it. Then we learned how to thread our looms. We were all using floor looms; the one I was using was identical to mine, which helped a lot! We learned some good tips about threading, and then moved on to tying on, and after lunch, we started weaving! I had chosen to weave a 2-scarf warp of various thickness and colours of wool yarn, with a doubled curly mohair and wool weft. I would later be cursing the brushed mohair in the warp...
In the course of that weaving day, and the next, I became nearly an expert on how to fix broken warp threads, considering how many broke (mostly the brushed mohair). I even helped one of the other students fix some of her broken threads. By the end of the weekend, I managed to finish both of my scarves, each with a different coloured weft.
We also had the opportunity to try some twills on another student's loom. It was great to see many different looms and work in a non-classroom environment. We also had the opportunity to see several of Janet's rag rug creations and her work-in-progress.
Learning at a production weaver's studio is a great experience; we picked up a lot of tips and tricks. One of them was to wind warps ahead of time so you'll be ready for your next project. I took that to heart, and always have several warps to choose from.
To celebrate my one-year weaving anniversary, I'm going home tonight and weaving.
Thanks, Janet, for introducing me to the craft of weaving! :)
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