You know when you are eating pasta and it seems like no matter how much you eat, there’s still a bowlful left? This project was just like that! But finally, FINALLY it is off the loom!
So, in light of completing this challenging weaving feat, I thought I would share a few things I learned along the way!
1. Life & weaving projects don’t always go as planned. This may sound obvious, but weavers are notoriously great planners! So, when the project goes off the rails, we don’t always handle it well! (And when I say “we”, I mean me!) Because this one had a real life of its own, it helped me be more flexible – and creative!
2. There’s a place for every color – it just depends on the context. I am not a pastel girl. (Honestly, my friends might say that was an understatement.) But while the idea of lavender makes me break out in hives, when the color is next to something stronger (maybe a warm chocolate or a slate gray), it can really work well! For this project, I ended up in a tight spot with the color peach. With the help of a solid blue, the story had a happy ending! (Whew! It was a close call, though…)
3. Weaving or anything creative is good for your head! The process of weaving – that repetitive motion – really encourages my mind to settle and just be. I can do some impressive brainstorming while tossing my boat shuttle back and forth thousands of times! The trick is to keep my thoughts moving in a positive direction because once they spiral somewhere else, they tend to get stuck there. With this project, the timing was perfect considering it is a new year & I am reworking parts of the business!
I haven’t added up my hours for this project yet, but ultimately every minute was worth it! (I have no doubt that 2 weeks ago I was singing a different tune!) But, each project leads me to something new & how can that be bad?
What have you learned from a recent project?
Looks Great!
Thanks, Dad!!!
That is the worst when you run out of a color & the replacement yarn doesn’t quite match! Sounds like you came up with a good solution, though! Nicely done! Do you have a photo of the finished project? I’d love to see it!!!
Im still working on it. I do have pictures of the project, just not quite sure how to add those pics here tho. Trying to figure that out. I tried to paste a copy of the pic but it’s not giving me that as a option.
No worries! If there’s a link or something, just send it my way! I’m always curious to see what other artists are doing! Thanks so much!!!
I will ☺️ ! Yes I too love to see other weavers work. There are just so many talented people out there! It really helps me to get my own creative juices flowing and anxious to be at the loom.
Hopefully at some point I’ll have some pics on my blog. I haven’t had much blogging time lately so my posts aren’t very recent. You can see a few of my others projects there tho at artpodstudios.com. Keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing your next project.
Awesome! I will definitely check it out! Thanks so much!!!
When I finish a project, I like to sit down and write about what I learned from it, too, and I’ve learned a lot of the same lessons you did lately! The piece looks wonderful–will the ends sticking out the side stay or do they get clipped off? Is it a rug?
Hey KerryCan! Thanks for the compliment! Because I will use the fabric for smaller items, I don’t worry about the edges – which is a nice perk! If I needed to tuck in all the bits on the edges, that would take a few more hours. But, the fabric will probably end up as handbags or pillows or something like that!