For the Honor of Grey Skull!!!

February 29, 2020 Leap Day, about two weeks before Covid-19 sent us all into self-isolation/quarantine, the day I decided I HAD to weave.

I give all the credit to Felicia Lo Wong of Sweet Georgia Yarns. I was looking for knitting vlogs and found her "Taking Back Friday" videos. The brilliant saturated colors of her woven textiles (especially the fuschias) called to me like a siren song. I went out that same day to Deseret Industries (think GoodWill) bought an old canvas print, ripped the canvas off, hammered in some nails, which was not easy while being seven month pregnant.... and by the evening I was weaving.

Husband felt the need to take a picture because of how happy I looked weaving. (Yes, I know I don't look seven months pregnant but trust me Baby Girl is in there T-Minus 66 days 4 hours and 42 minutes)

This first weaving session was purely the joy of creating. Feeling the fiber in my hands, enjoying the stillness that came from the meditative under, over, under over, back and forth, back and forth. The problems with my beginning attempts at weaving didn't emerge until I had woven much more. That's when I noticed my edges pulling inward more and more. I didn't have words for this at the time but now I know what was happening was called too much draw-in. I still haven't mastered keeping my selvedges straight but learning the vocabulary has definitely gotten me closer.

The interesting thing about diving into weaving after nearly four years of knitting was I felt like I shouldn't be as disoriented as I was. When it came to knitting I knew the vocabulary, I knew the big names, I knew about resources like Ravelry and which youtubers had the tutorials that made the most sense to me. So even though I was far from mastering the craft I had more or less mastered learning about the craft. If I was having a problem or needed to understand a new stitch or construction I knew where to look, and what to type into a search engine. If I wanted to explore cable knitting I knew to look up a Norah Gaughan pattern etc. But now, even though I was still working with yarn I had no idea what questions to ask, what resources were available or what mentors to seek out virtually. Which was doubly frustrating because having found all of these for knitting I realized just how much more quickly I could have progressed as a knitter if I had had them at the start.

Felicia came to my rescue. She was the only person I knew in the weaving community so that's where I turned. I paid for a subscription to her School of Sweet Georgia and started in on her "Essential Weaving" course. I gobbled up the new vocabulary. Epi, Ppi, Sett. It meant I was able to realize what had happened with this attempt at a dishcloth:

and why even if I beat the heck out of it I couldn't get the weft where I wanted it.

I fixed my sett problem and also decided to try out a twill pattern:

It didn't take me long to start dreaming about having a rigid heddle loom. After all frame looms are great for tapestry weaving but I wanted to create textiles likes placemats, blankets, pillow covers, maybe even fabric for clothes.

Well dreaming turned into buying pretty quick. Especially after the state I live in started shutting down schools, churches, etc. I realized I was going to be at home a lot and I needed to be creative, I felt this drive to weave, and luckily while I am the thrifty sort my husband's response to just about everything I ask for is "buy it!" However, knowing if I said straight up that I wanted to buy a loom he'd support the idea makes asking feel like demanding, so I sat on the idea for a week or two to make sure I really did want it and it wasn't just a passing whim.

While I waited to make my decision, I kept weaving, and knitting,

and enjoying the School of Sweet Georgia content which revived my interest in dyeing:

and spinning.

Eventually my loom did arrive and I immediately took over the whole kitchen warping it:

This first project was a bit stressful but I have fallen in love with my loom. (It's an Ashford 24" btw)

My stress level has definitely been elevated during this pandemic. For me it didn't change my life as much as it has changed some people's. My family's income has stayed the same for one thing and I know that makes us very lucky. But still adjusting to the new normal was difficult. I think I handled it well and throwing myself into the fiber arts has been a great coping mechanism. I believe there is something divine in each of us that yearns to be creative. Giving myself permission to let that creativity out... well I think it is one of the most powerful ways to practice self-care. And taking care of myself in this and other ways has allowed me to be present for my family during this crisis which has been an incredible blessing. I thank God that I've found this craft that I am passionate about. I can't wait to see where this journey will take me.

If you're reading this, thank you. Let me just take a second to explain what I intend for this blog and what you can expect:

This is the blog of an amateur. I want to share my journey with you. I hope this will inspire others to pursue similar journeys of pursuing their creative passion. I think everyone should make space in their lives for creativity. For me, my creative pursuits are of the yarn persuasion. So I will be sharing with you what I am learning about weaving, dyeing, spinning, and knitting. Next time I'll share a little more about me and what I am currently working on. Spoiler alert: it involves a handpainted warp.

(Oh and if you're wondering about the title, Husband and I just started watching She-Ra)