Every two years I send out a survey to get a feel for where rigid-heddle weavers are on their weaving journey and what specific issues they may be experiencing. Feedback from these surveys helped start the weave-alongs and prompted me to create specific content, most recently, A Weaver’s Guide to Yarn. First a Bit of […]
School Days
Just before the start of the Fall semester at New Mexico Tech, the administration decided to change things up which resulted in merging my Weaving 101 and 201 classes. This mixing of levels is both synergistic and chaotic. Imagine a class happening in the middle of a lab. While the beginners are inspired by the […]
What Progress Looks Like
I love a good challenge, but I’m also not so fond of change. An oxymoron, I know. As weavers, this dual nature is built right into our history. I often note that while computer technology was built on loom technology, Luddites were also weavers. I sympathize with both camps. Since I learn best by doing, […]
What I Learned On My Sabbatical
Last year, I decided to take a sabbatical. The dictionary defines a sabbatical as “a period of paid leave granted to a university teacher or other worker for study or travel, traditionally one year for every seven years worked.” It is meant to refresh, rejuvenate, and refocus, the individual so they can get back to […]
Yarnworker Turns Three
Three years ago I launched Yarnworker as a place to call home in the vast world of the internet and as a platform to share tips, technique, and stuff that makes your weaving life better. If Yarnworker was a human, this would be her willful stage of development. Having your hobby be your jobby is challenging and […]
Have Loom Will Travel
Since June, I’ve laid my head in a different bed one week to the next. Occasionally the bed has been my own, but more often than not, it hasn’t. Mostly, I’ve been teaching on what I’ve dubbed the 2016 Rigid Heddle Road Trip, or attending conferences and other weaving-related gatherings. Teaching is really important to me. […]
Doubleweave Throw Weave-Along
For the first time, I shipped my sample projects for a teaching gig instead of hand-carrying them. Everything arrived safely and I had a grand time teaching new weavers to weave. The host and I carefully packed everything up and shipped it back. When the box arrived, all seemed well enough, although the box seemed […]
There is a Method to the Madness
I grew up in and around all kinds of stages and studios. My parents were into the theater scene big time—as actors, backstage hands, and promoters. I lived for a short time in a dinner theater dressing room. I served as my mother’s dresser. I did the voice over for a ghost in Blithe Spirit. […]
Why Yarnworker?
I first encountered the truism, “If you want to be a writer, write” in a nonfiction work of Paul Theroux, although I don’t think he originally coined the phrase. This is true of weaving, too. If you want to be a weaver, weave. I hear so many people say, “I’m not a real weaver, I only…..” If you […]
Year of the Handwoven Home Progress Report
On January first, I experienced a fire in my belly that only a New Year can bring. THIS will be the year! Every room in my house will have a new handwoven item designed just for it. I’m happy to say that unlike most of my New Year’s Resolutions this one is sticking. I’ve tackled the […]