Tag Archives: handwork

Happy Thanksgiving!

20 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Nostalgia

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DSCF1027Here we are at our annual day of giving thanks. As soon as November hits, the stores put up the red and green, but I appreciate a day to reflect on all that I am thankful for.

I’m thankful for colors—blues, greens, corals, rubies, golds, browns—oh the richness and variety of browns in the world!

I’m thankful for textures—smooth, silky, fuzzy, bumpy, ridged, sharp, soft.

I’m thankful for handwork—weaving, spinning, knitting, tatting, crocheting, sewing.

But more than all of these, I’m thankful for faith, for family, for friends.

And I’m thankful for all of you who read through my occasional musings on fiber art and who have supported my creative jaunts.

To share my appreciation, I am offering 10% off on any orders over $75 from my Etsy shop. Just enter the code HOLIDAY18 at check-out. And if you order on Cyber Monday, November 26, your treasures will ship for free. Perhaps you’ll find just the right gift for you or your special someone.

Thank you – and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Loom Therapy

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by in creating, Looms, Weaving Inspiration

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Another damask warp off the loom!

Another damask warp off the loom!

Life happens, and there are seasons when it demands attention. We have all experienced them. Parents age. Children struggle. Friends face crises. Sometimes it’s joyful distractions: weddings, graduations, new jobs, new children–or grandchildren. All these pull at our energies and keep us away from the work of our hands.

In the past, physicians recognized the healing properties of working with the hands. There are images of hospital patients, adults and children alike, weaving at looms, making baskets, painting. Occupational Therapy is only one of many fields in which arts and crafts are used to soothe. Who among us hasn’t found peace in the gentle rhythm of the shuttle or knitting needles?

The past several months have been full of distractions, and yet whenever I sat down at the loom again, it felt so good, so peaceful to throw the shuttle, listen to the gentle thump of the beater, to watch the pattern grown at the fell. And while I was away from the loom, knitting brought some peace at the end of the day. Each row, each stitch, helped unknot the tensions.

Just this past week, I finished a warp that had been on my loom since September. It’s rare for a warp to take that long, but how gratifying to throw the final shot and cut the web! How satisfying to see the yards of damask unfold!

There are other warps that have been languishing as well. I’m looking forward to continuing some linen towels that have been patiently waiting on the Baby Wolf! And then there’s “Junior” waiting to have the shafts properly balanced for the opphämta weave I’ve been wanting to try.

And all of these are my therapy, soothing my mind and soul. Whenever life winds itself up tight, it’s good to pick up the shuttle again and re-center.

What do you do to calm your spirit?

Finding Joy in Making

26 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by in creating, Weaving Inspiration

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Works in Progress

Works in Progress

As I head into the holiday season, I once again have a list of projects not yet finished –some not yet started! There’s the hat and mitten set for a grandson, a dress-up skirt for a granddaughter, and the “purple sweater vest with a unicorn” for her sister. I’ve thought of other things I could have made if I had started earlier, and things I wish I could figure out how to make.

This is all part of my genetics. I remember my mother’s handmade gifts and how she set her mind to something and pushed forward until it was done. She’s still at it. Just the other day she was telling me about her latest idea and how she probably wasn’t going to finish it before Christmas. That’s my Mom. I’m determined, though, that I’m not going to stress about my unfinished projects. Those that need to get done, will. Those that don’t, won’t. I want to enjoy the process.

Then I read the latest post on Love Those Hands at Home. Kerry writes about making something because it pleases us, and how that wisdom has guided her endeavors. Her point is that we can make something or embellish something simply because it pleases us. Her words hit a chord with me, especially at this time of year.

I learned from both my parents, hard-working farm people, that handmade gifts are worth the extra effort. As far back as I can remember, there was always some project to finish by Christmas. There were embroidered shirts, handmade baskets, wooden play sets. And then there were the cookies–Mom spent hours in the kitchen making a variety of holiday treats because she loves to bake and she loves to share what she bakes. But that’s the key–enjoying what you are making.

So even though I still have to finish some gifts, I’m looking forward to working on them. And that makes the projects worthwhile.

What projects are you working on? What do you enjoy making?

In Homage to Our Grandmothers

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Craft History, Weaving Inspiration

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My Grandmothers leave me in awe. Both of them raised families during the Depression. Both were farm wives—women whose days started early and ended late. Both helped work the farm. Both grew expansive gardens, preserving the produce at harvest. Both cooked from scratch to feed hungry families. And yet both found time and energy to make beautiful things!

Grandma K

Grandma K

Grandma D

Grandma D

These women were experts in the art of making do with what was on hand to create lovely accents for their homes and their families. My mother tells a story of her Grandmother seeing a doily in a store window, studying it, then going home and making one just like it for herself. Growing up, I just assumed that everyone’s Grandma did what mine did. Some did; some didn’t. Both Grandmas crocheted and knit. One also beaded, quilted, sewed as well — and she wove rag rugs.

I bring them up because I really appreciate that they exposed my parents, and then me, to the joy of working with my hands and that I can try to make something beautiful too.