I received a Leclerc floor loom as an amazing gift from a woman I took a felting class with last summer. Thank you, Sarah K.! I really enjoy weaving, but I know I am still a novice, so I thought I’d enter some pieces into the Tanana Valley Fair to get some feedback and tips on how to improve.
I visited the Fair with a friend today to see her quilts (she won a blue ribbon and was awarded as division champion! Yay, Karen!). We walked through the newly blue Badger Hall to look at the knitting, spinning, weaving, and creative arts crafts, and I was excited to see my weaving items on display. I am very much looking forward to reading the critique when I pick up the items on August 8! The bonus is the ribbons hanging next to my works. (I realize that my pieces might be the only one in their divisions, but it’s still fun to see.)
Helianthus Shifting in the Sun: Table runner designed using the ‘Berea Sunflower’ pattern from Marguerite Porter Davidson’s “A Handweaver’s Pattern Book,” (another wonderful gift from Sarah!), with warp and weft of 2/2 worsted spun wool (warp colors: ‘daffodil’ and ‘marigold’; weft colors: ‘tangerine’ and ‘cayenne), hemstitched, fringed.
The large overshot weaving technique delineates the flowers, creating a design that is mirrored on the fabric’s reverse side. Graduating transitions between each red, orange, and yellow helps give the idyllic impression that living sunflowers are following the path of the sun.
The yellow, red, and orange table runner won the ‘Theme Award’ because I chose colors, fiber, and weaving pattern to fit this year’s Fair theme. Yay!
Deflected Doubleweave Scarf: I love how the deflected doubleweave technique creates a fabric with both a visual pattern and a 3-D-esque texture. The two similar sides of the scarf each have a distinctive look, making this a fun reversible scarf to wear.
Purple Honeycomb Sparkle: The waffle weave technique blends with the two distinct fibers to give this blanket a delightfully cozy 3-dimensional look and feel.
Before receiving the generous gift of the table loom, I had already been interested in weaving. I had made a couple of small pieces on an Ashford lap loom as I dabbled with the process. I decided to enter one of these small pieces into the fair as well as the larger ones woven on the floor loom. This Heart Balloon was my first venture into tapestry weaving and I experimented with different weaving and binding-off techniques. Currently a decorative hanging, this piece may eventually become half of a cute over-the-shoulder bag for a young girl. Who knows!
Your weavings are beautiful, both up close and in your photos! So good you had the drive to teach yourself to weave and then to enter the Fair! Congratulations!