The world of fibres and fabric is fascinating.
An archeological dig in Georgia resulted in a find of flax fibres dating back 34,000 years. Many peoples all around the world developed ways of creating cloths for purposes probably not different than what we use cloth now for.
I started about 34 years ago,
a blip on the weaving time line, and I can fall back on the wealth of knowledge and experiences by earlier weavers.
I learnt to weave on a little four shaft table loom with the help of a book by Anne Field, who wrote “The Four-shaft Table Loom” in such a clear language that I got a good grasp of the principles of weaving with looms.
Fast forward: in 2022 I did my first Arts Trail. To have enough work to show, I spent time in my studio on a daily basis. As I created more and learnt more, I wanted to explore new possibilities. I moved from the four-shaft loom to an eight-shaft loom and recently bought a 32 shaft loom. Agnes Hauptli, a renowned Northland weaver, recommended that I focus on learning to design patterns myself. Books by Bonnie Inouye and Alice Schlein became my latest source of inspiration. A new world has started to open up.
The fibres are getting finer, the patterns more complicated and the colours more varied. I am very much hooked to the learning process; maybe obsessed. The main thing is that I enjoy creating new fabrics and it is wonderful that other people like the work so much that they want to wear it.
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