One time I tried to take up crocheting. My mom sat both my sister and me down in the living room and slowly worked us through the process of weaving the yarn together using that pretty, yet oh-so- tiny, metallic, yellow crochet hook (needle?). Within a few minutes, it was easy to see who could handle the intricacy and patience of making a “simple” scarf (my sister), and who was sitting in the corner with the yarn in knots, face red and full of frustration (me). In other words, that hobby didn’t last long. Despite my being defeated by the crochet monster, I’ve always been fascinated by textile art, mostly due to it’s use of varying colors and textures, and how beautiful all those hues look co-mingling together in knitted paradise.
Wall hangings by All Roads.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I began to see woven wall hangings popping up all over the place, from Instagram to Pinterest (And Target, too. Who knew Nate Berkus approved of the slightly hippie-esue nature of a wall hanging?!). For whatever reason, I saw all these amazingly detailed works of art and thought “HEY, I CAN DO THAT!”, and so begins my weaving journey. I’ve yet to try my hand at it, as I just ordered my loom, but I’ve spent any free time “researching” by Googling “woven wall hangings” and drooling over the results.
See what I mean?!? Beautiful! This one was created by textile artist Marianne Werkmeister.
These AH-mazing works are done by Judit Just from JuJuJust, an Etsy based textile artist.
What?! I can’t even with this stuff. So much talent! And patience! This one is by Pam Fish, whose Etsy shop, fish warp, has so. much. good. stuff.
So there you have it. I’m not so naive to think that I’ll be anywhere close to creating masterpieces like you see above, but I want to give it a shot nonetheless. I’ve purchased this lap loom, mostly based on it’s low price and the fact that reviews rated it a good “beginners” loom. The loom I purchased comes with instructions, but I also plan to glean what I can from these two DIY’s: here and here.
I’ll keep you up to date with my progress, and if you’re lucky (and I don’t throw the damn loom out the window the second I start), you might even get to see my finished work of art!
❤
KT
kate of all trades 