Weaving Up a Storm

Name: Katie

Date: September 10

Current Location: Greenfield, MA

Hey folks!

I’m up in Massachusetts at the Vävstuga Swedish Weaving School for an 8-week immersion program. I’m having a blast and learning so much – it’s a bit of a firehose of information. I’m also continuing to work while I’m here, which is quite the balancing act. It’s a lot, but I’m very happy that this program worked out for me!

We started Day 1 by taking apart and rebuilding a loom from the ground up, and it’s been basically a nonstop fiber party since! We’ve made towels, matching bands, and yardage, are planning blankets for our next personal project, and have wound on no fewer than 8 warps for group projects. There’s such a variety of weaving techniques and styles that we get to work on – I’m super excited about trying drawloom weaving, smålandsvav, and an overshot Christmas Star pattern, but other projects include damask, deflected double weave, and upholstery.

It’s also so nice that I get to spend time in the woods of Western Massachusetts during the fall – the weather is cool, sunny, and lovely nearly every day!

Finished Projects

Towels

Broken twill variations across four towels, with a variety of striping patterns. Hemmed and ready to go!

Band

The matching band which will be attached to the corners of the towels for easy hanging

Yardage

~4 meters of fabric that I’m debating how I will use. I’m thinking a skirt, but that will require me to learn how to sew. *facepalm* I always need more fibercraft hobbies, right?

I’m very pleased with how the color gradation came out, and I owe a debt of thanks to my fellow student, Susan, who suggested both of the colors I ended up using in my weft.

Current Projects:

Green/Purple Granny Square

My obsession with Granny Squares continues…

The Aztecana Blanket from BebaBlanket

A gorgeous pattern I’m frantically working up so it will be finished in time to gift to its intended recipients. I’m using Hobbii Universe yarn in the colorway Interstellar for the design, with their Classic Acrylic in a light peachy-apricot for the main color.

Up Next:

I’ll be here in Massachusetts for another month and a half, then I’ll be renting a car and taking a leisurely road trip through New England before I head back south to DC.

See you all next time! ❤