Learning to Weave

This weekend at Peters Valley I took the three day workshop taught by Sarah Saulson, "Adventur0us Weaving.". Although I'd learned on a real (antique, actually) loom when I was eight years old, I haven't woven seriously since. There were four students and a studio assistant, so we each got a great deal of individual attention. I love the way Sarah teaches -- it really works perfectly for me. First she explains the topic, then she allows us to explore for ourselves and finally we discuss it as a class. It's the first workshop at Peters Valley during which I haven't felt stressed or overloaded. Although I've really enjoyed all the workshops I've taken, I do appreciate the feeling of mastery I've come away with this time. My fellow students were all either art students or working artists. A most inspiring group.

Here's my loom with the warp. The first day we learned to dress the loom. It took so much time that I didn't have time to weave much besides the toilet paper. Sarah says her students enjoy this way of filling up the warp until a usable, even warp is reach.


The studio was open after class was over so I was able to get going on my first actual weaving. It's plain weave, experimenting with different beating strengths. It was cut off the loom to demonstrate the effects of wet finishing. It shrank in height more than width. The more tightly beaten sections shrank more.