A Spiritual Encounter with Old Textiles

An inconceivably long time ago, the Most Infinitely Powerful Being created the world and turned it over to us. We were charged to fill the earth and have dominion over everything in it. The fish of the sea, birds of the heavens, plants yielding their seed, trees with their fruits, and all the beasts on…

Weaving Around Town: Strengthening Community Bonds with Gist Yarn Co.

I discovered weaving back in 2005 as a college student. We wove fabric samples with fancy, expensive equipment that I had to leave behind after graduation. I’d come a long way for someone who had never seen handwoven fabric or even a loom in person. Wanting to continue weaving, I began to re-learn the craft…

Claiming My Identity as a Black Weaver in 21st Century America

It is only recently that I have come to identify myself as a weaver. It has been much more culturally relevant to call myself a retail manager, a human resources coordinator, or a primary school teacher. I met my first loom weaver, a professor and active artist, back in 2005 at college in the Apparel,…

A Spinners Milestone: Weaving with Handspun Yarn

I have been spinning yarn since 2005. My first experience with the luxury of working with natural fibers was after winning a gift certificate to Evelise's Yarn Shop at the Berrien County Youth Fair . An Afghan that I had crocheted with acrylic yarn won Reserved Grand Champion.  With the gift certificate I bought my…

Here I Go Again: Still Weaving

So, now I'm dusting all of my weaving supplies off again. It's been a long time. I really haven't used the inkle loom I bought as a college student since I was in college. Sad, sad, sad. Welp, here I go again. I had so much fun weaving the strap for my new drawstring backpack…

The Send-Off Sash

Earlier this month my brother-in-law was deployed to Afghanistan with the US Air Force. I decided to weave him a keepsake sash as a parting gift. The project went together nicely. The weaving technique used is called supplementary warp patterning. The woven text is DH (His Initials) 14 (deployment year) ZIJAKERY (The acronym they use for the…

Just Married: Keepsake Wedding Sash

Not, me. A dear friend got married yesterday. I wanted to make a gift for the couple and thought well why not weave them a keepsake wedding sash. I have been learning about weaving Lithuanian sashes with my friend, Donna for the last few months. While I love the supplementary warp patterning technique I am still learning to merge my design…

Weaving Senovinis: The gifts of crafting in public

It's been a few months now since I began crafting in public at my local library on Sunday afternoons. I work on different projects. Spinning (people especially love to see the spinning wheel at work), braiding, piecework, knitting or whatever I can stuff in a basket. It is so fun to talk to people who see me working.…