Last week we visited my wife’s sister-in-law Kathy, who lives in a suburb of Milwaukee. Kathy suggested we visit a quilting exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilting and Fiber Arts, in nearby Cedarberg. I’m not a real fan of quilting, and imagined a display of quilts that I might have found on my great-grandmother’s […]
Tablet weaving is fraught with trapdoors, little mistakes that are easy to make. This pre-weaving checklist may keep you from falling into one.
Before You Start Tablet Weaving — a Checklist Read More »
I thought I had a global view of the culture and practice of weaving. Then a discovery revealed my unwitting Eurocentrism.
Baltic-style Pick-up Weaving in South America Read More »
A student showed me his key fob, purchased in Norway. It appeared to be woven with an unfamiliar pick-up method. i thought it would be fun to reverse-engineer how it was woven.
Exploring a key fob’s design Read More »
A Dutch tablet weaver and I turn tablet-woven knot patterns back and forth.
Knots, More Knots, and Rotating Knots Read More »
How did the abstract painter Agnes Martin inspire the composition of this tablet-woven band, and what’s the connection with “moments of perfection”? (Click the image to see a larger version)
Rainbow rain, Agnes Martin, and Moments of Perfection Read More »
Backstrap weaving is a long-standing tradition among Karen women. About 80,000 Karen — refugees escaping from persecution by the Maynmar government, have settled in the US, with over 12,000 in the Twin Cities alone. They brought with them the most precious of their weaving tools and have established a Karen Weaving Circle in St. Paul
The Karen Weaving Tradition Migrates to Saint Paul Read More »
When reviewing the card-weaving technique of transposing cards, I dug into the historical origins of a pattern found on a Viking-age seal tag. Peter Collingwood describes the technique and the pattern in The Techniques of Tablet Weaving, and refers to a research article that describes that ancient textile. When I looked up the article, my historical digging suddenly hit a
Warp Transposition and the Mystery of the Missing Seal Tag Read More »
Every year at the Minnesota State Fair I demonstrate my favorite off-loom weaving technique, card weaving. By spending just a few minutes between sections, flipping and turning cards to new initial positions, and changing the turning sequence, I was able to weave several bookmarks with a wide variety of patterns, all from the same warp.
From one card-weaving warp, many patterns Read More »
Here’s a quick tutorial showing how to finish a band by locking in the weft.
Finishing a band — A Tutorial Read More »