The weaving of a maker

I was a tactile kid; I liked to touch things – everything. In fact, like my elder son when he was young, I looked with my hands at everything. When reprimanding my son for touching things he shouldn’t by telling him to ‘look, don’t touch’, he would say ‘but I am just looking’. Trouble was, he did it with his hands as well as his eyes, just like me. I guess part of growing up and learning about the world for us both involved experiencing it with all of our senses.

When I was about 11 or 12, my parents enrolled me in an after school hobby class for a term of school. We covered a number of different crafts including pottery, macramé and leather-work, among other things, and I adored it. I loved making stuff – any stuff. I was thrilled and proud to present my entire family with homemade gifts that Christmas.

In 1980, my family packed up and moved up country to take up residence on an ‘alternative lifestyle community’ (aka a ‘hippy commune’). I and my siblings adapted the laid-back lifestyle effortlessly. During this time, I had my first weaving experience. I was probably about 14 years old and one of the other community members had a four shaft Ashford table loom which was warped and set up ready to go, but she had lost the mojo to finish the project. She offered it to me to complete, showed me how to operate the shafts to create the pattern that it was set up for and off I went. The project was a piece of fabric in blocks of coloured wool and some sort of twill. I carefully wove about a meter or so and then it was cut off and made into a cushion cover. I proudly presented that to my parents as that year’s Christmas gift too. They still have it, though it is definitely worse for wear now. Thanks Stephanie McKee! I was thrilled at the process of weaving, and recall making a diary entry about how much I enjoyed it, and wouldn’t it be great if I could make some money by weaving some more?

My next weaving encounter was also around that time with an inkle loom* (thanks Joanna Pearsall). I was shown how to operate it and must have found a supply of yarn, because I went for it and started producing screeds of ‘belts’ and bands in all sorts of colours and patterns. My intention was to sell them and earn some money. I was great at the production and had access to a craft shop in Auckland to sell them through.

Some simple harekeke baskets

During this period I was also exposed to harekeke weaving. I made a kite from the flax and then taught Vasudeva, one of the other adults living at our community how to make them. Most people struggled when it came to forming the corners, but I was able to help him master them. He had a young family with several children and he went on to make and sell many beautiful flax kete. Every time he saw me after that he would great me as his ‘teacher’. The irony there being I only ever made a couple of baskets whereas he went on to make many dozens.

While I was good with my hands when it came to yarn and weaving, the irony was that I could not sew or knit. I had tried both, but hated sewing. All that pinning and tacking was annoying and I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just get on with it. Also, mysteriously, I was the sort of person to whom the needle on a sewing machine would break when I swear, I wasn’t even in the same room. And while from time to time I would be motivated to start a knitting project, and did get the hang of a few basic stiches, I never retained the momentum to finish said projects. I loved the idea of knitting, but it was so slow to grow… But weaving? I loved that, from day 1.

The Mecchia eight shaft countermarch floor loom of today.

Fast forward a few years I was 19 and was interviewed by Maureen Lorimer who was opening a hand weaving and pottery studio on the main street of Coromandel. I became her apprentice and remain her friend. From the first day sitting on a full floor loom, I was at home. I learnt about all aspects of setting a loom up with our space dyed warps, the weaving and then the finishing of the fabrics. Once finished, the fabrics would be cut up and sewn into garments (by someone with expertise in garment construction, definitely not me).

I stayed in this job for two and a half years, full time weaving fabrics. I enjoyed the process so much I bought my own floor loom for home at the earliest opportunity so I could experiment with my own style of weaving in my own time. During this time, I specialised in finer 2 ply fibres, and thus my merino shawl and baby blanket lines were born.

While I moved on to other careers, weaving and my loom has always stayed with me. My loom has been dismantled, moved and set up more times than I can now count over the 34 years I have had it now and, it is as still good as new. For years I have planned for a time for weaving to become a fulltime feature in my life instead of part time. I want to share my knowledge and passion for the weaving process, and showcase my products to a wider audience. This website is the mechanism for me to do that.

A small two shaft table loom

I welcome your stories about your weaving/fibre journeys. From those just starting out, to those like myself who have be at it for ever. How did your interest get sparked? What is it about weaving that excites you? Where are you at in your own weaving adventure? Feel free to share and we can compare notes!

Cheers,

Jackie

*Inkle looms are small looms for weaving decorative narrow warp faced strips which be used as belts and bands.