Quite a few years ago now, we bought our first family DSLR camera. I loved photography when I was in high school and spent as much time doing it as I was allowed. I think one thing I loved about it was it was the only subject in which I felt free and unrestricted.
I could take one of the school’s SLR (pre- digital days!) cameras home when I wanted. I was given access to the school dark room in my spare time, and thankfully, my parents paid the bills for the photo paper and chemicals without grumbling.
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So, getting our first entry level DSLR was like reliving a bit of that favourable part of my teenage life. It wasn’t long before I decided I wanted to take a course to learn the camera inside out. I enrolled in an online course, which was quite an investment for our single income family at the time, and started learning.
I became completely engrossed. I lived and breathed photography for the best part of a year. I loved the assignment challenges and started making my own challenges. Thankfully, I had 4 beautiful children who were my willing subjects. I started to dream up themes for photos. I made costumes, visited beautiful locations and used interesting props.
So, what does all this have to do with weaving?
Well, I was already a weaver when I started the photography course. But I was in a “not so positive place” with it. I was trying to learn new and interesting techniques, but it was really hard. I was putting pressure on myself to make perfect, Instagram worthy pieces that I just wasn’t ready to undertake.
Homeschooling, mothering, attempting to supplement our income didn’t leave much time for creative pursuits. Photography fit well, because the children were very often my subjects and were always with me when I was doing it, so it fit well.
As time went on, I wondered whether weaving was really the right thing for me. My rigid heddle loom sat empty month after month. My husband had bought it for me as a gift. I felt guilty that I wasn’t using it.
Most of all, I felt that I wasn’t capable of learning all I wanted to on this loom, and so my motivation lagged completely.
The frustrations that I’d been having with weaving built up in my mind and sat upon my shoulders as a heavy burden. Guilt, annoyance, frustration, lack of motivation – all these negative emotions around weaving were just penned up. I didn’t share this with anyone, and so it went on, and so the loom continued to sit empty.
And this was my biggest mistake.
So, what happened? Well, eventually the novelty of lugging that somewhat heavy camera around, countless hours of making costumes and finding new locations began to wear off. I started to remember what had attracted me to weaving in the first place, and why I felt compelled to make my own cloth. I started to notice beautiful yarns again. Ideas began to bubble up in my mind.
But the most important thing that happened is that I just put a warp on the loom.
I took a step. I don’t remember what it was that I made. Maybe it was just a simple, fun, non committal, explorative weave. Maybe it was something to wear or something for my kids to use in their play house. I really don’t remember, and it doesn’t really matter. The point is that I just did it.
I do still get weaver’s block to this very day, especially when I’m challenging myself to learn something new, but the difference is in how I handle it. I ensure that whenever those negative weaving feeling start creeping back in, I do something about it!
I have many resources that can help you get past the frustrated weaver point and on to weaving beautiful things. Here are a few suggestions:
- Keep a weaving journal. Document your projects and how far you’ve come. Add in your future weaving plans, include pictures, colours, snippets of yarn. Use your past projects to build on.
- Make a creative space. This is not possible for everyone, but even just a corner of a room, somewhere you can set up your loom and some yarns can help. If you don’t have to lug out all your materials every time you want to weave, you will be more likely to do it.
- Make time for regular weaving – even if it’s 15 minutes at a time. You will make progress if you keep at it.
- Make a Pinterest board or a mood board for inspiration. This can be as loose or as planned as you like.
- Immerse yourself in the weaving community. Join groups (online or face to face), watch Youtube videos, listen to podcasts. These will help keep you motivated and prevent feeling isolated.
- Join the Online Weaving School. When you purchase a membership, not only do you get access to the class library full of courses for all different weaving levels, you also receive an invitation to join a wonderful weaving community.
You may also be interested in these relevant videos:
Have you ever felt paralysed in your weaving journey? What helped you out of it? Or, if you are in a rut, what are you going to doing about it? Let me know in the comments below so we can keep the discussion going.
I hope this post inspires you to warp up your loom and get weaving!
Oh, and I do still indulge in photography from time to time, but I must admit that my newer Canon DSLR is used a lot more for filming classes than anything else! The big plus from all my photography practice is that I’m now capable of taking some pretty decent photos of my weaving.
If you’re interested in improving your photography for weaving purposes, check out my Photography for Weavers class. All you need is a phone and some of your hand weaving to get started!
Until next time…
Happy Weaving!
Thanks, Kelly. You reminded my of the best advice I got from my Dad as a girl–“When you feel stuck or down, just do something! It doesn’t matter what it is, just do anything!” I don’t know what the psychologists would say about that, but it has been helpful for me.
Kelly, I was hoping for some big messy disaster in your post that would make me feel less alone when I find myself in the middle of one! Oh, well! One of the things I love about weaving is that nearly (nearly!) all our mistakes can be rectified with time, logic, and patience.
I wonder if anyone else would enjoy a section in your school on “How to get yourself out of a Jam!” with our most common foibles as new and more experienced weavers? Just one example– I have a new table loom and got as far as placing the warp on my raddle, ready to thread for your sampler, and noticed that I had not brought my warp around the back beam; I had it coming straight off the cloth beam, looking like my rigid heddle would have (am I the only one who has done that??). Thank heavens for the cross and secured lease sticks! It could always have been worse!
Thanks for all, Kelly,
Jean
I’m so glad you were able to get it sorted out! And I fully agree with your dad 😉
Oh, goodness, this is me. My husband gave me my RH loom as a birthday gift in 2016, and I’ve woven a total of 2 scarves on it since I finally set it up two years ago (my first hurdle was just figuring out how to put it together and warp it, from online videos and a Craftsy class I’d bought in an abundance of hope years before).
I get so paralyzed by the endless possibilities (so much yarn! so many colors! so many fibers! so many projects!) – and by all the things I don’t know – that the thought of warping becomes this impenetrable wall in my mind. On both projects I’ve done I’ve absolutely loved the process of weaving, even though my finished projects weren’t perfect. Your post is such a good reminder to just WARP MY LOOM!
I hope you can get past the uncertainty and just go for it!
Hi Kelly,
I was wondering what that big mistake was going to be . . . wrong sett or missed threading or long floats or unexpected shrinkage . . . to which I could relate to any one (and more!). You absolutely hit the nail on the head. Not starting is the biggest mistake that I’ve made in weaving and other creative endeavors. I find it’s a multitude of “reasons”: fear of failure, lack of knowledge, overwhelmed with minutiae. It becomes a block that is only remedied by just starting, just doing it! Thank you for your honest words. Just knowing there are other ‘me’s’ out there is an encouragement.
And I guess the point is, any mistake or accident can be worked through, but you can’t work through what you’re not working through – you have to actually be doing it in the first place! 😆
A “straight from the heart no excuses permitted” post that most people can relate to in one way or another. Thanks for being so open and transparent.
❤️
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for those beautiful photos.
I can truly relate to this as I am a painter who went in hiatus when I discovered weaving. I get the guilty feeling that I should be out painting more, but I want to discover more of what I can do on the loom. I also find weaving a more peaceful and les frustrating creative outlet. I’m learning so much about what I like and what about weaving brings me pure joy.
I’ve always found greater satisfaction in “making things” than anything else. I’ve come to realize that letting myself just enjoy the process and let it take me wherever it will has been a great creative breakthrough for me.
You are so right about setting even a little time aside each day to weave makes for progress, my goal this month is to be consistent with this and get into a rhythm.
I’ve reached a stone wall! I have five looms — a 60″ Swedish, 45″ and 40″ floor loom, a 16″ rigid heddle, and the newest acquisition is a 24″ table loom.
I have an acrylic blanket on the 60″ (I don’t like working with acrylic), and a scarf on the 40″. Four months ago we changed the back beam on the the 45″ and the company didn’t have any beam cranks (thanks, covid!), so that one sits idle until it comes.
The RH has a partially woven scarf in yarns that do not inspire me (I thought they would, but it’s BLAH BLAH BLAH!). The new table loom is warped with some really yummy, fine weight hand-painted wool/silk/yak knitting yarn and it’s pulling in too much on one selvedge, so I’m stymied with it while trying o figure out a “temple” system for it. My smallest temple is too wide and too heavy for this fine yarn. I’m tying to concoct a clamping temple system.
The scarf on the 40″ floor loom is more complicated than I thought it would be when I read the directions in the pattern, and I have not had time (due to many other things going on in my life right now!) to sit at the loom and figure it out. I managed to get about 3″ woven, but it was a real struggle, and the pattern repeats didn’t get settled into my brain very well, It’s a two shuttle double weave—my first attempt at DW.
Maybe my problem is too many challenges at the same time. But which challenge to attack first to get off the loom? The RH project is the easiest to complete, and then I could warp it with something more interesting.
The acrylic blanket is for a friend, but now it’s summer (in USA) and she really doesn’t need it right now — UGH!! does that mean this will sit there until next Fall?
The DW is going to take the most mental concentration and is the most “scary” and intimidating project. Something totally new to me.
What to do to get me kicked out of this slump?
Yep, I think you have too much going on so that you’re in a state of mental overwhelm.
What I would do is take the path of least resistance. That sounds like the RH project. Push through that and then you can either re-warp it with something that you like but is not too difficult OR you might find yourself more ready to tackle one of the other loom projects.
I have just taken the RH project off — finished! And now I think the acrylic blanket must be next, because it’s about 1/3 finished. The DW is a loooooong way from being finished. I have so many projects that I want to do, and yarn purchased, just sitting there beckoning me. So much yarn, so little time!
Thanks for your help!
Ann
That is awesome Ann, I’m proud of you for knuckling down and getting it done. I hope you feel a little fresher in your mind now. But yes, I agree, so much yarn and so little time!
Thank you for sharing that, Kelly! A lot of hit home for me. As you may remember, I, too, had a loom that sat whimpering in a closet and waiting for me to learn how to use it. You have helped more than you will ever know. I love being a part of the school and connecting with all my new weaving friends in the group.
Your photography is amazing, too. My husband and I did a lot of photography ages ago. Now I rarely take pictures for much more than reference, but he kept it up and is an excellent photographer, too.
That’s lovely that he kept it up!
Thank you. I jumped into weaving in the middle of the winter. Then I got all kinds of ideas for sewing, which is my first passion. My weaving loom has since set somewhat ignored. Just yesterday as we were looking at fabric for new items for my home business I realized I hadn’t been using my rigid heddle loom. It too was a gift from my husband along with a lot of yarn. I have done towels, dish cloths and pillows, but then I got distracted. I am trying to balance my time between my sewing business, weaving, and playing the nice piano my husband got me for our 25th anniversary. It will be 40 years now. I find I get excited, go gung hoo and then it fizzles. He reminds me, “you just need to do it, whatever one you choose for the day, just do it. Stop planning, just do it.” This is such a great reminder, thank you. Good to know I’m not alone 🙂
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate Lou Ann. What do you sew for your business?
Weaving ruts or insecurities. So I made this pretty striped warp, then searched for hours trying to find a pattern that would match well with the striping sequence. And I didn’t FEEL like the warping process. So, the warp sat and sat, I went off and crocheted a scarf and worked on a Blackwork embroidery piece.
Finally this week I said to myself “just do a simple twill and get on with it.” My heddles we’re already set up for a point twill on my 8-sh table loom, and since I forgot to count and change them for a straight, I’m currently threading with point twill, and whatever treadling pattern I do with each of the four towels will be PRETTY because of the stripe sequence!
Mostly my hang-ups have to do with getting the warping process done.
I’m sure the towels will be beautiful ❤️
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and frustrations. I “picked up” weaving as a new hobby last July. I have been an avid knitter since the age of 7 and have taught others to knit over the years. I finally became bored with it, feeling there was little left to challenge me. So I turned to weaving to fill up some of my extra free time (due to the pandemic). Here’s my frustration: my closest LYS is an hour away. I took a private lesson from the owner last July. The in-shop class that they hold is for new weavers and I am past that stage. Believe it or not, I have not found any other weaver anywhere close to me and I would love that in-person support or someone close at hand to help me through the more difficult weaving issues that arise. Thank you, Kelly, for having your online weaving school. It has taught me so much and i look forward to continuing to learn and grow my weaving skills! If you’d like to visit FL, I have lots of in-person questions you could answer!!
I’m so glad we have the internet to make connections when “in person” connections are not possible ❤️
I am ever so grateful for finding You ! As an elder, very right brained but slow learner, your video has been a tremendously encouraging God send video ! Very timely for a beginner weaver ! I only wish I lived in your nearby neighborhood instead of halfway across the world ! Many thanks Kelly for your life lessons shared ! We are all on the journey of learning life no matter if it be weaving or any other activity, and no matter what style, as long as we are learning. As an Italian American artist, one of my favorite quotes is from DaVinci…”Ancora Emparro”, which means “ever learning”. Thanks again for sharing the beauty of humility; and how inspiring it can be for us all; much needed today and always.
❤️
Thank you for raising such an important subject. My own block is and has always been the issue of waste. Perhaps being brought up in a time where we lived by the the words ‘waste not, want not’ has something to do with it. Also, being a hand-spinner, the thought of warping up incorrectly, then wasting all that time and effort on weaving something that just doesn’t work because of my ignorance, is a big stumbling block. The way forward for me personally is to make samples and take the burden of expectation off myself. When I look at ancient weavings from archeological finds, they remind me that perfection of technique was not the aim but rather the process and imagery so that is where I start. These things our ancestors would have learned from childhood we must learn from teachers like you and often later in life when it takes longer to sink in. Thank you for nurturing so many hand weavers on our individual paths of discovery.
Waste has been an issue for me too, though much more in the early days than now. Yes, sampling is a very good insurance against disappointment and waste!
Hi Kelly. Is the photo of the little girl with the braids your daughter. She must be because she looks just like you! What a sweet face!
Yes, she is my eldest daughter. She is turning 16 this year, growing up so fast!
Your photos were. Beautiful. Excellent memories you have of a time finding yourself with your children! Also that lesson in life helps you to help others, like me. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, I have a lot of memories and I get to continue sharing my photography interest in a different way these days 😊