Kelly

Fear of Failure

“I’m scared I’m going to fail”.
A brief pause, a very slight sigh. My husband is used to this. He is strong, trusting and practical. Me? I’m prone to nervousness, flightiness and a sense that things won’t turn out.
It’s one of those late at night conversations, the children are in bed and we have some precious moments to ourselves before we have to sleep.

“Are you scared that you are running out of ideas for classes?” he asks. Oh no, that is not the trouble at all.
It’s failure that I’m afraid of. So often there is a voice in the back of my head saying “what is the point of all this work, you know you’re going to fail anyway”. Sometimes this fear has been strong enough that I don’t try something new or pursue a different idea, fear can be crippling. Many times I have made the decision to give up on trying to make a business, only to change my mind the next day.

I have put so much work into new classes. I have taken the risk of launching on a new platform, it’s a wonderful step to have taken, but it’s expensive and risky.

My sensible and pragmatic husband listens quietly to my concerns as he has done time and again. He points out that you never know unless you try. He reminds me that it’s all in God’s hands and if the business does not succeed, it is because He wills it not to – for His own reasons and because He loves and knows me best.

My husband reminds me what I already know, but find very difficult to live. It is not all about me. Everything is a gift, including my life, and that I must be willing to give back to He who gives so generously.

Giveaway – one year subscription!

by Kelly Leave a Comment

To celebrate the launch of my new weaving school on Teachable, I’m having a little giveaway. The winner will receive a one year subscription, entitling them to access any class, any time for a full year. Head over to my Facebook page to check out the entry conditions and to put your entry in. The winner will be drawn at the end of this week. Good luck!

Launching on a new platform

by Kelly 5 Comments

After a lot of research and deliberation, I decided to launch my video classes on a new platform. My Youtube paid subscription channel has been going for a year now, and there have been a whole lot of headaches! Many technical glitches and inconsistencies, viewers being unsubscribed, not able to access after paying, not able to access from certain countries, and the list goes on! Almost daily, I get messages from subscribers having problems with the channel, I had to find a better way. So, you can now find my classes on Teachable. This is great news for a few reasons:

*You have the option of subscribing for a full year or monthly.

*You have the option of just purchasing individual classes rather than a full subscription. Each individual class also comes with a printable PDF pattern with full instructions and photos to compliment the video class. You can’t go wrong with all that information!

*You can subscribe or purchase a class from anywhere in the world.

*You can view your classes on a computer or device, it is available across all platforms.

The Youtube platform will continue to run for those who prefer to use it. Youtube has been the perfect viewing platform for many people, so that will not change. I will continue to upload videos to the Youtube platform as well. I just needed to give other options for those who need it.

How about you hop over and check out the new platform? Yes, it’s different to Youtube but I hope you find it easy to navigate and use.

I still have plenty of work to do there and will continue to update and improve over the coming weeks, so keep watching. It’s easy to keep an eye on my Teachable “school” by joining and logging in – you don’t need to purchase a class or subscription to join and be updated when new content is available.
I hope to see you there!

Overshot uh-oh!

by Kelly 1 Comment

I tried overshot on 4 shafts for the first time. I put on a massive 8/2 cotton warp (my first mistake – too wide, too long!) thinking I would have a couple of table runners or plenty of baby blankets by the time I was done.

The threading was somewhat complicated, but I got through that and started weaving.

I don’t know, maybe I just don’t enjoy weaving overshot or maybe it’s a bit of inexperience, but this project became a struggle.

Some threading errors became apparent and then the breaking warp threads started. My progress was slow, very slow!

The errors stick out like a sore thumb, but I still wanted to share these photos, firstly to share the disappointments and imperfections, but also in appreciation of the pattern, which is actually pretty cool. The above piece was woven with black bamboo for the pattern and white bamboo for the tabby.

The back of the same piece.

This was my favourite piece, I used a hand dyed, variegated tencel for the pattern and a mercerised cotton for the tabby.

The back of the same piece.

And this piece I quite like also. I used a thicker hand dyed cotton (8ply) for the pattern and a white bamboo for the tabby.

So, what did I learn from this humbling experience? That I’m not as good as I thought I was? Definitely. That my slow progress on the floor loom is starting to frustrate me? Uh huh. That I want to do something about it? Yes!

I’m not giving up, I’ll keep trying and I think that, for now, that is the best I can do.

Weaving Suppliers List

by Kelly 28 Comments

Looking for weaving suppliers in your location? This weaving suppliers list isn’t exhaustive, but it’s designed to give new and seasoned weavers a solid starting point for finding yarn, looms, tools, and other essential weaving supplies.

Thank you to the members of my Facebook weaving community who generously shared their recommendations. If you know of other weaving suppliers – especially in countries not currently listed here, please add them in the comments ⬇️ so this resource can continue to grow 😊

Suppliers in Australia:

Petlins Spinning and Weaving Supplies, NSW, Ashford dealer, huge range of supplies.

BB Yarns Supply, QLD, Weaving threads and online correspondence courses.

The Thread Collective – (Affiliate link) Online supplier of threads and looms. Louet and Ashford dealer.

Crafty Frog, Canberra, ACT, Ashford dealer, looms, yarns, accessories, instore classes.

Glenora Weaving and Wool, NSW, yarns, accessories, magazines and books.

The Shepherd’s Choice, NSW

Bendigo Woollen Mills, VIC, Australian wool and cotton yarns

Woolganics, NSW, Australian organic wool.

Aunt Jenny, Fibre arts supplies, weaving supplies, looms, Ashford dealer

Pickers Ridge, (Affiliate link) – Australian hand crafted boat shuttles and belt shuttles. Family owned, sustainably sourced wood only.

The Wool Shop, Tassie

Luxe Handweaving, NSW

Liz Green Arts, Bairnsdale, Victoria

Suppliers in New Zealand:

Ashford Handicrafts, New Zealand, large range of looms, weaving accessories, yarns and supplies.

Wheels and whorls, Ashford dealer, huge range of looms, yarns and supplies

Suppliers in Canada:

Jane Stafford, Louet looms, spinning wheels, yarns, workshops

Penelope Fibre Arts, large range of looms, weaving supplies, yarns

Maurice Brassard, Quebec, huge range of weaving yarns

Katt’s Sew Crafty, Ontario

Gather Textiles, Alberta

Tisse Et File

MD Tissage, Quebec

Captain Yarn, Quebec

Sisterhood Fibers, Nova Scotia

The Violet Unicorn, Nova Scotia

Irene Textile, Montreal
Camilla Valley Farm, Ontario, Leclerc looms, weaving yarns and supplies

Jo’s Yarn garden, Alberta

Homespun Haven

The Fibre Garden

Suppliers in USA:

My Amazon Shop

Eugene Textile Center, Oregon

The Woolery, Kentucky, huge range of everything weaving related! (Affiliate link)

WEBS, Massachusetts, Huge range also.

Revolution Fibers Looms, weaving yarns, craft kits, wheels, fibre supplies

Ability Weavers

Cotton Clouds

Yarn Barn, Kansas, lots of yarn options Looms, weaving yarns, craft kits, wheels, fibre supplies

Eowyn de Weaver

Fiber Ops Ranch

Lone Star Loom Room

Great Northern Weaving

Paradise Fibres, Washington, huge range of yarns, looms and fibre art supplies

Melissa’s Yarn Barn

Little Hawk Yarns

Twin Birch and Teasel

Bountiful Weaving, large and little looms, yarns

Weavers Weft

Junction Fibre Mill

Fibre Creek, AZ, range of looms and yarns

Gilmore Looms, looms

Weald and Wool, hand made peg, triangle, tapestry looms and tools

Halcyon Yarn, looms, yarns, everything!

The Spinnery Store, PA

Luvin’ Ewe, Minnesota – small rigid heddle, backstrap, tapestry, and cards. Working with a local carver to get some amazing inkle style looms.

The Websters, Oregon

Tempe Yarn and Fiber

Lofty Fiber, weaving, knitting, spinning, yarn and classes

Red Stone Glen, PA

R & M Yarns, Tenessee

Suppliers in UK:
George Weil, looms, yarns, tapestry looms

Fibre Hut, Ashford dealer

Adelaide Walker

Wingham Woolwork, Wentworth, Ashford and Kromski stockist, looms, supplies, yarns

Colourmart, Online weaving yarn supplies

Frank Herring and Sons, Dorset, Ashford and Leclerc looms, yarns, supplies

Freya Jones, Buckingham (such a gorgeous looking store!)

Weft Blown, Ashford dealer, large selection of looms, weaving supplies, yarns and fibre art supplies.

Wonky Weaver , Located in Wales. Wide range of looms including Glimakra, Schacht and Louet. Spinning, dyeing and fibre arts supplies.

The Handweavers Studio and Gallery, London

Wool For Ewe, Aberdeen

Mary Bobbin, Fraserburgh

Sealy Macwheely, Scotland

Weaving Yarn

Suppliers in South Africa:

Woolcraft

The Yarn Tree

Suppliers in Germany:

Knitart

Heikes-Handgewebtes

Suppliers in Spain:

https://tejoloquehilo.es/es/ – Weaving supplies, Ashford dealer, fibres for dyeing and spinning. This site is only available in Spanish or Catalan but can easily be translated with Google Chrome.

https://www.textilesnaturales.com/ – Ashford supplier but also sell Louet table and floor looms. Their website is in English and Spanish.

Suppliers in France:

https://www.artifilum.com/ – Ashford supplier, they also sell Glimakra, Toika and Leclerc looms. Their website is in French and English.

L’atelier de Micky

Suppliers in The Netherlands:

Wools of Nations – Excellent range of natural knitting yarns

Mirrix (EU distributor)

Suppliers in Sweden (special thanks to Mari for this list):

Suppliers in Finland (special thanks to Mari for this list):

Suppliers in Singapore:

Craft Atelier

Suppliers in Japan:

Mariya Handicrafts

Craft Hitsujiza

La mer

Suppliers in the Republic of Korea:

Studio Atcoat

FINE

Suppliers in Switzerland:

ZSAG – Yarn supplier

Suppliers in Czech Republic:

Dobro Děj

Can you really weave that on a rigid heddle loom?!

by Kelly Leave a Comment

I hear that a lot. And most of the time, the answer is yes!

Take my newest pattern release as an example. Did you know I have 2 patterns in my Etsy shop now? Yes, I’ve been a busy little bee.

My new project is entitled “Happy Fibonnaci Kitchen Towels”. “Happy” because of the happy colours and “Fibonacci” because I based the design on the Italian mathematician’s sequence. These are a perfect example of using the rigid heddle loom to obtain the WOW factor.

With the right arrangement of colours and a pick up stick you can weave a towel that looks like it’s hot off a multi shaft loom.

I hope you find the time to weave some beautiful towels for your kitchen or to give as a special gift.

Log Cabin Table Runner series

by Kelly Leave a Comment

The newest series on my Weaving Lessons Channel is a beautiful table runner that utilises the log cabin technique. This is a colour and weave technique on a rigid heddle loom that looks very complicated but is all about the colour order and arrangement.

The exciting news is that this project is also my first PDF weaving pattern in my Etsy shop! Hopefully it will be the first of many patterns for me.

And if you don’t fancy a table runner, how about a gorgeous scarf?

So many possibilities with a striking pattern and simple loom!

Away

by Kelly 2 Comments

It’s been quiet here because we have been away.

A blissful beach holiday with no phones or internet.

Days of walking and watching, fishing and resting.

So peaceful, just the beautiful sounds of wildlife and waves to listen to.

It was really hard coming home, particularly when we hit the city traffic. But I do feel rested and restored and ready to get back into daily life.

Houndstooth sampler placemats

by Kelly 1 Comment

I present you with the newest lesson on my Weaving Lessons channel!

I haven’t really delved into colour and weave in any previous lessons and I thought it was high time to explore these fascinating techniques with you.

Like much of rigid heddle weaving, houndstooth is deceptively simple. The weave structure is plain weave, the wow factor comes from the threading of colours. The lesson includes detailed video instructions as well as a printable PDF with extra information and calculations.

Perfect for beginner weavers and a quick project for the more experienced, I hope you can join me for this one!