disability

Today’s guest is a very inspiring woman! Jacky is an artist and weaver from a beautiful part of the U.K, surrounded by captivating landscapes and historic buildings.

I have admired her work for some time on Instagram, where she shares wonderful photos of her artist life and her dog, Boo. In fact, when selecting photos for today’s interview, it was very difficult to narrow down to just a few, I wanted to show you so many more!

I particularly wanted to chat with Jacky on the blog so that she could share her story and experience with her physical disability and how that has impacted on her creative life.

I hope that her story will encourage you all to focus on what you CAN do, regardless of your circumstances.

How long have you been weaving? What got you interested in starting?

Just before Christmas three years ago I bought a little frame loom on a whim. I designed a little snowman wall hanging and was surprised by how well it turned out and how much I enjoyed doing it, and that’s what got me started on my weaving journey. I started looking more into weaving and that’s when I first read about rigid heddle looms – I didn’t know if I would be able to use one from my wheelchair, especially doing the warping, so did lots of research on YouTube, which is when I first saw your videos, which have been a real help for me. My Birthday was coming up, so I asked my family if I could have money instead of presents. I was so excited when I opened my first ever rigid heddle loom and couldn’t wait to get started weaving on it!

What loom/s do you own?

My first loom was an Ashford 16” RHL, but after a while I wanted something I could weave wider fabric on. I knew I wouldn’t physically manage to weave on a very wide loom so finally decided on an Ashford 24” RHL and I love weaving blankets on that. Last year I decided to add a 12” Ashford Samplet loom to my little ‘loom family’, so that I could practice more complicated weaving, and I love it! It’s such a joy to use and I can easily carry it anywhere with me.

What is your favourite fibre to work with? Do you have favourite items to weave?

Wool is definitely my favourite fibre to weave with. I always used to think wool was scratchy to wear, but now of course I have learned that there are so many types of wool, each with their own qualities. Last year I wove a scarf from a handspun blend of Blue Faced Leicester and Rose fibre and that was beautifully soft. At the moment I’m in the middle of weaving a silk scarf on the Samplet, I’ve never woven with such fine silk before and I’m really enjoying it so I think that will become another favourite.

You also spend time spinning and painting. You love to paint en plein air and I find your landscapes absolutely beautiful. Do you have a favourite location/s for this?

Thank you Kelly. I’m very blessed to live in the Cotswolds which is a really lovely part of the U.K., so I’m surrounded by picturesque villages and beautiful countryside to paint in. I also love painting the sea, and my favourite coastal area is South Wales. I hope to be visiting there again soon now that our present lockdown restrictions are beginning to lift.

Please tell us about your disability and the challenges it presents to you in your creative pursuits.

I’ve been disabled with a neuromuscular illness for about 25 years now. It affects all my muscles, which are very weak, and I use an electric wheelchair to get about the house. It has left me with double vision, but I have strong prism lenses in my glasses which help quite a lot.

My arm muscles are very weak too, which is very challenging when I want to be doing things, but I make sure I take plenty of breaks to rest them for a little while when I’m weaving or painting. As long as I pace myself I usually get things done, it just takes a little bit longer.

I have to take lots of breaks when I’m warping the loom, and I’m always glad when I’ve finished doing it. My husband Phil almost always helps me with winding on the warp – I have used the ‘crank and yank’ method a few times, but it is definitely easier when he helps!

You have a beautiful assistance dog, Boo. How did you he come into your life and how has he made a difference to you?

Boo is an adorable yellow Labrador, and the gentlest dog I have ever known. He became my partner eight years ago thanks to a U.K. charity called Dogs for Good, which trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities and children with autism.

I can’t take my coat off by myself, so Boo comes by my side, gently puts one sleeve cuff between his teeth and pulls at it until my arm is free, then he goes to my other side and pulls that sleeve off too.

He also picks up everything I drop, helps to empty the washing machine and picks up the mail. He loves to come to Church with me and lies quietly by my side through the service. He has a bed in the studio and always comes to lie by my side when I’m weaving, I think he finds it as soothing as I do.

Is any of your creative work available for sale?

Most of my work is available for sale in the U.K. through my Facebook page or in exhibitions. I sell some of my woven items too, mainly scarves just now, again through Facebook. I have a stash of woven fabric waiting to be made into bags and purses, but I never seem to get round to get the sewing machine out to make them – I’d far rather be weaving!

Thank you so much to Jacky for taking the time to share with us today! I know that many of you would love to follow along with her work and see what she comes up with next. You can follow Jacky here:

Facebook-
Jacky Radbone, artist
Jacky Radbone, weaving in the Little Cwtch Studio (‘Cwtch’ is a Welsh word which means ‘ a hug’)

Instagram-

Jacky Radbone

Blog-

A Disable Artist’s Journey

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

One of my most commonly asked questions relates to physical conditions.

No, I’m not a physician, but I am a weaver and I do have physical restrictions. I’ve also found ways around the restrictions and I’d love to share some of them with you.

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click and purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

My first multi shaft loom was an 8 shaft, 32″ Ashford Table Loom.

My decision to buy this particular loom was based on a few things.

My physical capabilities
What the loom could do
Price
Size

Addressing number 1 first. I have a back injury that causes daily pain and discomfort and limits what I can do physically. I desperately wanted a multi shaft loom but thought it probably wasn’t going to be possible for me to physically use one. So I started researching (a lot!) and found that a table loom could be a very good option. And it was! Here is why:

My table loom was operated by levers rather than treadles. This meant no getting down on the floor to tie up treadles.
The raddle was separate to the loom. This meant that if I was doing a narrower warp, I could sit at the table, away from the loom to place my warp chain in the raddle ie. less time standing.
I had my loom on a table rather than a stand. I also had a height adjustable chair on wheels. So I could adjust my chair to the right height, then roll right in under the table and get close to the loom. Many table loom weavers weave standing up, I couldn’t do that, so the adjustable chair was very important.
The loom had a slung beater. Effortless to use.
Because the table was at a good height for me, I found warping easy, not having to bend to the height of the loom.

On to number 2 – what the loom could do.

Well, it could do anything that an 8 shaft floor loom could, but there were some differences. I could never achieve as good tension on the table loom as I can on my floor loom. It wasn’t a really huge deal, but could be frustrating at times when my boat shuttle would dive through the weaving. The other thing that bothered me was not being able to remove or add heddles from the shafts once I had a warp on. Once again, not a huge deal, but annoying at times.

The all important number 3 – the price!

Table looms are really affordable considering the abilities they have. If you can find a used one with all the pieces and in good condition, even better! For those who really can’t afford the outlay (which can be massive!) for a floor loom, a table loom can be 1/4 to 1/2 the price. You also have the option of starting out on 4 shafts to reduce the initial outlay. You can either stay with your 4 shafts or upgrade to 8 later on.

Finally, number 4

If you simply don’t have space for a floor loom, a table loom can be the solution. Whether you have it sitting on a table or on a stand, it is more compact than most floor looms.

As I mentioned, I do now have a floor loom. Testing myself on a table loom taught me many things. One thing was that my body could handle it if I was careful and that greatly influenced my final decision to buy a floor loom. It was also the perfect learning ground for weaving with multiple shafts, so that moving up to a floor loom was a short, rather than steep learning curve. I had to sell my table loom in order to finance and make space for my floor loom, but many times I still wish I had the table loom as well.

If you are interested in learning more about table looms, I have some Youtube videos that will help.

I have also written about table looms in a previous post where I discuss Which loom to buy?

I hope you found this post informative and helpful. Please let me know by leaving a comment, and be sure to ask any questions you may have.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Weaving with a disability

Is a table loom the answer?