Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

encouragement

Should I abandon my project?

by 20 Comments

The other day, I cut the warp off my loom way before I was finished the project.

But let me explain!

This project was literally months in the making, from dressing the loom (which I did in stages and just that step alone was worked on over weeks!) to tweaking the loom, to the actual weaving.

This was my first “big” project on my countermarch loom and I felt I was ready for it. I ordered the threads and made my plan – a full width warp (almost 60″), very long (I don’t even remember how many yards I initially put on), fairly fine threads and a 4 shaft, straight draw twill. The plan was to weave enough yardage for 2 skirts. I like long skirts, so wanted plenty of fabric.

So, what went wrong with this grand plan?

Probably too many things to include here, but here were the main issues:

  • I warped at my warping board and then used the plain beam to warp. Given that it was such a long and wide warp, this was very difficult to do on my own and achieve a suitable tension.
  • I discovered what weaving a wide warp is like. It’s harder than I thought. It put a lot of strain on my back, having to reach and shuffle across my weaving bench with every throw of the shuttle.
  • My sheds were… not good! A result of my poorly tensioned warp.
  • I really should have practiced more with the “new to me” countermarch loom before attempting a project of this magnitude.

It was just a struggle from the beginning and there were no real “ah” moments of settling in and getting into a happy weaving groove with it. It was mostly troubleshooting and battling.

I spent a lot of time at the loom, trying to work through it. I did not want to waste all that warp yarn I still had left.

But eventually it became too much, a built up stress in my mind and I took the scissors and cut the warp off.

PHEW! What a relief! At this stage, I have a little bit of useable fabric and no regrets for the wasted warp. I chalk it up to a learning experience, and boy, did I learn a lot!

I decided to make a list of positive and negative outcomes of this whole experience to see how they balanced out:

The positive outcomes

  1. In my attempt to make this project easier, I attached the flying shuttle race, which I had not yet tried on this loom. I was hoping it would improve my edges and speed up my weaving. Guess what I learned? I don’t like to use a flying shuttle! My edges were worse and the flicking action required for the shuttle irritated my old wrist injury.

2. I bought an end feed shuttle. This was my next attempt to improve my weaving experience, and yes it did and I’m super glad to now have an end feed shuttle in my weaving tool kit. I will be using it frequently!

3. There was a lot of loom/tie up/tension problem solving to do. So, even though it wasn’t a good project for me, it did help me to get to know my loom better and fine-tune things that needed it.

4. I learned that large and long projects in a basic twill are boring for me. I still love the idea of weaving larger projects like blankets, but would choose my weave structure and pattern more carefully.

5. Here is something really important this project taught me. It’s OK to abandon a project!

The negative outcomes

  1. I did feel guilty for wasting yarn. I’m a careful, frugal person in general – I use the material goods I’m blessed with wisely and it went against my natural inclinations to waste yarn when I know there are others who would just love to be able to afford some yarn.

However, the positives have outweighed the negatives considerably and I am glad that I made the decision.

*This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

So, what is my advice to you?

I am frequently asked about abandoning projects, which is the reason I’m sharing this in the first place. I always encourage a weaver to press forward with a project if they can. But I spend a bit of time troubleshooting with them first, because, more often than not all they need is some encouragement and to try a different technique or two before they are on their way again.

I also encourage you to think carefully and reasonably (as I did with this project) before making any decisions. Getting to a point of extreme frustration and grabbing the scissors before you’ve really thought about it is not a good idea and could lead to real regret.

Here are the things I recommend you consider before making the decision to abandon your project:

  • If the project is preventing your from moving forward, cut it off. I have heard of weavers who will put a loom away for years because they can’t bring themselves to finish a project – not a positive solution.
  • Imagine cutting the project off the loom. How does it make you feel? Relieved? Anxious? Happy? Unhappy? Defeated? Enthusiastic?
  • Is the project sapping your weaving joy? Would starting a new project alleviate that?
  • What is happening in your life right now? How is your mental health? Do you need to strip things back to basics?

One more thing.

If you are the type of weaver who has the problem that you find it difficult to NOT abandon project after project, that is a separate issue and needs to be addressed. I do think it is important to have discipline and finish projects rather than constantly “project hopping”.

I hope this post has given you some points to think about and make the right decision for you.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

You are a failure at weaving!

by 26 Comments

I don’t think I need to ask whether you have that little voice in your head that tells you negative things.

The one that, if you listen too much, will convince you that you are a failure. That you’re not smart enough. Not capable enough. Nope, sorry kid, you’re just not gonna make it!

I’ve heard a lot of people tell me they are a weaving failure. When I hear that, I inwardly sigh. I’ve been there, I know how it feels to be sure that you just can’t do it.

“But Kelly, how you can understand, you’re so good at weaving! You teach weaving to thousands of people all over the world! You’re so talented!“, I hear you thinking, even if you don’t say it.

What some people don’t realise is that I got to where I am today simply because I did not give up. I wanted to be a weaver and so I was determined to make it work.

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” – C.S. Lewis

Sometimes it was really hard. Often I wanted to give up. I didn’t want to feel that I was failing over and over. Like most people, I wanted instant success. I still do – it’s a journey.

Oh, and by the way, about that talent thing? Hard work and persistence trump talent any day. Put in the work, do it consistently, learn from your mistakes and just keep going. That is the simple formula for weaving success.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

What if we switch this failure thing on it’s head here for a minute? So, you’ve started to learn how to weave and it’s difficult, probably quite a bit more difficult than you envisioned. It’s frustrating, and the only time you’re having fun is at the occasional magic moment when it all comes together and works.

Here are some thoughts that might be running through your head in the moments of frustration:

“I’m not suited to this”.

“I’m not smart enough to do this”.

“I simply lack the ability to do this”.

“It’s too hard!”

Now we will turn those statements around so that we are still acknowledging the frustration, but in a positive rather than negative way:

  • “I’m not suited to this” – “This all feels so unfamiliar at the moment, but I will get past that”.
  • “I’m not smart enough to do this” – “Anyone can learn this, myself included”.
  • “I simply lack the ability to do this” – “I will keep practicing to learn the skills I need”.
  • “It’s too hard!” – “This sure is a challenge, but I know it won’t always feel that way”.

The first statements are what I think of as “giving up” statements. The second statements are you being your own little cheer squad 😀

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison

I see a lot of newer weavers who are simply too hard on themselves. There is a plethora of reasons as to why we (myself included) put ourselves down and talk negatively to our inner selves. The power of the mind is huge and can work to our disadvantage or advantage.

There are so many common traits that I see, and so many of them can be easily remedied.

  • Impatience. Oh yeah, you know it. We are an impatient lot these days. We want what we want and we want it now! But does it make us happy? Indeed, it does not!
  • Unrealistic goals. Goals are great, I love setting personal goals. But setting goals that are waaaay beyond your current skill level with not always be beneficial. Be realistic about what you know now, what you want to learn next, and how you can use those skills in your next project.

Finally, I’d like to leave you with this most excellent quote:

“Remember that failure is an event, not a person” – Zig Ziglar

Your weaving project is just some yarn on a loom, if it’s not going well, don’t internalise it.

I hope this article was helpful to you!

If you feel that you would benefit from some help in your weaving, check out the Online Weaving School for a huge variety of classes for all skill levels.

If you sign up for a membership, you also receive access to the private member’s group. This wonderful community may be just what you need to boost your confidence.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving

5 Life Lessons from a Difficult Warp

by 24 Comments

I started my latest project full of enthusiasm and confidence.

I often feel at the beginning that whatever I’m working on is going to be my best piece yet. This is an important motivating tool for me and I’m sure that many of the projects I’ve undertaken would not have come to life without this initial confidence.

You could say that I felt super confident going into this new project. Experience with the weave structure? Check! Experience with the yarns? Check! Experience with the loom? Check, check, check!!

I thought I was cool with the long and wide warp. First mistake!

I should have asked someone to hold the warp for me so I could focus on winding it on. But no, being the “independent to my own detriment” kind of person that I am, I forged ahead alone.

Let me share some more details about this project. Those of you who have been around here for a while will be familiar with my bordering on obsessive desire to weave a full sized overshot coverlet, heavily influenced by the early American Woven Coverlets.

My main stumbling point to weaving my own coverlet is the seaming. Traditional coverlets were woven in panels, usually 2 or 3, then joined. Most looms were not wide enough for the full piece, and my 90cm width Louet David is no different.

The threading for the panels has to be arranged to be able to match up when the seams are joined. This usually consists of a centre panel and 2 panels either side (if weaving 3 panels). Then the seaming method has to be chosen with the view of minimising visibility – a really good coverlet weaver will have almost invisible seams.

Another essential aspect of successfully seaming the panels is to ensure a very consistent beat so that the pattern woven is continuous once the panels are joined. That means measuring picks per inch, something I’m not particularly fond of doing.

So, my idea was to weave just one panel and to practice rearranging threading and weaving a pleasing pattern. I even had the thought initially that I could use the panel to cut into pieces and make a patchwork quilt. I’m not sure the pattern lends itself well to a quilt, but I’m not too fussed about that. I will decide what to do with the piece once it’s off the loom.

For my warp I chose 8/2 cotton in white. I have a lot of experience with this yarn and have used it extensively in other overshot projects. Normally I pair it with a fingering weight wool for the pattern weft, but this time I decided to try Australian 3ply, which is in between a lace weight and fingering weight. In retrospect, I would have been better to sett a little closer than the 20 ends per inch I chose. There is more space between pattern wefts than I would like.

I found the weaving draft in Carol Strickler’s book “American Woven Coverlets”. I made some adjustments to the draft with plenty of calculations. Yet, when it came to the threading, I found that my warp was 16 threads short! I measured out the extra threads and weighted them over the back of the loom.

After threading and sleying the 650 ends I was looking forward to weaving! But my less than ideally tensioned warp came back to bite me at this point. I had to take the initial weaving very slowly to avoid floats and boat shuttle warp dives.

Initially I felt quite angry about all this. The project was meant to be a happy and relaxing experience. It was supposed to help me progress in my coverlet ambitions.

As I sat there weaving today, I started to think. The anger had subsided to disappointment, and that put me in a reflective mood.

There are so many life lessons in weaving. Challenges, frustrations are all part of the process.

I wanted to share some of my reflections from working on this piece.

Lesson 1 – Things don’t always go according to plan and that’s OK

I once heard someone say “you expected ABC and you got XYZ”. I expected this to be a fun, rewarding project, but it was harder than I thought. It’s my reaction to the unfulfilled expectations that matters. The problem is not the problem, the problem is how I deal with the problem!

You’ve probably heard me say before that there is no perfection in this world. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive for high standards and excellence, it just means that we should have more hope than we do expectation.

Lesson 2 – Accepting responsibility

My first reaction was to lay blame elsewhere or make excuses. I was tired, I was rushed, I didn’t want to bother one of my family members to help me, I thought I’d be fine to do it myself. While there may be some truth to some of these elements, ultimately it is my project and my decision making lead to a warp that wasn’t adequately tensioned and is now causing me more difficulties in the weaving process.

I have to accept that responsibility and work to overcome and undo the problems that I made.

Lesson 3 – Patience and persistence pay off

I could have given up on this warp. But aside from not wanting to waste all that beautiful cotton that I had paid for, I also didn’t want to let the project defeat me. I know from past experience that if I give up on a project I will feel far worse than if I decide to battle through it.

I guess I have a bit of a stubborn streak, but in weaving that works for, rather than against me. Because it forces me to do uncomfortable things. Things that make me angry and frustrated. If I stop at the angry stage, then I’m suspended in that anger and negativity. If I keep going, I’m forced to work through the frustration and come out the other side, much happier and with a sense of satisfaction that even though it was hard, I did it.

Beautiful things are such a treasure that they should take time and shouldn’t necessarily be easy to achieve. They are worth the time and the effort.

Lesson 4 – Learning is a journey

Learning to weave is a journey of stepping stones, walking, then running, but never stopping and sitting down. The journey is every changing and building. Just as life is a constant striving to be better that doesn’t finish. You don’t just wake up one day and say “now I’m the person I should be”. You wake up and prepare to work and practice all the good things you know will make you better. And you repeat that each and every day, building, changing and adapting.

There may be a tendency in weaving to feel like you should know more by now, you should be producing perfect pieces by now. Instead, try to recognise and enjoy the journey and keep building everyday. I’ve talked about Slow Learning before, you can check out this video to learn more-

Lesson 5 – Adversity is good for us

This is one of those hard life lessons and not one that everyone will agree with me on. But if we spend our whole lives being pampered, having it easy and getting what we want, when we want it, we become soft and spoiled.

Difficulties help us to build character. They allow us to develop empathy. They make us strong. We don’t like hardship, because it doesn’t feel good – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good for us.

This challenging project has certainly been good for me. Right now, I’m at a better place with it, slowly weaving (slower than I would like, but that’s just how it is) and making adjustments as I go. I feel at peace with my progress. I’ve gained confidence that I can deal with pretty much anything my loom throws at me.

I would still rather that this was the easy and enjoyable project that I originally envisioned, but I’ve shifted to a place of gratitude.

I am grateful that:

  • I have a loom and can use it
  • I have supplies to weave with
  • I can figure out how to fix things when I need to
  • I have the time to devote to this wonderful craft
  • Most of the time, I end up with a beautiful piece of weaving

And lastly, that I learn so much more from weaving than just how to weave.

If you would like to see this post in video format (and see me weaving the project itself!) please click on the video below.

Now it’s over to you. What life lessons have you learned from weaving?

Please share your thoughts or comments down below, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

What is your excuse?

by 20 Comments

Many years ago, there was a beautiful little yarn and embroidery shop in an upmarket seaside suburb around 30 minutes drive from my home. Visiting was a treat, as the shop was in an historic stone building, had several rooms and was wonderful just to look at.

I couldn’t afford to spend much on yarn or supplies back then, but I once splurged on some beautiful cashmere yarn to knit a hat for my newborn, and I even once went to the extravagance of buying a pretty floral handkerchief for each of my girls, just because I wanted them to have something pretty.

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

One time, my husband drove past this shop with a new work colleague. She pointed at the shop and said “that’s for people with too much time on their hands”.

My husband was slightly bemused, knowing that I was a customer of the shop. He also knew that, at that moment, I was at home, caring for and homeschooling our 4 young children. On a good day, I was able to take 30 minutes to 1 hour to work on a craft project. Many days, I was either too busy or too exhausted to even consider doing something creative. I certainly didn’t fit the profile of someone with too much time on her hands!

Time is a funny thing. Our ideas and beliefs about time are funny too. Often when people say they “don’t have time” to do something, it is really just a bit of a cover up. An excuse.

An excuse to not have to exert effort in order to learn something new. Maybe they know they have to save some money to buy the necessary materials to start learning and that is something they don’t want to do. Maybe (and I think perhaps this is the most common reason people make excuses) is to hide the fact that they are afraid of failing.

Since I started my Online Weaving School almost 4 years ago, I’ve heard from thousands of weavers all over the world from all walks of life. Many are brand new to weaving, some have been weaving for some time, and others have not yet begun but have a desire to start.

I’ve heard frequently from people who say they have been wanting to learn to weave for 20, 30, 50 years! Overwhelmingly, new weavers have told me that they wish they had started earlier instead of waiting for “the right time”.

You see, the majority of people live their lives in a box of societal expectation.

Finish school. Go to college. Get married. Have a family. Somewhere in amongst all of that, buy a house. A couple of cars. Work. Raise your family. Keep working. Kids are grown up and left home? Now you have more time to work! Accumulate more stuff with the money you earn from working. Indulge in expensive holidays in an attempt to recuperate from working. Go back to work, after all, someone has to pay for the lifestyle I’ve just described. And then…. one day, finally, you get to retire! THEN you have the time to do all the things you have been really wanting to all these years. You’re likely in your early 70’s by this stage.

None of the above are bad things, they are good things. It is good to get married and raise a family (in fact, I think it’s one of the best things anyone can do!) It is good and necessary to work. Holidays are lovely. Having things you want is nice. But these things are not exclusive, and they don’t have to be compartmentalised.

I have not approached my life as a checklist of things to be done before I can invest in myself and my passions. I am raising children right now, still homeschooling, caregiving and providing. My role as a wife and mother are very important to me. And yet, it is also very important that I get time to be creative and work on things I love. Doing so makes me a better wife, mother and person. It’s part of who I am.

When I began weaving, we had small children and very little money. Yes, I too had my mental excuses as to why I couldn’t learn to weave. Not enough time. No spare money. I needed to wait for the right time. I might not be smart enough to do it.

But, with my husband’s help, I became convinced that it was a good thing to do, and we worked past the excuses to make it happen. To say that the decision to save for and purchase my first rigid heddle loom has been life changing would be putting it very mildly!

And it’s not just me, only yesterday a student told me that learning to weave has been “life affirming” for her.

If you have been wanting to learn to weave, but for “some reason” have not started, I encourage you to look at your situation realistically. Are your reasons actually excuses? Are they a cover up for something else?

I want to talk just a little more about time. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. We also have choices about how those hours are used. Do you work all day, get home and collapse in front of the tv? This might seem a little harsh to some, but I am sure that if you have time to watch tv, you have a lot more free time than you might think. Do you spend hours surfing the internet or on social media? Then, guess what? You have time to learn something new!

Overrun with little kids? Yep, I’ve been there and I would use their nap or sleep times in order to do something creative. If that didn’t work out, I would involve them in what I was doing in order to get that time for myself. Sometimes that would be having a child sort through my button or ribbon collection, which they thought was awesome fun. Sometimes it would be having a child sit on my lap while weaving to “help” me beat.

Last year, I wrote a post about planning and prioritising in your days so that you could make time to do the things you really wanted to. I included a printable daily planner that I hope some of you might use to make some plans and goals.

What I want you to get out of this post at the very least is that you don’t know what you don’t know. You need to take that first step of trying and then another step, and then another. The point is to make a start, because retirement could be a long time away!

……………………………………………….

One more story that struck me when I read it in a magazine and has stayed with me for years. An older woman was sitting in a doctor’s waiting room. She was knitting while she waited.

A man who was also waiting and had been observing her, suddenly asked “Why do you waste your time doing that?”

The woman replied “When I leave here, I will have half a dish rag, what will you have?”

……………………………………………………

What I want you to get out of this at the very most is that you are worth it. You’re worth the time, money and effort investment and I know that if you truly want to, you can do it!

If you would like to view this post in video format (and watch me weave), I invite you to watch here-

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Encouragement

by 3 Comments

A few days ago I received a letter from my beautiful Nanna who is now in her late 80’s. Nanna raised 5 children under financially and emotionally challenging circumstances as her husband went off to war. 
When we began our homeschooling journey 10 years ago she didn’t understand and was very skeptical. But over the years, seeing the “proof in the pudding” she has become a great supporter. Her frequent letters never fail to tell me what a marvellous job I’m doing as a wife and mother. This means so much to me.


About the same time as the arrival of Nanna’s letter I also received my copy of Above Rubies, an American evangelical magazine I’ve been subscribed to for many years. When my girls were babies and toddlers and things were really tough, this magazine gave me great encouragement. I only had my husband for support during these years and he had to work a good deal to meet our mortgage and living expenses. Many family members (not all) and other associates looked down on our decision to homeschool and raise our children in our faith, so we were essentially left alone to figure it out for ourselves without support.


Above Rubies is written by mothers, for mothers. It’s a sharing of knowledge and experience and although it’s not a Catholic magazine I find a lot in common with the mothers featured. Homeschooling, contraception free, faith filled and home grown. Aiming for Heaven and taking others with us. Good stuff. 


The last few issues I hadn’t appreciated so much and though I made time to read I didn’t feel that I came away with much. But reading this recent edition made me realise something major. I need encouragement. Desperately. When my Nanna – mother to 5 during a depression and war times says that she “really admires me for what I do” it brings tears to my eyes. It means that much.


If you see a Mum struggling in the supermarket or trying to keep her kids quiet during Mass or looking completely frazzled with more kids hanging off her than you can count, ENCOURAGE HER! And if you are a Mum in this situation and no one encourages you, ENCOURAGE OTHERS all the more! You can completely turn a mother’s day around with a simple smile and “you’re doing a great job” or “keep up the good work”. 


Mothers do such an essential and important job that at times can be desperately hard. All it take to help is a little encouragement.