Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

rigid heddle weaving

Houndstooth sampler placemats

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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!

A little glimpse into creative family life

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I filmed this yesterday afternoon because it felt like a bit of milestone. In steaming hot weather, with a pedestal fan blowing on us, my 9 year old, set up and weaving mostly independently on the rigid heddle loom while I was weaving at the floor loom. It’s funny how things can happen so naturally and then you suddenly realise you’re living a dream moment. I posted it on Youtube, thinking it would probably be largely overlooked as viewers seem to prefer my instructional videos to anything else.


But what a response! Quite a few commented that the video had brought tears to their eyes, for different reasons. For one subscriber, it was that her parents had never invested the time in her that she craved. For another, the video brought back wonderful memories of her own creative homeschooled upbringing. Many commented on the simple beauty of the video. 


Wow, was I surprised. And so pleased. It reminds me that I am so blessed to be able to share with others in this way. It encourages me that, even if I feel like I don’t do a good enough job as a parent, others think I do. And it gives me joy, that God has much work for us to do, if only we will co-operate, love and trust.


I hope you are all having a most blessed week, until next time 🙂



Slouchy satchel bag – new lessons

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Remember that gorgeous looking warp from my last post? This is the result! The whole project was woven on the rigid heddle loom with two heddles but different techniques. The bag was woven as a tube so it’s completely seamless, and the strap was woven as double weave, providing a firm and sturdy fabric.

A lot of people have commented on the yarn, and rightly so, it is wonderful. It’s called Bloom and is available from Bendigo Woollen Mills.

If you’re interested in weaving your own bag, the lessons are available on my Weaving Lessons channel and include all the instructions you will need from materials, warping, sewing and finishing. 

I look forward to seeing you there! 

Double heddle weaving

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Recently on my Weaving Lessons channel, we explored some of the possibilities of weaving with two heddles on a rigid heddle loom. It’s these sort of techniques that really open up the imagination of what can be achieved on this humble loom. We covered sett, patterning, twill, double layer and tube weaving. Fascinating stuff! 

I love to polish off a series with a project or two, to enable students to see the new techniques in action and apply them practically.

I’m not telling what the project is (yet), but if this warp is anything to go by, it’s going to be a beauty! This pure new wool is “Bloom” from Bendigo Woollen Mills and is just a delight to look at, a beautiful intricacy of colours.

I’ll be back once the videos for this project are posted, stay tuned!

I’m a silly sausage!

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What?! 6 months since I last took the time to post here?! Outrageous!
But let me explain.

Just over a year ago I uploaded a couple of weaving videos to Youtube. I was just interested in sharing, considering I don’t actually know any real life weavers, I suppose I was welling up with excitement at all my weaving discoveries. And sharing is fun!


So, what happened? Well, very unexpectedly, the videos were well received. People started subscribing to my channel and talking about them in Facebook weaving groups. And they’re still subscribing and talking!


All of the enthusiasm and positive feedback inspired me to make more videos. The rest, as they say, is history! 


I now have two Youtube channels. One is free to watch, the other is on a paid subscription basis. I started the paid channel because many (most) of my videos take hours in the planning, filming, editing and instructing. Plus the cost of all the materials. I have made the channel affordable and aim to have a huge library of videos available to subscribers, as well as exciting projects, techniques and the occasional giveaway. It’s the place that I’m happy to give away my weaving secrets 🙂 I’m really pleased that many have joined this new channel and hope that it grows over the next year. 


Growing the dream. 
All of the above has allowed me to hope a little more that my dreams may be possible. I may eventually be able to move past the “pocket money” stage of online teaching into the “actual income” stage. I may be able to start teaching real life classes.
And ultimately, one day, I may be able to have my own teaching studio. Big ask, I know!


in 2017 I’ll be putting a lot of work into my paid channel. Doing videos for both channels this year has been rewarding in many ways, but in addition to my homeschooling commitments I have found myself a little burnt out and suffering some niggly health conditions at this end of the year. I feel I spent way too much precious time sitting at the computer! So, the paid channel will be my main focus next year. 


If you haven’t seen my channels yet, you can find the free one here and the paid channel here.

I hope you had a most blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!


I’ll try to make it here more often, really I will…



Honeycomb without the calories

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The title is a little misleading, I am, of course referring to the weave structure honeycomb rather than something edible. 

It is a gorgeous structure though, and one that is easy to achieve despite the fact that it looks quite involved. 

Check out my latest video series on weaving honeycomb on a rigid heddle loom.

Follow this link to the introductory video!

Tapestry style weaving on the rigid heddle loom

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Another busy day where my thoughts turned to weaving and the temptation was to declare myself “too tired to weave”. I couldn’t bear to think of calculating and planning a project. 
So I didn’t.
 
*This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on the link and purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
I put a short warp on my rigid heddle loom and started to weave.

 

 
No real plan, just wanted to weave. I liked what I saw, so I decided to share with you in video format so you too can weave like this.
 
            There are three videos in total, here is the first one for you!
 

New weave along series!

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I’m so excited to be announcing my very first weave along! Officially it started a couple of days ago but participants are welcome to join in anytime. We will be making a lovely tote bag and instructions will be given from start to finish. I’ve been wanting to do this for ages and considering the response I’ve had on Facebook, lots of other enthusiastic weavers are loving the idea.


The introductory video can be found here and if you subscribe to my channel you can keep up with all the other videos as we go along.

There is also a very active Facebook group you can join to discuss the weave along, share photos and trouble shoot as necessary.

Hope you can join in the fun!

Youtube channel update

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I think I forgot to mention that I have some new videos on my Youtube channel! Firstly I have an overview of tools used in rigid heddle weaving. 



Another is an explanation of sett, which can be confusing to new weavers. The next is how to determine sett for your project. And then, just for fun I have a slideshow of some of my weaving to inspire you!


I have so many ideas for more videos, but there are limiting factors – chiefly lack of time and money! I’ll keep building where I can and I do have what I hope will be a really exciting series of videos planned, so stay tuned for more information!