Textile Tuesday, on Wednesday

Yesterday's textile Tuesday featured Deborah Jarchow, whose book 

is a lot of fun for anyone wanting to explore a whole lot of weaving and other textile ideas. It's a great tasting event, and she turns out to be a cheerful weaver in person, too. It's in the collection of our local library, and you might want to see if you can borrow it locally.

She creates large exhibit pieces such as these wrapped tubes

And wearable art like these

Since she's in the middle of building a house which will contain her studio, she hasn't a studio right now, so she used a virtual background which shows a fraction of her yarns and looms. 

She loves the rigid heddle, as well as floor looms, has rhs in all sizes and has a book coming out at the end of the year on approaches to the rigid heddle loom. 

It's a simple device, portable and, she points out, great to try, to see if you like weaving before embarking on a floor loom, if you ever do. I love the rigid heddle concept, even carved myself a small one from plastic, a la Sarah Swett, except she used wood.

I was given my loom by the embroiderers guild, nobody needing to use it. But if ever anyone does, I'll lend it out gladly.

Here's the loom

The slotted part is the rigid heddle. Warp strands are threaded through those slots to maintain even spacing, and the heddle is raised and lowered to change the shed.  The green slip is my notes reminding me how to warp it.

And here's one of the wall hanging experiments I made on it. I tried all kinds of weaving ideas here.

Many of the threads donated, thank you K!

While I was pulling out the rh loom I brought out my handheld signed Hokel and my lovely American made metal potholder loom on which I've made a lot of things that were not potholders. It's versatile.

Anyway watching her definitely revived my interest in weaving again. I notice how often the people on this series are just so happy. They're serious workers, but far from solemn, a great promotion for the pleasure of working in textiles.