Hands ~ Feet ~ Beat
These are the Saori woven banners from Bendigo – Australian Sheep and Wool show. Over 1.5 kilos of yarn and more than 16 metres of weave. Woven by hundreds of people from all over Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, and including visitors from Canada, US, Beijing, Shanghai and even Osaka Japan!
The mantra for our interactive display was Hands ~ Feet ~ Beat. This was coined by Amanda who worked tirelessly for 3 days teaching all how to weave and displaying some cool Saori specific techniques like plying s and z twist on the bobbin winder. Response to our invitation to weave yourself was enormous and certainly unexpected. It was so nice to meet weavers and non weavers who liked to join in and have a go. We even had children as young as 2 years old. Well they couldn’t reach the pedals without help but they could handle the shuttle and were excellent at beating! Weaving on a Saori floor loom creates a dance of dexterity and co-ordination. It’s addictive.
See our picture in the Weekly times.
Special extra thanks to Amanda, Michelle, Stephen and Carole…and of course my husband Dave who made it possible for me to get to Bendigo and even wove for the first time in his life!! Thanks also to Dot Vallance and the Woolcraft team for accommodating Saori.
Kaz,
Was great to meet you and your support team at the Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show. Fabulous to see the Saori looms in action too! They appear to be a combination of aesthetics and functionality and the banners produced are testament to both the looms and all those who contributed.
Sigh – wonderful stuff. Well done.
Fabulous and fun!
It was a wonderful weekend, getting so many people to try weaving for the first time and all with positive responses. It was exhausting though!
I wonder we only got photos of the kids, but we had people of all ages and gender at the loom.
Colorful, and all ages!!
It is always an inspiration to view your amazing work. I finally have purchased my first Saori loom and am beginning a new phase of the incredible journey. Thanks for lighting the way!
How fantastic and inspiring a Saori mantra has been in leading the curiousity of individuals into weaving at the Bendigo Wool Show. Presently in Metford NSW I’m working with 3 women keen to play with textiles and our current process mantra is Wind- Sley-Tension and Comb Weft into fabric. How wonderful it will be to bring the Hands- Feet- Beat into play with a Saori loom. I’m looking forward to the day when I can acquire a new Saori loom .
It is wonderful to hear that you were at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show this year, just sad that I missed it. Will you be there every year? How could I be part of the program for next year please?
I am a newbie to weaving having only bought my Saori loom this year, but I want to be part of the Saori movement here in Australia and meet others on the same journey.
It would be great to be able to contact and meet other Saori-ists. I am in the Yarra Valley in Victoria and would love to hear from any of you in the area. Happy for you to contact me if you are interested on ripplesonthepond1957@gmail.com. I hope this is ok
I am the Convener of the Victorian branch of the Australian Textile Arts and Surface Design Association
(a big mouthful!), or ATASDA and I’d love for you amazing artists to be part of our group as weavers.