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.
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