Most of the Saori weavers I encounter are women. Most of my customers are women, although not all. Some of my customers are men who buy for the women in their lives, and some are weavers themselves.
I wanted to show my, albeit minuscule, support for women around our world and our efforts to achieve a violence and abuse free life. This is not easy in any way and the abuse can arrive at any time and in any area of your life despite the smug ideas about who it can happen to.
If there were as many women in leadership roles as men I don’t pretend that it would necessarily change the world for better or make anything better. I have certainly been attacked more by women in the workplace than men. Humans are a mix in all genders. But for me it’s a ‘no brainer’ to have something like equal representation, reflecting wider society.
Interestingly Julie Bishop when announcing her retirement after 20 years in Parliament, wore a white dress. Although it may or may not have been intentional, white is the colour of surrender. To give up peacefully and put down arms. Chipping away at the imbalanced order of things can only draw the energy of an individual so far. To me it represented utter exhaustion!
So to give you more energy regardless of your viewpoint, I’m giving away two of our white pre-wound Australian cotton warps of 200 threads (40cms wide) x 6 metres, posted anywhere within Australia. All humans, regardless of gender are invited to enter, but you must be in Australia.
To enter please write up to 100 words, below in the comments, on why you enjoy Saori weaving! This offer is open until 8pm, Sunday 10 March. Winners will be notified by email.
Winners
The two winners of the white warps are Crossing Threads and Nikita Morell. Wonderful writing. All the contributions inspired me to keep weaving and going along in my craft and I appreciate every word written. A small token of my appreciation has also been sent to all.
We love SAORI weaving as it enables us to enter into the liberating ‘flow state’ so naturally. A fresh warp invites us to explore our deeper selves, asking us to peel back the layers and to stand in yourself. To breathe through your hands, there is a meditative release in throwing the shuttle and beating down the weft. The philosophy of SAORI has given us new-found permission to forgive ourselves and practice self-compassion. It teaches us to dig deeper within, to embrace the ‘perfect imperfect’ imperfections that we see in others, but also in ourselves.
Crossing Threads 2019
It frees my mind
Nikita Morell 2019
Without rules of any kind
Time stops when I’m on my saori loom
Under, over – weaving to my own tune
mistakes & flaws are a reason to celebrate
A trip up to old bar with Kaz – is the best kind of date 🙂
Comments
9 responses to “International Women’s Day Giveaway”
Such a peaceful, beautiful way to weave. I most often knit, where patterns and counting and following the recipe is usually required. Saori weaving leaves things much more open to wander and wonder. I love the way colours can be intertwined, and a star fibre can be featured.
White, however, also symbolizes Women’s Suffrage, at least in the US, as I understand, as was seen in the first day of the new House of Reps this year, so perhaps she imitated that? When does your residency start, Kaz?
I’ve always seen purple as the colour for women’s suffrage here in Australia although no doubt the politician Julie Bishop could be more inclined to the signal with US colours. But, IMHO, if she wore purple it would have been a stronger signal to Australian women. This is why I wondered if it were more a signal of ‘surrender’! See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffragette
A lovely offer (and thoughtful words), thanks Kaz.
Saori weaving frees my mind, and body, because I embrace the Saori philosophy encouraging us to ‘just weave’. Although most of my weaving has a purpose – clothing yardage, blankets, towels, etc – weaving has become a very zen, and essential, activity for me, enriching my life in so many ways. Saori weaving has given me peace, creative accomplishments, friendships and lots of beautiful cloth to use or wear every day.
A lovely way to celebrate International Women’s Day , Kaz. I love my new found interest in Saori weaving as itpromotes absolute freedom to create in the moment, each minute, hour and day at the loom brings all sorts of thoughts, memories and possibilities to my mind as I consider what I might add to my project next, I often think of the people whom I might be weaving for or have woven for, what the colour and texture might mean to me, to them or remind me of. I love that I never know what the end result will be , but that it’s always fabulous. In my short time With my Saori loom I have woven items for the important women in my life – my sister, my sons partners and importantly , myself .
We love SAORI weaving as it enables us to enter into the liberating ‘flow state’ so naturally. A fresh warp invites us to explore our deeper selves, asking us to peel back the layers and to stand in yourself. To breathe through your hands, there is a meditative release in throwing the shuttle and beating down the weft. The philosophy of SAORI has given us new-found permission to forgive ourselves and practice self-compassion. It teaches us to dig deeper within, to embrace the ‘perfect imperfect’ imperfections that we see in others, but also in ourselves.
Hi Kaz thankyou . I have recently embraced Saori weaving. I find it a totally immersive experience as well as a truly accessible route into the world of weaving. From the moment my saori piccolo loom arrived I found myself totally immersed in the process of learning how to thread up my loom and was eager to begin weaving. I love the excitement of experimenting with colours and textures and the different effects which can be achieved by varying these. Sometimes random design elements emerge from differences in tension and these are enjoyed for their unique contribution to the overall design.
I love the simplicity of the Saori looms. The Saori style of weaving allows you so much freedom. No conformity to follow in patterning, just relax and allow your creativity to flow. Add in whatever you like, where ever you like. Create amazing lacey elements. Mix your colours and yarns. Free style weaving, so relaxing and stress free, It’s just so enjoyable and I love seeing the amazing original end creations. Now do I add piccolo to my collection, so I can take it anywhere or the WX90 for a wider width.
When I met with Saori weaving, I knew I had found my fibre art. It was about colour, texture and pertinently, relaxing. It forgives my errors and enables me to add structure when required. With Saori, you can be instinctive and playful. It celebrates natural fibres – silk, wool, cotton, linen, alpaca and more. It can be shiny or rough. It can be simple, or layered with complexity. So far I have created fabric and wallhangings. But the journey has just begun for me and the creative possibilities ahead excite me.