As a small overview of Curiousweaver studio joy for 2012, the next few posts will show you more about what Saori weavers did during the year. 2012 has been the first year of my operational studio dream with the assistance of Saori floor looms which have enabled me to share my love of weaving with others.

All of my studio visitors have been ‘beginner’ weavers. I’ve put ‘beginner’ in inverted commas because they have woven fabulous and unique textiles immediately –  so not beginners at all, but people who discovered their own creative aesthetic with the help of some techniques, colour mixing and the odd chocolate.

Mostly they’ve worked on their own ideas which seem to just happen by sitting at a Saori floor loom. The ease and simplicity of the loom’s action and the quiet “click clack” of the shuttle throw makes me feel that the world is in balance and things are how they should be. I hope students do too.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet amazing and generous people this year, which I am grateful for. These images are of Shay who came for an intensive workshop in Saori weaving. Intensive in the time frame but not in how we were feeling. Saori is relaxing and meditative!  Shay wove two textiles (4 metres) in two days and did a little yarn painting. She tried lots of different ways of using yarn in the cloth including some warp colour manipulation which looked great.

Shay’s colour approach was really lovely. She was able to weave two completely different coloured cloths. I showed her techniques to bring out the beauty or texture of the yarn and she even mastered a leno lace pattern.

Although Saori philosophy doesn’t encourage teaching in a formal way I guide the students as need arises. However, they determine what happens in the cloth and what direction it is going. Anyway they always direct a better cloth than I could for them. They even discover new ideas along the way. See more on Shay’s roadtrip to Curiousweaver studio.