This weekend saw the Crossing Threads duo and artist Christine Appleby brighten the studio.  Kassandra and Lauren weave large commissioned art and I was interested in how this would play with a cloth weaving loom and it’s ability to weave length. Texture plus, thick threads, wools and sakiori strips made the work very lively and with an organic feel to it.  The duo seemed full of promise of what is to come next and continuing in their weave exploration.

Similarly Christine worked solidly with the rail reed on the Saori loom. She really applied herself to the experiment, testing the rail reed’s usefulness in comparison to other warp bending tools such as the ondule, comb reed etc. Christine has an artist’s approach to the materials and the weaving process. She is able to explore ideas and keep with it.  I think it’s important to stick with exploring until you feel you’ve exhausted your possibilities. The rail reed is a very friendly tool, but you are fully committed to the cloth once you thread it. One advantage of the Saori comb reed is the ability to revert to standard cloth so you aren’t fully committed.  It can also potentially cope with much finer threads than the rail reed. 

We also made a warping speed first.  Two prewounds threaded in the two days and one woven off to completion, with one to take home. As you can see here two weavers make warping a very connected process and this is a photo that defines the Crossing Threads sisters at the studio…working together even on the base line of the cloth.  It is always nice to have a warping buddy but they can be difficult to find indeed.  No one wants to hang around while you thread or wind on a warp…unless they are a weaver themselves.

Saori weaving is an invitation to use the loom creating cloth as you want.  We’re not creating cloth for industry, we’re creating art which can be functional or interpretive. We’re enjoying everything about yarn and fibre and getting to know yarn and its possibilities in a deep way.