Last weekend I treated myself to something I’ve been wanting to learn for a very long time. I took a weaving class! I’ve been admiring the craft from afar over the course of the past year and when Maryanne Moodie posted about her beginning weaving class in Brooklyn I immediately signed up. Lickity split! And I am so thankful I did. I convinced my sister to sign up too (hooray!) and we made a day of it. We drove down to Connecticut on Friday night to stay at my grandmother’s house and then headed into Brooklyn in the morning. The class took place right in Maryanne’s Industry City studio, which I thought was amazing! So inspiring to learn in the space where MM makes her magic! It was so bright and cozy, I just loved every minute of it.
Can you imagine if this was your office??
Baskets and baskets of yarn! Dream!
We were treated to snacks and champagne! My favorite is the tray of nuts that resembles a weave. Perfect!
Maryanne is absolutely the loveliest. I could listen to her voice for hours {Australian accent, yes!} and she is truly a wonderful teacher. She began the class by telling us a little bit about her background and how she came to love weaving, and then went through each step and technique of working on the loom clearly and methodically so it was easy to understand. She also encouraged us to take videos, which were SO helpful to me later.
A lap loom is the type of loom that you would usually get when taking a beginning weaving class, but the small looms did not come in time for our group so we were able to use these larger stand looms instead and then purchase them at the wholesale price if we wanted. The other option was to wait for the smaller loom to come in the mail. I decided to get the larger one in hopes that I will try some bigger projects someday!
The photo above is my weaving progress by the end of the class. I was so glad there was some pink yarn to work with. Favorite! I tried my hand at basic tabby, Rya knots (love) and loops. We also learned how to Soumak which I didn’t do during the class but I did try later at home. It’s so fun to think about all the creations you can make by just knowing a few easy weaving techniques— and that’s exactly what it is! Easy! I might try some shapes on my next weave. They look like they would be hard, but really they aren’t. Patience and time is all you need. Plus it is relaxing to no end.
Me, Maryanne, and Meg! ♥
And! One week later… my first finished weave!
I am so so happy with it.
I went to Michael’s to pick out some more yarn and just sort of added loops and Soumaks here and there until I was please with the look of it. Sometimes I took weavings out if I didn’t love it. Mostly I just kept going, adding a little bit here and there each night until it was finally complete. Oh, how good it felt to take it off the loom and admire it on the wall. So glad! So pretty! And so excited to start my second! :)
