Lucian loves his saori loom

lucian happily clutching his bobbin

Last fall Lucian received his own Saori sx60 loom because he absolutely loved weaving. And at the age of 6 years his enthusiasm is truly catching. His mom brought his loom over for some warping the loom help, Yes there were some broken threads but it is Saori weaving and they are welcome and not not mistakes. his mom has a saori loom loom as well, they were competing for the one loom, I wish every one had a child that  wants to weave and competes for loom time!! As soon as the warp got tensioned, and i mean within seconds, he was saying can I weave now!  He sat down and wove off three colors of yarn on some bobbins I had  wound at the studio.  Finely his mom had to practically pry the shuttle out of his hand with the promise  that he could take the bobbin home and weave. As soon as he arrived home, That is exactly what he did. Happy weaving Lucian!

day 12 of the saori weaving challange

In the ravelry group WEAVING IN THE SAORI WAY  I took a challenge to weave a yard a day for 30 days. link here if you are a ravelry member http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/weaving-in-the-saori-way/1484726/1-25

I wove off my neutrals beach warp and put on my "inside set" warp I had started in september but did not finish. { only with with saori looms there is a unique feature that one can buy an extra set of harnesses and a reed and a warp tube cords and rod and in 10 mins. or less switch out one weaving for another.}

 rainbow weft

 sun and rain warp

Today is the 12 day of my challenge to my self and I have woven a total of 13 yards so far.  11  yds. beach warp, and 2 yards on my bright warp.

It was quite a shock to go from intensely weaving neutrals to brights! Color therapy is defiantly in motion here. This is an amazingly happy weaving, full of energy and light my beach weaving was very peaceful and introspective..

 In this current saori weaving  I wound a warp that when i saw it on the loom I did not care for it. so it languished for a few months, then I just cut loose and started to believe in it and stretched my color pallet and I love it now. A perfect weaving to brighten a cloudy rainy day. " It takes both the sun and and rain to make a rainbow" I guess the weft is weaving is my rainbow. The warp is my sun &  rain.

8th day of the saori weaving challenge

I thought I had 14 or 15 yds of warp on my loom, but it was only 11 yds. so i finished weaving my beach warp off the loom today. Took some photos . Tonight I will twist the fringe even though I may not use the fringe  I like to always be prepared to let fringe present it's self in the design process . If it is twisted it is easier to wash and dry before I design and sew it. Tomorrow I will wind a new warp and dress the loom . Because I am 3 yards ahead of my yard a day for 30 days challenge then next day if I have time dress the loom and be back at weaving my yard a day again on friday. I may put back the warp I have been working on, I have about 5 yards left on it, as well because with saori looms you have the option of purchasing a" inside set" so you do  not have to finish a weaving before starting new one. It only takes 10 mins. or less to put on your in progress warp  back again on the loom.

 the cotton and cellulose fiber beach colors saori weaving

6th day of the Saori weaving challenge

6th weaving day yard woven. Today I went back to my saori reed comb for fun in several area's.
A reed comb is just like a regular reed with out the top part! it allows you to place the warp in bundles how ever you choose. weave a bit change it again weave a bit ect. etc. also you could go back to plain weave in between and be very precise about the warp placement so it is a thread morphing rhythm, or like I like do , just have at it in a random fashion, more like jazz not Bach. As of today I have 8 yards woven.

SAORI REED COMB

RANDOM WARP PLACEMENT 

8TH YARD DONE

5th day of the Saori challenge weaving

5th day progress of weaving a yard of cloth a day for 30 days, I have 7 yards woven just about 1/2 done with this warp , which I think, I am not sure , is 14 to 15 yds long. The saori warping frame is is meters, so I am doing fuzzy math. I am ahead one yard  just in case i do not get to weaving a yard on  one  of the days ! hard to see the pale sage linen and pale apricot wefts here and there in the photo but more photos to come this week as i continue on my month long "weave-a- thon ".

saori weaving challenge

I need to set to goals. So in the" weaving in the saori way" group on ravelry I decided to start a thread........ setting a  weaving challenge for your self and send in your goal and photos of the progressions. Any ravelry members can join in the fun just go to ravelry and join the "weaving in the saori way" group , find the thread saori weaving challenge!

day 2,1 yard woven

mine is my beach warp. So I am going to weave 1 yard a day for 30 days. I have the 15 yards by 18 to 19" width  beach warp already dressed on the loom so yesterday I started weaving, I have done my 2nd yard for today but tomorrow I have a student so i am going to back to my loom to weave another yard. This is a sand, drift wood, dry kelp, gull feathers, shell and rock shades of yarns in a gauze weave to be sewen into clothing once I see the finished washed yardage and then design and sew a summer tunic  or maybe a dress and short jacket.

susan is a new Saori loom owner

Susan came to saori santa cruz in late November for an introductory class fell in love with saori weaving, went home and continued to produce a lovely saori scarf, and wall hanging on her ridged heddle loom but she so loved the ease of use of the saori she used in the studio during her class that she ordered a saori 60 loom and  a extra inside set {so that she can have more than one weaving project going at a time with the same loom}. susan has shoulder injuries and the ease of use of the design of the looms makes weaving so fun and non painful to joints.
This week she came to pick up her new loom and  to get warping and dressing her loom instructions. The color of yarns she chose from the studio shelves for her new piece are amazing.
she arrived wearing another of her hand spun hand knit, or crocheted pieces. This time a lovely crocheted vest out of the fiber she hand spun. I will have to wait and hope she sends me photos of her finished weaving, the warp looks so yummy.

Susan sent me this sweet note

"Thanks again for everything—it was great!  Your studio was a little island of peace for me this week—so appreciated….."

the Saori warping frame  design allows one to warp up to 5 individual yarns at a time just using your thumb to make the cross fast , easy and fun.

the saori threading holder so you can sley the reed and thread the heddles off the loom comfortably and take them to the loom saving back strain

lovely color choices susan!

warp beginning packed and the first few shots of weft taken

HAPPY ROC DAY

maggie's amazing bags she woven/sewed over  her winter solstice break

lovely maggie

maven's of the fiber forest lea, brenda and maggie

sheep soap craft maggie brought her aroma therapy scents so we could add it to our slurry 

 maggie taught us to spin paper yarn from coffee filters we colored with pens first.

more spun paper before yarn  and after

enjoying saint distaff's day, or ROC day spinning

lea's  fiber filled "watch" ball.  we made these to discourage negative energy from coming our way or to "watch out" for us.

mavens lovely sheep soaps we made during our party so pretty!

 To those who do not know what st. distaff's day is.........it is a ancient celtic tradition on january 7th the first day back to the mills or work places, after the 12th day of christmas january 6th. The workers who are spinning, weaving , dying would play and take this day day to celebrate there fiber there skills, and thankful for both of the aforementioned.It is called saint distaff's day or rock day.{ the ancient  spinning was done with a cord tied around a rock and spun like a drop spindle.} NO there is no saint distaff and it is the only ancient holiday named after a tool not a person. 

This year I held a party at  the saori  studio. We spun paper from coffee filters, thank you maggie, and made hand stamped labels with sheep , spinning wheels and looms. we even made soap with sheep molds and natural coloring with mica. Another of the fun things we did was fill clear glass balls with fiber and yarn and shake them then say a celtic verse that is supposed to ward of negativity . you can use jars, or bottles but the clear ornaments were so perfect for our celebration.....  

Thank you maven for the food, and spirits and sharing the love of our fiber crafts which each other.

SAORI beach warp

It stopped raining and today the sun came out, I thought of summer and the beach and that helped me durning the winter darkness. I wound a 14 yard light and textured half beamed on! I am thinking of designing a gauzy summer tunic  for my "beach"  cotton, rayon, linen ,warp.
when I beamed on the 10/2 rayon yarn twisted around the textured yars and quite a few snapped. well it is saori a few missing warps add to the randomness and intrest.

SAORI loom bag

Happy new year. after tossing and turning last night and unable to go to sleep, I thought this is unproductive. So I went down to the studio to wind a warp but realized I would wake up my husband up soooooo  back up plan, went to the quiet sewing studio and finely made some loom bags for my saori SX60 folding looms. I had had the fabric, a remnant of home dec fabric, for months now and good intentions so I thought new year might as well start if off right and get the bags sewn!
The fabric is a cotton and rayon chenille. It frays terribly but my serger took care of that problem. I chose  which side to place where and i decided to put the pile padding against the looms in transport to classes and demo's and fairs etc. saves the blanketing of each loom in the bed of my truck.

I scoured my zipper stash and the only heavy duty zips I had were white, and the fabric was a wee bit to short so i had some cotton velveteen I doubled to make  gussets.  At least the colors were neutral so they blended.Took advantage of the selvages and ran a nylon cord through a top channel , squared off the bag bottom . I had bought some nylon web  for my stash straps so I made generous handles , I can reach the handles from the tail gate of the truck now with out always climbing up. I was finished before 4:00 am. I like a solid plywood insert in each bag so tomorrow to the lumber yard  to have them cut to measure the bottoms.