Thankful for family and Saori weaving

As a grandparent I think family get togethers are so wonderful especially for the the grandchildren.
This Thanksgiving I brought crafts to my daughter and son in laws home  and one craft  was having two saori piccolo looms set up so the the 5 of the 6 grand children and parents could weave if and when they wanted to . Comments like "this is so  relaxing , and fun" permeated the the house, as we ate our pumpkin pie with whipped creme.

I was so busy I did not get  photos of everyone , but it was so cool to set up the piccolos loom here  nicely tucked in a corner next to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. It  was a little oasis of creativity and calm.

pink, and PINK and MORE pink!

 Blurry movment but … you get the idea!

The piccolo loom on the left is set up at the lower height, for the grandchildren , the piccolo loom on the right  raised higher for adults

 Did you know that the Saori  piccolo loom is the only FLOOR loom made with treadles  so that children as young as 4 can weave on there own?

A loving text from my daughter this morning

The best thanksgiving ever.

Peaceful thankful weaving

Jill Nickolene

www.saorisantacruz.com

my etsy shop

Saori weavers progresses in the studio and my cute Saori "prom" clutch

Loving the progresses of  my  Students at Saori Santa Cruz , so here they are ! Starting with lisa, I dropped by her home to help her with some threading questions and checking on her progress.

 Lisa's  magnificent Indigo blues yardage  with supplementary warp

The first part of  the weaving on Lisa's loom.

Lisa has a Saori s60 classic loom s60 loom here

 Oh Lisa i adore your latest weaving! and you  are looking so happy too.

 Eileen   finished threading and we hung the harnesses and placed the reed in the beater…..

 Tying on the back beam  tieing rod .

 Just look at the amazingly beautiful  warp as we beam on she will weave next week.

 Mark is back finished sleying the reed  and ...

 and threading the heddles  using the saori threading holder easy and comfortably away from the loom

 tying on the back beam

 Beaming on his great scarf warp he wound. last week.

 Beautiful!

  NOT ONE CROSSED THREAD OR SKIPPED REED THREADING! GREAT JOB MARK! Now weave a few inch heading and in two week he will be back to  weave and finish his scarf class.

 the saori wood wx60 loom

"I want to take a photo to send to my wife, I am super happy"

I want to share my fun new project , I call it my "Saori Prom clutch /purse."

You can weave your own cute bags  yourselves  and  the accesory shoulder brass chains I will have them in my  etsy shop  in a few weeks so keep checking in.(  I just recieved a few so here is the direct link to my etsy shop) no sew cute heart clutch/bags No sewing and what a nice gift these would make! This was my first try and I used what ever glue I had on hand 

( the purse frame has what correct glues to use in the list of materials in the directions you should use there suggestions)  I am totally hooked on how adorable they are . What you think?  I happened onto these frames a few years ago but never got around to using them. I  thought up using my saori weaving fabrics TO TRANSFORM THEM this past week end.  If these  had been around back when i was in high school then  I would have carried one of these  to my senior prom for sure . I will use this one hold my hair clips or  straight pins ,needles as sewing kit or business cards …..

peaceful weaving in the costal redwood forest

jill nickolene

www.saorisantacruz.com

All hand made items that are listed for sale and items already sold are original and ⓒ of jill nickolene sanders 20011 - 2013

(Note: I retain copyrights to all designs and images of my work, regardless of ownership.)                                                                                 

louet's new 12" drum carder, and a Saori return to weaving student

As the afternoon sun streamed into the studio Candace and Clara came to try out spinning wheels, and to pick up a new Louet 12" drum carder.
 Carding and blending is like "painting" only with fibers. Carding ( or brushing) aligns  the fibers as well as opens  them them up  so that it is eay to draft fiber at the wheel. What joy to produce your own  spinning yarns that are on of a kind not found anywhere else.

such a nice  huge drum for larger batts.

 This is the new extra wide Louet drum carder. it is 12" wide , it has no belts to break and the totally enclosed direct gears  mean no fiber catching on the axle. louet drum carder

 Adding fabric strips, mohair locks,  cut up yarns and lots of fibers for an art  amazing yarn batt to spin art yarns, but you can create traditional smooth fiber batts as well on the louet versatile drum carder .

Happy first spinning batt!

Awesome art yarn batt!
This is just the beginning….


Meet Mark. he is returning back to weaving after a 25 year hiatus . He did not know about Saori and enjoyed the freedom of choosing random yarns for winding he warp for a scarf. He also loves the Saori warping frame and stand.

The unique feature of this warping frame is the ability to warp 5 yarns at one time and hold the cones right on the frame.

Sucess! his first warp chainned and ready to be threaded … stay tuned for his return to weaving now in the Saori way .

Clara is a spinner, and when she was at the studio tried a Louet S17 LOUET WHEEL my favorite  entry level spinng wheel which comes as a kit . She immediately  fell in love, it had the optional  art yarn flyer and bulky bobbins available to fit this model too. She could have stayed all day and spun. she decided to to put the economical s17  wheel and flyer on layaway and bought a Glimarka loom bench for  adjustable comfort at her wheel to take home right away. That is the  bench I use in the studio, for both spinning and weaving . I have tried dozens of chairs and stools  and none can compare to the comfort with the 5 adjustable setings, of this great bench for correct posture and ergonomic success at your wheel (or loom). My Glimakra bench will be with me for years  extending my fiber art activity with painless joy. Light weight enough to take to spin ins( goodbye folding chairs).  Students love them, they are adjustable height ,  strong, and my Goldielock's review is... " just right"..GLIMAKRA LOOM (FIBER ) BENCH

Peaceful weaving in the redwoods
jill Nickolene
www.saorisantacruz.com
my Etsy shop