Hand Spinning textured yarns , The Saori Piccolo loom and a new Bobbin holder rack for weaving shuttle bobbins

It has taken me a week to wind down from the 21 day Tour De Feece spining team in  my Ravelry group  "weaving in the Saori way" so this past week  I wove a Saori hat , interviewed for a local magazine article ,spent some time with my grand daughter on the Saori Piccolo loom and  put up the new  first shippment of the weaving BOBBIN RACK  in my Etsy shop !

The prototypes went  so well with my students  there was a lot of BUZZ among  students awaiting there arrival!  A USA manufacturer who asked me to help them with a bobbin rack design  when I suggested they offer one ,sent the first shippment to me this week. A deceptively simple design, but it took some measuring and materials consideration to come up with a not to heavy or to light, or to intrusively big  design .

Solid maple lacquered bases, holds 12 shuttle bobbins with non breakable stainless steel rods.

they will fit on loom shelves, or  loom castle tops  and keep your bobbins from messing up the threads and catching and knotting with each other. The holder will not mar the finish of your loom or hang off of it but sit nicely on the loom or beside it. Your color pallet of wound bobbins are right in front of you to reach. Fantastic for saori weavers! reach and change bobbins frequently easily. They are in my Etsy shop CLICK HERE  for more info.

My granddaughter visited.She has been weaving since she was barely 3 on the SAORI PICCOLO LOOM  when I visit I take  the Piccolo (it only weighs 15 lbs) and when she visits  it is always the first thing she wants to do ," Can  I weave and do yarning grandmama "  !

 She chooses her bobbin colors and puts them all neatly lined up  on the  new bobbin rack which I  easily secured around the shelf with a strip of velcro one wrap. The the Saori Piccolo is great because it adjusts lower to accomodate children and raises up for adults. It is only a 1" shorter than the 60 series full size  Saori looms at the highest setting postion so it is a very flexible portable floor loom.

 New this years additions  up grades to the saori piccolo loom.

she is 5 and 3/4 and I get her started walk away and she can weave totally  on her own , here she is threading the boat shuttle her self I also use the Saori NO ROD SHUTTLES HERE too.

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Stacy Vreekeen who is writing the article about local artisans  for  Santa Cruz Style magazine , came by for the interview with me  last week. She  also writes for the Santa Cruz Sentinel as well. I  figured it was going to be a short encounter but she enjoyed the studio so much it was anything but . 

I sat her down at a Saori piccolo loom to try out weaving on the lower teaching deck, she had never woven (or even knit or crocheted ) before , she did  a fantastic  job! We did the interview with her weaving ,stopping to write  down facts etc while I was spinning, back to weaving repeat ! well over two hours slipped by ! I may have a new Saori student and weaver in the future! 

 Stacy weaving …. she  would stop and pick up her pad and pen write,  then proceed to weave some more! The article comes out in September of this year.

Stacy trying weaving for the first time as she interviewed me !

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 My final  week TDF spun yarns…..
On my LOUET S90 wheel WITH the ART yarn flyer I spun my solar dyed silk into silk  BOUCLE .

 Threading my solar dyed cocoons  to ply in to my solar dyed BFL fiber for my art yarn

  My own dyed and  drum carded batts spun and then plyed with wensleydale long  locks
I named this art yarn  skein " Tropical scuba dive"

 More  solar dyed silk hankie  spinning  singles on my Jensen tina II  double drive high speed bobbins and whorl . spinning classes and equipment at saori santacruz

  My Jeremy duckie yarn  from my first few days of spinning for the TDF i felt  needed duckies sooooooo I threaded little  vinyl duckies and plyed them into my my dyed and drum carded batts I hand spun  into core spun yarn. the duckie ply  not a easy task….

 plyed on my Rio Grand wheel

I am asked quite often " what do you do with that  wild yarn?" It is Art yarn, I do not start out to do anything with it it is "Art" in it's self. I enjoyed thinking of my little grandson in his duckie costume he wears 9 mons still after halloween ! The joy shows in the yarn, it helps me to deal with tragic daily heavy news, and lifts me above worry . Fiber is the best  healer ! You do not need a prescription .Big Pharma has no connection! Imagine that!
QUACK QUACK  fiber  happiness!!!

So here is just some of my last weeks spinning

Finishing off the week with a  cotton Saori hat I wove.

 LOVE  this bulky cotton for texture in my weavings this is some of the yarns colors I used of this  bulky cotton in my so soft saori hat,

peaceful weaving in the redwoods

Jill Nickolene Sanders

Peace Through Fibers 

WWW.SAORISANTACRUZ.COM

My Etsy Shop

                   Saori weaving is for all ages ! Saori piccolo loom