Weaving 101

My weaving began when I found a Navajo weaving class at my local weaving shop (http://www.stick-and-stone.com/) This was a very interesting class which included an extensive slide presentation on the history of Navajo weaving presented by the instructor, Randall Hayden. The class project is shown here -



Unfortunately I haven't progressed much further yet but have high hopes that it will be finished soon.

You may detect an error in the top square of my cross symbols. Yes, an error in counting and I'm too much of a coward to take out my work to make it right. My instructor told me that the Navajo women usually made one mistake in their work (on purpose). Sounds good to me - I'm going with that.

This style of weaving is time consuming but there's also a real sense of involvement with each row as it is woven. This class sparked an interest in tapestry weaving which I plan to try soon. Unfortunately, I jumped right in to weaving on a floor loom shortly after taking this class due to a good opportunity to obtain a used floor loom.

It's interesting to consider the difference between these two styles. I really enjoy weaving on the floor loom - the speed and almost meditative quality to working the treadles and throwing the shuttle. With Navajo-style weaving there is consideration as each thread is placed, in creating the patterns and pounding the warp with comb.