Mindful Weaving Story

I wanted to just do a quick little blog post about my true love for weaving and how it became one of my favorite mindful activities. With my switching the focus of the blog to being more focused on fiber arts I thought I would share with you really how all this happened!

I learned how to weave when I was in college and I took a fiber arts class in 2013. My teacher was super into weaving and lace making at the time, so the class was heavily focused in those avenues (I never tried lace making though). We had the ability to use these HUGE rigid heddle looms and we were able to build our own lap looms as well. I really enjoined the weaving aspect and the lap looms. So I kept weaving, though I really only knew the basics.

In 2014 for Christmas I got a Harrisville lap loom that was bigger and really nice and great for beginners. I was obsessed. I carried it with my everywhere. What I loved more was the fact that now that I had the skills and tools to learn how to weave, I could teach other people! I started teaching my siblings, my friends, everyone. I looked up ways that I could make looms out of cardboard and shoe boxes and all the fun that could be had with weaving. I still only knew the basics, but with the basics I was able to make cool pieces that I really loved. I thought at first it was just a hobby, but it was a lot more than that!

In 2015 I started grad school to become an art therapist. Everyone was very focused on the formal art being used to process emotions and challenges. I was a lot more focused on the fact that coping skills are super important and that people seemed very excited when I taught them how to weave, so that became my main focus. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to make weaving accessible for people who were really struggling with their mental health and how it could help them. I also was regularly weaving for myself to get through the stress of grad school.

In my internship year, my supervisor gave me the idea to write my thesis on weaving as opposed to writing about fiber arts. We talked about the history behind weaving and how weaving has changed over the years. I also had a teacher at the time who was very interested in weaving and we formed a very close relationship. She actually even gifted me a loom from 1970 that hangs on the wall in my apartment. From then I decided to write about how weaving could help children who were struggling with impulse control. I ran a group for kiddos and taught them how to weave and it was truly the greatest experience of my life. I even continues to run the group a year after I wrote my thesis. SO FUN!

Weaving began to follow me into my professional life and my personal life. I realized that weaving was such a mindful task for everyone, but I didn’t realize how much it was for me! I always just thought of it as a hobby that I had, something that I really enjoyed doing and bringing to others. One day my therapist recommended me to engage in meditation. I really can’t sit still, meditation is really not for me and I have tried SO hard to make it my thing. Even now I am still trying to figure out if seated meditation could be for me. I realized that when I am weaving, it feels like meditation for me. I can sit in the same spot forever and be alone with all my thoughts. I also feel like I work things out in my head when I am weaving and it has gotten me through a few rough spots. I truly am the most mindful when I am weaving. It is my all time favorite coping skill and is probably one of the only forms of art that has stayed with me throughout.

One day, I am hopeful to start selling kits and teaching weaving workshops. The truth is, I still only really know the basics of weaving, though I have been weaving for a few years. I really prefer Rya knots and a tabby weave, but I am hopeful to learn how to add some texture and other things to weaving’s. I am looking to lern from my fellow weavers and take one of Hello Hydrangeas weaving courses to really up my weaving game. I also feel like it is super important to be in support and learn from one another. I look forward to sharing all of this journey with y’all! One day there will be kits and workshops alike.