Hello! The last time we chatted I had just been gifted a vintage floor loom and was determined to learn how to use it. Well, with a lot of help from my friend, Jo, and 2 different online courses I have learned how to use it. Of course “learned” is a relative word. Learning is more accurate. I can now produce beautiful textiles, but the depth of knowledge in this craft is so layered and I have only begun to scratch the surface.

I am often asked, on social media, if I ever sleep? The short answer is, yes…the longer answer is, I go to sleep like a toddler, fighting to get 1 more minute out of the day. I am hard wired this way. I know it has its impressive qualities when it comes to productivity, but I really wouldn’t wish this personality trait on anyone. In short, I drive myself crazy. When you are always driven, you don’t often feel like you have arrived.

The times in my day when I do have that feeling of peace is when I am walking, or creating. I suppose I am happiest on the journey. I heard a radio program, once, on neurodivergence and how the survival of our species really needs many different kinds of people in it. It was a nice reminder to appreciate that we actually need to be different.

All in all, this weaving journey has been a joy. Making cloth is nothing short of miraculous. As I throw the shuttle back and forth, I am in complete awe of the brilliant people who figured out how to do this and continued to figure out the many weaving drafts available to us. Since antiquity, weaving has mostly been a woman’s trade (mostly). The domestic arts has always been a safe, yet undervalued place for women to use their intelligence and creativity. It’s just so damn smart.

It has been a slow Spring this year, here in Nova Scotia. One day Spring, one day winter. That’s ok with me. It extends the pleasure of watching the world come to life. I am fortunate that I can jumpstart the season in my studio, extracting colours from plants. This beautiful green, courtesy of Indigo and Weld, will be on my loom very soon.

I am also lucky to have had many beautiful women commission hats from me. This is an Indigo dyed Flora Fedora that I made for Lola in Kentucky. My customers keep me going.

Soon enough, my world will be filled with yellow. Isn’t it incredible that Mother Nature knows exactly which colour we most need after a long winter? Hope your world is filled with yellow, too.

Thanks for spending some time with me.

xoxo,

Anna