November 16, 2013 

Beginning Weaving Class

Maurine's

Fiber

Friends

I asked Baby Grace if she wanted to learn to weave too when she got a little older and she gave me a big smile.  I guess the Davis Family will be a family of four weavers. 

Kristy and Shawn Davis have two wonderful children, Grace age 4 months and Tommy age 4.

They recently joined our Las Vegas Fiber Arts Guild wanting to learn how to weave baby wraps which are long scarves that are wrapped around a mother and baby.  

They asked me to be their teacher.  We planned on 12 hours of teaching which came to 6 two hour sessions starting on November 16, 2013 and ending on January 31, 2014.

They rented a 24" wide 8 shaft Voyager loom from our Guild and since there were originally two of them wanting to learn how to weave, mom and dad, I let them use my metal 8" wide Structo loom that I had learned to weave on many years ago.

First I taught Kristy and Shawn how to wind their warp on my warping board.  One of them wound a yellow warp and the other wound a pink warp.  The idea was for them each to take turns learning  how to do the entire warping and threading and weaving progress.  Half of the loom, 3", was threaded for straight draw (twill) and the second 3" was threaded for reverse twill. 

As they wove they changed the treadling, the order that they pressed down the levers on the loom.  This changed their design.  

Since I had my 8" Structo loom already threaded and ready to go, they took turns weaving on both looms. 

The Davis Family - Shawn, Kristy, Tommy and Grace

Kristy holding Baby Grace.

Kristy threading the reed.

Shawn threading the reed.

Shawn threading the heddles.

Kristy's Weaving.

Kristy weaving.

Shawn weaving.

Shawn's weaving.

I provided their son Tommy with paper and crayons and he started to draw a picture for me.  He's a wonderful artist.  Next thing I knew his mom, Kristy, was showing him how to weave on my Structo loom.  So now we had 3  weavers. 

Tommy the Artist.

Tommy the Artist with Mommy Kristy.

Close-up of Tommy's picture for teacher Maurine.

Tommy drawing & Kristy weaving.

Tommy & Kristy weaving.

Tommy Weaving.

The next time they came for a lesson I prepared one of my Peg looms for Tommy to weave on. I sat down with Tommy and he had fun cutting his weft - the yarn that goes over and under. Then I taught him how to weave.   He's so smart that he understood the whole process.  I told his parents to bring him back to my home anytime and we'll continue with his weaving lessons.

Maurine & Tommy.

Tommy's Sampler in Progress.

Shawn weaving.

Kristy weaving.

Shawn threading the heddles.

Shawn & Kristy learning to weave.

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