Fall weaving and some exciting news

Hello, fiber art friends. The Monadnock Art Tour was a lot of fun this year, and I had the opportunity to chat about weaving with lots of nice folks. And then, just this past weekend, I had the good fortune to talk about weaving EVEN MORE whilst demonstrating weaving at Southern New Hampshire University. I took two looms with me, the rigid heddle and the inkle loom, and people had the chance to try their hand at weaving or just stand back and observe. It was lots of fun.

I’ve been weaving some new kitchen towels in preparation of the Harrisville Holiday Artisan Fair, which will be held at the Granite Mill in early December. (More details to follow). I’m using 6/2 unmercerized cotton for these log cabin bordered towels in navy blue and ivory:

The Baby Wolf still has some overshot weaving on it. This is a variation of “John Madison” from Marguerite Davison’s “A Handweaver’s Pattern Book” …

And now for the “exciting news” part of the post…

I submitted a piece for possible inclusion in the New Hampshire Art Association‘s 26th Annual Joan L. Dunfey Exhibition to be held in November 2025 in Portsmouth, NH. The open call was for art works in all mediums created by New England residents. So I took a chance and submitted this wall hanging:

and behold! My work was selected for inclusion in the exhibit and I could not be more surprised and delighted. I’m looking forward to taking my work over to Portsmouth soon.

I’ve been weaving utilitarian items for many years, and only over the last couple of years have I gotten brave enough to weave a one-of-a-kind piece. For a long time I felt guilty about using materials that could be appropriated for an item that could be put to good use. And then there is the time expended in planning and weaving an item that is experimental; would it be “worth it?”

I told a novice weaver once that it is important to “weave for weaving’s sake,” which is a turn of phrase for which I cannot take credit – I probably read it somewhere. But now I am trying to heed this advice, too, and am working to strike a balance between production weaving and creative weaving.

That’s all for now. Be well, friends.

Kate K.