Classy, Very Classy

A friend I met by blogging sent me an email obviously to tempt me greatly. She told me about a manner of weaving with a Japanese beginning and a Japanese name. The process is called Saori.  The looms developed for this and used to do this weaving is a Saori loom.
I "borrowed" a statement about Saori to share with you.
SAORI teaches weavers not to fret over attempting to live up to someone else's standard of perfection.  We do strive to avoid mistakes, or to copy a pattern exactly as someone else envisioned it.  If there are loose threads, missed warps, or irregular threads, that's ok.  If a color or technique is used once and never repeated, that's ok.  Those things are all a part of our humanness. And make each and every weaving unique.

I was intrigued, so I did some searching on the internet.  I discovered HanDen Studios which is located in Peachtree City Georgia.   I saw that Handen has classes so I contacted the owner/instructor, Denise, and proceeded to sign up for a class.

So on Tuesday, I had scheduled a day off work to take the class.  After a long drive that was made longer by the route my GPS decided was "better" (not) I arrived.  I was greeted and taken into the studio - but along the way I had to look at the woven wall hangings.

Once there I was offered/assigned a loom to use that was already warped.  I could have opted to use a different loom, but I didn't.  We talked for a bit first as I was the first student to arrive. However, we didn't wait and started immediately.

I sat at this loom and was ready to start.  But first, the wall of fibers was shown to me. (I had already seen it and thought "ooh pretty!"_

Wow...a rainbow to choose from.  And of course to photograph and dream about.

I was told that I could use anything on this wall for my weaving time.  There were also some prewound bobbins and a couple of containers of other fun weaving stuff I could use.
So with some instruction, I started to weave.

This was my first time to use a boat shuttle (that is it laying on top of my warp threads.)
And here is a close up of the weaving .

I learned to insert bits of yarn or wool roving (or whatever the creative mind envisions) into the weaving.  It was very freeing and exciting to work this way.

The day was very enjoyable.  I am sure I will be incorporating some of these ideas into my weaving - and if I can see myself clear to do so, I may purchase one of these looms.  Here are some pictures of various looms that were in the studio.

Child sized "Piccolo" Loom

A loom similar to the one I used, but folded up

A four shaft version of the loom.

So when I finished for the day, I had no expectations of having anything other than knowledge to carry home with me.  But we cut my weaving from the loom so I could take it with me.  Denise offered the option of leaving it so I could make a return visit and weave on it again. If I lived closer, I most certainly would have taken that option.
As it is, I have a great wall hanging started.  I have not yet tied off the warp threads because I am still deciding on my "finish."

If you could see this in person you would see much more richness of color and more intricacies in the details.  I know that I had some weaving experience going in, but I had never used a loom where I needed my feet to move the shafts.  So it was a great learning experience.
I am showing it from both directions because I have not decided which will be the top.

If you are interested, besides HanDen Studios,  there is a list of other Saori weaving instructors/studios at the Saori Global site.  I know a couple of my readers also weave - one on a frame loom and one on a rigid heddle loom. If there is a studio close, it is a fun experience and an easy way to "try it out."

Now if you made it this far, I will tell you that tomorrow March 6th, I will be posting a giveaway!  A very Classy giveaway.  So be sure you come back - and bring(send) a friend over too!.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.