More Gifts

 

made by two different people (three if you count the prep done in Peru, which I do) the lanyard is woven Andean style from wool, the narrow band is, I think, cotton

front of hat

back of hat, band woven as part of Franquemont University class using a warp made from hand spun wool, warp wound and first couple of inches established in Peru, then sent to student here to learn from and complete

Yesterday I showed a blouse recently given to me, and today here are some narrow goods woven by different people.

Abby Franquemont of Franquemont University (FU) has a series of online classes in both spinning and weaving, the Andean way.  My knowledge of textiles of this type is narrow (pun alert!) but I have done enough to understand how these textiles come into material form (heh - very punny today, aren't I?) and therefore I can appreciate them at an somewhat informed level.

The wrist lanyard comes in handy (I have another attached to my purse, made by the FU student a number of years ago which keeps the guild room keys findable) and since Doug is doing cat sitting duty at two different households, the wrist lanyard will keep one of the cat keys easily accessible.

The hat was a recent purchase after Doug had too many skin cancers removed from his face and arm.  Being prudent, he wanted a hat with a wide brim and found this one.  Unfortunately it had a rather pathetic piece of two ply cord as the hat band which neither of us liked and was removed immediately.  Unfortunately it didn't fit him well, so I adopted it, in part because it's knitted, therefore interesting in a textile way, in part because it has a nice wide brim, and while I'm not out in the sun much, probably a good idea if I wear more than sunglasses when I do go out.  But the hat was rather...plain...begging for some kind of prettification.

The wrist lanyard arrived, a welcome addition, and then I thought of the FU student who likely had some bands already woven and might be willing to decorate my hat.  While I messaged her I thought about the pathetic piece of 4/8 cotton currently acting as a 'cradle' for the brake handle on the Megado and asked if she also had something as narrow as 1/4"?  Could I get about 12 or so inches?

She did, and I could.

These are the threads that 'bind' us.  We take fibre, twist it making thread, then we use that thread to make cloth.  Each of us knows and understands different parts of the spectrum of what is possible.  The joy comes from sharing our knowledge and skill with others who also have a fundamental understanding of how this all happened.

Abby and I have had connections between us over the years.  This time we have once again been 'connected' because of our students, of the next generation of weavers who are learning what we know and keeping the craft alive.

Heart.  Cockles.  Warmed.