The beauty is in the process
The road of creation can be short or long. Sometimes just by looking at the yarn I have on my shelves I can clearly see something there. I just need to warp my loom, weave it, and voilà, a new piece is born. Some other times, what I have in front of me is unspun, undyed wool, so the process of creation takes a little longer. Whatever the road is that I choose at that moment, every single step is greatly treasured.
When I choose to start from scratch, sometimes I spin my yarn first and then dye it, or I dye it first and then spin it. I absolutely love using natural materials for dyeing, like flowers, plants, fruit peels or vegetables. The colors you obtain are sometimes very subtle and sometimes very vibrant. It is fascinating to see the transformation, especially knowing that I am using onion skins or avocado pits, or plants I find on the hills around my house.
Sometimes I choose to dye with acid dyes, and the palette is completely different. Acid dyes allow me to create more vibrant colors and mixes that I can’t always produce when I use natural dyes. I think there is a time and place for each technique, and I appreciate and enjoy both.
When everything is ready to start the project, it’s time to dress my rigid heddle loom. There might be a sketch in a notebook. For sure there are technical notes about length and width, heddle size and all that, but many times, the sketch just lives in my head, like the idea of a painting or sculpture can be in the head of the artist. I might decide to weave following a pattern, or maybe I just create the pattern as I go, which gives me a wonderful sensation of freedom.
When I create a piece with yarn that I handspun and hand dyed, it brings everything to a different dimension and makes the final product even more special and unique. Maybe one day I will only weave with yarn that I prepared from the very beginning. At this moment, I’m taking advantage of both types of yarn. The one that I buy already dyed and spun, and the one I create with my own two hands.