Summer Weaving

While I think anytime is a good time to weave, summer is (in my humble opinion) the best season for weaving. First, summer is a season of wonderful, bright—and inspiring—colors. Think heirloom tomatoes in every shade of the rainbow. Think brightly colored sherbet. Think hibiscus and sunflowers and other summer blooms. Second, and perhaps most importantly, summer is the best season for luxuriating in your time spent weaving.

What do I mean by that? Well, for me, summer is the season when I feel that not only can I spend time at my loom without guilt, I can do so without agenda. In the spring and autumn, for example, the weather tends to be so lovely I want to go hike and pick apples. While I do try to take my loom with me on those occasions, often I’m actively doing something and unable to weave.

Rebecca Fox’s Fresh Citrus Napkins absolutely ooze summer weaving.

Winter is also a great time to weave, but too often in winter, I feel like I’m either weaving for the holidays or recovering from holiday weaving. I love weaving gifts, but it’s hard to really get lost in the weaving and take my time when I feel like I’ve got to get a dozen towels off the loom by December 20. Of course, I could say the same thing about autumn and spring. In the autumn, I’m usually weaving for Thanksgiving, and spring is all about weddings, graduations, and babies.

Summer is different. In summer it’s often so hot that spending too much time out of doors being active is just not possible or desirable. Spending time at the loom in my nice, air-conditioned studio, however, sounds perfectly lovely—maybe with a cold glass of minty sun tea on the side. I also don’t have a weaving goal in mind other than for my own enjoyment. I feel free to play with color, structure, and texture. I can focus on getting my beat even and my selvedges smooth. I don’t need to hurry, I just need to be—and that’s a great feeling.

Jenny Sennott’s Savory Towels can be woven on a rigid-heddle loom or on a 4-shaft loom (just make sure to add extra warp!). The summery orange and cool, crisp cotton makes it perfect for weaving on an extra-hot summer day.

I especially love to weave with fibers such as Tencel, silk, cotton, and linen in the summertime. They are wonderful and cool and crisp on the loom. As much as I love weaving wool scarves, it’s not as much fun to weave something you can’t immediately use, so I save those projects for when the temperatures start to dip. Summer is for dish towels, napkins, and silky, lacy scarves.

Part of what makes summer so wonderful, though, is that it’s fleeting. So I plan on enjoying every moment in the studio that I can. I’m going to weave a second version of my poppy scarf and lots of linens for my new home (more on that to come).

Happy Summer Weaving! Christina

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