Can't Stop, Won't Stop: The First Collection

Wow, did May get busy or what! Even though these weavings all sold in last week's Instagram flash sale I wanted to share them on my blog because I'm really proud of this little collection.

I started an ambitious project in January 2013 to hit refresh on the creative part of my brain after a few weeks of feeling uninspired. One of the goals was to teach myself a new medium and see what others were already doing in that field. I had seen a few modern wall hangings here and there on Pinterest but wasn't aware of the beautiful work being done by fiber artists such as Maryanne Moodie and Janelle Pietrzak until I started searching for inspiration on Instagram. 

It opened my eyes to a fresh take on a traditional craft and I finished my first few weavings shortly after. Then I set it aside as the year took a few unexpected turns with Brett's deployment and the parting gift that I found out about the day after we said goodbye for a few months! It turns out that any creative inspiration one might get is sucked dry once again by the first trimester of pregnancy. Worth it, though.

I picked it back up recently with the announcement of Sebastian's school's first May Faire and the opportunity to sell Waldorf-friendly wares at a booth. I hadn't been doing much other than nursing and changing diapers so I decided it was a great opportunity to get involved with a school event and maybe scratch that creative itch again.

I made a standing loom from a piece of scrap wood and some nails, cut a few dowel rods, and picked up some yarn from JoAnns. Most of these were made during Smith's long morning naps or during any quiet moments throughout the day when no one needed me. I just left my loom and yarn out and did a few rows here and there. In ten days I was able to finish 15 wall hangings. Some were quite involved and others were simple patterns that only required counting but they were so fun to work on. The feeling of satisfaction for finishing a project was so refreshing and really helped combat some of the cabin fever that was creeping in after a long winter and a new baby. 

It was also really special to me that Sebastian and Ruby both showed an interest in doing what I was doing and took the initiative to learn a new skill. Sebastian made two wall hangings and both sold at the event and I held on to Ruby's first because it's just precious. 

I've loved experimenting with different color combinations and yarns and already have some ideas I want to incorporate into my next collection. There is some 550 cord that is calling my name from my craft stash that may be making an appearance because it is my favorite shade of yellow. 

I've been visiting with a local gal about teaching a class to some of her friends at our local coffee shop one afternoon and will be teaching at a sponsored event in Denver in June with some Instagram friends and I'm so excited for both! There's something so therapeutic about weaving and I'm such a fan of showing people how capable they are of making beautiful things. 

If you've ever wanted to learn to weave I've got a really simple tutorial here that can be expanded for a larger sized wall hanging and showed how I made one of my first wall hangings here. 

What have you been dying to try lately? 

-Rachel