Weaving on the Copper Loom
with Kat Allison
Newport News, Virginia

Terri, Julie and I headed up to Newport News in the rain for a new adventure. Kat Allison, fiber artist, educator and adjective lover,  invited us up (or did we invite ourselves??) for a fabulous day of weaving on the copper loom.

The day started with show-and-tell of Kat’s lovely studio and artwork. Then we jumped in and started warping our looms. When Kat asked us what size loom we wanted, we all said BIG ONES so that’s what we got! Terri and I got scarf-sized looms and Julie wanted one the size of a small rug. Each was lovingly made of shiny copper by Kat herself. Her looms are special– when you take off the weaving, the warp threads magically disappear, making your piece almost finished as soon as you remove it from your loom. Experts say it can’t be done, but it works, and it is fabulous.

Of course, weaving is not for folks craving immediate satisfaction. You have to put in the time, but it is worth it. On one of Kat’s looms, you can mix in fibers, beads, strips of hand dyed fabrics, paper, clay, wire and more– truly a mixed media adventure. I am starting with making a scarf of fibers, beads and fabric strips. It looks awesome so far, and feels yummy. I can’t wait to wear the finished product. When we get past the holidays it is the first project I will finish!

I hope the New Year finds you happy and healthy. I also hope you will find new artistic adventures in 2015!

Whiskey the studio dog

What I loved: Playing with Kat is always an artful adventure!

What I learned: Weaving takes time and patience, but the results are gorgeous! When weaving a scarf, I found it works better to warp the loom over every other peg. Also, the finished product is much softer and more scarf-like if you use yarns instead of fabrics.