It Nearly Broke Me

Hi Weavers!

2017. A really bad flu season, most of the family had it.

Our son seemed OK, just pretty tired with a head cold and cough. Then one morning he started coughing up blood and couldn't get up from the couch.

The next 6 weeks were a blur of ICU, life support and half living at a hospital. For several days I was too sick to travel to the hospital myself and this is when my anxiety started going through the roof.

I had no choice but to stay at home and try to recover while my husband had discussions with doctors and made decisions about our son's future.

I felt that I couldn't bear the uncertainty, so I did something that seemed completely counterproductive.

I refocused my efforts. I made a Youtube weaving tutorial. I sat at my floor loom for hours, weaving a beautiful silk scarf that had the goal of entering into the Melbourne Show that year.

I immersed myself in my weaving because I didn't know what else to do.

And it helped immensely.

The distraction was exactly what I needed at that time. You can't exactly plan and warp a floor loom project without paying attention. The focus allowed me to calm down and redirect.

I discussed in this article how weaving can be healing in a difficult period and can help to cope with grief. And in this article I talked about how working creatively with your hands can actually change your brain chemistry.

We shouldn't feel guilt if a challenging season robs us of our weaving motivation though, because the loom will still be there when we recover our desire to weave again.

But when you next experience a difficult season, try spending some time at the loom, it could be just the medicine you need.

P.S. For those who don't know, this story has a happy ending. Our son made a full recovery and is now married with 2 children 💕🙏

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KINDRED CREATIVES THIS WEEK

In this week's new article we're taking a look at some scientific studies that show how being creative with your hands can make you happier, calmer and even change brain chemistry!

Why Making Things With Your Hands Might Be The Best Thing You Do Today...

I also have a new podcast episode out! In this one I'm discussing digital products and how they can work for a creative entrepreneur. Goes live tomorrow - make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it 😉

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2026 FREE PROJECT

During the week I released my free project for this year - the Boho Pillow.

This is a fun and adaptable project for rigid heddle weavers who want to explore a variety of yarns in one project by using vari dent heddles.

If you are a fan of Sari style weaving, this one is for you!

This project is a collaboration with Lojan and the Flex Rigid Heddle Loom, check it out, you're going to love it!

The Boho Pillow FREE PROJECT

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NEW INKLE WEAVING BOOK

Heather Torgenrud, author of the beautiful Norwegian Pick - Up Band Weaving and Pick Up Bandweaving Designs has just released a brand new bandweaving book!

As Heather points out in the introduction, this book is for weavers who know how to weave a warp faced band but need inspiring ideas for how to use them.

So while it's not a "how to weave a band" instructional book, it certainly provides a lot of information for band weavers. The 34 projects include warping colour order and all the instructions you need to complete the project with your woven bands.

I love that all of the projects use simple plain weave bands, but with beautiful and striking colour and design.

Part 2 of the book is all about finishing techniques (information that is often lacking when it comes to woven bands) from wet finishing to hemming to joining.

Many thanks to Heather for sending me such a beautiful, quality book!

The Bandweaver's Project Book