As I blogged earlier, I had hoped that 8-year old Granddaughter F and I would be weaving side by side during her visit with us this summer. Well, as Alexander Pope said, “hope springs eternal in the human breast,” so I guess I’ll keep hoping.
I felt a flicker of hope when Granddaughter F noticed my floor loom warped with colorful weft and walked up to it, dragging her fingers over the material. When I asked her if she’d like to sit on the bench and try weaving on the rug, I received a very definite (albeit polite) reply:
“No thank you.”
Later that day I steered Granddaughter F to the Cricket. Before she arrived I had warped the loom and 
woven a few inches, sure in the knowledge that the smaller sized loom would tempt her to try. “Would you like to try weaving on the Cricket,” I asked?
“No thank you.”
My last ditch attempt to stir up some interest was to let her cut the finished rug off my floor loom. Granddaughter F brandished my long scissors with not a little excitement and enthusiastically cut the warp. After she walked on the rug, I pointed to the Cricket again and said it was ready for her to try out if she wanted.
“No thank you.”
Later I twisted and trimmed the fringe threads. Granddaughter F helped me roll up the woven, fulled and/or felted rugs that to date I have made or purchased for our new house. The feel of the different types of wool got her attention! (Hurrah – a SPARK of some fiber-related interest.)
When we visited Eugene Textile Center, Granddaughter F feel skeins of various wools. She could tell the difference between alpaca and sheep’s wool and decided she liked the feel of alpaca wool best. Pointing to this large skein, a hopeful look in her blue eyes, Granddaughter F asked if I would weave her a pillow out of alpaca.
So, though as of yet she is not interested in weaving herself, Granddaughter F likes to feel wools, can distinguish between alpaca and sheep wool and likes the idea of receiving handwoven gifts.
Progress – well, at least enough to feed the hope eternal in my breast.
Small steps………it could happen! good for you that you didn’t give up.
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Ah well, there is always next year. Meanwhile, she knows what she likes AND your new rug is lovely.
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I hope you enjoy it. My first project on the Cricket was a long sampler of time-consuming finger-manipulated stitches. But now that I warped it for placemats, I find using the rigid heddle frustrating because I know I could weave it faster on my floor loom. 😦
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Beautiful colors in the rug. I just bought a Cricket. Once some knitting projects are out of the way, I plan to sit down and teach myself.
Also, thanks for following my blog!
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Well it certainly got her! Expect us to come visit your alpacas … 🙂
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What wonderful advice! Thank you. I have a couple of sets of carders – one in child’s size that my daughter used when she was young. Maybe we can go to a local alpaca breeder, buy some fleece and try carding together …
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Thank you for the encouragement. I’ll keep trying.
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I never thought of that! Perhaps I should show Granddaughter F some of the mistakes I’ve made!
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Do you think your granddaughter might be intimidated by your skill, and afraid she can’t measure up? I’ve wondered that about my niece, who’s surrounded by adults who are competent at a variety of crafts and even more confident than competent! My niece always demurs when asked if she wants to try something . . .
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Love this! So typical but keep going. One day she will tell her Grandaughter who taught her to weave!
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[J+D] Recently we had a customer to the Hebridean Woolshed (real world, not online) who came to the house with a basket of things from our little gallery/shop here in the walled garden. We were sorting through fleeces straight from the sheep, and J held out a lock of greasy wool for the lady to smell. She put her nose close to the wool, drew in a deep breath, and then heaved a great sigh of pleasure and longing. “Oh, that’s lovely!”, she exclaimed. Well that’s good, J said, you’re allowed to buy those things! The relevance of this? We find that the motivation to make things with yarns, fibres etc, the curiosity to explore different materials and techniques, and the drive to face the daunting task of a process not yet familiar, rests on a deep-seated and often inexplicable attraction to the materials and the products of spinning, weaving, dyeing. People seem to be born to it, or not, and for those that are it may have to be brought to the surface by contact with the materials and products. In our view, it’s this that comes first, and the processes and techniques then come after. We’re always wary of anything who’s primary fascination is with the tools, ie the wheels, the looms. Try to ensure that your Grand-daughter F’s life includes contact with natural materials and beautiful hand-made (but practical!!!) things in her life, things she will grow to love, even if she doesn’t know why. Then, one day, she’ll be asking you if she can borrow your loom, or ask you about how something is done.
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Alpaca gets ’em every time!!! 🙂
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