what we share with child's play

mary jane dodd

weaving card

i wanted to follow up on marsha's post from yesterday. while i will be showing you something called pin weaving for part of my contribution to this month's boot camp, i have done the kind of weaving marsha is doing. 

like marsha, when i started i did not want to invest a lot of money into looms. ok, it's not that i didn't want to - who doesn't like to go all in for a new technique? - but i couldn't. when my children were little i used to like to order from stores that had really basic, nicely made wooden toys. so i started searching.

i found a shop that offered a number of ways to weave. with the card above and the one like marsha showed you, you want to make sure your warp threads (the fixed ones) are taut, but not too tight. you have to be able to get under them and also add your weft threads. 

for my hands' comfort, i found using a darning needle to be ideal - it doesn't have a very sharp end and usually accommodates thicker threads. also, for your sanity, get a needle long enough that you can get from one side of the other in one pass. 

arched weaving loom

this loom is nice because you can get under the warp easily. i own and get use out of both of them. they are different enough that they each inspire you to try different types of projects. 

the card i use for my sacred space mats

mjd - sacred spaces 2014

the little card is $4.50 and the loom is $27 (we can spend that on a bead order with our eyes closed). i have gotten so much use out of them both.

also - notice that marsha used a thinner stronger thread for her warp, then the weft can be the more textured yarns. it keeps your projects from looking like the pot holders we all made on those square looms as kids!

i'm sure there are other places to buy these, but the owner was accommodating and helpful at explorations early learning. 

what i hope you will do is play. i know i can very strict with how i spend my time. but truly, play is essential. and you never know what you are going to take away from it. 

so many wise people call to use from the past and urge this - 

but i'll pick a contemporary, steve maraboli

'how would your life be different if... 

you decided to give freely, love fully and play feverously?

let today be the day...

you free yourself from the conditioned rules that limit your happiness and dilute the beautiful life experience.

have fun.

give - love - play!'

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happy friday!