Fun with weaving!

Hello everyone,

You know that great feeling of excitement when you try something new? And it works? And it's fun? And you just can't wait to do more? And share, of course... :)

Well, that us how I felt last Sunday! 

If you haven't already "met" (in social media) Mathew Boudreaux, aka Mister Domestic , you need to do it pronto!! Such a creative and fun guy who shares his talent so generously and creates some really amazing things! So, GO!!
Anyway,  Mathew recently started a Weave-A-Long, teaching us all how to do this really beautiful weaving with fabrics strips, on an angle! You can find the step-by-step on his blog HERE.

I have a love affair with all things weaving anyway, but if you combine beautiful fabric and weaving - well, I just can't miss that! And yes, I have a million other things I should be doing, a long, long TO-DO list of projects, but I just had to quickly order the WEFTY fabric weaving needle, cut some strips and try it!
I quickly pulled a nice stack of Pat Bravo's beautiful Rock 'n Romance fabric (it is an older collection), cut  my strips, pressed them and started the process. The WEFTY needle is a simple tool, but it really makes it so much easier!

Here is my start - all vertical strips (layer 1), pinned to the board and first few 30 degree angle strips (layer 2), started - I loved it already then!

 

Here is Layer 2 completed - isn't this a great look and texture?

Yes, lots of pins are needed...

Now on to the layer #3.
It took me a few trials to get the hang of it, but once you see the design emerging, it kinda all makes sense. Since WEFTY needle comes in two sizes, larger one used in this project - I used the smaller one to help me "guide" the large one when coming under the layers (it can get stuck in the folds of the fabric).
Here is that first strip going through...

And then some more...
(sorry for the bad light - I moved downstairs to the living room to hang out with my family at this point - kinda like that this project is somewhat portable like that!)

And here it is DONE - YAY!!
I really, really like this look and texture and...everything! I can see it in so many different color combinations too.

After following Mathew's great tips on how to finish it and take it off the board, here it is trimmed and ready to be something!!
I think pillow...?

Love all the trimmings too! LOL!

YES - at this point I am sure it will be a pillow, but I want to do another one in slightly different combo of these gorgeous Rock 'n Romance fabrics. My youngest son's girlfriend really loves this color combo, so it just might be a pair of pillows for their little office window bench... :)

But you know why else I want to do a pillow? Mister Domestic, being a total overachiever that he is, (but that is why we love him!!) also shared a really cool way to make the back for a pillow and I want to try that! You can find it HERE .

In the meantime, I already cut and pressed a new set of strips for that second one. I realized that pressing goes much faster for me if I leave all my strips the full length (a width of fabric) and cut them later. Also, a HUGE help with pressing is my 1" grid on the ironing board canvas cover! Not sure what I would do without it!!

Last night, after cutting for another project (more about that next time!) and pressing all of these strips I got tired... So, again, taking advantage of portability - here I am weaving in bed! Hey, what can I say - my feet were achy and this worked! 

Of course, having a snuggle-buddy right at my feet is a pure bonus! :)

It was getting late, hubby was already grumbling that we have to get up early, but I had to go to the Layer #3, just to see the color combo...

OK, now I was happy and ready to sleep. Yeah, it was after 1 AM, but hey, it's all worth it, right?

'Till next time, wishing you joy and creative inspirations,
Love,
Marija

PS - if you go to try this weaving, let me know!