It’s been 15 years since I moved to Australia. Having been involved in the photography industry for over 20 years, I never imagined that someone like me, who was only interested in digital contents, would start creating woven items. I usually think about serious topics like politics and social issues, so I thought of starting a blog with a more relaxed approach. I also plan to share information about Japanese products and culture and other topics that interest me.
A little introduction first; I am typing this first blog in January 2024. The memory of the shocking announcement of ChatGPT about 1 year ago is still fresh in my mind. In today’s digital society, where rationality and efficiency are constantly pursued, we live our lives exposed to constant competition. Sometimes I think about things like this… Instead of depending on smartphones and automation, spending our time solely on our roles (occupations) to make a living, perhaps a self-sufficient lifestyle, one where we create things with our own hands without relying on mass-produced computers and machinery, is very valuable. I believe that inheriting wisdom, traditions, and culture from our ancestors is very important for us…. okay, I should stop this here.
In September 2023, I bought a loom. About a month earlier, in August, I saw my partner happily making a clumsy-shaped coaster with a small weaving frame (about 40ร30cm wooden frame capable of stretching weft threads). Inspired by this, I decided to take up weaving myself. My nature is to start with the tools, and after a brief research, I purchased the Ashford Table Loom 8-shaft 80cm model. It’s one of the widest table looms available, as I believe in the principle of ‘the larger can do the work of the smaller’. I have only used 4 shafts for basic weaving so far (plain weave, twill weave), and think it was a bit too much of an investment for a beginner, but I am glad I bought this model.
I bought a total of four books, two in English and two in Japanese. (I will introduce them later) In my spare time, I watched YouTube videos and read books, and though I didn’t understand much at first, I gradually progressed. As a beginner who just started, I made several mistakes. I got confused with the use of the warping board, mishandled the twill, resulting in a tangled mess that I had to discard; the winding of the warp threads was poor, turning a kitchen towel that should have been rectangular into a yarn-wound shape; and the choice of reed was not appropriate, leading to insufficient thread density. I would like to share with everyone the various trials and errors, failures, and somewhat embarrassing mistakes I’ve learned from.
The photo above shows a kitchen towel I made through trial and error. It’s a sample I made to check the checkered pattern and color contrast.
In my upcoming blog posts, I want to share with you what I’ve learned from trial and error, failures, and even some embarrassingly silly mistakes.
Until next time, Happy Weaving.
