Hey y’all and welcome to my crafting corner. If you know me well, you know that I love crafting. There’s just something about making a project with your own two hands. There’s labor and love and usually lots of learning along the way with each project and I just can’t get enough.
I have always loved crafting – could be that I grew up with a mom who was so into scrapbooking that she was published in scrapbooking magazines! However, my main craft over the last six years includes anything with fibers. Think weaving, macramé, embroidery, punch needling, etc. I just am not big on the crochet train and I have no clue how to knit. But otherwise, I tend to love anything yarn related.
I got started with weaving when Keenan and I were living in Vancouver. I wanted some cheap décor to add to our apartment, and I found a tutorial for weaving by Rachel Denbow on A Beautiful Mess. I had never woven before, but thought I’d give it a shot. So Keenan made my loom and I picked up a few things at Michaels and got to work. It turned out to be a craft that I absolutely LOVED! Oh, and the piece I made following the tutorial turned out nicely too. Lol!
I continued weaving on my own and then slowly incorporated it into other parts of my life. I started teaching weaving at the school I worked at in Vancouver to a small group of students, opened an Etsy shop and worked at several craft fairs. Then we moved to Calgary, and I started a weaving program at the school I work at here. This program has really taken off and I usually have about 40+ students in my class each Friday eager to weave.
I’ve also picked up a love for macramé and embroidery and have taught classes of those crafts at my school as well. I’ve hosted after school workshops for parents and kids to learn to weave together. I’ve even gone to Austria to present a workshop on math and weaving because of opportunities that my school provided. So yes, I primarily teach math, but remember how I said I work at an awesomely unique school in the about me section of my blog? Well here is some proof for ya! I have never even heard of another school that allows you to incorporate your own interests into teaching the way this school does. And let me tell ya, I thrive in this type of environment!
Now, back to my fiber arts journey… I have recently started making macraweaves, and that has been super fun. These projects allow me to mix my favorite aspects of both weaving and macramé into one piece. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to work on a project in a while due to moving, but I’m itching to get my hands on some yarn!
I’m excited to start sharing this part of my life with you all. I’m interested to hear what crafts you enjoy… if you are even a crafting person. Maybe you just like to purchase handmade items or maybe you like to do them yourself. Either way, drop a note below and tell me what inspires you! Happy day lovelies!