Backstrap Weaving

The “Confused” title doesn’t refer to my backstrap loom weaving but rather to the back-and-forthing that I have been doing between Bolivia and Australia these last two months. After a ten-day break following the first trip, I headed back again and now here I am back in Bolivia. Now you might imagine my confusion as I struggle to figure out which place is home in my heart and which place I am visiting.

The second trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Port Macquarie went smoothly. I got a seat on my first attempt on all my standby flights and so the inflatable mattress and blanket that I carried just in case I needed to overnight on the airport floor weren’t called into use. On the long Sydney-to-Dallas return flight I found myself thinking of Australia as home and of Bolivia as a place I was going to visit. That’s quite a change of mind-set! However, I was only back in Bolivia for a day and a half before all that changed and I felt once again happily “at home”. Yes, it’s confusing!

Amazingly, I bumped into Dorinda in Santa Cruz airport on the way out. She had been in Cochabamba visiting with Maxima and the other weavers and we both happened to pick the same day to leave. We had time to catch up departing Bolivia and on arrival in Miami and then went our separate ways. I wonder how she feels about zipping between the two countries after having lived here for so long.

I tried out one of those super budget airlines to get from Dallas to Miami…Frontier. It’s really very good as long as you are aware of all the “extras” that can be charged on top of the basic airfare. For that reason I did away with a carry-on bag and opted for a very large “personal item”. I was pleased to at last have a chance to put my large handwoven shoulder bag to use. It qualified as a personal item and saved me $60. Here it is along with some of the other woven items that accompanied me on this trip….all so very useful.

And of course, I also took the new passport pouch. It was perfect.

When I arrive in Australia I find myself delighting in all that is around me (except for the cost of living. I could get five haircuts here for the price of one over there.) I suppose the delight that I feel in spotting a kookaburra will eventually wear off….but I hope it never does.

On this second trip, I didn’t gloomily fixate on the cost of things I was buying at the supermarket. Instead, I joyously did so when I got back to Bolivia. This is something that I completely take for granted and I need to remind myself of just how awesome it is that I can get all of this for thirteen U.S dollars.

And that is that for Australia for the time being. I hope to make another trip in August to house-sit but various things still need to fall into place before that can happen. I have already checked out possible places for anchoring my backstrap loom while there. As you know, I like to sit on a cushion on the floor and strap the warp beam to the base of my wooden bed. There happens to be such a bed in the guest room at my brother’s place. I can be happily installed there for a month of house-sitting with weaving projects underway.

And so I find myself back in Bolivia in that strange Limbo Land between weaving projects. As I have mentioned before, I am trying to work exclusively from my pre-Covid stash and so the materials on hand will determine my next project. I don’t have any need for another woven item (well, maybe a black and brown bag for those times when I am not wearing blue) but there are always new things to try.

I find myself with a large quantity of black 60/2 silk for some reason. Obviously there was a plan for something at some point about which I have completely forgotten. I am wondering if now is the time to think about weaving yardage. I might get closer to my dream of creating a piece of clothing from my woven cloth if I do so..

I need to put some thought into how I will decorate the black silk cloth and what would be the ideal width. In the meantime I have a new toy….

This followed me home from Australia. It was a gift from a friend. She had mentioned giving it to me on my previous visit and I admit that although I really appreciated the kind offer, I wasn’t immediately enthusiastic. But then I gave it some thought and came up with an idea for doing something that is possibly unique with these little woven squares and so here I am the happy owner of a pin loom. I particularly like the weaving needle that came with it as it has a nicely curved tip. It reminds me of the battens that I used to use for Navajo-style weaving with their cleverly curved ends.

This is just the kind of activity I need in my brain-fogged, jet-lagged state. I am trying out every kind of thick material that I have on hand…it came warped with acrylic and I have since tried cotton and several kinds of wool. This is perfect for my stash which has all kinds of odds and ends of wool that I used to use in my workshops on finishing techniques. The small quantities are perfect for this little pin loom.

As for the black and brown bag that I mentioned above, I don’t think I can get enthusiastic about such a project unless it involves something new. There has to be something interesting about the process…a new bag shape perhaps or a challenging weaving technique. I am thinking that maybe I can create a piece of fabric using the discontinuous-warp technique. I have used this technique before but maybe I can go go just one little step further in its complexity this time.

I can use this wool singles yarn. It’s not as hard spun as the Navajo warp and a little trickier to work with but I have enjoyed using it in the two projects I have made so far.

I’m as clueless about what will be next on my backstrap loom as you are. Let’s see what turns up in the next blog post….a whacky pin loom project, yards of unwoven black silk warp or the makings of another bag! By the way, HandyMum on Facebook makes awesome bag construction videos (no talking!) and quite a lot of her sewing is done by hand. My only criticism is that she very often doesn’t show the finished product before she starts which leaves you watching with no idea of what to expect at the end.

I’ll be at my loom taking a break from trying to figure which place is “home” to me. I’m just really confused right now!