Long time no see. A lot has been happening but at the same time not a lot has been happening.
In the “a lot has been happening” category I’ve undergone a dramatic change of scene:
It’s certainly dramatic for someone who has been living in a landlocked country for the last twenty-seven years. The following might give you a clue as to my whereabouts….
Yes, I’m back in Australia for good after having talked about making this move for years. But I’m still in transition mode as I will be staying with my brother and sister-in-law in this beachy area on the mid north coast of NSW until mid November when I will then move to my own place in the Blue Mountains.
It’s a lovely area for strolling in bushland and by the shore. I walk around the block to a large open field where kangaroos come to graze in the late afternoon. They’re far too shy to allow me to photograph them. We stop still and stare at each other for a good five minutes after which they nervously return to their grazing. However, I only have to take one very cautious and almost imperceptible step closer and they’re off.
Kookaburras create quite a racket when I take a stroll around the neighborhood but will instantly pipe down the moment I turn on my camera to record them.
I had long planned to fly out of Bolivia on April 28. I had my accident with the four-legged black torpedo that I described in my last post one month prior and it almost messed up everything. Needless to say it was tough leaving after thirty-two years in South America and all the fuss after the accident didn’t make it any easier. I was in need of both mental and physical therapy by the time I reached my brother’s place on May 4.
I’m alone now house-sitting for my brother and his wife who are away traveling for two months. I watched the bag I wove and sewed for my sister-in-law back in 2006 head out the door for yet another world adventure…
Here they are in Alaska on this current trip where Deb’s using it to hold her binoculars….
The best mental therapy during this newest transition period has come in the form of sitting on the beach in the sunshine, inhaling the sea air while listening to and watching the waves roll in. It reminds of this weaving I did some years ago….
Now it’s humpback whale migration season and on the next clear day I’ll head to the lighthouse to see if I can spot them.
Other forms of therapy…..smelling eucalyptus leaves burning as folks rake the fallen ones up to burn in the cool evening air (such nostalgia!), walking along accompanied by all the magical birdsong that I recognize from my younger days in Australia, making new friends which has turned out to be super easy in this wonderfully friendly community.
One such friend that I met at the weekly craft group happened to mention in conversation that she had lived in Papua New Guinea. I immediately asked her if she had seen the bilum bags that artisans there make from plant fiber. The stitch they use is exactly the same as that used by the Ayoreo people in Bolivia although the plant material used is different. I remember my Ayoreo teacher being fascinated by the fact that these people on the other side of the world are making bags using the same technique.
The main difference is that the bilum bags are stitched much more loosely. The looping is very much more open, even more open than the work by the Wichi artisans in Argentina. The bilums are also worked as a continuous round and are, therefore, seamless whereas the Ayoreo artisans work a row from left to right and then flip the work and return, once again working from left to right. Jey brought a bag to show me that she had collected fifty years ago. I’m guessing the colors are from natural sources and it’s amazing how vibrant they are after all these years.
The Ayoreo work is so much tighter that, when set next to the bilum, it’s very difficult to see that the looping technique used in both is indeed the same. It was very exciting for me to be able to see this work and I can’t wait to send a photo to my teacher in Bolivia. Jey tells me that she even used to have a small hammock made in this technique for one of her babies.
What do I do when I go along to these weekly craft group meet-ups with my rehabilitating hand? Well, I’m just about able to put enough twist into my takli spindle to spin some of my brown cotton. There’s progress because when I first arrived here I couldn’t do it at all…couldn’t even grip the spindle. It’s not the most comfortable thing in the world and I can’t do it forever and a day as I used to.
There are issues with my wrist and I’m not recovering the range of movement that I had hoped. It’s taken me this long to get an appointment with an orthopedist here and I’ll see him on Wednesday to find out what’s going on and if there’s any reason for concern.
BUT I have been able to weave! In my last post I showed how I had trained my left hand to operate the loom and do pick-up. In this way, the hatband I’d started before the accident slowly got finished and my friend did a fabulous job of attaching it to his hat after I had already left Bolivia.
Well, now I can do all that using my injured right hand. I’m able to wind a decent warp, make string heddles and weave narrow bands with pick-up using medium weight cotton thread. I’ve never before thought about what role each of my two hands plays in my weaving process. When I’m using two sets of heddles, it turns out that it’s my left hand that does the twisting and rolling action on one set while my right only needs to pull the other set straight up. It can manage that and do the pick-up!
So, I’ve been making some key fob thank-you gifts:
This band got folded in half with its ends clamped between the jaws of the key fob hardware. Then I made another for one of my physiotherapists who I felt had gone above and beyond. I found out that she has two much-adored golden retrievers that have their own Instagram page and so I wove a fob with their names.
I think it’s fun that the lettering matches the rather unsteady and quirky writing on my hand-written thank-you note! Fortunately, my former bank in Bolivia has been the only place so far that has insisted on my producing a perfect signature.
Alison Irwin created a chart of letters in this structure that I call Andean Pebble Weave which was published in the Winter ’22 edition of Little Looms magazine. I sometimes need to make adjustments to the letters in order to create the ideal spacing in the particular words I’m weaving. The chart for the paw prints can be found in my Complementary-warp Pattern Book along with two other versions.
There’s a long list of people to thank. I’ll be busy at the loom making gifts and that’s yet another form of therapy. Luckily the guest-room bed has a wooden base and I’ve been able to anchor my loom to it in much the same way as I did in Bolivia.
It might be a while before I can get into this though….
Some of it is insanely fine but I do enjoy weaving with fine thread and…..silk! I can’t even imagine untying those skeins and winding the thread into balls. Actually, my hand could probably manage that but right now I can’t trust it to wind a good well-tensioned warp with such fine stuff. I wouldn’t be able to maintain a steady grip on the thread. That’s something to aspire to. I think I’ll have to take on working with increasingly fine material in slow steps as I slowly recover function in my right hand.
At craft group I also got to meet up with the lady who two years ago had given me a skein of gorgeous variegated silk. I’d sent her photos of what I’d made with it but now I could take the finished piece and show it to her in person. You might remember this project…..
Now she’s teaching me how to crochet winter slippers. Remember that it’s winter down here. I’m so slow though that I’m not sure I’ll have these finished in time! There’s wrist rotation involved in working the hook and I can’t do that yet. So, I hold the hook steady and move the work around instead. It seems to be working! We’re just using scrap wool for this initial sample while I get the hang of it.
I love that things that I’ve been weaving over the years are now coming out and being used on a daily basis. I never used this bag in Bolivia and now it goes with me everywhere!
I was having a bit of a down day at the radiologist having my wrist x-rayed when the receptionist admired this bag that I happened to be using that day. She was quite bewildered when I explained that I’d made it myself…..from scratch. No, I hadn’t bought the fabric. I took yarn, tied a pattern onto it, put it into two different colored dye baths with more tying in between, removed all the ties, wove it into fabric on a simple loom of sticks, then sewed the cloth into a bag, wove a strap and edged the flap. Sometimes I forget what this must sound like to a non-fiber, non-weaver person! And then the inevitable question…how long did it take? After all that, she may have regretted having complimented my bag but that simple compliment had made my day ❤️.
So, while I’m excited about the fact that my hand can tolerate my making a couple of key fobs, the thing that has made me happiest is that there is a new backstrap weaver in the making here in Lake Cathie. Courtney, who comes along to every second session of our craft group meet-ups, showed up today with this….
She had just finished crocheting a stunning mochila bag when I first met her and was, as a never-ever weaver, busily researching how to weave a strap. Well, you know that I can’t help myself and I took one of my key fob warps along to show her. She was immediately hooked and went off with links to my Backstrap Basics article and my Basic Warping for Backstrap Looms video class which are both free and available here on my blog. What a great job she’s done rounding up the bits and pieces and getting herself set up. She made my day when she brought this this morning to show me. How I miss in-person teaching!
Do I miss Bolivia and the folks that I have left behind?…of course I do! Oh my aching heart. I had a teary moment on my way back here when I visited a mega supermarket in the States. I noted the rows and rows of neatly and attractively arranged goods, the lack of raucous cumbia music, the wide open spaces, the comfortable controlled temperature and immediately missed the chaos of the Santa Cruz street markets with their dirt, heat, crowds, odours and noise! (And prices, I might add. Phew, that has been an adjustment!) But, sigh, choices have to be made.
So, that’s all for this post. My hand is saying “enough!” (and unfortunately I had quite a painful and restless night as both hand and shoulder protested against my having typed all this at my laptop). They’re much happier weaving.
I’ll leave you with something I spotted at the beach the other day. Nope, I’m definitely not in Bolivia any more.
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SO glad to hear about your progress Laverne. And how wonderful that there’s a crafting group! I can imagine that Courtney had no idea what she was getting into when she said she wanted to learn to Weave. Abrazos. – K
By: fiberassociations on July 1, 2025
at 11:43 pm
Thanks for your support, Kate. Your emails have been inspiring.
The craft group has been wonderful! I’m so lucky to have found it and Courtney’s interest has meant a lot to me. I’ll try not to overwhelm her with my enthusiasm!
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 3:04 am
congratulations on the move !!!! probably 10 years later then I thought. Looks great , and you works as always Amazing. Hope you heal soon <3
By: Yonat Michaelov on July 1, 2025
at 11:46 pm
Thanks, dear friend. Somehow you feel closer over there on the west coast than you did when I was in Bolivia! Yes, it’s taken me a while to take the big step.
I always enjoy seeing your artwork on Facebook. It’s seems there’s nothing at which you don’t excel. Keep it coming!
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 3:02 am
I know that you have been talking for a long time about returning to Australia. How exciting and scary for you, a whole new chapter in your life. I hope you find a wonderful place to land and enjoy the new lifestyle.
I am glad to read that you are able to do some weaving, some injuries are such a hassle to come back from. The therapy tape is pretty wild, I will not be surprised at all to see some of the motifs appear in your weaving. I am kicking around the idea of getting another ukulele so if that happens, your Andean Pebble weave patterns will be put back into play. Thanks for the great pictures of your new place!
By: tscweaves on July 2, 2025
at 12:15 am
Thank you, Therese. Glad to hear that you’ll be getting back into your Andean Pebble Weave. I’m surprised how well I’m managing it myself on narrow bands when I still can’t feed myself properly or even squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube. Thank goodness for weaving!
Thanks for reading along and taking the time to leave comments.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:59 am
Welcome back Laverne, I hope your wrist recovers – sounds like things have not exactly gone to plan. I am now living in Ballina in the Northern Rivers area and if you find yourself up this way, please call in and say Hello. I’m sure you will find lots of textile friends when you do settle in Blue Mountains.
Kind regards Helen Halpin
(I have fond memories of the class you gave about 8 of us in Springwood over 10 years ago, you introduced me to a better understanding and appreciation of backstrap weaving).
By: Helen Halpin on July 2, 2025
at 12:32 am
Hi Helen. Fond memories here too of the time I spent weaving with you and your group. I’m sure they must all miss you. I’ll be joining the guild.
I have a chance now to wear the lovely handwoven silk scarf that you gave me. Yes, if I’m ever up north, I’ll definitely get in touch. Thank you!
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:56 am
Welcome home – I love hearing of your walks down your memories. I can vividly smell the burning eucalyptus leaves – we had several of them in our yard in Hollywood when my family first moved there in 1966. I loved doing art projects with their seed pods with my 1st graders. This must be a time of transitions. Because of Norm’s health issues we’ve recently decided that it’s time to clean out and sell the AZ house. This coming winter downsizing will be our total focus. It was a tough decision and we went back and forth. Pros and Cons for each place. But Tahoe finally won because we have more friends and family up here. I hope you enjoy settling into your new home. un fuerte abrazo – Virginia
By: Virginia on July 2, 2025
at 4:30 am
Thank you, Virginia. That must have been such a tough decision. I’m sure that leaving all your guild friends behind will be hard. I keep remembering that enormous Shipibio pot you have and hoping he makes a safe journey too!
Good luck with the move and I hope your first winter back will be a gentle one.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:52 am
It makes my heart happy to know you were finally able to complete the move, and even happier to know that your recovery from the injury is allowing you to do more and more of the things you love!
Wishing you many more walks on the beach, and lots of happy weaving!
By: Deanna on July 2, 2025
at 4:57 pm
Dear Deanna. Thank you so much! I might actually be the same distance away from you now as I was in Bolivia. Makes it feel like a visit one day won’t be too much out of the question. Thanks for your good wishes!
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:50 am
Welcome home! I hope our paths cross sometime soon. I will be at Hive & Gobbler at Dungog this Saturday and the following. I am teaching spinning this weekend and joining a Kintsugi workshop there next weekend. I hope your wrist improves soon. Take care.
By: Elizabeth Woods on July 3, 2025
at 3:12 am
I hope our paths cross too! Would love to sit and spin with you some time. I still use the spindle you gave me. You were the one who got me started!
Good luck with your workshops. Would love to know more but must wait for my hand to recover more.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:46 am
Welcome back to this side of the world. I am sorry to learn about your injury, and I wish you a full recovery.
I have a string bag that I bought in Panama, and it has an open structure, just like the bilum bag that you show in the photo above. I also purchased a pouch in Laos that has the open looped construction. The museum staff told me it is made from a vine. One day, I will try to figure out how to make this.
By: Esther on July 3, 2025
at 4:19 am
Thank you so much, Esther!
I’ve been sent photos by fibre friends showing bags made from plant fiber that they’ve acquired in their travels. Many do have very open looping but the style of looping us not the same as that used in the bilums and the Ayoreo bags. There are so many techniques and it’s all so fascinating.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:45 am
Your newsletter is like getting a letter from a dear friend. I look forward to hearing all about your new adventures in future newsletters. I hope the orthopedic doctor is able to help in all the ways you hope for. It is summer hear in northwest Florida, I’m trying to do inside home maintenance projects and only do outside work in the early morning. I’m already yearning for the Autumn gardening season. Bye for now.
By: Maggie on July 4, 2025
at 5:43 pm
Hi Maggie. I so appreciate your warm message. It’s like getting a warm hug. Thank you. I had good news from the surgeon with a plan that should improve my progress. It might be happening as soon as next week.
Stay out if the heat and enjoy your summer. I know exactly what you mean. Santa Cruz, Bolivia has very similar weather. I’d only venture out in the cool of the evening.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:41 am
Hi, Laverne!
I’m coming to you for advice. I’m teaching an elderly friend how to weave on a frame loom with a heddle bar, and she is taking to it like a duck to water! Her first warp is about 1/3 of the width of the frame, but she wants to go full width for her second warp.
I’ve found that the heddle bar works fine, but the shed is quite small. I’ve been showing her how to use a long stick shuttle as a shed stick, to make a wider shed that is easier for her to insert her weft shuttle into.
When we move up to full width, we will need a shed stick that is 50 cm long, and I’m wondering if you would know where I could find one for her online. A long pick up stick would also work fine, especially if she moves on to pickup techniques in the future. The shuttle we are now using as a shed stick is 2.5 cm wide and 0.5 cm thick, and seems to work fine.
I love your work, Laverne, even though I am not a backstrap weaver. I have done harness weaving for years, but I love anything and everything about fibers and textiles. And I am confident that anything you recommend would be perfect for our needs.
Thanks so much for your help, Laverne!
Joanna
By: nlncmjd on July 6, 2025
at 3:12 am
Thanks for your lovely message! I just did a search on Google and see that suppliers like Schacht and Ashford offer what they call either shed sticks or pick-up sticks that would work for your friend. They come in a variety of lengths and cover the 50cm that you require. There are also a number of artisans on Etsy that offer shed stick/swords and they often will do custom orders. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble finding what you need.
Good luck to you and your friend!
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 2:37 am
Thank you so much !
By: nlncmjd on July 10, 2025
at 3:28 am
Welcome back to Australia, Laverne! So glad to hear you have a crafting group nearby. The culture shock is very real, but you will adapt. Wishing you wellness in all ways
By: Wendy Garrity on July 8, 2025
at 4:08 am
Thanks, Wendy. It’s been a good experience so far except that navigating the health care system in this semi-rural area has been a nightmare. The craft group has been wonderful….such lovely people and customer service and attention generally are first rate. It’s like constantly receiving a warm hug. I just hope Sydney will be as nice.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 12:42 am
I would like to buy the book containing the Inkle weaving patterns. Does it come as a book? or do i have to get it printed. How do I make the payment? Many Thanks Pippa
By: P LE ROUX on July 8, 2025
at 3:53 pm
Hi Pippa. The link to the website that sells my books is there in the text of the blog post. Just click on that and you’ll be taken directly to the place where you can buy that particular book. All the information regarding forms of payment etc are there. Be aware that the pattern books are just that…patterns but no instructions. You need to already know how to do either Andean Pebble Weave or Complementary-warp Pick-up. Instructions for those techniques are in my other books that you’ll find on the same website.
By: lavernewaddington on July 10, 2025
at 12:37 am
Hello! I’m just catching up with your blog after a long time away. I hope you’re feeling even better today than you were when you posted. I am so glad to see that you can weave; it’s maddening to not be able to do these things our hearts need to do.
By: jess on July 17, 2025
at 4:50 pm
Hi Jess,
Thanks so much for your warm wishes. I’ve had another surgery since I posted which has set me back to square one as far as rehab goes. But the long term results will hopefully be much better.
By: lavernewaddington on July 20, 2025
at 5:13 am
Hi Laverne, so glad to see you back in Australia, I first met you on the UK online guild. I thoroughly enjoyed your blog but to help with the long typing I speak my words into my phone if I can’t do it on my computer and then email it to my self and cut and paste, it it’s much easier than typing with arthritis in the fingers, I’d rather save them for weaving 😄. But do read through it very carefully!!!! 😅 Although your site shows me as subscribed I haven’t been getting any messages so I must remedy that and check it out. Good luck with your move back home.
I am in southern Queensland and because of downsizing after our last move I am tending to use my inkle loom more. And looking for more things to do with it. At the moment I am interested in passementerie work. Then I want to try other types of weavings on it. So a lot to explore. Thank you to people like you who give so much to encourage us.
Judy🌺
By: judeanne8 on July 18, 2025
at 10:34 am
Hi Judy. Wow, those UK Online Guild days were a long time ago. It’s lovely to know that you’ve been following along since then.
I did quite a few teaching tours on my visits to Australia but never made it to Queenskand. Hopefully, I’ll make it up there to weave with people one of these days when my hand has recovered.
By: lavernewaddington on July 20, 2025
at 5:17 am
Thanks Laverne,
If you ever make it to Queensland, especially the Toowoomba region I’m sure I could organise a workshop if you’re interested. I belong now to the Toowoomba Spinners Weavers and Dyers Group we may not be al that big, but we are interested in lots of different things. We have a very active weaving group within it and I also belong to another weaving group and many of their group belongs to another couple of weaving groups.
Helen, it’s good to hear from you too. You may not remember me but I was a friend of Jean Ingles and went to quite a few of the weaving workshops at Geelong.
Laverne I am still a member of the UK guild but not very active in it these days.
Cheers Judy
By: judeanne8 on July 20, 2025
at 9:25 pm
Laverne, it is wonderful that you are healing well, and making lemonaide from lemons by developing your left hand. Are you familiar with the healing of Reiki? Reiki heals with universal energy that comes through our palms. A brief “attunement” is needed to ennable this, given by a Reiki teacher. No belief system is involved. You need not believe that it ‘works’ for it to work. Once you have an attunement, the energy flows through your palms to wherever you put you hand, as long as you intend to give it. I will give you an attunement if you wish (I never charge). Or I can send you Reiki, with your permission, although I do not think this is always effective from me; sometimes it is. Many people who do Reiki say that it helps healing broken bones and in some cases has shortened the healing time. It is also good for healing muscles, and many issues, physical and emotional. I do not give classes, but I have taught Reiki to friends and family for over 25 years. If you are interested, my email is vwsahin@gmail.com. Thank you for all of your wonderful work and sharing, and for being you. Be well.
By: Adel Weiss on July 24, 2025
at 1:05 am
Laverne, it is wonderful that you are healing well, and making lemonaide from lemons by developing your left hand. Are you familiar with the healing of Reiki? Reiki heals with universal energy that comes through our palms. A brief “attunement” is needed to ennable this, given by a Reiki teacher. No belief system is involved. You need not believe that it ‘works’ for it to work. Once you have an attunement, the energy flows through your palms to wherever you put you hand, as long as you intend to give it. I will give you an attunement if you wish (I never charge). Or I can send you Reiki, with your permission, although I do not think this is always effective from me; sometimes it is. Many people who do Reiki say that it helps healing broken bones and in some cases has shortened the healing time. It is also good for healing muscles, and many issues, physical and emotional. I do not give classes, but I have taught Reiki to friends and family for over 25 years. If you are interested, my email is vwsahin@gmail.com. Thank you for all of your wonderful work and sharing, and for being you. Be well.
By: Adel Weiss on July 24, 2025
at 1:07 am
Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply and your generous offer. I’ve since found out that a woman in my craft group is a practitioner. I’ll admit that I’m not a believer. Thank you for introducing me to it I’ve learned a bit about it as a result.
By: lavernewaddington on September 2, 2025
at 5:59 am