Wayback Post : My Saori Intensive

Way back in May, I made a huge step climbing out of agoraphobic exile in Terre Haute and went to Boston to visit my eldest son Ian and his wife Lisa. (Many blessings on my son Shaun for accompanying me and taking care of all the travel details. And blessings on granddaughter Sophia for being a great example of an Intrepid Traveler.)  I was left free to manage me. And I managed me very well, nary a hint of the panic beast, just normal levels of excitement and travel apprehension. Quite seriously, the Zen Flow Worry Chart was a useful tool throughout the trip.

Whenever I found my anxiety level beginning to rise, I posed those questions and it really helped me to stay in the situation and be pretty close to present and calm.  Certainly my anxiety level remained low.

When we planned the trip, it seemed ridiculous that I might be so close to Saori Worcester and not take advantage of the proximity.  And so I planned a two-day weaving intensive in Worcester while Shaun and Sophia traveled to NYC. Intrepid Traveler duo.

Nat and MIhoko have created a beautiful home and studio there and I had an amazing time. Mihoko was able to cover everything I had on my list to learn and she was a splendid teacher. Nat’s enthusiasm, generosity and life force make me smile today.  There were lessons all around.  And here are some pictures:

I knew we were in the right place when I saw the Saori banner at the front door.

Nat and Mihoko

The beautiful, light-filled, loom-filled studio space

 The cubbies where projects are stored. 

One of the very special properties of Saori looms is the ability to switch work-in-progress.

This is accomplished by having multiple 'inside sets' which consist of the two harnesses with heddles and the reed.Warp is wound on a sturdy cardboard tube (you can see it in the picture below, it's actually a square tube ) which slides off the back beam. Heddle frames and reed are removed, the completed part of the weaving is unwound from the front beam, and the front tie rod slipped out.   

A table with bobbins, shuttles and basket of 'treasures', bits and pieces of waste yarn and fiber that become lovely and interesting inlays:

Some finished pieces that were around the studio:

This is a t-shirt with reverse applique - a beautiful use for Saori scraps!

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And, finally, here is a watercolor of a stunning project organized by Saori Worcester: The Saori Bridges of Elm Park, in which several bridges were hung with banners woven by Saori weavers around the world. The pictures are breathtaking, I can only imagine what it might have been like to see it in person. You can get more details and link to see the individual banners through this page: Saori Bridges

Thanks Nat and Mihoko, for all that you do in the world!