The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. — Alvin Toffler

by Guild Member Shirley McKee

At the 2016 Minnesota State Fair, Keith Pierce wove six bookmarks in six different patterns in six hours.  In his blog, he says that this was a simpler project than the one he did the previous year when “I spent most of my time unweaving, which of course wasn’t what my audience wanted to see.”  I understand.

Weaving and talking at the same time is difficult enough, not to mention the questions and comments from a random, excited, endless audience.  The question remains:  How do you simplify and yet not bore yourself or them?

As with life, variety is the spice of weaving.  And in card weaving, new patterns can be achieved without re-warping the loom.  Because the cards work independently of each other, each can be turned, flipped, or rotated without affecting the others.  Manipulation of one card affects the ordering of several pattern threads.  Adjustments that take seconds to make can produce surprising results for each new bookmark – or within a single one.  Keith summarizes this with photographs and detailed instructions here.

For me, following his process was a pivotal point in my understanding of card weaving.  In repeating what he did, I unlearned some preconceptions about warp-faced weaving that had slowed and stymied me.  At last I was learning by doing:  I made correlations between the draft and the product.  I started having fewer problems sitting down at the loom and wondering where I’d left off.  Undoing and correcting my mistakes became a learning experience, and card weaving became less mysterious and more intentional.

If you’re ready to try card weaving again, check out this and more on KeithWeaves.com and come to the Banditos special interest group of the Minnesota Weavers Guild.  Topics include card weaving and related techniques, tools, materials, and designs.

Banditos meets in person at Open Book and via Zoom on the second Thursday of the month from 10am to noon, Central Time. Keith Pierce is the facilitator. Contact Banditos@WeaversGuildMN.groups.io for the latest meeting info, updates, Zoom details, etc.
– Shirley M