The Birth of a Great Idea

Great ideas start with completely unrealistic thoughts.

~ Markus Mettler

With all that time freed up by not taking in a foreign exchange student, I decided to dive into something new!  (A contributing factor was my husband asking me what gift I wanted for our upcoming wedding anniversary...)  

You may remember that I was fascinated by the weavers I met and watched in Peru:  

This type of weaving is called "backstrap weaving" because one end of the "loom" is attached to the weaver's body by a strap around her back.  The other end can be attached to anything sturdy.  And the "loom" itself is not much more than a series of sticks...  

One cool thing about this is that it makes your weaving project portable - something that is NOT true of my floor loom projects!  

So, I did some research and asked my husband for the equipment that I need to try my hand at backstrap weaving:  

A backstrap loom from Magical Moons on Etsy:  

(Didn't I tell you that it was mostly just a series of sticks?  )

And a handwoven backstrap from Guatemala, purchased through The Fair Line on Etsy:  

I joined the Backstrap Weaver's Group on Ravelry:  

And I prepared my first warp, using mid-weight, 100% mercerized cotton, as recommended in this tutorial:  

I was able to use my floor-loom warping board and here is a close-up of the cross that both types (maybe all types?) of weaving use:  

Now, I'm just waiting for the mail...  and dreaming about weaving...  

For example, I'm envisioning that my first project will come out something like this:  

Even though the picture in the "first project tutorial - a narrow, plain weave band" looks more like this:  

In any event, it's sure to be an adventure!  

Wish me luck!  :)