What Is Intentional Design Anyway

Begin with a group of friends with a message, a meaning, and/or a desire . Add your favorite colors. Mix, wrap, blend, stir and voila! Intentional Design


Above is my first venture into group art. This piece was created during the Central Coast Weavers Intentional Design Workshop. Each segment is 1"x 5" and spells out the word "peace" mirror imaged and repeated. The piece is entitled The Many Shades of Peace"

Intentional Design is about giving and sharing (showcasing the work of the students in the workshop) "Virtual Quilt #3"


Intentional Design is a method of engaging the recipient of a weaving in the design process. The wearer becomes the designer.

Here is the beginning of a Blessing Blanket for Merin. Her relatives provided 10 blessing words. She and her parents gave me general color selections. There will be more posts about this blanket, so I won't go into the actual words at this juncture.


I will talk briefly about color selection. While still in the wrapping process, it is easy to shift around the colors to get the proper effect. Merin decided the wrappings above looked a bit too orange, so I re-wrapped some of the blessing changing the purple for the orange. Now she says it's not pink enough, so I will play around some more.


The wrappings begin to take on a life of their own irrespective of the weaving to follow. I now think of the wrappings as "Talking Threads"

More Intentional Design

I couldn't resist focusing in on Diane Ayers loom and weaving. For all the years I have been teaching, I have never seen a workshop loom like this---especially for a 4 harness plain weave gal like me.

I really had to put all of reverse loom snobbery aside on this trip (grin). but when all was said and done, Diane decided that plain weave was the most effective solution.


With a thick chenille alternating with a thin cotton (still amazingly with plain weave), the perfect marriage of plain and complex weave.

I couldn't resist making a "virtual quilt patch"

There is so much to tell and so many chapters yet to written. I think I will be coming back to this workshop again and again.

Intentional Design Workshop with Central Coast Weavers

Finally, some words and images to go along with the wonderful memories of my California sojourn to San Luis Obispo and Atascadero (where the workshop was held). I apologize for the lack of images, but I got so involved I forgot to take out my camera to show the outside of the wonderful straw bale barn, home to what looks like a working loom museum. What a fabulous resource and a great place to weave!


Each student arrived at the workshop with their loom warped with their Color Horoscope Weaving all ready to weave.

I am always amazed at the variety and inventiveness displayed by weavers. Don't you just want to try out one of those balls as a loom bench?

More to follow in upcoming post

A Good Picture is Worth 1000.......

One of the delightful, amazing and eye-catching pieces in Sandra's studio, is her transforming an old family photo into a weaving. Sandra took me through the whole process.

This is a close-up look at the satin-weave structure (and Sandra as a little girl)


One of the things about looking at other weavers' work is that I say to myself "I could weave that!" This is certainly not true looking at Sandra's work. What I did say is, "Oh, you must weave one for me!"

Now I am in the process of going through my old family photos seeking the perfect picture for Sandra to make into a weaving for me.

Here are some other nature studies
And a lovely scene in progress although if you go over the Sandra's blog, she is probably finished it by now.

Thanks again, Sandra, for providing a most delightful and inspiring afternoon!

But what about the Intentional Design Workshop, you might ask? Coming soon! I will try for tomorrow, but sometimes time gets away from me.

Well, Really the Day After Tomorrow

I was hoping to put up part 2 of my visit to Sandra Rude's studio, but life has temporarily intervened. I have so much to post.....

Visit to a Consummate Complex Weaver

Following the presentation at the Central Coast Weavers, Sandra Rude whisked me away for an exciting visit to her studio.

It was amazing to see the marriage of computer, loom, and cloth so elegantly orchestrated by Sandra.

Although I rarely dabble in any weave structure more complicated than a simple twill, I have a deep appreciation for the ultimate in complex weaving done on a Jacquard Loom.

Many people don't realize that the computer of today had it roots in the industrial revolution in the form of a huge incredibly noisy Jacquard Loom. Click to see an old Jacquard in action.


Mind-boggling, yes!
Boys and girls, you may not want to try this at home.

Because I have yet to figure out how to upload more than 5 pictures per post, (and I have tried all the suggestions folks have offered) come back tomorrow to see the amazing things that Sandra weaves on her loom. If you can't wait, then check out her blog.

Hello from the Central Coast Weavers

Of course, now I am back in Montana after an amazing visit to the Central Coast Weavers. I don't usually like to back-track, but this guild has much to share. If you click on their link, the first thing you see is this:

Guild Motto: Friendship is the shining path we weave

Perhaps all guilds have a motto, but this is the first one that I heard more than one guild member say to me. (and I got to see it in action as well as experience it fully during my all too short stay). If you belong to a guild that is struggling, study CCW's model. Their membership has grown considerably since the last time I was there. I came away with a deep sense of gratitude and a feeling of optimism about the future of Handweaving .

I finally have moved into the 21st century with my first power point presentation. In addition to bringing my laptop, I brought a copy of the presentation on a disk and a thumb drive. I did this because I had yet to see a power point presentation where everything worked right off the bat---except for this one (grin)

My new lecture and workshop, INTENTIONAL DESIGN, focuses more on the meaning one weaves into cloth rather than trying to figure out what the finished cloth will look like.

Many non professional weavers tell me they are not creative. I believe creativity is like a muscle that must be exercised in order to become stronger. I provide a gentle creativity workout for all levels of creative fitness.

More to follow!