Dawn is our resident tech support, class, and Color Editor guru, as well as being a weaver and fiber enthusiast.
Working with her, I have come to realize that this fantastic person is kind, intelligent, funny, loving, creative, and a darn good friend.
Read on to hear more about her, in her own words. ~ Kathy
I moved around a lot as a kid, but my favorite time was when we lived in the woods in rural Pennsylvania. We had a fabulous yard, full of weeds like pokeberries and goldenrod, and a menagerie of pets that included Lamb Chop, the sheep who thought she was a dog. Mom learned to spin Lamb Chop’s wool, and dye it with those “weeds” from the yard. This is now one of my favorite treasures!
In my teens, I was a cooking show addict in the days of Julia Child and The Galloping Gourmet, and slipped down the baking rabbit hole. Fast forward 15 years, and I was an executive secretary to a huge non-profit, going to pastry school at night, and baking for friends, family and coworkers, on EVERY occasion. I dreamed of a sweet little French pastry shop, but soon realized I wasn’t cut out for the grind of brides and theme-cakes and being sticky all the time!
I started knitting because my twin did – it’s a thing. Because I was at a desk all day, the internet was always there, and I discovered the magic of online knitting communities. A group of online friends and I went down the fibre rabbithole together. Knitting, spinning, dyeing, and finally, weaving! If string was involved, we were all over it!
I bought an Ashford Knitter’s Loom for my then-husband in 2006 hoping he would find a hobby, but it was soon all mine. By then I was on Ravelry. I used a LOT of my yarn stash on the rigid heddle loom, and made some fabulous moebius shawls, but very quickly had shaft envy.
I wanted to use my feet, too! Everyone was weaving pinwheels and I was completely in love with that pattern. The planets and stars aligned to lead me to my first floor loom – a gigantic 8S, 12T. 40” Gilmore. I was over the moon! We were together for years – she was a great loom.
I like to make useful things, so dishtowels flew off my loom. My mom still makes people get their hands wet so they can feel how absorbent my first waffle-weave towels are! I also dreamed of sewing with my handwoven fabric, and spent three years thinking about, planning, weaving, testing, and sewing a Baja poncho.
I had a hard time wrapping my head around OLAD (Obsessive Loom Aquisition Disorder), until a couple years later I suddenly had four looms in my possession, plus inkle and card weaving looms.
My dream loom – a Baby Wolf I’ve yet to weave on, is currently in storage. I dream of weaving with all the silk and cotton I’ve spun over the years, and Janet’s Twill Generator has me salivating over Wall of Troy and slash-dot twills. I live vicariously through the members of the Handweaving Academy for now, and look forward to joining them, posting my creations in the forums and sharing them with everyone!
I love everything about the Academy – from working with and learning from our incredible team, to spending time with members in webinars and meetings and online. I love seeing light bulbs flashing when the understanding of a topic falls in place. Weavers being excited to learn and share makes every day better for me!
