We sat down with Academy member and newly published Handwoven contributor, Tina Glassenbury, to talk about her weaving journey – from spinning fleece in a local park to seeing her Hummingbird Hawk Moth towels on the front cover of Handwoven’s Spring 2026 issue.
Tell us a little about your background as a weaver:
Before I got into weaving, I learnt how to spin in evening classes and used to demonstrate spinning at a country park, using fleece from their Jacob sheep flock. After moving to France, I was inspired to try weaving on a rigid heddle loom when I saw the beautiful cloth that novice weavers in my local spinners and weavers association were creating. That was about 8 years ago, and over the following couple of years I developed my rigid heddle weaving skills with online courses and books.
I found the prospect of a shaft loom quite daunting – those incomprehensible drafts and strange vocabulary – but during lockdown in 2020 I decided to give it a go and upgrade to an 8-shaft Ashford table loom. I continued to use online courses and books to progress. I have never attended an in-person weaving class. I made mostly scarves and tea towels, always following other weavers’ designs, maybe with a few tweaks to the colours or number of pattern repeats.
The thought of designing my own projects was completely out of the question. However, I was pleased with the improving quality of my weaving and it had become a great passion.
I acquired a Louët Magic Dobby 24 shaft loom in 2023 when an old friend left me some money in her will. She had always encouraged me in my textile crafts, I thought it was a fitting investment in her memory.
What brought you to the Handweaving Academy?
In mid-2024 I received an email advertising the Handweaving Academy’s Advancing Twill course which was available to ‘à la carte’ members at the time. The photos of this beautiful weave structure convinced me to give it a try, and I also saw it as a way of trying out the Academy and seeing if it would help me to progress as a weaver.
The prospect of being able to come up with my own designs was very appealing. The course explained everything so clearly and gave me the tools and the confidence to create my own designs.
In a matter of a few weeks, I really understood the structure and was amazed with the designs I was able to come up with. The kind comments and encouragement from the teachers and fellow students boosted my confidence. I joined the Academy as a full member straight away after the course and it was the best decision I could have made.
How has the Academy changed your weaving?
Since joining the Academy my weaving life has been transformed. What was a serious hobby has become an obsession. I spend most of my time weaving, designing or thinking about weaving. Although I still have so much to learn (the field is so vast), 18 months after joining, my technical skills, understanding of weave structures, and ability to work with colour have been transformed. I understand tie-ups! I can do profile drafting! The work posted by the other members stimulates me to try new things.
One very satisfying aspect is that although I still weave scarves and tea towels, I get enormous pleasure from seeking inspiration from the natural world that surrounds me to design and create wall-hangings. I have absolutely no drawing ability and would never have described myself as an artist, but others who see my work do sometimes use that description.
What is so special about the Academy is the combination of superlative teaching of weave structures, design and using colour, the encouragement and support of both teachers and fellow students and the continual flow of tips and tricks to overcome problems encountered. I have the confidence to call myself a weaver, rather than someone who enjoys weaving. I am a weaver!
How did your Handwoven submission come about?
Tien suggested that a butterfly towel design I came up with at the end of the Advancing Twills course might be of interest to Handwoven. I was amazed that she suggested this. It would never have occurred to me to submit a project to Handwoven – that was for people with far more experience, competence and talent than I could aspire to.
Then, not long after, I saw a call for projects for a forthcoming issue with the theme of ‘Butterflies and Bugs’. As entomology is another passion of mine, I decided to take the plunge and to adapt the original design to suit their colour palette. The butterflies became Hummingbird Hawkmoths. I had no expectation that my project would be accepted, but what did I have to lose?
What was it like to see your work accepted — and on the cover?
When I received the email to tell me that my project had been accepted, I could not quite believe it. I was thrilled and it was another confidence booster. However, I still wondered if they might change their minds when they received the final submission. It was not until I received a proof to review and correct that I thought ‘this is really happening’. When I received the email advertising the publication of the Spring 2026 issue and saw my towels on the front cover, that was the icing on the cake.
Were there any challenges along the way?
The deadlines for submitting the article were quite tight, especially as I had to order the yarn and allow for posting timescales from France to the US. It was hard to slim down my introduction to 250 words, as I wanted to cover all the things that I had learned when weaving the project.
I found it quite stressful to think that my work would be captured in close-up and wove it very carefully, rather than my usual more casual manner. I have never measured PPI so frequently!
The hawk moth motif was very sensitive to PPI and they were repeated down the cloth, so consistency was important.
Any advice for weavers thinking about submitting to Handwoven?
I would say that if I can do it, so can you! Have confidence in your designs and the skills you have developed. The fact that we are still learning as weavers does not mean that our designs lack merit, and transmitting what we have learned to other weavers is part of a long tradition in our craft.
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Congratulations to Tina on this wonderful achievement. We couldn’t be more proud of our creative and talented Academy members.
Explore more member experiences in the links below
Behind the scenes of a Handwoven Magazine article by Yvonne Ellsworth
Challenge Shawl by Gwen Peterson
From Gamp to Scarf by Miriam Lebby
Weaving and design: The magic of meaning by Joy Hogg