Scandinavian Weavers Retrospective – Mary Lønning Skoy
July 9, 2015 Leave a comment
Mary Lønning Skoy
“I trace my fiber roots to my Norwegian/Irish mother who taught me to knit and further back to my Norwegian great aunt Sunniva Lønning, a weaver, spinner, teacher, and activist in mid twentieth century Norway.”
Rya 2014
Rya knots tied between rows of plain weave
Cotton warp, rug wool weft, mostly handspun wool in the knots, 48” x 24”
This rya hangs above our fireplace mantel as a reminder of our Norwegian heritage.
Traditional Christening Coverlet
Boundweave with pick-up woven band
Cotton seine twine warp/Norwegian Spelsau wool weft, 26” x 40”
This christening coverlet appealed to my fascination with the color red. pickup band around the border on an inkle loom.
Mary also has a pair of Norwegian twined mittens on display at the Craft Museum of Finland in Jyväskylä, Finland, this summer as part of the “Deep Roots” exhibit of textile works by Scandinavian-American artists. Her lengthier biography for that exhibit is:
I have been involved in the fiber community in Minnesota since the early 70s as a weaver, spinner, knitter, and frame loom weaving teacher. I wrote a booklet, Weaving on a Frame Loom: A First Project, to help weavers learn to weave with a rigid heddle loom. I organized an after school knitting club teaching dozens of teens to knit. Walking down the halls of Minnetonka High School seeing kids sitting at their lockers knitting is one of my cherished memories of 32 years there as an English teacher. I have written articles which have appeared in Handwoven Design Collection #4, Handwoven and SpinOff magazines, Weavers Journal, and A Thread through Time, the Weavers Guild of Minnesota’s 75th Anniversary book.
About Robbie LaFleur
Scandinavian Weavers Study Group 