Bio: Nancy started weaving in earnest at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts in 2017 by taking classes offered by Traudi Bestler. She wanted to learn to weave independently prior to her retirement and has tried her hand at a multitude of 4-shaft weave structures. She continues to explore techniques for the opportunity to learn and to connect with other makers. Nancy is drawn to bright, vibrant colors and especially to the color PINK! She enjoys both the design and the technical aspects of completing a woven piece. As a bonus, textile-related travel has taken her to New Mexico, Massachusetts, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and most recently to the Peruvian Andes. She hopes to explore the rich textile heritage of Morocco in 2025.

Description: An online photo and the discussion of the similarity between Turkish Kilim and Scandinavian weaving patterns led me to the book Flatweaves from Fjord and Forest: Scandinavian tapestries of the 19th and 20th centuries. I ordered the book to learn more about the piece in the photo and chose to weave a smaller, modified version of the original weaving. The original design was thought to be from a carriage cushion woven around 1800 in southern Sweden. In 2019, I traveled to Sweden with a subset of our Scandinavian Weavers Group to learn various art weaves. I returned with a “sampler” that included a tiny portion of this geometric tapestry technique called rutevev (Norwegian) or rölakan (Swedish). In 2022, I received further instruction from Jan Mostrom during her class featuring square weaves at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. This weaving method is VERY slow going as each square in worked by hand using yarn butterflies and a single-interlock process. Some rows required up to 29 color changes per row! This particular piece has 1320 passes of the weft across the warp and finishing required 1775 ends to be woven by needle into the back of the work. (My super power is persistence!) Many of the designs in heirloom weavings have spiritual significance. This particular piece contains symbols of the sacred: a rose, birds and numerous crosses.

naebner@msn.com