WOOL ROVING WALL HANGING

So somewhere along the line, life got a bit busy and I stopped finding time for creative projects. Don't get me wrong, I've still had a couple of knitting projects on the go and I've completed three photo books too (I'll share these later), but it feels like it's been a long time since I sat down and focused 100% on making something new.

And last weekend, after a bit of a hard week, I sat down, brewed myself a cup of tea, put on a favorite podcast, got some materials out and started making a wool roving wall hanging. I've never made anything like this before (though I do remember doing some basic weaving back in school when I was about six—does that count?), but I googled a couple of tutorials and looked at Pinterest for some inspiration, and it was just so wonderful to just sit down and try something new, something just for fun. I need to do this more often. Making stuff is my zen.

So one of my goals for 2018 is to complete 12 projects. I'm counting this wall hanging as my first. And then I thought maybe if I share my projects here on this blog, that might make me a bit more accountable and likely to finish them all, so here I am, writing away. I haven't made a set-in-stone plan for what the next 11 projects will be, but I've had a good brainstorm and just really looking forward to trying new things in general and being creative.

For this wall hanging, I used the lid of a pizza box to make the loom, some old weaving threads that I inherited from my grandmother (she was an avid weaver and did huge, complicated tapestries), and three packs of wool roving that I bought for 20 kroner each. So in total, this project cost me 60 kroner. The little wooden beam I just had lying around, leftover from an orchid I managed to kill a while ago.

I went for a pretty abstract look, where my only plan was to try to make some thick braids that faded into thinner braids, and then do some basic weaving in between to even it out. The wall hanging is far from perfect (and I'm not actually sure it fits the space it was originally intended for), but I had such a good time making it and would love to make something similar again.

So here's to a creative 2018 and hopefully 11 more creative projects!