Sep 04 2007
Textiles: Weaving handmade fabrics into your spaces
The traditions, practices, symbols and “magical” associations surrounding the art of weaving are some of my passions. And, when it comes to creating Sacred Space, textiles can serve many purposes.
I wear them during space clearing ceremonies or use them as the foundation for magnificent, colorful Altars. I have some weavings that I use daily as a scarf or shawl. I use exotic, tribal pieces as table runners. I hang weavings on the wall (since after all, they are an art form) and I toss them over the back of a chair or sofa. Handmade fabrics can instantly shift the energy and Feng Shui of a room.
Mostly, I find that hand-spun, hand-woven materials delight my senses and uplift my spirit and the energy of my home. My heart sings when I look at them.
Living in northern Thailand I am surrounded by an incredible wealth of textiles in a variety of fibers - silk, cotton and hemp. The women of this region are famous for their intricate and beautiful weavings (a few lovely examples are pictured on my website: click here to see examples of beautiful hand woven textiles.
When I choose textiles, I consider the materials (silk, cotton, hemp), the texture, the color (muted or bright, earth tones, jewel tones), the type of dye (natural sources or chemical) and the energy and symbols they might have woven in. Sometimes I choose a textile based on its history or who created it.
For example, recently I had the chance to visit Grandma Raza - a hemp cloth weaver. Raza is Hmong and her tribal village is in the mountains north of Chiang Mai.
She demonstrated the many steps of preparing, weaving and dyeing - it is difficult and time consuming work and truly a labor of love! Weaving hemp is an all-female endeavor, handed down mother to daughter. From Raza, I got a long, un-dyed hemp scarf that her own mother wove (Raza is 86, so the scarf is very old!). It is plain and a bit worn, but it has a wonderful energy and a buttery texture. It is a textile I will treasure and wear with great joy!
You can see my photo gallery of the trip, which includes some portraits of other women in the village at: www.floweringmoon.com/hmonghemp.html
Copyright Deb Swingholm, 2007. All rights reserved.
Tags: Altars, photo gallery, photo gallery