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2022 Summer Weaving Challenge: Week Four, "Collaborate on a Project"

2022 Summer Weaving Challenge: Week Four, "Collaborate on a Project"

By Mirrix partner Leah Russell from Beadographer

collaborate

For this week, your challenge is: collaboration!

I’d like to share my example of a three-way collaboration. 

I met Jessica last summer when she was having trouble with my bead design app and needed help. We had a nice chat and I got to know her a bit: Jessica has a website (www.theartfulbeadweaver.com) and an Etsy bead shop with “literally every color Delica 11/0”, a BA in Multimedia & Web Design from The Art Institute of Philadelphia, and a young son. I later discovered she also has a talent for selecting palettes, so I knew she would be the perfect partner for this challenge. 

I gave her a budget and asked her if she would create a palette for me. I am somebody who likes control, so trusting somebody else to select my beads – which I buy only as a rare treat – was a challenge in itself! My only parameters were “warm colors, Delica 11/0”. The rest I left up to her. This is what she chose:

When I received the package, I was initially delighted, impressed with Jessica’s gift for selecting colors, and a little stumped. These weren’t the earthy opaque beads that dominated my inventory, and I wasn’t in a mood to experiment. What could I do with these that would be a sure-fire success? 

I decided to adapt a Claudia Chase pattern that I really liked. Remember the Meredith Necklace from the Mirrix weave-along in March this year? I loaded that pattern into Beadographer, edited it into an abridged version, and swapped in Jessica’s palette. Here’s the result. Amazing!!

If you missed the weave-along, here’s a photo of the original necklace (made with a Toho palette) -- 

Meredith necklace

Jessica had selected the beads without knowing the pattern; Claudia had originally designed the pattern with her own set of colors, and I was the middle gal who had gone in without a plan. So all three of us were contributing “blind” to the others. So fun! I kept marveling as I wove at the talent of my weaving partners. And now I have a piece I love that is totally different from anything I’ve created before.

Here are some ideas for your own collaboration:

  • You do one part of a piece and a friend does another
  • You and a friend use the same pattern but choose different colorways
  • You each create a “finished” piece and then swap for embellishments
  • You design something for another weaver, who customizes and weaves it
  • With one or more other person, agree on a subject/theme and each do a piece on that subject
  • You and a friend give each other a design prompt

If you want to collaborate but don’t have a buddy (or you’d simply like to do it with a stranger!), just post “I want a buddy” in the comments on this post in the Mirrix Facebook Group and we’ll try to make sure everyone gets a match. 

Or, if you subscribe to Beadographer, you can design something and post the project code on this post in the Mirrix Facebook Group for somebody else to bead! (Please note that doing so enables them to edit the pattern and use it as they like – so if you prefer to retain some control over the pattern, you should instead post a screenshot of the project and send interested weavers a .PDF which includes licensing details.)

Psst! Jessica is willing to make up palettes for you, too – another opportunity to collaborate!

Please share about your process so we can all hear and see!

Happy weaving,

Leah

Share: 
We hope you have fun with this challenge! When you're finished with it, we encourage you to post pictures on social media! On Instagram and Facebook, use the hashtag #summerweavingchallenge on your public posts. You can also email me (elena@mirrixlooms.com) pictures and lessons from the challenge. We will share some of these in the coming weeks!

Remember, Summer Weaving Challenge awards will be given based on participation and achievements, so let us know what you're working on (via email or on social media, as noted above) if you want to be considered for one of the amazing prizes (including a 12" Loom and goodies from some of our amazing partners like Rebecca Mezoff's "Introduction to Tapestry Weaving" class, a tote bag from Gist Yarn and some SoftTouch wire by SoftFlex.) at the end of the summer!