Field Trip: CLARA'S LOOM (Part 3)

First off, I want to apologize for the delay.  I know I was supposed to post this last part of our field trip on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, things have been total CHAOS over the last two days.  From longer-than-expected trips running errands on Tuesday to a mass blueberry fiasco yesterday my brain has not been functioning properly. 

Things are feeling more normal this morning (as normal as they get around here) so I'm ready to do it.  Today, our final day, I will take you into the outdoor area of Clara's Loom.  Here, you will find Celia's Garden Loom. 

For those who may not know what a Garden Loom is, you can see one in this first set of photos.  Essentially, it's a large wooden frame that you weave on.  There's a bar across the top that some twine is wrapped around vertically. 

If you were to Google "garden loom", you would come up with a ton of different photos and they all pretty much look like this.  The biggest difference is what people weave into their loom.  I've seen photos where some people choose to use nothing but organic materials and others who use strictly yarn.  Because Clara's Loom emphasizes sustainability, Celia uses scraps of fabric and yarn that she collects herself or that friends and customers bring to her.  And while the current piece she has going may not look super exciting, you'll see by the end of this field trip that every piece you add to it makes a difference.

Celia taught the girls the proper way to attach the pieces they would be weaving in, then one at a time, showed them the proper way to weave and helped as necessary.  In this photo, you can see that my daughted selected a piece of loopy yarn and attached it to a piece of scrap fabric.  The photo below is a close-up of my daughter's hand and Celia's hand as they worked together - it's one of my favorites from the entire day!!

This is where you'll get your chance to notice the difference in on the Loom.  We had 6 girls who went to Clara's Loom with us and participated in the Garden Loom experience.  I never would have expected that 12 scraps of fabric/yarn would have such a strong impact.  Celia even gave each of us an incentive to come back to see her soon - additional scraps that we can come back and weave in on our next visit. 

What will happen to this piece once it's completed was a big question for the girls.  Celia explained that once it's finished, she will finish off the ends so that the scraps stay together, then the banner that has been created will be hung up.  The girls loved the idea that they may be able to see their contribution hanging in the shop or classroom at some point, especially since we're already planning our next Girl Scouts field trip to make Friendship Scarves. 

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If you have scraps of yarn or fabric that you'd like to donate to Clara's Loom, feel free to contact me (I'll gladly deliver them for you) or contact Celia yourself for more information.  You can email her or call her at 251.943.2960.  If you're concerned about it being cheap yarn, that's not issue.  In her own words, Celia "doesn't discriminate".  Just like the majority of those who will read this post, she is a lover of all kinds of yarn!!! 

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Thanks for joining us on our first Virtual Field Trip.  I've already started scouting local spots for our next one.  It may or may not be a shop... follow our blog to stay updated on field trips, new additions to our online shops, sales, and just fun randomness!!!