Barbara Dull lives in a quiet corner of Connecticut in the Berkshire foothills. Her inspiration is all around her, in the autumn foliage, the sunlit mist on local ponds, and the birds and foxes out her back door.

A small space in the 1883 barn is her cozy studio. The hand-built home she shares with her husband Steve and two cats houses the larger loom. Here she has space to move about, designing, spinning, and weaving her shawls and jackets, scarves and throws.

Using a modern wheel, Barbara spins yarns ranging from the finest silk thread, to a heavier, thick and thin, merino/mohair blend. With these yarns, Barbara creates one- of-a-kind and limited edition pieces for her business, Woven Together. She feels the use of hand spun adds another traditional element to the weaving.

After spinning the yarns, Barbara winds them and various other hand dyed yarns onto a warping board, to establish the basic structure of the piece. The collection is gathered as a grouping or "chained off" the warping board and brought to the loom to be "dressed" or threaded. This threading of the reed and the heddles determines the drape and the patterning of the fabric.

Once the loom is threaded the warp must be "tied up" to the correct tension. Like every weaver, Barbara has her own techniques to make sure the tension is even across the warp. Often she simply closes her eyes and lightly pats the warp with her fingertips over and over.

Then it is time to weave. The simple rhythm of throwing the shuttle side-to-side is very meditative. Barbara never tires of seeing the cloth appear before her eyes.

The woven fabric is not finished until it is washed. Only then does the fiber open up and relax, transforming it into soft and stable cloth. Barbara feels fortunate to be a part of this most ancient art form and to have used all that she has learned to refine her own methods and her own original designs to be woven into wearable art.

 

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