Filled With the Skill?

Peter, builder of the looms, prepares to deliver them to the church for L'Art to begin their weaving project.

The Saga of the Woven Paraments Part 1: When L’Art decided to fashion new banners using the craft of weaving, we were truly stepping out in faith. Weaving was a technique that we found interesting, but one in which we had very little experience. Trusting that the spirit would guide us, we commenced our project without much of a plan.

We had virtually no budget.

We did not have a loom.

We had no fabric with which to weave.

None of us considered ourselves adept at weaving.

We didn’t have a clear idea of what the resulting piece would look like.

What did we have?

We had a supportive congregation and inspiration from Exodus 35, verses 23 – 29:

“And everyone who possessed blue or purple or crimson yarn or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or fine leather, brought them ... all the women whose hearts moved them to use their skill spun the goats' hair ... All the Israelite men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.”

Kathy works with the warp thread.

We felt that our hearts had moved us to create a work of art that would be a freewill offering to the Lord. However, reading ahead to verse 35:

“He has filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of artisan or skilled designer.”

Molly and Nancy warp the looms.

Starting out, we privately thought to ourselves, and quietly spoke amongst ourselves:

“What do we think we’re doing?! We’re not artisan weavers! We haven’t been filled with the skill!”