Barbara Schutzgruber – Storyteller & Weaver

For over 20 years I’ve been donating handwoven shawls to several organizations’ silent auctions to raise money for scholarships and grants. Each shawl is unique which brings in generous bids, plus they’re a ‘one size fits all’ item so I don’t have to know the size of the person who will receive it. In January I wove a shawl for the National Storytelling Network’s Online Auction. The monies raised will be used to help strengthen the storytelling community, with all proceeds supporting member awards that nurture tellers, programs, and creative work across the country.

The last few years I’ve used a 3/1 twill threading – also called a ‘false damask’.

For the 2026 shawl I used cotton for the warp and space dyed tencel for the weft.

This threading creates a two-sided fabric with the warp dominant on one side and the weft dominant on the other.

I was pleased with the dramatic difference between the warp and weft sides. But using space dyed yarns for the weft is always an adventure because the changes in color are not always the same size and it is not easy to see if the pattern has been shifting until it comes off the loom…..SURPRISE!

And it was not easy to see if there were any treadling errors on the white underside = OOPS!

There were no easy fixes here so time to use the ancient technique used by artisans for centuries – incorporate technical errors into design elements. There was plenty of length on the shawl so I shortened it 14″ which removed one of the weaving errors and brought the other 2 and obvious change in weft color pattern closer to the end to become an accent feature.

I used the loom as a frame tying the warp to at the cloth beam, draped the shawl over the back beam and using weights to provide tension so I could CAREFULLY cut and remove each warp yarn without cutting the warp yarn.

It was a LOOOONG afternoon but mission accomplished!

The NSN Winter 2026 Online Auction is open for bidding on 74 items.
I have two items – the Reversible Shawl and a Woven Map Special Occassion Purse.
Bidding ends March 6, 2026.