The Weaving Story

     "Hand-weaving for me was a natural next step after many years of sewing and making gifts. To create and design fabric one thread at a time creates a rhythm to my life”.

     When Nancy O'Connor bought a simple back strap loom over 30 years ago little did she realize that it was just the beginning of a life long passion for weaving.

     Her hand-woven family gift ideas became a small business when her items sold at small local craft fairs. Hand-Weaving by Nancy O'Connor has become more product defined over the years. Now, instead of making many one of a kind items she does production weaving and creates vibrant rayon chenille scarves, shawls, and hair scrunchies.

     Nancy finds it gratifying to create her own original patterns and color schemes. The medley of colors reflect natures beauty that surrounds her at her mountain-side home - flowers, trees, birds and the four seasons of New England.

     Thinking back on her early years of weaving she remembers weaving and assembling pocketbooks, place mats and ponchos into the wee hours of the morning in preparation for up-coming fairs. When she married, her husband was in the Navy and they traveled across the country with a floor loom and bags of yarn. Her weaving education came from trial and error and from the other weavers that she met during their traveling years. Settling back in New Hampshire Nancy raised a family, acquired sheep, learned to spin and became a devoted weaver. Today visitors are greeted by the sound of swish / thump of her large floor loom.

     Besides weaving Nancy enjoys demonstrating and teaching her craft. She feels that demonstrating is a great way to help educate the public to what weaving is all about - creating cloth one thread at a time. She finds it rewarding to work with 4-H groups, Girl Scouts and with school groups. She hopes that she will inspire at least one interested young person to help carry on the tradition of hand-weaving.