Member Interview

Obe sacked out on the couch

Hi, I'm Cait of barefootweaver.

Hi there, Cait!  Please tell us about yourself.

I have been living in upstate New York for the past 18 years. A very peaceful place in the country which is sort of stuck in the 50s. We bought our farm which was a dump and my husband (Gary) bribed me with a horse to get me to move happily from the Village of Potsdam to the outskirts. We have spent the last 18 years working on the inside of the house, of course, but at least my kids know how to fix things now! :) I have 3 boys: Adam 30 (to be married Sept 5!!) Alex (21 and pursuing his engineering degree at Clarkson U), and Noah (19 and going to Skidmore in Sept after taking a year off between high school to have an adventure). They all light up my life!

Me on Dommie (I ALWAYS wear a helmet but I just jumped on for a picture!!)

We also share the farm with 2 horses (Dommie and Duke), 1 dog (Obe), and 4 cats (Ballou, Lucy, Mieux, and Adam's cat Magic on a long-term loan).

I have been weaving for 18 years now having learned from a dear friend who has since passed on. I love the rhythm of the work, throwing the shuttle and beating the resulting cloth, but what I love best is the designing and making of the warp, winding it on and threading it, weaving a little and then I can see if what I had in my head is what I actually achieved.

A warp being designed before it goes on the loom

And I am totally inspired by color combinations. I will pull over in the car if I see a flower combination I like or an unusual color outfit on someone and try to write it down descriptively for weaving later! I actually chose my name a long time ago because I always weave barefoot or with socks in the winter. It's hard and clunky to work the pedals on the loom with big ole shoes! So the name was a natural.

How did you learn about Etsy Project Embrace? 

I learned about Etsy Project Embrace also from treasuries. I found that the artists that I most admired and used in treasuries were all involved. Finally, Kristin convo'd me and asked if I wanted to join. It's funny because I think that was in September last year and my sister-in-law had just finished chemo for breast cancer. So I was honored to be asked. Then December 11 2009 I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Totally weird. So I found myself being so supported by all these amazing survivors as well as artists who just plain cared about what we were going through! And survivors Laura, Peggy, and Ginny have been very inspirating to me. I have met some wonderful people through this group--too many to name here and feel very close to them!

Do you have a blog?
Yes: http://barefootweavercait.blogspot.com

What is your favorite item in your shop?

I love my scarves because they give me a chance to work up different color combinations without a huge investment in threads and yarn. But my favorite is probably the Red, Red Rose Wrap.

Red, Red Rose Wrap

What is your favorite possession, and why do you cherish it?

I cherish my mother's engagement ring. She is 89 years old and one of my favorite people. My children also made a book for me for my birthday--"(A Few Of The) Reasons Why We Love You." They filled it with sentences, stories, paragraphs...made me cry and I will treasure it forever.

Do you have a collection?

I used to collect horse figures when I was small but now since I have the real thing I guess I mostly collect yarns and I have a huge collection of artwork that my kids did!

My horse collection

Where would you like to be, and what would you like to be doing 10 years from now?

In 10 years I would like to be grandmothering (is that a word?)(no pressure, kids!)! Actually just to be here weaving and riding would be fine with me!

Some cotton cones for towels