Vila Cox - About me

I was a bookkeeper, by profession, and worked for a small company doing all of their office work. I was lucky to be able to work half days and have time to take care of my family and pursue my passion for fiber. When the company closed, I became a full-time production weaver.Vila Cox at a loom

I love to work with my hands. It is hard for me to just sit and watch television in the evening. There is always an urge to be doing something, so most of the time you will find me with a project in my lap, half paying attention to the show. The projects vary, depending upon my current "needs." Sometimes a needle feels right, or maybe the knitting needles call. I never know what will catch my fancy, and my husband has learned that there is no telling what will appear next.

My Hobbies

Now I say I am a Handweaver! Before I learned to weave, I was content with doing many types of needle work. My mother taught me to embroider before I started school. At a young age, I wanted more and attempted my own type of crewel work before I knew anything about it. The results were not pretty. Mom also taught me how to knit and crochet.

I was involved in the 4-H sewing program for years. Through school and into my early married life I made a lot of my own clothes. When money was short, many members of the family could expect that their gift from me would come from my sewing machine.  

Later, I did learn proper crewel work and then progressed onto cross stitch. My daughter and her two cousins treasure Christmas stockings I did in counted cross stitch for each of them. From cross stitch, I moved onto hardanger. In hardanger pieces, you start with a piece of fabric. After the base stitching is done, you clip some of the threads and pull them out of the fabric. The next steps involve needle weaving the areas from which you have pulled the threads.

How I got into Weaving

Weaving came next, and there I found my true passion in fiber. A person with whom I work, told me about card weaving and I tried a bit of that. Soon after, someone mentioned a local weaving class. I took a weekend course that got me started with the basics and I jumped off the deep end. I found a 4-harness loom that lasted about six months. By then, I had to have more harnesses so I could explore more complicated patterns. I found an 8-harness Gilmore loom that was a wonderful loom on which weave. Then, a 16-harness AVL came up, ooh, more pattern possibilities. I was still wanting more though. Then I heard about a 24-harness AVL. Oh my, is it too strange to be in love with a piece of equipment?

When I first started weaving, my husband was watching me set up the loom. He asked, "How do you know how to do that?" My answer was, "It just comes naturally." Some times I joke that I must have done this in a past life. It seems so natural to me. 

Through the Guild I learned how to spin. Spinning is a social activity for me. It is fun to get together with other spinners and chat as the fiber is being spun into yarn. I do some weaving with the yarn I have spun but not a lot. It used to take seven spinners to keep one weaver supplied in yarn. I would rather spend most of my time weaving. 

Not too long ago, I started learning how to make bobbin lace. The lace pillow is currently sitting under a table in the weaving studio, waiting for me to get back to it and make some more bookmarks. They make wonderful gifts . . .

Non Fiber Related Hobbies

There are some things I like to do that are not fiber related. I am an avid reader.  If I pick a book up I usually don't stop reading until I have finished it. I love science fiction fantasy, but do read other kinds of books as well.  I have discovered the joy of audio books.  Now I can listen to a book as I weave or set up my loom.

I love learning new computer programs. Building my website has given me an excuse to learn more programs. It has been quite an undertaking!

Soap making is something else I enjoy doing. I like using and making olive oil based soap and find the process fascinating.