By Denise Jess
This winter I chose to learn a new craft, to challenge my brain and nurture my creativity. At the Council, we often hear clients and visitors say that while they miss doing things like knitting, woodworking or sewing, they assume they cannot do these things as their vision changes, or they hesitate to learn a new craft or hobby. In sharing my experience, I hope others may find the courage and excitement to step back into the crafting world or find a new hobby.
I’ve been a “yarn junkie” for most of my life, learning to knit at age 9 and dabbling in wet felting and spinning over the years. Having limited and not always reliable functional vision, I’ve learned how to “read” my work with my fingers and hands, how it feels to make a knit stitch or the texture of fibers binding together when felting. I’d always wanted to learn to weave, but the story I told myself was that weaving was so visual. How could I possibly learn it? Remembering all the wisdom that I have about how to navigate my world through tactile information, I decided it was time to challenge this old story and signed up for a weaving class with Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR).
Even though MSCR’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for individuals by providing year-round recreation and enrichment opportunities that are accessible to all, I was still nervous about how I would fit in with the other learners, and I worried about the instructor’s willingness and ability to partner with me in my learning. There was no weaving class specifically for those who are blind or have low vision. Before signing up, I studied the weaving process through reading and listening to video instruction, so I understood what I was getting myself into and could begin to determine my accessibility needs. My adult daughter, who has wanted to learn to weave, and I decided to take the class together. By buddying up, we could support each other, as I’m a master at listening to and remembering multi-step instructions and she’s the queen of navigating visual details. Plus, it was a joy to have the time together for the next several weeks.
I reached out to the class instructor, Liz Walker, to introduce myself and begin a dialogue about my access needs over email. I clearly articulated what I’d be doing to support myself by bringing a task light, accessible measuring tape, magnifier and other tools to class. Liz, a talented weaver and master teacher who has worked with adults and children for many years, already had many best teaching practices under her belt. She sent me course handouts before the first session so that I could preview what we’d be covering and formulate my questions.
Liz noted that I was the first legally blind student she has ever taught. She found our dialogs very helpful in preparing to teach the class. “Denise’s enthusiasm for learning new skills and her love of textiles made her a joy to have in class,” Liz shared. “She clearly articulated her needs and in dialogue with her I adapted my teaching to make the class more inclusive.”
When she’d demonstrate techniques, Liz invited me to sit close. She used high contrast yarn colors to make it easier to see and encouraged me to touch her examples throughout to feel the results of the techniques. She was comfortable with me or my daughter videoing her demonstrations so that I could listen to them later when I needed clarification. I believe other students followed suit, collecting videos and pictures of the demonstrations as needed.
As people who are blind or low vision, we can believe that we are a burden in situations like this, unfairly taking up the instructor’s time or holding others back from their learning. In reality, we can add to the value of the experience for others, as some of the accommodations may be helpful for other learners. For example, Liz’s use of high contrast colors in her demonstrations made it easier for everyone to see the patterns. Additionally, our participation encourages and supports dedicated teachers to be more creative and inclusive in their practice, benefitting both the current class and future learners. As Liz reflected, “Denise understands woven cloth best by touching it. Her unique perspective encouraged me to focus on tactile beauty, not just visual appeal. She inspired me to savor the tactile richness of both the woven textiles and the act of weaving itself.” Liz concluded by saying, “This significantly enriched my teaching and the learning experience of all my students.”
Were there moments when I was frustrated during the learning process, wanting to give up and walk away? Absolutely! Those feelings simply go with learning something new that is challenging. I’m so happy I stuck with it and completed my project. I look forward to wearing it and know that I’ll come back to improving my skills in the future. I also had the opportunity to spend time with my daughter, learn from a talented teacher, and meet some very interesting and lovely people in the class.
