The Woodside Weaver

Bits and Thrums of Kay's Story

The Woodside Weaver
In the center of Kay Flynn's weaving studio in Bend is a wood stove. Like a well set table, eight different harness looms surround the stove. Beyond the looms are floor-to-ceiling open shelves filled with baskets, tools of the trade, luscious texture and color. Kay will greet you with a weaver's handshake and visitors are encouraged to touch the finished goods around her studio. She has been teaching weaving in this space for 32 years. Who would know? Some lucky folks who rely on her talent and ability -- are the ones to know. There is a true sense of balance and calm in Kay's studio and in her company.

All about Kay Kay began a career as an x-ray technician in the Bay Area. In 1966, perusing the classified ads, she bought a loom and the instruction booklet suggested that it takes 97 steps and 14 of your closest friends to "dress" the loom. Not wanting to use that method, Kay learned a much easier method, which she has used for the past 32 years. Following her initial frustration she found a hand weaving shop close to home and took a class. It was from this point that Kay turned her interest into a passion. Kay became the shop's owner, moved Handweavers of Los Altos to a larger space where she taught weaving for the next five years. In her shop she sold weaving and spinning supplies; the comfort of her place turned into a stopover for fiber people in the community. It also acted as a gallery for local fiber artists. "Amazing (good) things went on in that space," Kay recalls. She tells a story of ordering a batch of yarn from a foreign country to discover anthrax in the fiber. Other shops in the area received a portion of the same shipment; the fibers were double-bagged and burned by the local health department.

Kay and Jack move to Oregon
In 1976, Kay's husband Jack retired and the couple moved from the Bay Area to the southeast part of Bend that is known as Woodside Ranch. They built their home and a weaving studio that Kay says "is almost more than I deserve". It has housed her business for three decades.The studio is in the forest of central Oregon looking out toward the Cascade Range and Mt. Bachelor, and is filled with looms and luscious yarns and a wonderful space for weaving.

Present day
Kay has now been weaving in Bend for 31 years. She uses a lot of cotton, silk, bamboo, tencel and wool. She offers a variety of weaving classes in her studio Challenges. It's hard to have 6 people each woth their own ideas, and for her to get her brain on straight to help each individual with their ideas and directions. Group classes are good because each student learns from the other - and it make the class much more fun. Fill the expectations of each class member. Not much time is wasted once the class time starts. People struggle with the warping process of weaving. She teaches a method of warping that is non-traditional that she learned from her rug weaver. There is no cross, no rattle, -- each loom remains threaded and you tie-on which means no heddle or reed work. Traditional steps are eliminated and it has worked for kay all these years without any problems. Her weaving style is non-traiditonal in the warping and for that it's unique.