DOWAGIAC — Up in her loom loft, Susan Leach, of Dowagiac, sits at her loom and works on her latest weaving project. In the next five days, Leach will weave more than a thousand yards of fiber and hundreds of rows until the project becomes a camel and beige colored shawl.

Recently, Leach, who is still new to the weaving world, posted a photo of one of her handwoven shawls on an online site. She received praise from weavers she admired and was humbled by the experience, she said.

In August 2018, Leach retired from the corporate world after working in human resources. She questioned what she would do with all her time. Now, a year later, she knows her answer is Woven Love, her weaving venture she started in order to create custom handwoven pieces.

Leach visited Central America 10 years ago for a church conference and had seen a gentleman in El Salvador with a giant loom and became fascinated by it, she said.

Years later, Leach’s dog breeder was selling a loom. Although Leach knew nothing about weaving or what anything was called, because she was retired she realized she had the time and passion to learn. Through recommendations, Leach found a weaving teacher in La Grange, Indiana and learned what weaving was all about.

“I just fell in love with it immediately,” Leach said.

Leach had already been a fan of colors and textures, as she has traveled extensively, even living outside of the U.S. While on these travels she was able to further spark a passion for textiles, fibers and colors — especially those from India, South America, Central America and Italy.

“I’ve always gravitated toward bright colors and things that just make me feel alive,” Leach said.

At the age of 12, Leach was taught how to sew by her mother, but jumping into weaving challenged Leach in a new way. She considers weaving to use a combination of both the left and right sides of the brain. Her background in human resources combines precision with the right side of her brain, which she said loves color, artistry and how things blend together.

At first, Leach took on personal projects in an effort to learn how to do patterns and twist fringes. Then Leach started to have requests from people to make custom pieces.

“I just get so much pleasure out of seeing somebody happy when they open up something that was made just for them,” Leach said. “The right size, the right colors, the fibers they picked out.”

Leach said weaving is an old-fashioned craft and skill. She has noticed many looms for sale in the area are from people who have passed away and whose families do not know how to weave.

“Every project I take on, I learn something new or I try something new,” Leach said. “I just find it be fascinating, and it’s a peaceful way to spend my time.”

While weaving her handwoven pieces, Leach listens to music, prays for people and reflects on upcoming plans.

“It’s just so fun to see a project start from one thread tied onto a post, to something 80 inches long,” Leach said as she showed off a recent project she finished for a woman living in Florida.

When it comes to fibers, Leach tries to work with natural fibers that are not synthetic, such as mohair, silk, alpaca, yak and fine wools. Leach also gets as many of her materials as possible from Yarn on Front in downtown Dowagiac, she said as she opened up a cabinet to reveal many of her fibers, which were bought from Yarn on Front.

Overall, Leach is proud to be preserving the craft of weaving. She recently attended Dowagiac’s Summer in the City event and showed her weaving to visitors in Mud-Luscious. 

“It’s like creating fabric,” Leach said. “It’s very intricate and takes a lot of time. A lot of people don’t have the patience to do anymore.”

Leach will continue to take custom orders and wants her customers to know the intention behind each row.

“I get joy out of it and as long as my outcome brings joy to people I am happy,” Leach said. “Everything I try to do is with love from the beginning conversation. Then, I carefully pick out the right fibers. I figure every row has a little bit of love or thinking of good thoughts.”

Readers interested in learning more about Woven Love can contact Susan Leach at susanleach7@gmail.com or through her Facebook page.