Beginnings

My relationship with fibre began at age 9, learning to knit at my grandmother’s knee. Learning to spin my own yarns was a natural evolution from knitting, as was weaving. My interest in felting later developed for me as a unique way of integrating image into fabric.

Growing up in Toronto, I thought I was headed for The Ontario College of Art and a career in design, but a summer vacation to British Columbia after high school changed all that. I ended up in the Cariboo Chilcotin Region with a job planting trees, and have been living in the area ever since.

My first loom was a simple frame – 2 x 4s and nails.  I advanced to a 45” Cherryville counterbalance loom and on it I produced a variety of textiles from blankets to scarves to yardage for clothing. Over time I gravitated to tapestry, and studied for a time with Michele Menage in her Gobelin studio in France.

45” Cherryville Loom

 I now focus primarily on tapestry in my own work, weaving on a 60” LeClerc Tissart. I draw my inspiration from the natural world around me, and from travel, where I seek out and explore cultures with unique textile histories and traditions.

 - Maureen LeBourdais, Artist, Host, and Owner of MamaQuilla Textiles