A Visit with Jill Sanders

I have known Jill Sanders of Saori Santa Cruz for about six years now, ever since I purchased my first Saori loom. While there are many Saori dealers in the U.S., there is only one with the service and dedication head and shoulders above the rest. Jill has always been available for help via email and phone call and consistently goes the extra mile. We have also been moderators together for two Ravelry groups; the Ashford Knitters Loomies and Weaving in the Saori Way. But we had never actually met face to face. And today we did.

Jill lives in a little fairytale-like hideaway near Santa Cruz, CA, nestled amongst redwoods. She has decorated her little corner of the world with unique pieces.

Inside her home are looms, spinning wheels, yarn, and fiber. Jill teaches Saori weaving and is a dealer for Saori looms, which are made to be beautiful, efficient, timeless pieces of equipment. Because of space issues I ended up selling my Saori SX-60, but still have my Saori Piccolo, which I love, love, love.

Bob and I brought the little tape loom that he made for me and Jill had fun playing with it.

Photo by Jill

She showed me her Seidel tape loom,too. A pretty piece of equipment! We talked about looms, spinning wheels, Ravelry, and life. The time just flew by. Eventually it was time to say our good-byes, and Bob and I headed out.

Jill recommended taking a walk through the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, not far from her home, so we stopped there before returning to the campground. We were glad we did! It's a beautiful place for a walk. There were trees there that were over 1800 years old, and a crosscut piece from a 2200 year old tree that had fallen down. Amazing!

This was my first time seeing redwoods. A great way to end a fabulous day.