Wheat from Chaff

I read a blog by Jim Wright for a number of reasons.  He's a writer and a political commentator, beholden to neither end of the political spectrum.  This morning his blog talked about information overload and how difficult it is to separate the wheat from the chaff.

In context of my adding to the overburden of information, I started thinking about what I was hoping to accomplish by writing and (self) publishing another(!) book on weaving.

I've told the story elsewhere about doing a demo during a level one Olds class and having a student ask me which book the information I provided could be found.  And realizing that none of the books I was familiar with contained all of the things I had talked about in one place.  And that it was time for me to sort through what I understand about weaving and write it down.

This book isn't intended to be The Compleate Book of Weaving - others have done a more thorough examination of how cloth is constructed.  What I am hoping is to provide information for those people who would be interested in the type of information I feel is important, but may not be able to take a class that covers it.

There are people who will disagree with my conclusions, and that's only to be expected.  Someone weaving rag rugs, or velvet, or on a Jacquard, or tapestry, will have a different experience from what I routinely do.  Who is correct?  Why, all of us.  Because change one thing and everything can change.

What I, as well as other authors, struggle with is the people who will be disappointed in what is offered.

The internet is a double edged sword.  Someone like me can use the internet to get the word out about my publication, I can post it to a website like we recently did with Magic in the Water so that people can go there, choose a pdf or print-on-demand format and buy the book.  On the other hand, people can also write reviews of the book, some of which may not be flattering.

Even the video clips I uploaded to You Tube have their fair share of thumbs down 'comments'.

But what I am hoping to do is plug some 'holes' that people may have in their foundation of knowledge so that they can make the whole process flow more smoothly.  To encourage weavers to be more thoughtful about what they are doing.  To sit in a way that will not encourage injury, and work more efficiently so that they can accomplish what they want to do without the bottle necks that inevitably crop up - or at least be prepared when they ramp up their intentions.  What a weaver may quite successfully do on a short/narrow warp may begin to fall apart when they want to go longer/wider.  Establishing 'good' practice right from the beginning means a much more pleasant experience in the years to come.  In my opinion, of course.

I don't expect people will do exactly as I do.  Feedback from students lets me know that they take in what I say, then tailor their processes to better suit themselves.

And that is a Very Good Thing.  But I am also aware that this publication is aimed at a very tiny niche of the weaving world and not everyone will find it useful.