Teaser

 

Yesterday I started weaving the samples for the Next Big Project.  

I have been running numbers, examining the content, working out how best to present the material.  

This morning I woke up at 6 am and the thought squirrels immediately began running rampant through my brain.  Not able to shut them up (or off, or whatever) I finally gave in and got up.  

We have another hot day coming up and I will happily spend the time at the loom finishing this warp and then getting the next warp ready to weave.  I don't know if there will be time or energy to start weaving that one, but getting it into the loom will feel very good.

I am now at the point where I am having trouble fitting everything I want to say into the allotted time.  Because there are so many It Depends things to cover!

Nothing in weaving is set in stone.  It's all a spectrum.  It all depends.

If I do nothing else in my life, if I can convey that to a core of weavers who can continue to teach, I will feel I will have accomplished something.

I don't know that I have the spoons to do one more Big Project, so I am pouring everything I have (which isn't much) into doing this one.

And yes, I'm teasing.  It means a great deal to me to pass on my knowledge, and the way I do that is to let people know what I'm doing.  It will be up to them to decide if they are interested.  Or not.

I would also like what I do to be somewhat eye appealing, so I am hem stitching all the samples on the loom.  There are other things that can be done, from serging to gluing.  But for the purpose of these samples, hem stitching is the 'best' approach.  Never mind it takes longer to hem stitch than weave each sample.

People talk about not wanting to feel pressured to work efficiently.  For me it is the only way I can work.  Some people seem to think that working efficiently is to hurry.  To somehow not enjoy the process.  Not feel every thread pass through my fingers.

I can assure everyone that when I wound this warp - by hand - I felt every end.  When I beamed it, I did it manually.  I threaded every end into the heddles and every end into the reed.  My hands are throwing the shuttle for every pick and making each stitch in the hem.

The fact that I am efficient just means that I can do it in less time with less effort.

This is not inherently bad.  It is just a by-product of working with small motions instead of grand ones.  Knowing my processes so intimately that I don't have to stop and think, or forget things and have to backtrack.  Except of course when I DO forget, and then I have to fix that.  Fortunately I don't forget very often, and when I do I can usually come up with a work around.

With any luck and no fourth wave of covid, this Big Project will go ahead on schedule and be available in the new year.  

Stay tuned.