Sunny Day

 

Yesterday a parcel arrived in the mail.  When I got home from the dentist, it was waiting in the mailbox and I sat down to open it and discovered this lovely bit of sunshine in the form of two tatted doilies.

Now, I never did grasp the 'secret' of tatting - I could never get the knots to set properly - but I am familiar enough with the technique to appreciate the delicacy and consistency of these lovely textiles.

There was also a note with them.  A note that definitely warmed the cockles of my heart.

In many ways, sitting down here at the desktop letting my thoughts ramble around feels, well, I don't know how to explain how it feels when I write my blog posts.

I know that there are people 'out there' who read what I write, some of them regularly, some less so.  Some let me know that my technical posts are useful, helpful, and honestly that was what I was hoping for when I started this 'conversation' in 2008.  

I've been on the 'net since 1994, long before Facebook or other social media sites.  I enjoy helping people.  But I soon learned that unsolicited advice wasn't always welcome.  Rather than horn in on a conversation in groups, I decided to put what I had to say here - my site, my opinions - as someone put it.  

I'm the first to admit that not everyone agrees with me on everything.  And that's fine.  I just don't need to get into slanging matches with others.  Either they agree with me or they don't, no need to get petty about it.  Besides, change one thing, everything can change.

Someone commented recently about the 'discussions' I would have on a group we both belonged to.  There were times that I would offer my advice/opinion and would immediately get shut down (or so they thought) by someone vehemently disagreeing with me.

One instance was someone asking how to adjust their AVL in order to achieve greater tension on the warp.  I hesitated to answer because while I did just what they wanted to do, I knew it was NOT recommended by AVL.  After waiting for someone else to answer the question, but no one really addressing what the original poster asked, I finally chimed in and told him what I did in order to do what he wanted.

About 5 or 6 guys (yes, they were all guys) immediately lambasted me saying I didn't know what I was talking about and even suggested, very forcefully, that before I damaged my loom I needed to go, post haste, to the AVL school and find out how to use my loom 'properly'.

By this point in time I had been weaving on my AVL for nearly 20 years, in exactly the way I had explained.  While I'm sure these 'johnny com lately' weavers had been weaving on an AVL for a few years, I'm also quite sure none of them could match my output (at the time).  And I was doing it in exactly the fashion I had outlined.

I read through their admonishments and shrugged and went back to the loom.

When I came back I discovered that Allen  Fannin (who I agreed to disagree with him on several fronts, but never felt that he talked down to me like the dude bros had been doing) said that while we did agree to disagree on a number of things, when I answered a question people should pay attention because "Laura knows what she is talking about".

The lovely person who sent these doilies has been very encouraging and supportive, even though they are not a weaver, but does other textiles arts.  They thanked me for my writing, saying that they frequently learn 'something' even though I mostly discuss weaving.

But that's the thing.  The principles that apply to weaving also, in large part, apply to other textile crafts.  Because we are all working with 'string'.  And that 'string' is made from fibres, and those fibres have been spun into yarn.  

So a lot of the things I say about weaving can also be said about, for example, tatting - if you can't be perfect, be consistent.  A thread under tension is a thread under control.  

And as a person working in the creative field, others in different creative fields may also find lessons that apply to them, too.

I'm just finishing reading The Real Work; the mystery of mastery by Adam Gopnik.  And even though he doesn't talk about weaving, he talks about learning.  About paying attention.  About 'flow'.  And I think about how all of those lessons he is talking about are applicable to any process that requires skill - and that pretty much means anything human beings do.

I haven't decided where to use these doilies.  They are so pretty I'm tempted to frame them.  But I'm also a huge believer in *using* useable things, not 'saving' them for 'good'.

Lately I've been posting nearly daily, and like a pebble I toss my thoughts out 'there', never knowing where the ripples will end up.  And sometimes, those wavelets come back to me and I know that someone, somewhere, has read what I said and taken something of value for themselves. 

And I feel like I have 'permission' to keep tossing thought pebbles out there, never knowing where they will go, and how they will return...

Approaching the Finish Line

 

The Larsen books.

These are the five books by Jack Lenor Larsen (with others) that Allison had in her collection.  I feel sad that so few 'new' weavers are aware of his contribution to the textile world and community.  What can I say?  The books are gorgeous and if someone is looking for inspiration, they would not go amiss in having these books.

The two with Mildred Constantine are truly 'coffee table' books.  Large format, wonderful photographs.  Material Wealth is fabulous.  For all those people who say 'commercially' produced fabrics are poor quality - well, this book puts the lie to that statement.

The other 'inspiration' book Allison had is the Ann Sutton book.  There are times when just paging through such books can fill up the well of creativity.  There is much to admire in these books and I'm hoping that a guild somewhere will invest in them for their members to use.

The memoir is signed by Larsen, for anyone who likes that thread of connection.  

This morning someone tagged me saying that they had half-remembered an article produced by WeaveZine and when they found it realized that it had been written by me.  And thanked me for being a good resource.  

If I have done nothing else, I hope that I will be leaving behind good information for others.  I mean, what else can one hope for, other than being regarded a person who wanted to help?  (Someone emailed me yesterday to say that they have adopted the technique of tying a slip knot into their threading groups and are finding it makes the sleying go much easier.  Yes!  Me, too!)

In this day and age where caring for others seems to be being discouraged, I will continue to help, as best I can.

But I am also reaching the end of the amount of time and effort I'm willing to put into this effort to re-home Allison's books.  If nothing else, I'm hoping some guilds will invest in some of these books because they represent - in many ways - our history.  And knowing our history, understanding our ancestors both near and far) and keeping our history alive seems like A Good Thing.

Thank you to all who have bid, so far.  I have been sending packages off nearly every day, hoping that these books will continue to provide inspiration and connection for many more years to come.

Pleasant Surprises

 

This was not the book I was going to write about here, today.  I was, in fact, going to talk about Jack Lenor Larsen - a contemporary of Mariette Rouseau-Vermette.

I've told stories about my (brief) encounters with both, I think in my memoir A Thread Runs Through It.  I've certainly talked about each at one time or another, possibly even here.

But neither were particularly on my mind when I logged into my public library website looking for a new book by Kate Heartfield, due out in September, according to the announcement I saw on Facebook a few minutes ago.  (If you like historical stories imbued with fantasy/magic, you'll probably love Heartfield.)

I put the title of Kate's book into the search bar, but since the library doesn't yet have a copy of that, the search results spit up a bunch of books that didn't seem very connected to my search.  But!  There it was.  The biography of Mariette Rouseau-Vermette.  And it was already in the collection so of course I snagged it.

As soon as I saw it, I thought about Jack Lenor Larsen, which was who I was going to talk about in today's blog post, because Allison had a number of his books about contemporary art, textiles for interiors, his memoir, etc.  

And I also saw a notice from a weaver in New York today about Jack Lenor Larse.  And somehow all of those things snapped together and, well, here I am.

Newer weavers may not know who Larsen was, and the contribution he made to modern textiles.  He studied with Dorothy Liebes, just like Rouseau-Vermette.  And as I thought about those tendrils of connections, I thought once again about how, well, a thread runs through all of it.

Larsen put together a large number of books, some with Mildred Constantine (two of which are in the current guild eBay auction - just saying).  He was an advocate for textiles of all sorts.  And I managed to convince him to do the keynote speech at the ANWG conference held here in 1997 - because as he put it, I'd asked him 5 years in advance and he couldn't think of a reason to say no.  

Both Rouseau-Vermette and Larsen were of the preceding generation of weaver/artists/designers and sadly seem to have disappeared into the wings.

But we are our history, and both of these people made significant contributions to textiles and art/design.

I really hope someone buys Larsen's books.  And I hope that people will search out Rouseau-Vermette's bio.

We stand on the shoulders of giants.  These are but two of them.

Next!

 

Draft shown on desktop screen 

I'm over the halfway mark on the current warp so it is time to get the next warp designed.  This warp will be two shades of beige and the fine linen from Lithuania will be woven on it.  I think the two cones of linen will finish off one warp, although I may run out.  In that case I have some other fairly fine linen I can switch to using, or I could complete the rest of the warp with one of the 2/16 cotton yarns I'm trying to use up.  If that is the case, I will adjust the tie up so that there are fewer interlacements.  

The linen is finer than the 2/16 cotton, so I've incorporated plain weave in this version, but it could easily be changed, if necessary, to accommodate the cotton.

With the two faces of the cloth looking quite different - one side will be warp emphasis, the other weft emphasis, I'm probably going to use the cotton and the 'right' side. 

If I need to change to cotton to finish this warp, the two sides of the cloth will be more equal.

I took the draft out of Ars Textrina - one of the old German weaving pattern books translated by Pat Hilts - but changed the arrangement of the repeats, then changed the transitions between the motifs and added 'borders' to the sides, and hem areas to the beginning and end.  So, not entirely my original work, but changed significantly enough I don't feel any compunction about doing this kind of jigging of a draft designed, potentially in the 1600s, although who knows, the German weaver might not have made it originally but did the same thing I just did and drew on the work of a previous weaver.

The book auction is humming along.  Today most of the purchases were made by people with active bids on other books so I only had one parcel to package and mail.  I also had massage this afternoon and feel like I've been run over (sort of), so I worked on this draft, then worked on the article for School of Sweet Georgia.  I will let it sit for a few days now, then look for the illustrations to go with it.  Perhaps I'll send it to a friend to alpha read it for me, make sure I've fixed the typos and that I've worded things clearly enough.  The due date is May, and May is fast approaching.  Today was a good day to do some wordsmithing.

But now?  Now I think it is nap o'clock.  Doug has been working on the cutlery drawer in the kitchen.  Maybe when I get up he'll be done his fix-it work.

Repeats

 

Yesterday the auction for the copy of Handloom Weaving Technology closed so last night I listed another copy.  (Allison had 3 copies in her collection.)

Not all of the books are getting bids, and eBay automatically re-lists them.  Right now I'm letting the listings stand without change in hopes that word will reach that one person who wants that book.

The challenge these days is that the cost of shipping has increased exponentially, especially to the US (given Mr. Trump pulled the US out of the postal agreement - just in case you want to know who to blame for that huge increase to the US).  

OTOH, the fact that I can send something to pretty much anyone, anywhere in Canada or the US for a relatively small amount is pretty amazing.  

I am holding books until people finish their 'shopping', then adjusting the shipping charge.  This has resulted in some savings for two people - so far - and a few others are still holding until they are done bidding.  eBay doesn't exactly make it easy, but once I have the amount and tracking number, I have been able to notify the purchaser of the tracking number (yes, it costs more to have one) and issue a refund.

Some of Allison's books are a bit...esoteric.  Like the history of spinning wheels in Canada.  Anyone know someone who is researching that topic?   They really want that book.  Japanese Ikat?  Chilkat Blankets?  These books are niche topics in a niche market, but still valuable for all that they were published a number of years ago.

So please - spread the word.  And I will take 'offers' on the re-listed books.  First offer that comes will get the book.  Bearing in mind I need enough money to cover the shipping and the eBay fees...

Gratitude

 

The guild auction begins to 'end' today as the first lot of books I listed reach the time to count up and see what has sold and what is left.  I think I took 5 days to list all the books so each day will see the final count for that day's listings.  eBay says they will automatically re-list anything that doesn't sell, so the auction will continue for at least another 7 days beyond this current offering.

I'm really hoping the above two books find good homes.  And I'd like to remind US bidders that the prices you see for the upset price is *Canadian* dollars and therefore you get an exchange rate 'discount' if you are purchasing.

Just saying.

Over the past four years our guild - like everyone else on the planet - was hit with the limitations imposed by a pandemic.  This year the guild has begun to host in person classes again and hopefully workshops.  We have a large guild room where we can keep our library for the use and convenience of the guild members, equipment for use in the room and some for rent which can be taken home.  (Not the looms, although guild members can come and work on them whenever they like.)

We have a booth at the large craft fair in November, and other fund raising that goes on to help pay for the room rental.  

The proceeds of this auction will be welcome income to pay for the on-going expenses of the guild, the largest of which is the room rental.

For those who have placed bids, thank you.  I'm so grateful Allison's well loved books will be going to new homes.

Books on my Mind

 

Blurb is offering 20% off of books on April 21 and 22, 2024 if you use the coupon code "FLASHAPRIL"

Books have been on my mind more than usual the past few weeks as I sorted, inventoried, put values on, then listed the guild books for auction on eBay.

As I looked at Allison's carefully collected library, I thought about why she would choose the books she did.  Some of the books are 'old', some I remember when they were first published.  Some I own - or used to.  Over the years I've culled my library on several occasions as I ran out of space to keep them.  Or needed some cash in a hurry and I had collected some 'rare' or 'desirable' books I knew others would want.

And then I added to the mix by publishing first Magic in the Water, more recently my other three titles.

I follow a number of writers on social media and feel a connection, even though what I write is 'technical' rather than fiction.  I still deal with the same doubts and fears as many other writers.  Plus I'm not comfortable promoting my stuff.  But, since I have self-published all of my books, I'm not just the writer but the advertising department.  Not unlike other weaver/writers in the past, from Atwater to Tidball, and so many others.

Will I write more books?  Well, I said I never would after doing Magic, and yet...here I am with 4 titles under my belt.

OTOH, I hope to keep learning!  And as I learn, I tend to write about that process of acquiring more information, here.

One of the 'books' in the eBay auction is a collection of the writing of S. A. Zielinski, edited by Robert Leclerc.  Zielinski published a newsletter and had *opinions*.  But he also knew a lot.  In a way I guess I'm doing sort of the same thing that people like Zielinski (and others) did, by keeping this journal/blog going, airing my opinions, sharing what I know.  And I suppose at some point someone might want to sift through my blog posts and edit them?

Dunno.  I mean, I've already sort of done that by writing this blog, then publishing books?  What more can be said?  Who would want to sift through the thousands of blog posts, anyway?  (Closing in on 4000 posts now...)

But mostly I look at all the books and wonder at the amount of knowledge represented in them - and how many more books there are, how broad and deep the craft of weaving is, and how much has been documented, but also...lost...over the years.

Allison's books are too valuable in terms of knowledge to let them disappear.  So, I'm hoping that people will at least take a look.  Maybe they will find something of interest.  Maybe something that their guild could use, if they can't.  I've kept the prices on the low end in hopes of re-homing them.  And the money will go to my local guild to help keep the doors of the guild room open.  A place for local weavers/spinners/knitters, etc., to gather and continue to share and learn.

(And don't forget the two books listed in my ko-fi shop:  Weave a V by Kerstin Fröberg and my 'memoir'.  These are NOT on sale.)

Nearly Done!

 

Selling sets, only, of these two titles

There are two more copies of Allen Fannin's book Handloom Weaving Technology.  I'm just waiting for a few days to see if the one copy sells or if I look elsewhere to sell those.

There are a few more gems in the last batch of books I've just uploaded, so I hope they can find new homes.

eBay automatically re-lists any titles that do not sell, so I will likely leave those up for one more round.  Whatever doesn't sell, I'll have to try somewhere else.  

I either have most of the books Allison had, or already sold mine as books that I wasn't really using and ought to be in someone else's hands.  Some are art books and valuable for inspiration, and/or history.

It has been nostalgic going through Allison's books, remembering when some of them first came out.  Some of the authors were people I took workshops or classes from (including Mary Andrews and Allen Fannin).  I learned lessons from each person and worked on fitting those lessons into my life.  So finding new homes for some of these books has been a very personal journey.

When those people pass on, they can continue to teach through the medium of their books.  We do, truly, stand on the shoulders of giants.

If you - or anyone you know - are interested, you can follow me on eBay and see all of the guild books listed as soon as eBay finishes getting them uploaded in about 4 or 5 hours (it seems to take about that long before they appear.)

The Light in the Tunnel

 

There are some 'treasures' in amongst Allison's books.  Like this little handbook.  While I am not really a spinner, even *I* know about Mabel Ross and the contributions she made to the world of hand spinning.  This little coil back book is in good condition and if I were so inclined to take spinning seriously, I'd likely buy this one for myself.

Likewise, if I were still dyeing, I'd probably buy this one for myself, as well.  I seem to recall that dyers consider this book very useful.  This copy is really in 'like new' condition, although I've been 'conservative' in grading Allison's books for condition.  I'd rather people be pleasantly pleased, not disappointed.

Allison took good care of her books and most are in good to very good condition.  Some she's obviously used more than others and they show typical wear and tear of books from the 1980s and 90s.

The list of books is close enough to 'done' that I think I will power through all of the rest tomorrow and get them all onto eBay.

That will give me a couple of days before the auctions begin to close and I have to deal with what happens next.

There are two listings I have saved to the 'last' - Mary Andrews' 3 binder book on Weaving Fundamentals, and a complete set of Robert Leclerc's edited version of Zielinski's Master Weaver booklets.  Those will be listed as 'lots'.  

It seems to be taking eBay 4-5 hours to process the listings, so as usual, you can follow me or check later this afternoon to see the latest listings...

More Books

 

If you love books and you love fine textiles, you will absolutely *love* this book.  Plus it was signed by Mr. Larsen to Allison when he was in town for the ANWG conference in 1997.

I was given a copy in celebration of achieving the master certificate from the Guild of Canadian Weavers by my mentors.  I confess I have never actually read it - yet.  Every time I open it, I become entranced by the astounding textiles that Jack Lenor Larsen chose to profile for this delicious publication.

There is one copy listed in the guild eBay auction.  But, there are other books that are just as inspiring, especially if you are interested in textile art.  There are two large sized books on textile art.  These are hefty 'coffee table' type books and as such are expensive to ship, but oh my, are they wonderful.

I'm really hoping to get these books into the hands of someone who will treasure them.

Material Wealth is now 'live' and the two Constantine/Larsen titles will go live in a few hours.  It seems to take eBay about 4-5 hours to list the new entries, so you can 'follow' me for ease of finding the guild books.

Today I culled two more books - one was damaged more than I realized until I opened and thumbed through it.  It's Anita Luvera Mayers book Clothing from the Hands that Weave.  If someone wants it for the cost of the shipping, that's $22.  The other is a reference book that is, frankly, way too out of date to be of use to anyone - other than an historian, I suppose.  But I didn't want to waste my time listing it and have the buyer be disappointed.

I'm really glad I chose to do the auction this way.  As it is I'm spending about 2 hours a day just getting the listings done, and of course monitoring the auction to see how it's going.  And then the accounting once everything has sold.  Thankfully Doug is willing to help with the packaging up and taking them to the post office.  

Stay tuned.  Another 3 days and that should finish all of the books the guild is currently auctioning off.

Thank you to everyone who has taken a look.  If you make a successful bid, I hope that you enjoy the books as much as I know Allison did.

Knowing Our History

 

Going through Allison's books has been a bit heart wrenching, to be honest.  As I thumb through each one, assessing condition, trying to think about what value I am holding in my hands, I can't help but think about my own library.

And all libraries, really.

If we don't remember our history, we don't know where we come from.  And we forget to honour those who came before and kept the craft alive.

Many of the authors of these books are no longer here, but some are.  Some of us are aging, and I'm seeing a *lot* of books about weaving in the marketplace.

I know that I have made some hard decisions when it came to Allison's books - what to keep for our guild, what to re-home if possible.

But mostly I am reminded of just how much there is to know about the craft and I treasure those who chose to try and document it.  To share the history - some of it not always very positive.

And that's the thing, isn't it?  If we don't know our history, we lose a part of what makes humans, well, human.  Sometimes the purpose of history is to shine a light on injustices and once we know about those, we can try to do better.  

But first we have to know the facts.  The more we know, the better able we are to make good decisions.

So I have included a couple of textile science books because too few weavers know that the information already exists.  And just because a book was published 40 years ago doesn't make it less accurate.  

If weavers want to really understand the craft, knowing the *science* is a good thing (imho).  So I'm hoping that people will not overlook those books, or the historical books.

The latest listings should appear on eBay in a couple of hours (it seems to take that long for the site to process the listings before they go public.)  You can 'follow' me or just keep checking here.

eBay Books

 

I have just finished listing the next books for the guild auction, including this one by Allen Fannin.  It is the first edition of the book and there are 3 copies.  The new listings should appear in a few hours.

One copy was Allison's personal copy, and as I was examining the book prior to writing the description, I discovered a letter from Allen Fannin to Allison tucked into the back of the book.  

Allen rarely if ever signed his books.  He said that if his signature on a book added value to it, he only wanted to do it for those people who had helped him produce the book.  So to find anything with his personal signature is uncommon.  I will keep that letter with her personal copy, which is what I have listed on eBay.

The other two books were likely leftover inventory when Allison closed her yarn shop and all three copies are in good condition with minor wear and tear to the dust jackets.

eBay doesn't appear to allow multiple copies to be listed, so I will see about selling the other two when the auction is over, if anyone wants a copy.

Frankly, my copy of Handloom Weaving Technology is one of the books I have kept and will hang onto for a long time.  I suspect that it will still be in my library when I shuffle off this mortal coil.  :D

I have purged my library several times, once because I desperately needed the money and I had reference/resources that I really wasn't using but I knew were desirable.  Once because my library had grown to such an extent that it didn't all fit on the shelves dedicated to my collection of books.  (Plus I needed some money - again.  Something about starving artists...)

When I spoke to another 'elder' and mentioned I was doing the auction, she confessed that after her purge a few years ago she couldn't bear to get rid of any more of her books.  I told her I understood completely, giving my library shelves the side-eye.

Stay tuned over the coming week for more books to be added to the auction.

When the Muse Calls

 

Yesterday I received the contract for the first of the articles I agreed to write for School of Sweet Georgia.

I had been mulling over what I wanted to say for a couple of weeks without coming to any conclusions, but the night before I thought I'd found a good opening.

Generally my opening sentence is like the thread that Hansel and Gretel (in some versions) used to make their way through the woods to find their way back home.  For me, it's the thread I follow to reach where I want to end.

Once I'd signed the contract (with a slightly earlier due date than we'd originally discussed) I figured I'd better get that opening sentence down and get started.

Writing is something that takes time, not unlike any other 'craft'.  Very seldom do I ever publish something that hasn't at least been read to sift out typos (and still don't get them all, sadly).  Blog posts like this are more informal, and don't get the polishing that other things receive.  For example, the last book I wrote, the manuscript was sent first to an alpha reader who helped find glaring grammatical errors and typos.  Then I went through the ms correcting my original, then the files were left to 'mature' for a few weeks before I re-read them again.  This part of the process relies on time, because when the words are fresh in my mind, my brain sees what it expects to see, not necessarily what is actually on the page.

So this time of aging is really important.  Sometimes I re-write whole passages because the words are redundant, or not clear as to what I meant.  And then I re-read it again, letting the files sit for at least a week before I do a final read through before sending the files to an editor.  Who then goes through it, making suggestions, correcting typos and such.  And then I re-read the whole thing again, which sometimes generates more re-writes.  And we continue until we agree that it is a good as it can be.

I write these blog posts for free, so I don't hire an editor.  Therefore sometimes I re-read a blog post and wince.  And sometimes I learn something new about a topic I've already written about and I do a fresh post with the updated information.

So, I've written about selvedges before, but usually here, in this informal style, with no outside editing.

But not everyone reads this blog, so the opportunity to present some of my tried and true bits of information and present them to a largely new audience seemed like a good thing to be doing.  Even though I've written hundreds of words on things like selvedges, and tension, and 'a thread under tension is a thread under control'.

Just today I saw someone online, exasperated because they were having all sorts of problems getting their loom dressed.  And I wanted to chime in and say that thing I say about tension.  But they were done their loom dressing, and by then it was too late - for that warp.  So, I didn't say anything.

Life as a weaving 'elder' has morphed into a constant juggling of when to say something to help a newer weaver, and when to stay silent, and scroll on by.

I've agreed to do 4 articles for SOS, and I'm about 3/4s of the way to the agreed upon word count for the first one.  But today isn't a great day after another pain flare last night.  The good news is that the pain, overall, was less - just too much to let me sleep.

Probably not a great day to be trying to write.

Plus today is the day my eBay auction of bobbin lace books ends.  Once that is over and done with, I will begin listing the weaving books for the local guild.  You can 'follow' me on eBay, or look for the keywords PG Guild Book Auction.  (I think that's what I will use, anyway.  TBD if eBay will allow that.)

There are approximately 60 titles (a couple of books have multiple copies - Allison had a yarn shop and used to carry books), and I will be listing them 10 titles per day, alphabetical according to author.  What can I say, I used to work in a library!  

I may post the entire list here tomorrow so that if there are several titles someone is interested in, they can let me know and I will hold off shipping until the auction is completed and ship all purchases in one parcel.  (Trying to be mindful of carbon footprint!)

In the meantime, I need to go up to the guild room although I'll probably not stop long.  I do want to get to the loom at least once today.  Goodness knows, that warp won't weave itself!

Out of Focus

 

I confess to being rather...out of 'focus'...these days.  

For the past few years I've been struggling to keep going in spite of physical challenges that sapped me of energy and even the desire to do much of anything.

Part of me has done what it has always done - cracked the whip and tried to get me up and moving.  But there comes a time when the body simply cannot respond the way it has always done, and the minutes slip by until the day is gone.  And nothing to show for it except feeling out of sorts and upset that a day was 'wasted'.  Again.

Now that I'm feeling 'better' (for certain values of), I find that I *still* have little energy.  The part of me that wants to get up and do things can't seem to crack that whip hard enough to keep me going.

It is also that part of me that takes on new 'jobs' and then wonders why my body still refuses to get up and get moving.  I mean, it's always worked before, so why not now?

Truth to tell, I'm now in my 70s not my 30s.  I have gone to the well of determination too many times and frankly?  The well is about empty.  I peer down, down, down, deep into the depths, looking for the pool of energy I used to be able to tap and find...little to nothing.

I commented to my massage therapist the other day that I'm old and broken, and he laughed 'no, you're not' he said.

But inside me, I knew that I was right.  I am old.  I am 'broken'.  And I don't know if there is enough left in me to heal the 'broken' and overcome the 'old'.

I accept that I am now an 'elder' in the weaving community.  I accept that I have done my best to help others in their quest for knowledge, and that I am leaving enough students behind to continue with the transfer of knowledge to new generations.

And if that sounds egotistical, what can I say - yes, I have an ego, just like everyone else.

The guild book auction will begin next week and that is going to take up most of my energy 'spoons' for the following 10 days.  But I also have articles to write that I've promised I would, so I'm not sure how much actual weaving I will be able to do.  OTOH, the warp is weaving, so hopefully I can get to the loom at least once a day, preferably two.

I'm used to planning things 6-12 months down the road.  Right now?  6-12 days is about all I can handle.  

We are well into spring now.  This is a time of transition.  Politically things are very unsettled, and that is adding to my sense of unrest and uncertainty.  

Ultimately I cannot change the politics of the day, but I can keep teaching.  So I am going to open Word and see if the opening sentence I thought of last night is the key to the first article.  

Because I've promised to write.  The fact that I can keep teaching via the written word is a carrot that will keep me going - until I find my focus again.  Because usually when I'm feeling like this another Big Project is about to present itself.  We'll see what is in store, and if the gradual progress I have been making physically will be sufficient to tackle whatever is in the wings.

I also have an eye exam booked for May.  Maybe getting my eyes in focus will bring my life into focus, too?

Twinkle Stars

 

After a week of delay I finally got to the loom this morning.

I discovered a 'problem' with the threading, but nothing dire enough to scrap the warp and re-thread it, especially when I'm using a colour that isn't going to show off the design all that much.  There are some angles where the design doesn't actually show at all.  It's like 'damask' - dependent upon the light shining differently on the warp and weft to be seen.

The motif is large - what is showing here is the end of the first towel and the first few picks on the second.  Mostly what you can see is the tail end of the motif and the hem area.

This will be the last in the matrix series, and I do believe I wove it previously in a different colour way.  

The photo also shows the caddy I use to hold various tools.  I sit - or perch - on a tall stool, so I need something to hold wound bobbins, scissors, the other shuttle with the yarn I use for making cut lines between the towels and my drink.  (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate)  You can also just make out the ends of the tubes of the same yarn which will be used *as* bobbins and woven directly from the tube.

And yes, those ARE cassette tapes.  Right now my goal is to weave two 45 minute sessions a day, so I pop a cassette tape into my boombox (with headphones to help protect against the noise of the solenoids) and listen to one side, then stop weaving when the music stops.  The headphones are on top of the laptop and black so you can't really see them.  They are not just audio headphones, but also rated to provide protection against noise.  I have already lost some hearing, even though I have always worn protective headphones to weave.  But I didn't use them when doing other noisy things, like winding pirns or cones, etc.  But I don't have the industrial pirn winding machine any more and don't wind lots of cones anymore, either.  

The 'test' eBay auction is putting along.  I suppose there will be a flurry of bids on day 7.  I hope.  

I have managed to sell some of the guild books privately - guild members were given first dibs - and some of my students who I knew were looking for particular books.  The count is now around 60 titles, although I may cull a few more as being not really worth anyone's while.  I mean, who really needs an extremely old monograph on how rayon is made?  Not in particularly good condition, and printed in the 1940s, it's seriously out-of-date!  If anyone wants it and is willing to pay the postage, let me know.

We are well into spring here, but it's a lot drier than we had hoped.  The drought really has not broken, and a lot of us are holding our breaths, waiting to see how bad the fire season will be this year.  

One of the things taking up my time was the delivery of our new hybrid truck.  It's going to take some time to get used to it, but it comes with some 'comfort' features - heated seats, yes, but also heated steering wheel.  They are going to be very welcome next winter.  I have minor arthritis in my hands and I was having some trouble with that, especially when the temps went below -25C.  It also has a backup camera, and the cab is large enough for more cargo than the old Ford Ranger provided.  But the big thing was that it should use a *lot* less gas than the Ranger.  

It is also taking me a lot longer to dress the loom than it used to do.  So between the books, beaming, threading, sleying the warp, personal maintenance (or I can't do *anything*), and getting the new truck sorted, it was with a sigh of relief that I finally got this warp started.

The next warp will be a combination of two different shades of beige and the Lithuanian linen weft will be woven on that warp.  I also have a pound and a bit of a fine 3 ply linen in a slightly lighter beige, and that will also get used up on the beige.  Once those linen yarns are woven, the rest of the beige will be used to use up other colours of 2/16 - like the two *huge* cones of two different greens, and natural white.

I'm hoping the book auctions will be over in about 10 days, although it may take a couple of days to get all the sold books to the post office.  But I will be flipping through my pattern books, trying to decide on what threading/treadling to use for the linen weft towels.  I'm also planning a 'sale' of my tea towels the first 9 days of July, so that will take time - the photographing, listing, monitoring, then shipping.  The kind of thing that needs doing, but remains 'behind the scenes', while eating up time/energy.

I'm hoping once the book auctions are over that there will be fewer distractions and I can concentrate on getting through the next few warps.  If I can, I'd like to do one shawl warp before the craft fair in November.  Since I usually fringe twist those, I need to get them woven by September.  We'll see if I make it.

I admit to feeling a bit at loose ends because I have no clear idea of what I will do for the linen.  Once I figure that out I'm sure I'll feel a lot more focused.

Creativity and Mastery

I'd not been aware of this book until a friend recommended one of his other titles to me.  The local library didn't have that particular book in its collection, but it *did* have this one.  Since I've been intrigued by the concept of 'mastery' since I was a kid***, I put in a hold request and yesterday I finally opened it and started reading.

Dear reader, I would like to re-post everything I have read - so far - but instead I will suggest that if you, like me, are a teacher, or a student, or just interested in how people learn, I bet you will find this book thoughtful.

Now, I've only read a few pages and I may become disappointed in it (if it gets repetitive) but so far?  I'm hooked.  

I also like his writing style, using stories to make his points.  A form of teaching that I embrace.  (As any of my students will confirm!)

One of the things he talks about is that before you can achieve 'mastery' you have to spend time on the learning curve and what you make initially isn't going to be very good.  As a weaver, I have tried to explain to my students that expecting 'perfection' the very first time they try to weave is unrealistic.  So yes, his message is on point, as far as I'm concerned.

So, I'm going to keep reading and see what else he has to say about the topic of 'mastery'.  And if nothing else, I'm sure I will enjoy his stories.

***as a kid my father would frequently watch someone who was a 'master' at doing something and comment something to the effect of beware of someone who made something look 'easy'.  Took me a long time to understand that what he was pointing out was that the person doing the 'easy' thing had 'mastered' what it was they were doing, and to not assume that just *because* they made it look 'easy', it was.  It was a subtle observation, but once I understood it, I began to really respect people who made something *look* easy.  And I also understood that in order to make something look 'easy' they had a lot of 'failures' along the way.  So failure was just part of the process on the way to 'mastery'.

No Silver Bullet

 

Most people have no idea what a cotton fibre looks like.  Or linen, silk, rayon, wool.  They don't know about the properties of the fibre, therefore fail to understand the nature of their materials.

I've been in the position of helping 'new' textile folk, some of whom are so focused on their internal 'dream' they fail to take into consideration reality.  Because when you work with actual materials that have ingrained characteristics, which can be adjusted in the fibre prep and how they are spun, simply saying you want to work with 'cotton' doesn't tell me a lot about what it is you actually *need*.

In my initial weaving class we didn't learn a whole lot about fibres, although we did have to take the spinning class as a prerequisite.  We did come to weaving with at least a rudimentary understanding of how threads are made.  

But there was still a huge 'hole' in my foundation of knowledge.  I came to weaving with a pretty common background for the 1970s - my family worked with yarn in various ways - knitting, rug hooking, embroidery, sewing.  I worked in a custom drapery house, so I got a crash course in window coverings and how the various ways window coverings would behave.

Over the years, I dug and discovered resources, primarily the Guide to Textiles for Interior Designers.  It became my go-to for technical information on fibres and yarns.  I added other textile science texts, and gradually filled in some of the holes in my knowledge.

"When you don't know *what* you don't know, you don't know *that* you don't know it."

As soon as I heard that phrase for the first time, I knew that I needed to get loud about things that *I* felt were necessary for weavers to make the cloth they wanted to make.

A lot of wannabe weavers just want to get some thread and turn it into...something.  Some of them don't really have any idea of what they want, or they have some vague notion and look around for something to manipulate into fabric.

But when you don't know *what* you don't know...

So they make a lot of things that don't turn out the way they want, and eventually they give up.  Or they get frustrated.  Some of them get angry when they ask questions and people like me say 'it depends'.

They don't like being 'interrogated' with 20 questions, they just want to make their dreams come true.  Problem is, dreams are not reality, and when working with threads, there are things like physics that need to be factored into the equation.

They also get defensive when they are asked about the results of their sampling.  I don't know how many people have angrily told me that they 'can't afford to *waste* yarn on making samples'.

There is a reason I included technical information in The Intentional Weaver.  As a craftsperson, no matter the craft, the common thing in making anything by hand is to have knowledge and understanding of your materials.

So, I tell people - don't just jump to the pretty pictures and project notes in a book - read the beginning bits.  I constantly see people asking online what author X means when they say Y.  Pretty sure most authors include an explanation of their terms in the beginning bits that they just skipped over because it was 'boring'.

If someone wants to make 'good' cloth, they need (imho) to understand the materials and equipment they are going to use.  

The Intentional Weaver is the book I wish I'd had when I first learned how to weave.  I consider all of it basic and essential.

If you have the book and you skipped over some of the chapters, maybe go back and read them now?

Of Libraries and Books

 

When I set out to produce Magic in the Water, my only thought was to try to educate weavers as to the necessity of taking this final, and (imho) essential step.  To *not* gloss it over with 'oh, just wash it'.

Because in my experience, that final step was - in so many cases - magical.

To be told that the book has become a 'classic' in the field is validation that all the effort and expense of making it was worth doing.

In 2011 I finally sold the last copy and no sooner had I done that, requests began arriving - was there any way to get the text, if not the samples?

Since I was distracted by doing chemotherapy (for the cancer I still live with) taking photos of the samples and then having a friend convert the text file and photos into a pdf was a do-able task.  

Then, when I was looking for ways of publishing The Intentional Weaver, we used that pdf to test the blurb website.

Since doing all that, sales of Magic have continued.  Usually just a sale here and there, but every once in a while there will be a little 'spike' of sales and I know that someone, somewhere, has recommended the book.  Or I've just done a guild program on the topic of wet finishing.

This morning I will be wet finishing the towels I cut off the loom on Friday.  It looks a whole lot like 'just washing', but I will be using the hottest water available from the hot water tank, and part of the finishing process will be a good hard press.  The care tags will read 'machine wash in warm water, machine dry, iron if desired'.  

Because I don't iron my tea towels.  They get tossed into the washer and dryer, then folded and put away.  We have very few commercially made tea towels, and most of our hand towels are also hand woven.  

People tell me my towels are 'too nice to use' when in fact the more they get used, the better they work.  And why not have something 'nice' to bring pleasure to mundane tasks?

So use the 'good' towels.  Use the 'nice' china.  Don't keep things for 'special' occasions.  What I have learned, especially over the past few years, is that being alive is enough to justify using the 'good' things.

I'm not sure what will happen to the books I've written after I've left this mortal coil.  I have no idea if any of my books will continue to sell or not.  But if I can help weavers in the here and now, then the time and effort (and expense!) of writing the books I have done will have been worth it.  And the revenue from continued sales will help fund my being able to *continue* to help new weavers - if they want my help - for as long as I am able.

As I look at the shelves of books left when the latest guild member died, I know that one day my library will be in a similar situation.  And I think about the books I have purchased, and used, and in some cases, loved.  Am I ready to get rid of any of them?  I have already purged my library on a couple of occasions, and what I have left are still used.  Maybe not frequently, but valued as the (sometimes rare) resources at my fingertips.

So, getting rid of a few lace books wasn't really a hardship to me.  They were pre-owned by another weaving friend who died about 10 years ago.  Many were duplicates to what I have, or on topics that I know I'll never pursue.  And setting up an auction on eBay was good practice for the coming guild auction.

If you are interested in the lace books (mine) or the weaving books (for the guild) you can 'follow' me on eBay and check out the listings, see if there is something you might want for your library.  

eBay, oh eBay

 

one of the lace books I listed today

Well, I am *really* glad I did a 'practice' auction on eBay!

The last time I did an auction was 10 years ago, and of course...things had changed.

I had intended to share a link to all my listings so that the guild weaving books would be easy to find, but that was not particularly easy to discover.

However with the assistance of a guild member who has a better grasp of how software programs work than I do, she was able to figure out how to find my 'page' and take a look at my listings.

After uploading the 10 lace books I wanted to sell, I now have a much better grasp of what I need to do to prepare myself in order to make the guild listings go more easily.  (I hope!)

A number of the guild books have sold and instead of +100 books, there are now fewer than 70.  With another 10 days to run of the pre-sale for guild members, that number may go down some more.  I may also withdraw some of them from the auction as I was unsure if they would sell, or for so little money it would not be worth anyone's time (mine) to bother with them.  

I still have a few more administrivia things to deal with, but I'm tired and I've wrestled enough with computers and software programs and websites that aren't particularly intuitive enough for one day, so I will just share a link to 'my' page in case anyone wants to 'follow' me to find me more easily once I begin launching the guild books in a couple of weeks.

Just a reminder - prices are in Canadian dollars.  The lowest rate I can get to ship a parcel is $22 (and that doesn't even quite cover it), but if anyone is interested in more than one book I'm willing to hold off shipping until the guild auction is done or I'm told someone is done.  

I will be listing 10 books a day and the auctions will run for 7 days.  There are a number of payment options and eBay now processes all payments.  This may - or may not - make my life a bit simpler.  Time will tell...

Girding My Loins

 

It's been about 10 years since I've run an eBay auction, and facing nearly 100 books for the guild I thought maybe I ought to test the site out so that I've done my 'training' before I begin on those.

Since I had some lace books I wanted to sell (duplicates, or I'm just not that interested) I collected the books I'd inherited, sorted through my own, and yesterday spent some time searching to see how they might be priced.

The list was published here yesterday and I did sell a few of the books for the upset price, but now I need to gird my loins, collect my spoons and start dealing with eBay.  As I recall, it's not terribly difficult, but it's...picky.  Which is partly why I'm only going to list 10 weaving titles at a time.  Plus, I don't want to face shipping ALL of the books at once.  Spacing them out over a couple of weeks makes a lot more sense to me.

I also need to begin beaming the next warp, but I did some loom maintenance yesterday, and my back is...well...angry would be an appropriate word.  So doing some administrivia setting up an eBay auction seems like a good idea.  Instead of beaming the entire warp in one day, I'll space it out over two days, see if that helps.

This constant reduction in my ability to do stuff is...aggravating, frustrating, annoying, depressing.

But, on the whole there has been improvement since 6 months ago.  I just need to learn my limits and try not to exceed them.

Because I still have way too much yarn, and way too many ideas I would like to see come into material form (pun intended).

We have a nice sunny day today, which would be lovely except we are still in a state of drought.  The forecast says rain tomorrow and Tuesday, so let's hope they are correct this time.

Anyway, I'm off to tackle eBay.  Wish me luck!

Fwipping Along

 

Since I am in the mindset of 'getting rid of stuff', and I am about to launch a ginormous book auction for the guild, I sorted through my bobbin lace books and decided I could actually live without some of mine, as well as the ones I 'inherited' from a past weaving/lace making friend.

I've just gone through the books and will be endeavouring to decipher eBay auctions (again), maybe tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have the following bobbin lace books for sale.  These are the auction upset prices.  If I need to mail them, add $22 to the auction price.

All of the books (both mine and Jean's) are from non-smoking households.  Some have minor wear and tear but most are in 'good' condition.

Bobbin Lace Books

Barber, Jacqui.  Tradition into Creation.  Soft cover $20

Brooke, Margaret. Lace in the Making $10

Collier, Ann.  Lace Fans.  Soft cover $20

Collier, Ann. Lace for Dolls and Dolls’ Houses $20

Cook, Bridget and Geraldine Stott.  The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches $30

SOLD Dyer, Anne.  Copper Wire Lace.  Soft cover $20 SOLD

Earnshaw, Pat.  Bobbin and Needle Laces; Identification and care.  Hard back.  $30

Earnshaw, Pat.  Threads of Lace; from source to sink.  Soft back.  $20

Eveleth, Lolita.  Chart for lace Identification and the Meshes of Handmade Lace $10

Maidment. Margaret. A Manual of Hand-Made Bobbin Lace Work  $20

Nottingham, Pamela. Complete Book of English Bobbin Lace  $40

SOLD Raffel, Marta Cotterell.  The Laces of Ipswich,  soft cover  $20 SOLD

Stott, Geraldine and Bridget Cook.  100 Traditional Bobbin Lace Patterns.  Soft cover $30

Woods, Sandi.  Special Effects in Bobbin Lace $45

 If there is anything here you want to purchase before I set the auction up, let me know.  I can accept Paypal, or payment by 'donation' to my ko-fi page, or if you are in Canada, etransfer.  Prices will be listed in Canadian dollars, so USians will get the current currency exchange 'discount'.  Once the auction begins, it will have to run until the time is over.  If you want any of these books for the upset price, let me know asap.

Motivation

 

All of my life I have been pretty highly motivated.  When I set my mind to do something, I will, hell and/or high water not usually an impediment of much note.

I thought I would continue to the end of my days in the same fashion.  I mean, I loved my work (not all of it, of course not, but the weaving? yes, indeed) and I saw no reason to stop weaving.  When I did 'retire' (for certain values of) I anticipated continuing to teach in person, and to weave, but now I would make things more for my own interest, and less consideration of what would, or would not, sell.

But life had other plans, as they say.  My stout body (in every sense of the word) has suffered a string of injury and illness.  

Frankly, that outbreak of shingles a couple of years ago nearly did me in.  And after I 'recovered' from that, everything *else* seemed to get a lot 'worse'.  More pain, less mobility, more frustration, less energy.

I am *finally* starting to feel 'better' but at a cost.  Medications always, *always* come with adverse effects, and I *always* seem to get whatever the paperwork says are a possibility.

So, my new medication doesn't cause the brain fog the hydromorphone caused, but it does come with fatigue and nausea.  And so I take Gravol, which *also* causes fatigue.

I manage to get to the loom twice, most days, but sometimes I need to do other stuff, and by the end of the day I'm flat as a pancake.

A month ago the pain doctor recommended I try 'red light laser therapy' as a way of treating what ails me.  (mild impingement of the S1 disc and moderate to severe of the L4 disc, plus suspected damage to the SI joint, all of which leads to chronic sciatic pain, PLUS peripheral neuropathy in both feet).

By then I had switched from the hydromorphone to low dose naltrexone, which appeared to be helping but wasn't entirely dealing with the pain, and the doctor had read that people with diabetes and PN were finding relief from the pain by using red light laser therapy.

I found someone who was using that on patients, and began treatment, partially skeptical, partially desperate for relief.

Reader, it seems to be working.  

The problem is, I've been sleep deprived for years because when the pain was bad, as it was increasingly becoming, I could not tune the pain out.  For far too many nights I have sat up, doing jigsaw puzzles, and more recently fwipping bobbins to make lace, but nonetheless, NOT sleeping.  

And my motivation appears to have dried up as dry as the rivers that no longer flow, but merely trickle through my town.

I have tried SO many things, and wound up crushed by disappointment that nothing was working I barely allow myself to hope that things will improve to the 'before times' reality.  I have not quite lost hope that things will improve such that I will be able to weave with less discomfort, but am now resigned to not being able to teach in person.  Unless I do it locally and students accept my limitations. TBD.

Since weaving helps with things like aerobic health (critical for someone with cardiac issues) and generates endorphins (which helps reduce pain), my priority is always to get to the loom.  My main goal is stash reduction, and on that front, I have made progress.  But so much more to be done.

Over the past two years I wrote two more books, but right now?  I'm having a really hard time to write anything but these blog posts (and sometimes sarcastic posts on social media - sorry/not sorry).

I have 3 articles I've promised to School of Sweet Georgia, and I'm hoping I have the mental wherewithal and energy to begin dealing with those - soon.

In the meantime, I've decided to 'test' eBay auctions by auctioning off the lace books I don't want or need.  This weekend I will log into there and begin listing those books.  That will get me up to speed on the functioning of the site because it's been about 10 years since I've done an eBay auction and, well, things change.

The list of bobbin lace books is below.  If you are interested in any of them, I will post the link to the auction as soon as I'm done listing them, here and elsewhere (my social media, such as it is).

And if you are interested in *weaving* books, I'll be starting the guild eBay auction asap after April 15.  Stay tuned...

My books available at the usual places.

Bobbin Lace Books

Chart for lace Identification and the Meshes of Handmade Lace by Lolita Eveleth  $10

Lace for Dolls and Dolls’ Houses Ann Collier $20

Special Effects in Bobbin Lace Sandi Woods $45

The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches Bridget Cook and Geraldine Stott $30

Complete Book of English Bobbin Lace Pamela Nottingham  $40

A Manual of Hand-Made Bobbin Lace Work Margaret Maidment  $20

Lace in the Making Margaret Brooke  $10

(I may dig through my 'library' of lace books and add a few more.  We'll see how much energy I have.)

Spring is Springing

 

The snow is all gone now, and spring is well underway.  This morning the sky is blue and the sun is shining and it feels good, and not-so-good, all at the same time.

The predicted rain yesterday really didn't show up so we continue to be 'too dry', and the next rain is still at least a week away - if it comes, at all.  We were hoping for a wet spring, but so far...not so much.

I haven't checked the BC wildfire website for a few days, but neither have we had much in the way of thunder storms, so I'm hoping there are no new fires.

Yesterday I got to the loom twice, mailed some books for the guild, and dug into the hemming pile.  More towels are in the pipeline, and if I get this warp off by Saturday there will be more.  Little by little I pick my way through.

As I weave I frequently think about weaving and one of the things I notice about weaving is that it is complex.  You can say quite blithely "I'm going to dress the loom" which actually encompasses several days of work.

Typically, a tea towel warp will take about 3 hours (plus breaks) to set up the tension box and spool rack, then beam 24 sections of warp, then transfer the bouts to a stick I use for the purpose of bringing those bouts up and over the back beam and tape it to the loom so that I can reach them to thread.

Threading will take another 3-4 hours, depending on how many ends (36 epi takes longer than 32 epi) and how complicated the sequence to be threaded is.  The sleying takes maybe another hour, the tying on takes maybe 15 minutes, and then, only then, can I start to weave.  I may need to fix threading or sleying errors, which also takes time.

But before any of that happens, I've already spent an hour, maybe more, generating a threading that I'm willing to invest all that time into weaving.  Sometimes I design something, and park it and never actually weave it.  Or I might re-visit it and tweak it some more...and then may still *not* weave it.

Weaving (the actual shuttle throwing) a tea towel takes around 60 or so minutes.  I only weave for 45 minutes at a time now.  Since my last 'injury' that is as much as I can manage.  A warp of about 24 or so yards produces 19 to 20 towels...if I don't suffer a catastrophe that means I scrap one or two towels.  They might become 'seconds' and be given away; they might get tossed into the rag bag.  Depends on how 'bad' the error is.

After weaving, the towels get cut apart and serged, then around 12 to 20 will get tossed into the washer and dryer, removed while still damp, stored in a plastic tub that I can 'seal' so that the towels 'steep' and the damp evens out before I press them.  For tea towels, Side A then Side B, then hung on a drying rack to finish drying.  Once dry they are hand hemmed (my tv watching handwork), then given a final pressing.

All of this takes weeks from start to completion.

And this is what I mean by saying weaving is labour intensive.

Why do I do this?

Dunno.  All I do know is that the first time I sat at a foot powered loom I felt like I'd found 'home'.

After nearly 50 years of doing it, I now do it for the benefits I derive - the aerobic exercise, the endorphins that help me control chronic pain.  The exercise of thinking through a design challenge.  The intellectual stimulation of trying to figure out how to explain what I'm doing, and why.  

I miss teaching in person, but I'm still not able to do that, for a number of reasons.  So I write.  I've written four books (so far?), at least one of which is considered a 'classic' of the craft.  I write this blog, in some part because I want to help people understand the craft - answer questions, make people think through their problems, come to solutions.  And for as long as people are willing to book me, doing the Zoom presentations.

I have two this month and I think one in May.  My topics are listed on my website.  (Yes, I know Google is warning people it is 'unsecure', there is no httpS, just http...I've had this domain since the 1900s if you can imagine...yes, I'm that old...)

If my web mistress can squeeze me into her extremely busy schedule I will most likely be raising my fees for Zoom presentations sometime this year.  But if you book *before* that happens, I'll honour the current price, even if the presentation happens after the price increase.  

And of course my books are available from blurb and one is on ko-fi   

Sweet Georgia Yarns may still have signed copies of The Intentional Weaver, if anyone wants one of those.

And of course, my classes at School of Sweet Georgia and Long Thread Media.