Reflections on Failure

 

So, if yesterday's 'experiment' was such a failure that I am looking to re-do it, why did I share it?

Because that's what life and learning is.  Failing, re-thinking, re-doing, until you get the results you desire.

After the failure yesterday I found a home for the 'bad' plasticine I'd purchased, and checked at a local toy story for the 'real' stuff.  They carry it and I'll go get some and re-do the experiment.

What the 'failure' did was show me that what I was thinking was possible - I just needed different materials in order to make it work the way I wanted it to.

And this is why most experienced weavers tell new weavers to sample.  I can tell people what I do, but then it is down to the person doing it to do what they do - and what they do might be different in some way.  Their loom may be different (have a lighter or heavier beater), they may have different shuttle handling capabilities, the yarn they are using might be a different quality, etc.

The only way to know what your results will be is to...weave it.  Try it.  Find out.

Pretty much like life.  And probably why so many 'fairy' tales have some sort of reference to textiles - Hansel and Gretel (in one version, they have a ball of yarn to mark their route through the forest), Sleeping Beauty (pricking her finger on the spindle), the Swan Princes (where the princes must collect, spin and weave nettle shirts for her ensorcelled brothers to turn them back into human form) Rumplestiltskin (spinning linen into gold) etc.

There are so many lessons 'true' for weaving that are also 'true' for life.

Learning from your 'mistakes' - or poor choices - is just one of them.  But a very valuable lesson when all is said and done.  And sometimes you just don't know that you have made a poor choice until you weave (or do) the thing.

So, no, I wasn't discouraged, or even particularly displeased that the experiment didn't work.  I found out that it *could*, if I had the proper materials.  

I'm busy tomorrow and have a visiting weaver coming on Friday so it will likely be Saturday before I can do the next iteration of the experiment.  And that's ok.  It is just to satisfy my wanting to be able to show what I mean, not just talk about it.  If I can't make it work, it will be back to words.  But not everyone learns just by words alone.  So I hope this will work.  At least I will have tried.