Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Fumble Fingers



Two weeks away from the loom and I can't tell you how many times I dropped the shuttle this morning.  Obviously out of practice!

Which brings me to this thought - if you want to get really proficient at weaving, it is something that you need to do as often as you are able.  Even 15 minutes in the evening - after the kids are put to bed, after work, after...whatever claims your time...just 15 minutes to sit down, relax, commune with your loom and yarns and remind your body of the physical motions involved in whatever aspect of weaving you are working on at the time.

Weaving is physical.  It requires the physical effort of your body to happen.  No weaver, no weaving going on.  Even the AVL with all it's bells and whistles does not weave by itself.  It requires someone sitting there shuttle in hand (or flyshuttle cord in hand) with a foot to open a shed and hands to bring the beater forward.

So while I was exasperated at myself for being so clumsy this morning, I also knew that I needed to spend some time picking the shuttle up off the floor when it fell, remember the correct position of my hands and just practice, practice, practice....

Currently reading Critical Mass by Sara Paretsky

2 comments:

Susiehoke said...

I guess if even you can feel clumsy and drop shuttles, it's OK for me to do the same. Thanks for sharing, Laura, and all the wonderful help you give.

Peg Cherre said...

In addition, I tend to make stupid mistakes if I'm away from the loom/warping board for too many days. Or if I'm very stressed. BAH! :-(