Don't Despair

So many new weavers get discouraged by how long it takes to dress the loom.  I just want to give them a hug and assure them that it will get better.  Honest.

Weaving is a skilled activity.  By that I mean that the practitioner must learn how to operate the equipment, understand their materials and hone their physical skills.  It also helps if they have equipment that suits their purposes and the space to set the tools out so that they can be efficiently used.

Most people don't have the luxury of a dedicated studio space, nor do they have the time it takes to practice this ancient craft on a regular basis.  And it truly is a case of "if you don't use it, you lose it".

I did a time study tonight, just to see how I was doing given my recent health issues.  It was a way to determine how well along in recovery I am.  I have to say, I'm doing quite well in terms of studio work.  My times were pretty much standard for me.

But I came to the craft with some advantages - a childhood filled with activities that assisted in terms of learning how to weave - lots of textile crafts, lots of music/dance/athletics (which gave me good experience in biofeedback and coaching), manual dexterity and a sense of appropriateness for the textiles I was constructing - how they succeeded in their job - or, perhaps more importantly - how they failed.  And an analytic mind to help me figure out how to get closer to success.

I am now in my 40th year of weaving - or will be come September.  It has been pretty much my focus for most of those years.  While many people would like to spend all day, every day, doing what they love, the reality of life means that most people can't devote their lives to weaving in the way that I have.

All of the experience I have had in those years, including all of those failures (which have been legion) have contributed to the weaver I am today.

However, it isn't necessary to devote all that time - and yes, money (for books, classes, equipment) - it is only necessary that the practitioner enjoys what they are doing.  Not everyone wants to be as efficient as I am, nor do they need to be.  It is not a contest.  Each of us has to do what makes us happy, in the way that it makes us happy.

Enjoy!

Currently reading An Apple for the Monster (ed by Charlaine Harris)

A Little Introspection

Striped towel from a couple of years ago - which I'm thinking of revisiting in different colourways, different yarns...

One of the things that has been providing some distraction for me is re-reading some of my older blog posts.

I started the blog just about exactly 7 years ago (August 2008), partly as an expression of hope for a future that had so nearly been snatched from me, partly as a diary of what it is that I do - a reminder of where I have been and what I actually accomplish, rather than the Inner Critic constantly harping on at me about not doing 'enough'.

Since the blog started I have been through multiple health issues (and I very much appreciate people who have supported me through those) and come through the other side.  There is a 'poster' on Facebook that kind of sums up life, really:

If I knew who the artist was I'd give credit, but the source doesn't appear to be indicated.  Whoever made the image, thank you, it perfectly sums up Life - in my experience.

So, the webinar is over.  I have heard directly from two people who took it and found it helpful.  Thanks for letting me know.  :)   I do 'better' when conveying technical information to have a live audience so that I can gauge how well I'm getting the information across.  It was a bit...intimidating...to contemplate doing a fairly conceptual topic without that feedback.  But now that I've survived, I'm thinking about other topics I might be able to do.

Which brings me back to the towels at the top of this post.  I use the Fibonacci series as a design tool.  It might be fun to do a webinar on how I use the series in terms of designing stripes.  To do a Power Point presentation would mean a whole lot of prep work, but I think could...I think I could...

Consequences

Painted warp scarf - rayon

Being of an analytical mind, I suppose one of the benefits is that I am able to sort through various choices (decisions) and follow them through to expected consequences.

I think this has made me the weaver I am.  Beginning with the idea or concept of a particular kind of textile, one that will perform a specific function, I am able to back track along the process to decide on how I want to get to my destination, as it were.

Choosing to have creative 'limitations' helps to guide me on the path enabling me to explore the parameters of making cloth that will work 'properly'.  In no way do I feel constrained or hindered in my creativity.  Rather I feel that creativity and a stated goal go hand in hand to get me to a good result.

Weaving is a long process.  Weaving by hand is slow, by any definition of the word.  People assume that because I can do it more quickly (efficiently) than they can, that somehow I must be missing out on the tactile satisfaction involved in weaving.  Not so.  I still wind each thread, dress the loom, thread and sley the warp, and every single pick is laid in by hand.  I just do it more efficiently than some.  That doesn't mean I take short cuts, hurry, or in any way lessen the satisfaction, joy, even, of the job.

Because for me it is a job.  It just happens to be a job that I love.  That gives me great satisfaction.  That I miss when I don't do it (like during recovery from health issues), that is a form of working meditation.  Weaving is something that I intend to do for as long as I can, yes, even into old(er) age!

The consequence of choosing weaving as a career has been multi-storied.  Yes, it has been, at times, frustrating.  There are aspects of being a professional weaver that aren't nearly as attractive as others.  But over all?  I have had a good life.  I have brought enjoyment to others through my own joy of making.  I have traveled further afield than I ever expected to do, met dozens, if not hundreds, of fascinating, quite wonderful people.

Bottom line?  A good life.  A very good life, indeed.

What's Necessary

So, here is what I'm aiming for - a rendition of snails trails and cats paws, but done in twill blocks rather than the more usually seen overshot.  I keep returning to this design for several reasons - I like the undulation of the 'trails', I like the quality of cloth and I like the very graphic feel of the design.

Unfortunately I only recently discovered that the two large (kilo?) cones of singles linen left are not singles 12, which is what I had been using to weave this previously, but singles 24.  About half the thickness of 12.  So out came my trusty doubling stand and I very carefully wound bobbins and filled the humidors this morning.  The bobbins really do behave better if they are allowed to 'steep' in the humidor for at least 24, preferably 48, hours.

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been thinking a lot about nuances and doing what is 'necessary'.  'Necessary' will change from warp to warp, from project to project, from loom to loom.  'Necessary' sometimes means using a technique, process or equipment which is 'slower' than my usual.  I do it because it is 'necessary' in order to achieve the results I desire.  If it isn't 'necessary' I don't do it.  Simple as that.

However, learning when something is 'necessary' comes from experience.  Someone can tell me something but quite often I will try it myself in order to determine if it is truly 'necessary' or not.  (Like floating selvedges.  I can't tell you the number of times I have been sincerely assured that it is impossible to get good selvedges without them.)

I once offered to mentor a young weaver who I felt had promise and the desire to make a good weaver.  She looked me in the eye and assured me quite confidently that she was intelligent enough to figure it out on her own.  Which she probably was, but learning the nuances from me would have meant she got good results much faster without having to make all the mistakes I've made, taken all the bad decisions I have, woven all the samples I've woven.

One of the things I love and no doubt will miss, is the interaction between me and a student.  I love seeing the light go on in their eye and the excitement generated when they 'get' a concept.  I love how they sling shot into areas I might not consider because then I learn stuff too.  One of the down sides of restricting my traveling to teach.  So I am, once again, seriously contemplating...a book.  If I can distill my experiences, my knowledge onto the page, perhaps others who are willing to learn from me can, even if I can't get to them in person.  I have no children (not that having children is any guarantee one of them will want to learn what their parents know), so I kind of consider the weaving community my family.  I really would like my knowledge to continue, in some fashion, after I have entered the big Weaving Studio In The Sky.

Currently reading The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin

Next!

Yesterday Doug beamed the next tea towel warp and this morning I started threading.  The 'bad' news is that the two cones of 12 singles linen I have left in my stash are actually singles 24.  A much finer thread!  Since this warp was set up to have singles 12 used on it, my only option is to set up my doubling stand and wind two threads at a time.  Something I wasn't prepared to do this morning.

Also thinking about advantages/disadvantages.  Frequently discussion will start on one of the chat groups about the advantages/disadvantages of various methods/processes/equipment.

Thing is, an advantage is something that helps you, while a disadvantage is something that hinders you.  This will mean different things to different people at different times.  So the fact that a loom will fold up isn't an advantage to me because my looms never get folded up.  Yes, the back beam on my Leclerc Fanny will fold up, but I never do so that feature is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage to me.

Many of the small 'folding' looms have disadvantages (to me) that make working on them a PITA - short distance from breast to back beam, small warp/cloth beams, folding during weaving because they can't handle the enthusiasm with which I treadle and beat, and so on.

Warping front to back stopped giving me 'good' results (in my opinion) many moons ago so I don't.  That doesn't mean I haven't done it or even at times recommended others doing it in certain circumstances.  But as a blanket process?  Not working for me.

I would much rather see lists of features in a piece of equipment than a list of advantages/disadvantages because a new weaver simply doesn't know what might constitute an advantage/disadvantage to them.  We come in all shapes and sizes so not all looms will work well for all people, all of the time.  I get a little fussed when people decry back to front warping as 'requiring all that extra equipment' or that 'it's a waste of time to rough sley then have to sley the reed again after beaming'.  A raddle is simply and easily made, or a reed can be used instead of a raddle.  And any process that saves time or gives me better results somewhere along the process is not a waste of time in my opinion.

Bottom line?  If something is an advantage to you, great.  Please bear in mind it might not be an advantage to me.

Life, Interrupted

Diana Krall

There is a movement where people are tattooing semi-colons onto their bodies as a reminder that bad things happen to good people but it doesn't have to mean that one's life is over.  It is just Life, Interrupted.

I think it's an interesting concept, although not one I'm about to emulate.  With all my allergies, injecting ink under my skin just doesn't appeal.  That doesn't mean I don't understand why people are doing it.  Sometimes you need something to remind you that when bad things happen they don't need to be permanent.  Or, if 'permanent', they don't have to define you as a person.

I have enough scars, however, to remind me of that fact!  And I mean that literally.

It is always amazing to me how much damage a body can sustain and still keep going.  People wind up with horrendous injuries but they still manage to recover enough to carry on with a life filled with meaning and love.

I've had Diana Krall's cd Glad Rag Doll for several years, but yesterday I really listened to the lyrics to Let It Rain.  And it struck a chord inside me, such that I wanted to share it with my friends.

The lyrics can be found on the internet, but click on the link above to hear her perform the song.  Life may get interrupted from time to time with bad things.  That doesn't mean we will never be happy again.

Nuances

Scarf from last year

Lots of thoughts inch worming their way through my brain as I think about the past few months.  About not feeling well in order to feel better (or at least, that was the goal, which finally seems to be happening), about life and how short and fragile it can be at times, at 40 years of being a professional weaver in a society that doesn't much value creative endeavours (although fortunately enough do that I've not actually starved), about living my life to (mostly) please myself.

Thinking lots of thoughts about creating textiles, writing about them, teaching others how to make them.  Thinking about the joy I see in others as they 'get' the concepts.  Some just want to 'dabble' in the craft while others want to Know All The Things.  And everywhere in between on that spectrum.

Weaving, like many other crafts, is shall we say, a 'skill'.  Anyone who wants to can weave, it's really quite simple.  You take one set of threads we call 'warp' and another set of threads we call 'weft' and you interlace them together.  And that's it, really.  Simple  Easy-peasy.

Unless you want to create something specific. Something useful.  Something that will function well in the doing of its job.  Maybe something beautiful...or even thought provoking.

Beginners get overwhelmed with the possibilities.  I know I did.  When you can do pretty much anything, anything at all, where do you begin?  How do you start?

My approach was to learn the physical skills and build on them.  My early textiles weren't particularly pretty.  I didn't know much about colour or design so I made some awful decisions, some really dreadful choices, when I was just starting out.  

Thing is, I knew I wasn't making very good textiles, and I didn't much care because I knew that I would learn.  I was in it for the long haul, as they say.  I didn't expect perfection of myself because I was a beginner.  I didn't understand the nuances - colour/design, weave structure, the inherent characteristics of the materials, how to properly operate the equipment.

But I was willing to wallow in the shallow end of the learning curve, soaking up as much information as I could jam into my brain box.  I was willing to fail...and learn from that failure.  

I am an analytic kind of person.  I don't hesitate to stare failure in the face and ask why?  What can I do to make it better next time?  How did my choices impact my results?  I knew I wasn't clever enough to achieve perfection the first or even the 10th time I tried.  I didn't care.  I wanted to learn.  I needed to understand.  I jumped into the nuances of what would happen if I changed one thing, then changed one more thing, then changed and changed again.  Trying.  Sampling.  Learning.

I was also fortunate in that I knew my way around a library and how to look things up in the card catalogue (yes, I'm that old.)  I knew about bibliographies and how to request materials on inter-library loan.  I knew enough to do research and when to scrimp and save up my pennies in order to take classes/workshops.  Quite often the lessons learned were not what I expected, but I always, always learned something.

Weaving became meditation, physical exercise (the way I weave it's aerobic - when you break a sweat and your heart rate increases, you really are exercising, in spite of what some people think), therapy, even a social life as I got to know other weavers and craftspeople.  It is a challenge, still, and at times intellectual stimulation as I try to wrap my brain around a new concept, a new way of looking at ways to make textiles.

It has, in so many ways, been A Life, with all it's ups and downs, its successes and failures, it's highs and its lows.  After 40 years and achieving an age where other people 'retire', all I can think about is doing it some more.  I love the look on people's faces when they ask what I'm going to do when I retire and I tell them I'm going to weave!

Stacked

Having done an inventory of what I've got ready for the fall shows, I was able to tell what colours I needed to make in order to have a good selection for sale.  While Mary was here, I wound warps and here are five ready to go.  I also noticed I was low on natural 2/8 cotton, so I'm waiting for another yarn order to arrive.

Mary helped by beaming a place mat warp before she left so I spent the morning (when I finally got myself to the loom) threading that.  Now I have a dental appointment so it will have to wait until I get home before I finish sleying and tieing it on.

In addition to these warps, I need more all white and more neutral.  These warps will get interspersed between weaving on the AVL.  There are still about 6 yards (towels) left to weave on the blue/green warp.  After that is done, I will do another 40 yard warp of white/natural/beige in snails trails and cats paws (twill blocks) and then a shawl warp is scheduled.

But I also have other deadlines, the most pressing being the webinar on Craft U in just one week.  Working on making the butterflies fly in formation.  And I need to test my microphone on the new computer.  Eeps...

Endings

My company leaves tomorrow, a bitter sweet departure.  In fact, we had two lots of company over the weekend.  The house and studio are going to be very quiet for the next little while.

One of the things with having a 'significant' birthday this month is the need I feel to pause and reflect.  Partly I have been doing that by re-reading some of my early blog posts.

I started this blog as I began to feel better after a very stressful six months of Life in Large Doses in 2008.  Not just life, but a string of adverse reactions to drugs that were supposed to keep me healthy but were making me very sick.  It took a further 5 months to figure out that it was, in fact, the drugs at the root of my problems, and keeping the blog kept me focused on the future and hope that better health was awaiting me, if I could only get there.

If you have been reading this blog from the beginning you will know that the road did not smooth out much; in fact I have had a string of health issues that continued to knock me off my rails.  Your support and encouragement and honest feedback helped more than I can say.

Re-reading some of those early posts reminds me of how far I have come and how blessed I am with great friends.  And that is one reason why the house is going to feel so very empty and quiet when they have all left.

We will continue to stay in touch via the magic of the internet and hopefully we will be able to be together in person again.

Tuesday will be a busy day with a trip to the airport, a dental visit, banking to catch up on and various bits of administrivia that need dealing with, not to mention dealing with deadlines...looming...not to mention actually getting back to the loom.  There are still 6 yards left on the warp that was supposed to be off before company arrived.  Well, it will come off this week for sure!

Interlude

Yesterday Mary and I went on a little road trip.  During our 'spare' time we have been sight seeing in and around town.  Friday we got up and got going fairly early (for us) and headed east along Hwy 16 to the Ancient Forest.  This is an interior rain forest and many of the towering cedar trees are up to 1000 years old.  There is speculation that some might be even older

Tomorrow is the last day of workshop and on Tuesday Mary leaves to head home.  It will be back to work for me as deadlines are most definitely looming!

Looking at Lace

Finished the Power Point presentation and am letting it 'settle' for a few days.  I may, or may not, edit it when I review it again.  Always a little nervous about these things.  I perform 'better' when I have an audience I can interact with, but doing internet seminars is one way I can teach without leaving home.  And students can learn without traveling or interrupting their lives.

Here is the registration link

Hope to 'see' you there!

Pet Peeve

Some eye candy to soften this post...

As you may know I have a pet peeve...or two!

It makes my teeth ache when I see typos in books.  It especially makes my teeth ache when people simply don't know how to spell words.

I know, I know, I shouldn't complain.  Not everyone knows how certain words are spelled, and lord knows I make my share of typos.  Or now, auto-correct makes them for me.  Sometimes you just don't know if the person doesn't know or if they are battling auto-correct.

But in terms of clear communication, spelling words correctly goes a very long way towards effectively getting your message across.

The worst one, to my eye, is dying/dyeing.  It's always a jolt when I read that someone has spent their day dying.  Amusing when you finally figure out that they weren't actually dying, but dyeing.  I even have a very funny story about that, much too long to relate here and now, but ask me sometime in person when I can do the facial expressions and reactions of the people listening to the conversation I had with someone about dyeing when they thought I meant dying...it's really funny in a macabre sort of way.

However, with so many new weavers entering the warped side, I strongly suggest that they get a book and learn the actual weaving terminology in order to aid communication in this text based medium (the internet).

So, it's dyeing, not dying.  Sleying not slaying or sleighing.  Treadles for what you do with your feet and threading for entering the warp ends into the heddles.  Etc.  Just saying...

Lace/Texture

Huck lace on the diagonal

Swedish Lace

Spent much of today preparing the webinar Power Point presentation.  The above are a couple of images I will probably use to show that lace weaves don't necessarily need to have holes.  (Loom state above, wet finished below.  Click on photo to biggify.)

The above fabrics were woven of wool and in both cases fulled.

Now why would anyone want to weave lace in wool and full it so that the holes close up?

Hmm - maybe I should tease and say, sign up for the webinar?

Or maybe I'll just say, because lace weaves can also produce a nice texture and the warp/weft floats can provide warmth.  We all know that trapped air provides insulation, and where there are weft floats on one surface there are warp floats on the other making a little 'pocket' where air can become trapped.

This and other information will be provided in the webinar scheduled for July 27.  Just saying...

Currently reading Omen by Kelley Armstrong

A Little Spinny

The weekend was spent exploring spinning yarn.  Now it is back to weaving it.

Monday I need to finish the Power Point presentation on lace weaves for the webinar at the end of the month so rather than actually weaving, I will be taking photos, generating drafts, trying to sort out how best to explain the differences and similarities of the three main loom controlled lace weaves.

A bit of a challenge that may leave me feeling just a tad spinny!

So far we haven't explored beyond the town.  On Tuesday we will go for the 'historic walk' downtown, something I keep meaning to do but never have until now because I have out of town company!  The perfect excuse...

This week there will also be live entertainment at noon at the downtown plaza so we will no doubt enjoy some music on Tuesday as well.

The two weeks of Mary's visit is whizzing by all too quickly.

Natal Day

Began early when Mary arrived at the airport last night, only a few minutes late after some adventures along the way.

Bruin is looking particularly interested in us.  I think s/he thinks Mary looks delicious!  :D

Although our airport is small, it is interesting with some displays, like this one celebrating the abundant wildlife we have living around us.  It is not unusual to see bears in town in mid-to late August.  Most times they are just looking for ripe fruit but if they get into the garbage, it is bad news for the bear.  :(

I live near a couple of green belts that lead out to the river and it is not uncommon to see deer, moose or even foxes.

We have taken it easy today.  Mary was exhausted from traveling and I had a bad night and couldn't sleep so there isn't much energy for much of anything.  Mary is getting acquainted with a borrowed Lendrum spinning wheel and we'll go play with some yarns and design a tea towel warp using the Fibonacci sequence before we go out for my birthday dinner.

We went for a walk this morning before it got really hot.  It is supposed to cool off a little bit tomorrow and the following days.  I told Mary we were easing her into our northern climes.

Reflections

White 'circle' appears to be dust on the camera lens - will have to figure out how to clean that!

As my natal day approaches I find myself reflecting a lot on my age, how I got where I am, where I would like to go from here and how my character has changed - because it has.  I'm not sure if the character changes are due to general aging issues, or are stemming from the experiences I've had and the people I've met who have influenced me in some way.

I really miss my brother.  This week I have been especially emotional about his death and my loss.  Perhaps because we used to spend a lot of time talking about the things I have been thinking about and I miss his unique perspective.  Not that we agreed on everything, by any means.  But we always managed to have in depth discussions, even about things we didn't actually agree on, without losing respect for each other.

And sometimes I would change my thinking because of what he had to say.

Entering my 65th year I find myself both more and less of what I was.

I find myself more tolerant of people's differences - and less tolerant of people who are intolerant of others.

I find myself - due to years of various health issues - less fit - and more determined to live as good a life as I can manage in spite of those health issues.

I find myself less inclined to spend time with people (extreme introvert?) and more inclined to teach those who want to know what I know.

I find myself thinking about the fact that we all have expiry dates, recognizing that, if it weren't for the fact a) that my brother died so suddenly alerting me to familial cardiac issues and b) that cardiac issues such as I have are now treatable, I would not be here right now.

Since I am still here, I can only assume that there is more I need to do, more I need to accomplish.  Friends tell me I can't 'go' yet because they need me around so they can pick my brains.  Since no one is immortal, I feel compelled to try to sum up what I know in some way to leave for...posterity?

Which begins to feel very egotistical, but also very purposeful.

I find myself less inclined to try to please others and more inclined to please myself.  If people don't buy what I make, I will have to eventually stop producing so much but in the meantime I have this stash that wants using up.

I find myself wanting to see more of this world, and nervous about leaving Canada.  No one likes feeling fragile and potentially getting sick while out of their own country.

I find myself trying very hard to not think about my health issues without ever being able to entirely block out what is happening in my body.

In many ways I find myself teetering on the edge of so many things, not knowing how long I will hold my balance nor which 'side' of the edge I will fall to when I do.

I find myself with a heightened awareness that life is good, life is sweet, life is a juggling act and a challenge.  The glass is neither half full, nor half empty - it is refillable!

Reality

There are eleven copies of A Good Yarn: Rayon with woven samples (before and after wet finishing) left.  Once these are gone, I doubt very much any publication I do in the future will have samples.  In fact, I can pretty much guarantee it.

Not because I can't weave the samples or put the publication together.  I have all the equipment and even the materials to do another publication.  It's the shipping costs that are killing a 'real' book.  Every year postage has gone up, not to mention the price of the padded envelopes I've been using to mail them.

'Shipping' isn't just the postage, it's all the other things that go into getting a parcel ready to put into the mail - as I say, padded envelope, customs forms, driving to the post office (I don't have pick up or free shipping materials in Canada).  Technically I also need to have the recipients phone number if I am to do the customs forms on-line - or Canada Post won't do the pre-printed forms, so a trip in person to the post office is required.

All of these add up and I've come to the conclusion that it's time to go digital.

That being said...there are still 11 copies of this publication left.  If purchased before July 10 along with one other item, you get free shipping.  Price of AGY: Rayon is just $40 Cdn.  How about this:

just $20 - a great tutorial on how to develop any double width cloth

Stay tuned for announcements about digital publications, maybe as soon as the end of this year.

Tortoise Pace

At times progress seems painfully slow.  

Company arrives Wednesday, in time for dinner if her flight arrives on time, and I have a stack of things that wants doing before she arrives.   Somehow I doubt I'm going to manage it and she might be forced to play on one or other of the looms while I tackle some deadlines and wrestle them to the ground.

The weather continues hot and humid for us, but more worryingly is the wildfire situation.  With the hot dry weather comes wildfires and since we are surrounded by bush, smoke drift is a distinct possibility.  

Doug will go pressing tomorrow because some of the towels on the loom were purchased.  Here is Confetti, right out of the dryer.  They will look even better after pressing. 

This photo shows both sides of the cloth and how well the reed marks disappeared in wet finishing. 

Currently reading Evil Eye by Jason Goidwin

Hot!

hemmed and ready to go (except for final pressing)  

Warp:  2/16 cotton, weft 100% linen

Price:  $38 each

boxes - 4

twill blocks (middle) 3

zig-zag - 6

still on the loom, same as above.  vertical lines are reed marks which should disappear (pretty much) during wet finishing.  I'm calling this design 'confetti'.  Three woven so far, probably going to do six.

It's July and it's hot!  Hotter than we are used to, especially when it comes with the higher humidity we get in the summer.  I'm so grateful we have air conditioning or weaving would be nigh impossible.  I heard a forecast that said this summer was going to be wicked hot, which is nice, in a way, but not for the long term.  We are already in a state of dangerously high wild fire conditions.  So far we have been lucky in this part of the province - other parts?  Not so much.

My special offering continues until July 9.  I'm including these towels even though some of them are still in process - in fact - still on the loom.  But they will be off very soon.  

Remember - buy two items until July 9 (inclusive) and you get free shipping.

Currently reading the Ballad of Jacob Peck by Debra Komar - a true crime book about a murder that took place in New Brunswick in the early 1800's.  

For Sale

2/16 cotton warp, linen weft - chocolate weft $28 each 7 left, beige weft - $28 each 8 left

2/16 cotton warp, linen weft - pale green warp $36 each 18 left, darker turquoise warp $36 each 11 left

2/16 cotton warp, tow linen weft $28 each, 7 left

2/16 cotton warp, tow linen weft $28 each 7 left

2/16 cotton warp, tow linen weft $28 each 23 left

2/16 cotton warp, Fox Fibre naturally coloured organic cotton weft $36 each, one left

2/16 rose cotton warp, linen weft $38 each 18 left, Rose slub weft $32 each 12 left

2/8 cotton warp with slub, pale rose 5 left, dark red 7 left, both $24 each

Buy two items (Weave a V at $20, A Good Yarn: Rayon $40 included) and receive free shipping.

There are two more scarlet towels left (see previous post).  There are sea blue/green towels being hemmed.  Will post photos as soon as they are done, assuming they will be done before the 9th of July.

Taking Stock

Yesterday, with the help of a friend, several boxes of textiles were tagged and priced, ready to go to the annex for storage until the fall sales.  Since I had been fretting about the upcoming fall sales, it felt great to see the pile all in one place.  

Not all of this is quite ready yet.  Doug is pressing more towels and a dozen place mats I cut apart, serged and wet finished yesterday.  By tonight I will have more hemming to do.

The next mat warp is rough sleyed, ready to beam, one warp is patiently waiting in the wings and another is in the process of being wound.  There are about 25 yards left on the AVL for towels.  I have a Power Point presentation to write, a class manual to edit, and bob save me, I'm contemplating writing another book.  Yikes.   

Towels

Latest batch of towels tagged and ready to go...80% cotton, 20% linen.  $34 each

Canada Day

Today is Canada Day - a day of celebration of the 'birth' of our country.  We are enjoying a lovely sunny day and there are many events going on of which I am attending...none.  Rather I am celebrating that I am getting better, have a little more energy and tackling a mountain of administrivia that really needs to be dealt with.

Procrastination is fine but doesn't accomplish the stuff that really needs doing.

As a self-employed person, every day is a potential work day.  Yes, even Canada Day!

To that end, the first of the towel pictures - these towels are made with 2/16 cotton warp and a tow linen weft.  Price is $32 each.  There are about 6 of each (more of the orange/beige) left although I still haven't made it to the annex to do an actual count.  Hopefully later today.

Today I am wet finishing a couple of loads of tea towels - more of the rose ones, and the first 10 off the blue/green warp.  Will get photos of those posted in the next day or two.