Time becomes more precious the less of it we have (paraphrase from Bonnie Raitt)
When I first started weaving it was with the intention of earning an income from it. With that intention front of mind, I paid attention to the things, the processes, that took the most time. As I became better at weaving, I began to see where things could be stream lined. How spending a little bit more time at one stage wound up saving me a whole lot of time at the next.
One of the things I do that sometimes puzzles people is that I slip knot each group of threads as I thread them.
On the Leclerc, which has four shafts, my usual group for threading is four or six ends. When I have them pulled through their respective heddles, they get put into a bundle and tied in a slip knot. The video clip above shows how I do that. On the Megado, it is generally 4, 6 or 8 ends in a group that get slip knotted together in preparation for sleying. It depends(!)
Now it takes a whole lot longer to explain and show what I do than it does to do it. I think tieing the knot takes one second. What it does, however, is save me a great deal of time when I sley the reed.
People frequently assume that I have some sort of magical powers, or that I must spend hours every day at the loom in order to produce as much as I do.
Well, I used to. My productivity now is a small fraction of what I used to be able to do. But I'm 'retired' (for certain values of) and there is little need for me to produce at the levels I used to be able to do.
But my efficient processes continue, in no small part because I don't want to work artificially slowly (as one friend put it).
The aging process has already slowed me down, I don't see any benefit in working in ways that slow me down even further. I can find other ways to spend my time than sitting cramped in front of a loom threading and/or sleying the warp.
I'm not saying everyone must do things my way. I have fine tuned my skills for 4 decades. People can only rarely pick up a threading hook and thread a warp as quickly as I can, even now with my aging eyes and growing cataracts.
But here's the thing. It isn't a contest. I'm not the 'winner'. So I share what I do. I encourage people to find their own 'best practices'. And above all, enjoy the process. Because in the end, that is literally all we have - our lives, and living them to their fullest.
Do what makes you happy. Make what brings you joy. Invest your time in the way that brings you pleasure.
I, too, tie my threads in bundles after heddles are threaded. I think I was taught this when I learned to weave, but it’s possible I learned it from you or just figured it out myself. I no longer remember.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I hear people say something like, I hate to beam my warp, or thread the loom, or whatever, I wonder if/why that want to weave at all. It’s all part of the process, and if you hate major parts of the process you might want to find a different outlet for your creativity.
I just assume that if someone 'hates' some part of the process they still haven't found a way to do it that doesn't wind up in tangles or tears. I suppose that is why I'm so vocal, even now, about showing what I do. Maybe people just need to learn a different way.
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