Changing

 

I spent about 40 years working as efficiently as I could in order to make the most of my time.  I learned early that while I could always make more money to buy more yarn, once I'd spent the coin of my time, it was gone.  Forever.

So I worked hard at being ergonomic and efficient (I define those as related but slightly different sides of the same coin - reducing extraneous movements means less wear and tear on the body and increases productivity.)

Over the years it became unfashionable to be 'efficient'.  Many people really don't understand the meaning of the word.  It means every movement is precise and necessary.  The movements are kept small to reduce fatigue on muscles.  Moving only as much as is actually required reduces how much energy is required and making small movements instead of large ones takes less time.

So the end result of working more ergonomically brings the added benefit of being able to do more in less time.

Some people whiff away any suggestion of learning to be more efficient with the comment that they 'don't want to hurry'.

Hurrying is the exact opposite of working efficiently because when someone hurries, they tend to skip steps, or they aren't paying attention to what they are doing and make mistakes.

So while I am very productive, I am not in any way hurrying as I wind warps, dress the loom, weave.  Rather I am using just the right amount of effort and motion to get the job done.

The more I learned and thought about how some people react to the word 'efficient' I tried to think about how to make what I do more understandable.  After talking with others I realized that what I do is work with intention.

I also don't get bored.  I can weave 22 tea towels all exactly the same.  Some people assume that because I do that, I must not be very intelligent.  On the contrary, I am actually fairly intelligent.  But also?  My time at the loom is not spent thinking about other things, wishing I was done with what I am doing, waiting for the clock to tell me I can stop doing this and go do something more interesting.

While I get tired, I don't get bored because when I'm weaving I am focused on what I am doing, and there is a subliminal conversation going on between me and the yarn, me and the loom, me and the shuttle.  It is a conversation that goes on in the foreground, and if all the answers coming back to me are 'it's ok, I'm fine', then I can put what I am doing physically in background and think about other things.  But I'm far from bored.

It is, I believe, a kind of working meditation.  I weave for about 45-60 minutes and often times I will look at the clock to discover that 30 minutes has gone by and I'm halfway through the tea towel, and then I sink again into my 'meditation'.

I set the computer dobby up so that when I'm done a tea towel, there is an empty lag to tell me I'm done.  Then I weave in two picks for a cut line, shut down the loom and go take a break.  And then I go back again.  If I'm weaving yardage, I put a 45 minute cassette into my boombox and when the music ends, I take a break.

These days I can only manage two sessions at the loom, but I try to get there twice a day.  Unless I'm dressing the loom.  I might go to the studio three times if I'm beaming a warp or threading.

People judge my output by their own rate of work.  They assume I must spend hours and hours at the loom.  (I used to but I'm now 'retired') but as one friend points out, I get more done on a bad day than she does on a good.  

In large part, my productivity is *because* of the effort I have put into working efficiently, ergonomically, paying attention, not using extra motion/energy, and my processes will all assist me in so doing.

Ultimately every weaver must do what is right for them.  But if they are having lots and lots of problems, can I suggest that they might consider what I do?  By reducing the tangles, winding and beaming will be less aggravating and time consuming.  By becoming more streamlined in terms of threading, less time will be spent sitting in the loom getting that job done.  I encourage people to find out what I do and then see if anything resonates with them.  I do NOT expect everyone to to it 'my' way, but by gaining an understanding of the principles of the craft, knowing how their equipment works, choosing yarns that are appropriate to the function of the cloth they want to make, they may find that they get more enjoyment out of the time they spend making that cloth.

And if not?  No worries.  Do what brings you joy.  Use the tools that fit nicely in your hands.  Weave the way you want to do.  But maybe, just maybe, a different process/tool/loom might work better, reduce frustration, and make the whole thing more pleasant.

If you want to find out what I do, I can be found at the School of Sweet Georgia  or my books here.