Solstice Day

 

Today is - hopefully - going to be a 'quiet' day.  A small hiatus in what has turned into a rather over the top busy week.  

Life is like that.  We make plans.  Life Happens.  We adjust.  Deal with it.  Move on.

And meantime, the sun keeps rising in the east and setting in the west.  About the only guaranteed thing, these days.

Yesterday I had an absolutely lovely chat with Michelle Boyd (spindleprincess).  I'd asked her if she would like a review copy of the essays and she agreed with alacrity.  She not only spins, she weaves, and she's been writing a lot for the publication Digits and Threads.  

One of the things we talked about was impostor syndrome, and yet neither of us has ever hesitated to reach out to someone to ask a question.  I think it's because I'm not too bothered if the answer is 'no'.

On the one hand, my name has a certain recognition level in the weaving community so I didn't hesitate to contact people to teach at conferences our guild organized, up to and including Allen Fannin, Jack Lenor Larsen, Abby Franquemont and other 'names' in the weaving/spinning world.  

As Michelle and I talked we realized that in many ways we had the same approach to being in the textile community - feel the fear and do it anyway.  We talked about making mistakes (yes we have both made tonnes of them) and how some of the best lessons learned are from trying something and finding out what happens when you do.  That there is almost nothing that can go 'wrong' in trying something new that will make a blind bit of difference - other than giving us more data.

It was really hard to say 'goodbye' after 2.5 hours.  There was so much more we each wanted to say, but we each had other things that needed doing.

Meanwhile, work on the ms continues.  One of the 'dangers' of self-publishing - you keep tweaking right up until the very last minute.  

This morning I am taking it 'easy'.  It's the solstice and the sun begins it's journey back south (or north if you are in the southern hemisphere).  We are 'officially' in summer here, now, with many more weeks of potentially hot and dry weather, which will push the wildfire situation even further into the critical zone.

After being evacuated due to wildfires, Edson, Alberta is now being evacuated because there was a huge dump of rain on the town and now, after the fire?  Flood.

This is our new 'reality'.  Climate change is not a myth, it's real, and we are now dealing with natural disaster after natural disaster.  Not just in Canada, but everywhere around the globe.

It seems more important than ever to grow more weavers/spinners, keep the craft alive.  Just in case it all goes pear shaped.

But no matter what we humans do - or don't do - the sun will keep rising in the east and setting in the west, regardless of if we are around to view it.

So today?  I'm beaming the next warp.  Who knows, I might even start threading it.  My goal is to leave the new warp in the loom ready for when I get home.  Because come what may, I will be weaving for as long as I can.