Window of Opportunity

 

The snow isn't as deep as this - yet - but it will be a white xmas!

There is a tiny window of opportunity for USians to continue to benefit from the US-CDN dollar exchange rate but it will be closing very soon.

I will be posting new tea towels to my ko-fi shop (hopefully today) and if you want to get the US$ discount, purchase before the end of the month so I can mail the parcels early in January.  Once the promised Trump tariffs kick in (25% according to the president elect) that will essentially wipe out the exchange rate differential.

And we have zero idea what is going to happen to post office/mail.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

(There will be no tariff on the 3 books on blurb.com as they are printed and shipped within the US.)

Only a Hobby

well used padded gloves I needed when I was dealing with nerve pain from a pinched nerve in my neck

 

I saw online this morning that someone was giving another person a 'hard' time because they were working on their 'hobby'.  How could they when the world was going to hell in a basket?

I got similar comments after I had been a weaver as my profession for about 25 years when I would once again show up at the local craft fair with thousands of dollars of hand made textiles for sale and one of the 'ladies who lunch' would come by, notice that I was standing in my booth, look around and then say something to the effect of 'oh, you're still weaving?'

I would smile and say "Yes, I am."  And more than once I would get a confused look and then the person would say 'oh, I guess you need something to keep you busy.'  And off they would go.

It was always confusing to me.  Do lawyers practice law because they need something to keep themselves busy?  Do doctors?  Does anyone work at something because they can't think of anything 'better' to do?

Even now, in 'retirement' I still weave - for all the reasons that the craft captured my interest right from the start - I keep learning.

But also?  I like the physical act of weaving.  I like sitting down at the loom and throwing the shuttle.  I get endorphins (yes, because I weave that energetically).  And at the end of the day, I feel as though I have been productive.

Right now I weave because it is an act of creation, not destruction, and we have more than enough people 'out there' trying to destroy our world, the very planet we live on, and it may not be much but the world can use all the creative energy it can get.

I fear that we are going to see huge changes in our society, most of them very bad for the average person.  Will I be able to keep generating an income from weaving?  Maybe not, but I *hope* I can keep learning, and writing about what I learn.

Ultimately, with the general feeling of 'burn it all down' wafting around, we may just get our wish.  And then people like gardeners, spinners/dyers/weavers and all manner of textile workers, may find they need to do these old crafts as survival skills.  Just one more reason for people like me to keep digging, trying to understand the craft, and share that knowledge with others.

I heard that Canada Post will be starting back to work today.  My books are still available at blurb.com, tea towels at my ko-fi shop, and online classes at Long Thread Media and School of Sweet Georgia.

As a person I may be pretty much powerless, but I can stay creative, stay learning, stay sharing what I learn.  And that's not a bad way to end my days...

A Long History

 

Ars Textrina is a publication very few people knew about but I collected as many as I could.  During a purge of my library a few years ago, I sold off all of them - except for these two.

Patricia Hilts had obtained some weaving books from the 1600s or so, from Germany, translated them and provided updated weaving drafts.  I use them for inspiration, and a jumping off place to transfer my intentions into the cloth I want to make.

And that's the thing.  Almost nothing is 'brand new' when it comes to cloth (apart from the new technology fibres and cloth for medical and industrial purposes).  There are only so many ways a weaver can thread the loom and then tie the shafts up to create functional cloth.  It is *how* we apply those things to our own designs/intentions that make them 'new'.

Of course I could start from 'scratch' every single time I design a warp, buy why should I?  Our ancestors did exactly the same thing - they might see a textile from a different country/culture and then apply their creativity and make something 'unique'.

The fact is that humans have been creating string/thread/yarn since the beginning of time.  The archeologists now recognize that there are things that can be learned by studying those bits of string that might be left on a body or tools.  They recognize that sculptures depict the use of 'string' adornments (the Venus goddesses and their 'string skirts' being a prime example), and there can be traces of textiles left in things like pottery.

We stand on the shoulders of giants.

As I near the end of the current warp I am paging through the Ars Textrina books.  I've noted a couple designs that I find interesting but I also need to adapt them to what I will make.  Borders, sides and ends, how large (how many repeats across/down) and, of course, the colours I will use.  Since I want to weave up more of the fine singles linen, I need to use a density appropriate to the yarn I will use and the function the cloth is to serve.

So yes, I will 'copy' a draft that was published originally in the 1600s or so, but then I will adapt it to my purpose.

And all the while I will thank the two German weavers who so faithfully recorded what they did so that I could reference their work and bring it into the 21st century along with Patricia Hilts to brought it to light.  And feel part of the same creativity that also drove them.  A long thread of knowledge and skill, still in use now.

Jump Through Hoops

 

A number of people have commented that they don't have enough shafts to do Swedish Snowflake with a border so today I offer people with 8 shafts a way to do a border with centre field.

Any four shaft threading can be treated the same, once the technique is understood.  To do it loom controlled you do need four shafts per block so a loom with 8 shafts.  Since the treadling is a bit complicated, it is easier to weave if you have a dobby, but it's not entirely necessary.  One doesn't need to choose *this* threading draft, but any of the simpler twills from Davison, or other books with threading drafts.  

This technique equally serves well for overshot.  One can place the design motif within the cloth where you want it.  Ultimately you can weave the overshot with loom-controlled pick-up and put it wherever you want.  I designed a font that could be woven - but it's for 16 shafts loom-controlled.  If you don't have enough, loom assisted pick up works well.

I think Nancy Hoskins has written a book doing this, or you could take my class at School of Sweet Georgia, where I included Bronson Lace pick up as part of the lace class.

(The above link gives a small discount for joining, if I recall correctly.  I have 4 classes there and there are several articles/blog posts plus I hang out to answer questions.)

Coming up to 50 years weaving and I'm still learning.  :)

oday I offer you

Not Set in Stone

 

 snowflake twill towel

I cut the blue/grey warp off the loom last week, wet finished and started hemming them.

Since I have made significant changes to the draft to the current warp, and some to this previous one, I'm not sure I can any longer call it 'Swedish Snowflake' (as we know it in North America) or just that I used a fancy twill in the category of 'snowflake twills'.

I think it was the day I realized that threading drafts are not written in stone that I began to see the potential for designing things.  It felt like I slipped the coils of gravity and was able to 'fly'.  Well, not really, but I felt like the horizon had suddenly got exponentially bigger.  

I began to play with the elements in the design, once I could see what they were and how to make them 'dance'.  Right away I knew I wanted a lot more shafts.  A Jacquard would have been ideal, but way out of my budget (still is.)

So I bought a 16 shaft loom, which - other than a draw loom - was the most that handlooms came in, until after the computer interface dobby became more common.  By then, however, I had gotten used to 16 shafts, and while I sometimes cast a longing eye at looms with more, the reality is that I don't really 'need' more.  I have far from explored everything there is to do with 16.  And the creative 'limitation' is good, too.  It forces me to really think about what I want to achieve and think through the best way to achieve it.

I didn't make it to the loom yesterday, but last night was 'better' and I aim to continue weaving on the beige warp today.  And decide on the next warp since it looks like I can't order the yarn I need yet, for the next article.  But that deadline isn't 'tight' so I've got time to get back to 'usual' and keep weaving off the fine linen singles.  And keep working on stash reduction.  And hopefully Canada Post will come to an agreement with their employees soon.

Fiddling Around

 

I'm 'done' weaving the samples for the next article and I still have warp left on the loom.  So I messed around with the threading (so it would fit 'better' at 30 epi) and - since weaving the *actual* article pieces requires a level of concentration I find very tiring to sustain for long, I changed the treadling to make the rest of the towels easier to cope with.

I'm quite pleased with them, actually.

We are nearing the solstice and I, for one, will be glad to have the daylight hours getting longer.  We have had a string of grey dreary (and wet!) days.  Rain in December.  Can't possibly be climate change, right?  

Anyway, I had massage today and my therapist is exceptionally pleased with the progress I'm making.  But no matter how 'quickly' it may seem to others and the 'usual', living it is...challenging.

I'm now completely converted to the new medication, and I will be phoning the pain doctor in the next few days to see about getting my next injections for my back.  In the meantime, it *looks* like the new medication might be a better fit.  I'll know better once I have the next set of jabs.

In the meantime, I've been weaving my more 'usual' schedule.  I'm hoping the new year will see me well on the road to 'better'.  

There are all sorts of uncertainties coming in January.  I just checked the prices on my books and while the Canada Post job action continues, Canadians can't really get my book(s) - other than the memoir on ko-fi which is available as a pdf only there.

Hopefully US customers will not be impacted by the threatened tariffs on my other books since they are printed in the US.  However, my textiles will likely get snagged in the politics of the day.  In the meantime the Canada Post job action doesn't seem to be making progress, so I continue to hold off on adding new items to ko-fi.

I need more yarn for the next article but again, I need to mail order.  I don't think Brassard uses anything but Canada Post, so I will have to wait and see if the mail strike ends soon.

Last night I started poking around what yarn I have on hand and thinking about doing another warp to weave the fine singles linen on.  No decision yet - still mulling.  Those warps need to be 36 epi so I have to work with what I have until the mail starts rolling again.

In the meantime, I keep plugging away at the stash.  I was running out of 2/16 cotton, but 'found' 5 large cones of 2/15 cotton.  So some of that will be used to weave the above version of the snowflake twill.  I don't feel like I can call it Swedish Snowflake anymore, as I've edited the draft to make it work within the format of my tea towels.

Anyway, I have lots (for certain level of 'lots') to keep me occupied.  I just hope I can place the yarn orders soon.  I would order from someone else, but I need 40 tubes of 2/20 merc. cotton, and I'm not sure anyone else carries that much.  Along with more 2/16 cotton.  I've finally woven down both of those yarns and have none, or next to none of either.  

Back to the tea towels.  All *that* yarn needs to be woven, too.

New Week, New Plans

 

yarn order - still not used up, but getting there...

One of the things I've been needing to do is start thinking about - and planning - using yarns that I don't have in my store room.  Now that I appear to be (mostly) weaving to illustrate articles I'm planning on writing, I need to consult with the editor of the publication and work within *their* vision for their publication.

This is a lot more of a challenge than I had been expecting, but I find I am anticipating doing the research into the topic and looking forward to continuing my journey into understanding what happens to threads when you turn them into cloth.

It is, in fact, just exactly what I told my friends that wanted to do when I 'retired'.  Sometimes you just need to articulate what you want, then wait while the wheels turn and the opportunity appears?

In the meantime I have not been asleep at the wheel.  I wrote two more books, (here) (and here) some 'articles' for The Handweaving Academy and School of Sweet Georgia.  And I nibbled away at my yarn stash, such that I actually have some 'bare' spots on the shelves.  Still way too much, though!

I have essentially finished weaving the examples for the next article - just need to hem them - and I've begun planning for the next article.  Unfortunately Canada Post is still in labour negotiations and shipping stuff is...challenging...as I search for yarn for the warps (yes, there will be more than one!) 

Both warps will be woven with some yarns I have used previously, so it won't be entirely 'new' but I will be exploring the possibilities of using them differently from what I have usually done.

Over the weekend I dug around and sourced the yarn - now I need to write up a proposal and send it to the editor and see if I have captured the aspect they want written up correctly - and if they approve of my approach.

I think that I could find quite a lot of satisfaction with this 'new' approach to weaving.  But time will tell if I can contribute to their vision in a way that supports it.

In the meantime, I keep trying new pain meds.  This new one comes with the adverse effect of increased fatigue (oh joy) but I'm hoping that as I get 'used' to it that will decrease - or I'll just get used to slogging through the day feeling like I have a 70 pound backpack on my back.  

I am essentially back to weaving two 45 minute sessions a day, and that pleases me.  It was one more step towards 'normal'.

And I must make sure I take every victory I can find.  

Winter motif

 

'failure #2'

This is the second 'failed' attempt to weave this design.  And, it's why I weave 'samples', sometimes full-sized!

There are a few 'technical' issues with this project, and I was very grateful I wove it before I started the 'actual' items.

Number one issue is the combination of a 'fancy' twill with a centre field.  The fancy twill is an 'advancing' twill, and when you try to weave a 'standard' plain weave, the result is basket weave in areas where the advancing twill is threaded.  

I actually preferred this because it would take up more than plain weave (although less than the twill).

It also tracked in the centre field, but I don't worry too much about that considering that it tracked consistently across the area.

But then the different areas also tend to beat in differently.  This sample is #2 because I changed from 32 epi to 30 epi, hoping that would allow the centre field to beat in more closely.  But it also meant the borders would beat in more, too.

So I played with the beat, trying to figure out if I had to change the beat to 'firmer' for the centre field area.

Then when I was weaving it, something 'off' kept catching in the corner of my eye.  I couldn't 'see' it when I looked straight at it, but it kept nagging at me.  So I cut off, intending to wet finish it in hopes of seeing it 'better'.  But I could see it fine *on the wrong side of the cloth*.

Back to the desktop to open the files and try to figure out what I'd done, and sure enough I had not done the tie up correctly.

But doing this exercise gave me a lot of information - some of it anticipated, some of it a 'surprise'!

There is nothing very much 'wrong' with it, except that once I saw the 'errors' I had to stop and fix or adjust what I was doing.  

This type of 'error' makes the textile a 'second' in my mind, but I will likely use it as a 'gift'.  I have several local friends that have no compunction to take my 'seconds' off my hands.  :)

I'll be honest.  There are times that I don't fix minor errors.  Some of them are only 'visible' to me.  So, no, I don't fix every 'flaw'.  Our ancestors probably didn't have a lot of time to fix minor errors that would not affect the function of the textile.  

But in some instances, like this project I'm working on now, I *must* come as close to perfect as I can humanly come.  

And, now that I'm  no longer relying on weaving to produce much of an income, I have the time to make the effort to be as finicky as it takes to nudge the needle closer to 'Nearly Perfect'.  

I have now produced two examples that I consider 'close enough' to Perfect that I will finish the rest of the warp in tea towels.  Which will likely be available in my ko-fi shop in the new year (hopefully by then the Canada Post labour negotiations will be resolved...)

Creative Energy

 

This 'meme' crossed my Facebook feed this  morning.  It is labelled as 'Old Proverb' without saying which culture, although with the incredible tile work, I'm assuming Islamic.

But it reminded me that working with some thread crosses every culture, in some format.  And it reminds me that creative energy is a positive one (by and large).

In this time, so many people are channeling their creative energies to spread mis/dis-information, that it is hard to tell, sometimes, what is actually positive or negative.

When I wrote Stories from the Matrix I felt the touch of the 'divine'.  I would sit down with my 2nd cup of coffee and place my hands on the keyboard, usually not having any idea what I was going to write about (mostly) and the words would just...come.

Granted I was in a space of reflection, so I was open to letting my sub-conscious have full rein.  I would type for about an hour, and as the thoughts flowed to my conscious brain, I would sometimes have a revelation - a flash of understanding - about something that had been simmering on the back burner of my brain.

Now that I'm recovering from an actual brain injury, I have been spending a lot of time too exhausted to think.  Having the articles to do for the magazine has helped enormously, because I get intrigued with the topic and I can find some energy to get to the studio.  What I find 'different' is that my level of energy is very shallow, and I feel tired all the damn time (even more than I did prior to the fall.)

So most days I take an afternoon nap.

Society seems to be going through some shaking up.  It's hard to see it happen, but I have to remember that people doing creative, *positive* things will help.  I may only help one or two people, but that is better than not helping anyone else.  

By getting to the studio every day (that I can) I feel 'better' about myself.  I can gauge how much my recovery is progressing.  I feel productive.  And I love learning new stuff.  This slower 'pace' of weaving is becoming more 'comfortable'.  I no longer do shows (in person) so I'm not selling nearly as much as I used to.  So I don't really need to 'produce' like I used to do.  

But I do like giving people gifts, especially my health care team.  After all, they keep me going and enable me to get to the loom.  And whatever sales I do make helps pay for the bills.  And the yarn.  Because now that I'm weaving to illustrate my writing, I need to buy project specific yarns.  :)  

I'm weaving more samples for the current article because I'm not certain I have it 'right' yet.  I realized last night that I could - if I need to - weave the entire warp up as 'samples'.  And more gifts to present to people who have helped me, especially the past nearly 4 months.  It's hard to believe that I fell less than 4 months ago - and how much my life shattered when I came crashing down to the ground.

As long I can get to the loom, I can get into my happy place, and - perhaps - gently touch the divine.

Hubris

 

It's no secret that I am not perfect and prone to making mistakes.  Such was the case with the current warp.

Yesterday I finished setting up the loom and wanting to know if it was going to work the way I wanted it to, I decided to go ahead and quickly weave a 'sample' (full sized) to make sure all was well.

I got about half way through the 'sample' when something kept catching my eye.  Not full on, but in my peripheral range - or in my side vision.  When I would turn and view the area full face, nothing looked obviously wrong - but the niggling thought that something *was* haunted me.  In the end, because I couldn't spot the actual area of 'wrongness' I decided to finish weaving the full sized sample and see if the wet finishing would reveal the problem.

After weaving the sample I cut it off and took it up to the desktop where I could see the draft better, and yet...I still couldn't see it.  So it was decided I would inspect and repair the last warp and the new sample and see what the water would reveal.

When I got mobile this morning, I went down and started inspecting, beginning with the new sample and oh, hello, what have we here???  I isolated the 'wrongness' and went back to the desktop and fairly quickly isolated the issue in the cloth.  I tried to view the problem on the monitor but I still wasn't spotting it so I printed it out in a large format to make it easier to see.

What I had done was thread two blocks of an 8 shaft fancy twill, then for the centre I had split the tie up to weave the design along the selvedges, and a 'plain' centre field.  (Not exactly 'plain' more like an area of basket weave and plain because of the advancing twill threading.)

I still couldn't see it so what I did was to use the printed out tie up and divide the tie up into quadrants.  Since 3 out of 4 quadrants were the fancy twill, and the 4th was plain weave tie up, I could begin to 'see' each quadrant more effectively.  Starting with the plain tie up (because I had made a mistake in that area in the first place, corrected before I began weaving) I carefully checked to make sure the plain weave was correct.  Since the 'mistake' was in the area where the centre field was being woven, the mistake had to be in the quadrant containing that portion of the tie up.

Voila!  I had not completed that part of the tie up and there were not 1 but 2 treadles that were not correct.

This sample has been valuable in another way.  I had thought that, due to the extra tie downs in the centre field I would have to beat slightly harder in that area, but in the end when I cut it off the loom and measured it, the centre field is beaten too tightly.

Right now I'm putting the towels I had ready for wet finishing through the washer/dryer and will press tomorrow.  For now, it's lunch time and then I will go back, tie on again, and weave another sample.  Hopefully a 'correct' one.

We'll see how that goes...

Pause Day

 

Today turned into a 'pause' day.  

I had been 'pushing' myself harder last week, trying to build up muscle, but I finally figured out I was having an adverse reaction to the 'new' pain meds I was taking.  Just trying to get the loom dressed over the weekend was...not much fun.

But I talked the pharmacist, then my family doctor and last night I got a new pain medication.  The pharmacist advised that I wean off the old medication, but that I could start the new one now if I felt comfortable with that.  Not having *any* pain medication was not an appealing path forward so I reduced the old to one capsule and took one of the new.  I can't say that last night was very successful, but I expect it will take about 5 days to clear my system of the old and then another couple of weeks to tell if the introductory dose of the new will be sufficient, while I wait for the muscle and joint pain to fade (as the old med clears my body.)

Pain is the angry toddler of health issues, I think.  If 'too much' is a trigger, it's hard to know when you have tipped over into trigger territory, usually until it is too late.  Yesterday I had several potential triggers - we got our Covid vaccines, then I walked way too much around Costco picking up a few things we wanted to stock up on.  Then I went to the pharmacy to pick up the new meds and wound up standing longer than I should have after trekking through Costco.  When I got home I wanted to finish getting the loom set up before I took a nap.

In the end I didn't do everything I wanted, but the loom is threaded and sleyed, ready to be tied up.

However, a friend emailed the other day and asked if we could have a (zoom) visit, and we will do that this afternoon.  In the meantime I have a bin of towels hemmed, ready for pressing so I think I'm going to go do that now and then I can clear the worktable off and do the zoom there.

Plus I ran out of my oat bars so I was going to get them done this morning, but a night filled with too little sleep means I slept in (finally!) and the morning has evaporated.  It isn't as though I don't have other things I can eat, but the bars are non-allergen and I can grab one for a quick snack if I am feeling peckish.  Maybe after the Zoom...

However, the treadlings for the new warp are generated, all I need to do is load them into the laptop, tie up, wind bobbins, then weave my samples.  I'm thinking I'll put off wet finishing the towels I just took off the loom and do the samples with that load so I can see what I've got.  And then I can begin writing the article.

Looks I have a full calendar - or, at least, as full as I can anticipate while I hope like hell I can find pain meds that don't make things worse while I try to get better...

Transitions

 

set up for sectional beaming

The above is an old photo because I didn't take a photo of the current warp.  So imagine the loom looking ready to go with a beige warp instead of this blue/grey one.

I cut the previous warp off earlier than expected due to a brain fart during beaming.  I thought I made a counting  mistake, then doubted myself and didn't add the 'extra' 10 turns to the section.  I was actually sad because I was really enjoying weaving those tea towels.  Ah, well.  Onwards...

Next up is the 'real' warp to weave the rest of the samples for the next article.  I've fine tuned the draft somewhat because I changed the epi to 30 instead of 32.  In the end I decided to use the 15 dent reed.  It's difficult for me to focus my eyes properly (still not fully recovered so seeing very fine things, or distant things isn't quite 100%).

As usual, I'm having to give myself extra time to do things, so it's all going a lot slower than I would like.

Recovery seems to be a journey of:  nothing, nothing, hardly anything, sudden (small) improvement, nothing, nothing, nothing much.  Rinse and repeat.

When this week began I had no need to leave the house.  Today we are both heading out because we got an appointment to get our Covid vaccines.  Plus I need to pick up new meds.

I'm such a special snowflake that I react more to some medications, sometimes in 'surprising' (if you aren't me) ways.  So I had a consult with the pharmacist and she has come up with 3 new drugs I can try.

My family doctor agreed to write me a script for the #1 choice on her list of possibilities.  It's so damned frustrating to take a drug to help, only to make things even worse.  The only ray of sunshine about all of this is that I found out that my list of options is bigger than I expected, and everyone on my health care team seems determined to have me not go back onto the Dilaudid.  I hated the brain fog I got from that, plus it's a type of opioid, with all that *that* entails.

But back to the studio, things are going slowly, but I should be able to start weaving tomorrow.  It will depend on how hard the Covid vaccine hits my system *while I begin transitioning to a 'new' drug* for pain.

I knew that old age might not be 'easy'.  I never expected it to be this hard.  However, I *can* still weave (mostly) and it looks like I am going to be writing a few more articles for WEFT magazine.  As soon as I weave the samples I need on this warp, it will be time to start marshalling my words (if I can find them) and documenting the information.  Then, I will begin working on the next one.  I need to source some yarns and with the current postal services on 'pause', I might need to pay 'extra' to get them delivered by a courier.  I sure hope they come to an agreement soon.  Canada Post is an essential service, especially if you don't live in a large town.  

Anyway, it is Dec. 4, it is raining (quite hard!) and I have a warp to finish setting up.  I'm not thrilled about needing to go out, but grateful that I can get my Covid vax and the new pain meds.  And hope for a 'better' result.

Staying Flexible

 

I cut the last warp off over the weekend and starting prepping the next one.  I have about 1/4 of the warp threaded, and hope to finish that today and to commence weaving tomorrow.

As I worked with the Swedish Snowflake design some things bothered me about the draft.  Since I had to 'shorten' the threading draft in order to accommodate the lower epi, I decided to edit out the areas of satin weave threading/tie up.  In the end I'm more pleased with this slimmed down threading draft and I will be working with this draft as I sort out the treadling sequences I will be 'testing'.

I used to have a neighbour who was Swedish, then moved to Canada to marry her Canadian sweetheart.  She had a tough time adapting to a different culture - at times - and one day I showed her a design I was playing with - Swedish Snowflake.  She nearly jumped out of her chair saying that the design was the version of snowflake twill that represented her 'province'.  

It was then I learned that there is a whole 'collection' of snowflake twills and I explored designing with them for a while

At any rate, she asked me if I could make her some tablecloths.  Her table was from Sweden, wider than most tables made at the time here, and she had 3 leaves she could use to make the table longer.  She asked from time to time if I would make her a 'set' of tablecloths for her table and I refused because at the time I only had a manual dobby and I couldn't face pegging a double width version.  My 60" wide weaving width AVL could not make a table cloth as wide as she needed without doing it double width.

As the years went by, AVL offered a computer assisted dobby.  I waited a year for them to (hopefully) work the bugs out, then bought one.  I was also taking a bit of a  hiatus from production weaving, so I told my friend that if she bought the yarns, I would make her tablecloths.  The thing was, she would have to wind off some yarn onto spools because I would need 72 yarn packages and I didn't want to purchase 72 tubes of 2/16 cotton.

She agreed, I ordered the yarn and brought her my small electric bobbin/spool winder so she could wind the yarn onto the spools.  

Beaming the warp was a bit...interesting...given my spool rack only held 60 spools and I had to jury-rig for the additional 12 spools, but eventually I got the warp beamed, threaded, and the treadlings designed.

She wanted the table cloths to have a 'border' all around the edge, not to just have the pattern 'fall off' the end, so I had two treadlings - one for the border, and one for the main body of the table cloth.  I had taken copious measurements of the table with each leaf installed to show the 4 sizes she wanted.  And then I had added about 10 yards in case of 'oopsies'.

This warp was probably the most 'technical' I've done, insofar as I needed to make them 'perfect'.  Her Swedish sensibilities would not tolerate the dimensions being 'off'!

It was also the slowest weaving I've ever done.  Instead of 9 yards a day, I could manage 9".  Every single shed had to be checked that it was 'clear' before throwing the shuttle.  I did NOT want the two layers 'stitched' together!

It was a challenge!  And one I won't repeat.

However, I managed to weave the four tablecloths, and handed them over 'loom state' (in part because in Sweden, when you bought linen cloth it was never wet finished for you to prove that you were buying 'new' and she had lots of experience with wet finishing and cleaning linen textiles.)

After that I still had about 10 yards of warp left and I had some somewhat thicker linen weft so I wove myself and a friend each a tablecloth with the blue linen.  Our blue tablecloths were not 'perfect' but I wasn't about to mess around changing the epi to make them more 'perfect'.

Am I glad I did the tablecloths?  Yes.

Would I do this again? Hell, no!

Sometimes you just need to go more slowly to get the results you desire.  The double weave fold is in this photo.  Can you see it?

Touching the Hem of Perfection

 

three piece suit, featured in Magic in the Water - awarded a ribbon at the ANWG conference in Victoria in 1997 for 'technical excellence'

There are times that I have touched the hem of perfection.  Not many.  I might count them on one hand, if I think really hard.

The majority of things I have woven always manage to leave room for improvement!

And that's the thing with making things from 'scratch'.  There is (almost) always room for improvement.

And that is why I keep going to the loom - searching for the perfection that is nearly always 'lacking'.

Every warp teaches me something new.  I've been doing a series of tea towels using a fine linen weft, and one entire warp was...disappointing.  The floats were 'too long' for me to be pleased with them.  And yet?  They will still dry dishes - just not for as long as a different tie-up/treadling.  The entire warp of those towels was given away, rather than selling them.  They were a 'disappointment' - to me.  Not up to my usual standard.  But!  Still useful.

Someone once told me "Don't let perfection kill good" and I try not to beat myself up when something I make doesn't meet my expectations.  Every warp is another chance to try for 'perfect'.  But I remember not to let perfect kill good.

BlueSky is hosting an #artadventcalandar and the time line as of today is flooded with pieces that some of the artists now on that social media site.  I just posted something I made that I feel came close to 'perfect' but didn't use the hashtag because I don't think I'll post every day.

On the other hand it is inspiring to see so many different expressions of creativity.  I follow a few people who use embroidery as their artistic expression, and they are frequently thought provoking.  I think I'm going to find some pleasure for the next 23 days as more people post their work.  And who knows, I might feel like sharing more of mine.

***the Canada Post strike continues with the corporation doing some very sketchy stuff.  This may be a long drawn out strike.  And if the Cons get into power next spring, they may try and dismantle the post office entirely.  If you want to buy some of my towels, I will hold your order until the mail is moving again, but if you are in the US you probably want to purchase sooner rather than later when the tariffs are applied.  Link to my ko-fi shop in the comments.

When You Don't Know...

 

Black and white photo of yarns, both rated to 3360 yards per pound

One of the challenges when weaving is to choose the 'best' yarn for your project.

The first question I ask myself is, what kind of cloth do I want to make?  What 'job' does it need to do?

Then I ask myself the density (epi/ppi), along with weave structure.  Then I work out the design, and if I will use more than one weft colour (either within the warp, or just to make multiple things in different colours) and how will those colours be arranged if more than one will be used.

A new weaver can follow a 'recipe' and generally wind up with good results.  But here's the thing - yarn is not limited when it comes to the kind and quality it comes in.

It is particularly confusing when a large segment of weavers use knitting terms to describe their yarn.  Or that they don't understand how yarn is made - how it is prepared for and then spun - are the fibres parallel or jumbled; how many twists per inch per ply (if there is more than one) and how tightly twisted the yarns are.

Twist imparted to the yarn is going to change the characteristics the yarn will have.  Spinning loosely will mean a yarn will wear less well than the same fibres, treated the same way, spun with more twist.

There are two commonly available cotton yarns, repeatedly used but little understood.  The version of 2/8 I prefer is prepared with the fibres parallel, then given a higher degree of twist in the spinning, which is then countered during the plying so that the yarn is relatively 'balanced' - in other words, not a huge degree of twist energy left in the yarn.  The other yarn, much more commonly available in the US is 8/2.  The fibres are mixed well, then open end spun.  This version of the yarn has the same yards per pound as the 2/8, which makes it 3360 yards per pound, but the yarn is lofty, slightly thicker than the 2/8, less strong, and more absorbent than the 2/8.

To look at them, they don't really look all that different.  I had to change the photo to black and white for the difference to begin to be visible to the eye.

If you don't know about these differences, you might find yourself disappointed in your results.  If you use the 8/2 as warp, you may find that it dusts off more than the 2/8, it might break more easily, it feels 'better' at a lower density - because it's slightly thicker than the 2/8.

And this kind of 'unseen' difference is why most yarn charts giving density are a range, plus weave structure being used.

Just recently I saw a conversation on a group where one person asked for epi for a yarn, and then had a variety of answers.  I wanted to ask how the yarn had been spun; was it open end?  Or ring spun?  

Because these things matter.  Until the weaver understands the basic production processes for their yarn, they are working in the dark (so to speak).  

I go into this (and other characteristics) in more detail in The Intentional Weaver,* and the class at School of Sweet Georgia.

*In Canada you can buy the pdf version, in the US, the books are printed in the US so you can still purchase in spite of the Canada Post strike.

Winter

 

Snow!

Winter is settling in today.  So far we haven't been hit *too* hard, but it is winter and I'm so grateful that I no longer have to do those long winter road trips, just to sell my stuff.

(Speaking of which, the postal strike is still on.)

I am working on my attitude of gratitude, and finding satisfaction in working on articles for publication.  I am also regaining some of my strength and balance.  My speech is still...a problem...but I'm finding it easier to write.  Still need 5 or 6 (or more) passes through anything I write so I can pinpoint the sinkholes in my grammar.

However, I am beginning to see progress, building up on the cloth beam.  I'm well over the halfway mark on this warp, and have done the sampling so that I know what to do on the next.  Or, at least I *think* I know what I need to do to get the results I desire.  

Because that's the thing - it's all just conjecture until you actually sit at the loom *and then wet finish* the cloth.  Magic in the Water...

And now I have the information I need to work on the next article after this one - and I need to source yarns - if I can.  So far that's looking a bit bleak so I've sent a suggestion about what I could use.  

In the meantime, I still have this article to finish so I need to get back to the loom.  It looks like maybe 6 more tea towels to finish off this warp, then set up the loom for the 'real' samples for the current article.

Seems like thinking as a production weaver is so baked into my thought processes that not even a brain bleed can make me stop?

Recovery

 

bin of yarns to choose from

Recovery from any kind of injury is a test of patience.  For someone who has as little patience as me, it is a long distance marathon.

The various medical people I dealt with after the brain bleed all told me to expect a 2 year recovery arc.  The surgeon confirmed that.  When we discussed my speech, he cautioned me that I might never reach 100% recovery, but since I was making such a good recovery immediately after the surgery, he predicted that I would come close, if not entirely.  

Given my age, I assume that part of that equation is aging further. One can only expect one's brain to start to develop a few loose screws as the years march on?

But I have made progress in my writing.  It's still not 'great'.  Especially if I try to write in the evening or late afternoon.  I get 'tired' and chunks fall out of my head (it feels like) so I try to do the majority of my writing in the morning.

I continue to make progress physically, and that makes me feel more 'normal'.  Plus I can weave long enough I can generate endorphins, which is helpful to keep me feeling productive.  I have had to radically alter my daily goals, but I was having to do that because of the spine/back injuries in the first place.  This injury made that imperative.

I suppose I should celebrate the fact that Life didn't give me a swift kick in the arse, but in the head?  Spread the injuries around?

Yesterday I heard from the magazine.  I now have the contract for the autumn issue, which I already have in hand.  I am giving myself a respite time to just weave for the rest of the warp, and continuing thinking about the next set of samples.  I think I have them sorted out now so all I need to do is submerge myself in the 'zone' and weave for the next week or so.

I am also discussing an article for the winter issue but I need to do some yarn sourcing to do what they want done.  It's a variation of what I had proposed, and once again, it is something that I've never had the time to explore in any depth, although I want to.  What's not to love about having someone ask me to take a deep dive in a pool I've long looked at - and indeed done superficial experimentation about?

Learning new stuff is what has always excited me about weaving.  To keep learning, to have the time to take deep dives down rabbit warrens I know exist but have never had the time to rummage through?  I could get used to this...

Why?

 

More photos from the publication A Good Yarn.  I enjoyed writing these.  I felt - still feel - that weavers don't know enough about the materials they are using and the better acquainted with the threads they are using, the closer to success they will come.

If you don't know someone who can help you with this, there are lots and lots of books around that will give you the specifics of the various fibres and yarns.  Having a basic level of knowledge about spinning will help, too.  My particular favourite fibre science book is A Guide to Textiles for Interior Designers, although there are lots around.  Look up textile science on line, I'm sure you will find plenty.  As far as that goes, my guild has one for sale*.  It's 'old' but all the the information about 'natural' fibres is still accurate.

Understand the processes involved in the preparation of fibre and how the spinner can adjust the basic characteristics of the fibre - reducing some, enhancing others - good information to have at your finger tips, IMHO.

And then the weaver - if they really want to understand what is happening - would do well to ask themselves 'why' when they are not happy with what they had accomplished.  What is disappointing about my results?  What do I need to change to get closer to my goal?

Above all, set the judge in you aside.  You are not there to judge yourself and find yourself lacking.  You are there to learn.  In order to learn, we have to think the processes through, and more importantly, perhaps, be willing to change something.  Perhaps, several somethings.

The warp on the loom right now is an example.  I was weaving with yarns that were well known to me, but I decided to change weave structures, and I knew from experience that changing the epi would likely be necessary.

I could have proceeded with the 2nd sample at the same density, but I have the yarn, and the time, so when the current warp comes off the loom I will beam another with the same quality of yarn (different colour) and try again at a *slightly* lower epi.

Even so, I'm not entirely sure I will be happy with my results, so if the first option doesn't please me, I have another back up plan.

There will be times when you are not happy with what you have done.  Take the lesson; try again.

*Pretty sure this one is still for sale, although Canada Post is currently on strike.  If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll check if it is still available, and the cost including shipping...

My books are still available.  If you are in the US, they are printed in the US so they can still be purchased even though Canada Post is currently on strike.  All three available here while my 'memoir' is available for pdf download in my ko-fi shop

Sampling

 

Today I saw someone asking how they know what epi they should use.  Using the same density and changing the weave structure could totally make the textile look different than what was intended!

Since no one had been 'that' person (that I saw), I decided I would be.

Not that I like being 'that' person, but sometimes...well, when you don't know what you don't know, you don't know that you don't know it...

It is a group that I have belonged to for a while, but I rarely post on groups these days.  However, the person seemed to genuinely want to know how to approach designing their textiles.

Since I don't pay much attention to negative responses to my pithy sayings, figured I might as well bring the 'sample' issue up.

Thing is, I am in the process of sampling right now, looking at the best density for a weave structure I want to show publicly.  I had a pretty good idea of where I needed to start sampling, but also knew that one of the two options might need to go more open yet.

So, I did my 4 samples, cut them off and wet finished them.  I got good information from that 'investment' - one of the options is fine at 32, the other, not so much.  I am still not entirely satisfied that what I want to do is actually do-able and I have come up with another Plan (I think I'm on D or E now) that I will try on the next warp, which will be at 30.

The above photo is a set of samples I wove for one of my long ago (self) publications - A Good Yarn.  The photo shows how I prepared the loom state samples so that I could cut them apart and not have them fall apart.  The rest of the cloth got wet finished, including a good hard press, and then they were simply cut apart and stapled to card stock.

(No, I don't have any more of these sets of samples.  Best bet is to look out for them at weavers estate sales.)

While it is possible to read and research the various aspects of weaving (I did my best to articulate them in my books), change one thing and everything can change.  Put a little extra (a yard?) at the beginning of the warp.  Weave a few variations - change your weave structure, your yarn, your weft colour.  Cut off and wet finish.  See what happens, then decide if any of your options are giving you the results you desire.  You may find that none of them do, and so you can sample some other options.  Or you may find you have several that you like and so you can go ahead and weave.

Learning is never a waste of time or yarn.  :)

Attitudes

 

For most of my life I have lived with inclusivity.  I choose to help people, as much as I can.  Sometimes I have the resources to help more, sometimes less.  

If that makes me 'woke', then I will wear that label.  But I don't declare that I am an ally because I feel the people who need support have to choose who they trust, who they consider a friend...an ally.

Because sometimes I come up against my reality bubble.  And I forget that my reality is not another person's.

I'd like to think that - in the same way as I consider weaving is fraught with 'it depends' scenarios - life is, too.

It's one reason why, I think, that fairy tales have so many stories featuring textiles as part of the story - Sleeping Beauty pricking her finger on the spindle, Rumplestiltskin furiously spinning flax into gold, The Swan Princes - which is really about their sister, harvesting, processing, spinning and weaving magical shirts to turn her brothers back into humans after being magically turned into swans.

And so many more.

We can learn so many lessons via the craft of weaving.  (Probably through other crafts, as well, but weaving is what I know.)

It depends.  If you can't be perfect, be consistent.  Embrace the transformations that are necessary to reach a 'finished' state.

Etc.

I'm living with all sorts of challenges right now, and it is very easy to lose sight of the benefits of living to this age.  I have lived a life of 'heavy' work (If you have never woven like a production weaver, you don't really know how *much* labour is involved.)  The problem of remembering what I used to be able to do, and adapting to how much less that is now, is a difficult transition.  But I'm working on it.

Changing my attitude is the hardest thing!  Letting go of what has already left.  Embracing what I *can* do instead of kicking the baseboards over what I cannot.  

This latest, um, challenge? - has been incredibly difficult to face.  I'm glad I had the opportunity to talk to the surgeon, who gave me the attitude I need to hold onto - that most people have a much more challenging prognosis that I have been given.

I think the biggest benefit this 'fall' has been the attitude adjustment.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely there - yet!  But I am working on it.  And as I work on it, I become more 'woke' (if you will) about the challenges that people who are wheelchair users, or have difficulty walking.  I am making progress, but I also have the damage to my spine/lower back.  

So, I keep going, to the best of my ability, to not only see others with my type of physical challenges, but ultimately to realize that *everyone* has challenges of one kind or another.

Ultimately I hope that I will be aware of those beyond just me, to others in society dealing with things - things I may not understand, or have personal experience with.  But challenges, nonetheless.

If that makes me 'woke', I will wear that label.

Mastery Doesn't Mean Perfection

 

Like pretty much every other craft out there, just because you have been accepted as having a high level of mastery in said craft, doesn't mean you never make mistakes.  

Shocking, I know!

So I designed a warp for sampling for an article, then once the samples were woven I cut them off, wet finished them, decided I had enough information from that warp and switched to weaving the rest of the warp in tea towels.

Then set about weaving those tea towels.  Until yesterday as I was just finishing towel #2 and I finally spotted the mistake.  Turns out I'd made *two* mistakes in the treadling sequence, not just one.  If it had been one, at the halfway point in the weaving, I would have called it a design feature, but nope.  I had made a second one near the end.  

I finished that towel and stopped weaving for the day, then checked my treadling,.  Which, when I looked, very clearly showed the mistakes.  I had been too tired, or too distracted to notice it while I was editing the treadling sequence, apparently.

Either that or one of the brain bleed 'holes' had opened and I totally missed it.

After thinking about it all evening, I decided to continue, despite the mistakes, but when I got up this morning I decided I needed to fix it. 

I knew what I'd done, I pretty much knew how long it would take to edit again, and now aware of the 'hole' (and not tired from a day of errands and weaving) would pay particular attention to making sure I did it right this time.

I managed to weave 1.5 towels today.  I was given permission to increase my weaving time to 45 minutes *if I felt up to it*. and I have been taking runs at getting closer.  Today I did about 35 minutes the first session and 44 for the second.

Now I'm tired (again), and I'm thinking of laying down for 45 minutes before I start dinner.  I used to sleep 9 hours a night but over the years my body has gotten to the point where it can only manage about 6 hours.  It's not nearly enough and I have finally gotten comfortable with taking afternoon naps.  Hopefully by spring I will recovered enough that the naps will be fewer, but que c'est sera, sera (however that's spelled).

It Depends!

 

                        Two yarns, same number of yards per pound, NOT the same thickness!

Yesterday I saw a conversation online about the 'proper' epi for a particular size of yarn woven in plain weave.  As usual, some people strongly urged people to use 20 epi, others strongly advocated for 16-18 epi.  Most people were calling it 8/2, so I could only assume that they were using and talking about US 8/2 cotton, not Brassard's 2/8.  (In the photo above, the rust yarn is Brassard's 2/16; the teal is US 16/2 cotton.)

Why do I call Brassard's 2/8 instead of 8/2?  Is it merely because I'm Canadian and 'contrary'?  

Not entirely.  (Although I freely admit to being 'contrary' at times!)

It is *because* I am Canadian and the first cotton yarns that I was introduced to were the 2/8 cottons from Brassard, South Landing and Curl Brothers, long before I was introduced to US 8/2 cotton.  At the time I had been very confused at how many USians would turn their noses up at 2/8 (or as they said, 8/2) cotton.  

Once I was able to see the yarns, side by side (in my own mind, if no where else), I came to understand why the USians preferred other yarns - all those lovely mercerized yarns which were spun ring spun, and then treated to have that sheen so typical of mercerized yarns.

Many USian weavers also referred to 'Perle' (or Purl) cottons as if they were a 'type' and all exactly the same.  (For example, check out Astra mercerized cottons compared to other mercerized yarns - they are not the same, either.)

It is why, when I answer a question, I will inevitably begin by saying 'It depends.'

That US spun 8/2 cotton is NOT the same quality as the 2/8 cotton (usually called 8/2 now, but if you look at the Brassard website on the French page, they *still* call it 2/8.)

I know you probably can't see it on this tiny image of their colour card, put it's still there, 2/8, just like when I started weaving back in 1975.

The thing is, open end spun and ring spun yarn are not identical to each other.  They have different natures/characteristics.  (If you are a long time reader of this blog, this is a repeat for you - but I've had some new readers join since getting involved with BlueSky.)

I've written about this elsewhere and here, else when.  As a weaver, one of the things that helps to know is the nature of your materials.  If you don't understand their nature, it's a lot more difficult to chose the various things that have to be decided on as you go through the design processes.  (More info on this in Stories From the Matrix and The Intentional Weaver.)

I am, right this time, sampling for an article I am going to be submitting to WEFT magazine.  My first sample turned out for one weft, not so well for the second one.  My decision to try again was set in concrete when I realized (belatedly) that I'd made a tie up mistake when I designed the 2nd option.

I anticipated that I would need a second warp to test a different epi based on the very different natures of the two wefts, so when I discovered that I did, indeed, need to set up a second warp to test the lower epi, I wasn't particularly upset.  It was Plan B all along.

Given the hours it may take to design a new warp, there is a reason I want to set the loom up to weave quite a lot of it.  The design hours get 'amortized' over a larger number of finished items.  

As for the balance of this first, tentative warp, it is being woven off as tea towels, using the 2/16 cotton weft.  They have great drape, which is desired in a tea towel.  They will likely be listed in my ko-fi shop late December or early next year.  I do still have to weave, wet finish, and hem them, after all.

Doesn't matter how 'efficient' you may be, you are still weaving 'slow' cloth...

Oops.

 

I wove some full-sized samples, then wet finished them.  Yesterday I pressed them, and was relatively pleased.  Decided I needed to try one of the versions on a 30 epi density, and then carried the 'samples' upstairs to hem them.

While I was taking a closer look to determine exactly how much of the cloth was going to be used in the hems (in case I needed to cut any 'extra' off the sample - because I was sampling the entire process) I noticed something I had not, up to that point.

On the one set of samples, I had done the treadling incorrectly.  It didn't actually show unless I was looking at the back side of the cloth, at the right angle.

Since I had been thinking of re-doing them anyway, I sighed, put the two that were 'wrong' aside and wrapped my head around the fact that I had done the treadling draft incorrectly.

Now, it's not very obvious, but once seen cannot be unseen.  

I had already decided to weave off the rest of the warp in the first treadling, so dealing with re-creating the second treadling - this time sans mistake - can wait for a few days until I feel able to re-do the entire treadling, and this time make sure I don't have a treadling error.  Oh well.

Truth to tell, I hadn't been entirely satisfied with that sample, anyway.  I had a broken warp thread, and the centre field expanded in comparison to the pattern woven as a 'frame' around the edges.  But the quality of the cloth is good, and I now have enough information to go ahead and set up the next warp at 30 epi and weave two more 'samples'.  And this time, without the errors?

One hopes.

And that's the thing about weaving.  It will always, always keep you humble!

Designing Textiles

 

Samples from Magic in the Water, before and after wet finishing

Yesterday I saw someone asking in a group how one goes about designing the 'perfect' textile (I paraphrase.)

I wasn't in a particularly good mood and since sarcasm coated my tongue, I elected to say nothing.  The question, after all, had been asked in good faith and deserved a better answer than I was able to marshall at that time.

I just so happen to be in the process of trying to design a 'good' (I don't set my hopes on 'perfect') textile.

Yesterday I cut the 4 'full sized samples' off the loom, cut them apart and serged them, and tossed them into the washing machine along with the towels from the previous warp and let the machine do the work for me.  Into the dryer until just damp and then they were folded into a bin to let the moisture work through all of the pieces of cloth in the bin equally to make the pressing go more smoothly.

Shortly (as soon as I'm done my morning coffee and gotten dressed) I will go press them.  Once they are completely dry I will pull the samples, measure them, and inspect them, to see how close to my goal they are.

I am being more picky than usual because these 'samples' are for publication (IF the editors decide they fit into their theme.)

Normally when I design a textile, I do it to the best of my ability, and since no one but me knows what, exactly, I was aiming for, they will judge it on it's own merits.  And normally no one will know if I am pleased, or merely satisfied.  If I am *not* satisfied, they may be given away or tossed into the rag bag.

The longer I weave, the more open I leave myself to make changes along the way.  The more I understand about the function of a textile of a particular quality, the more I learn how to tweak the different 'qualities' to change the nature of the cloth I am making, the more I understand how little I truly understand about making textiles generally, and in particular.

A weaver can take exactly the same yarns, and by the choices they make along the design process, they can create cloth of a variety of functions.  Add in the colour and the possibilities are nearly limitless.

Since the beginning of 2020 I have been on a stash reduction goal.  Since, as a production weaver, I had depth of inventory in several 'standard' yarns, I have been making textiles that fit what I know about the yarn's capabilities.

And yet, I have barely scratched the surface of what is possible.  What I know for certain is, that I will never know all of the possibilities that are available to me.

Bottom line?  The endless learning is what keeps me returning to the loom.  Because I want to know.  If that means I 'waste' time and money (yarn) weaving 'samples', I'm actually good with that.  It is not a path for everyone to walk.  But I have been given a fresh lease on life, and if all I do for the 'rest of my life' is explore, experiment, and learn more?  I'm actually good with that.

Learning something new, or even just more, about textiles is not a waste of my time.  If anyone wants to follow along with me, I will let all y'all know when one of my articles becomes available.  And if the magazines aren't interested, there is always my ko-fi shop where I can post them for sale when they are ready.  (Given the lapse of time between submission and final acceptance, this will take a while...)

It all hinges on my being physically able to weave.  And given my current age (and physical tatters) I have no idea how long that will be.  So I will enjoy the rest of the journey, for so long as it lasts.