A New Year

 

Today is the day many people make resolutions for going into the new year.  I've never been a big fan of 'resolutions'.  It feels too much like 'failure' if I fall down on my 'commitment'.  So I make plans, always willing to pivot if I need to meet a Life Challenge or if my path seems to wander off.  My plans are fairly purposefully broad, without a lot of details because if there is one thing I've learned over the years. sometimes you need to change direction, for one reason or another.

Now that I'm going into a new year with renewed purpose (I didn't die, again - I think I'm on my 4th or 5th 'life') I am determined - again - to find a way to keep teaching.  And right now, that seems to be writing.

But do I want to write 'recipes'?  Not really.  I would *like* to design things, give the broad strokes and a list of challenges that the project will present and how each person can - perhaps - work out how to personalize the information for themselves.

Will this meet with the editor's approval?  Dunno.  I will have to submit the article and see what they say.

So far the editing has been well done.  I have no quibbles about how they are editing (based on the first two articles).  A magazine has to have a collective 'voice', after all.  Marshalling such a diverse crowd of authors is a whole lot like herding ducks.  But so far they seem willing to give me a gentle touch on the reins, so I'm hoping to continue writing for a while.

In spite of doing 3 books, I keep learning stuff so I do feel I have more to share.  And with the state of politics so...unbaked...it seems more important than ever to present as accurate information as possible.

I've seen what LLM (AI) has done to various crafts, and I have a feeling that the coming year(s) are going to be more important than ever to make sure 'good' information is published about weaving (and spinning).

So I will be buying Michelle Boyd's book Twist as soon as the print version is available because I want to keep learning about the materials I use in hopes of better understanding the cloth I create.

Whatever ritual you may do for the new year, I hope you find peace for part of every day.  Never stop creating.

So Many Ideas!

 

next warp

This is one of those designs that make your eyes cross.  The thing is, sometimes I have to weave some of my designs, just to see if they actually weave up into...something.  Or if they wind up as nothing special.

But that's the thing about designing stuff.  One idea sparks another, then another, and sometimes I just have to follow the bread crumbs.

So this is a direct offshoot of something I did for WEFT.  I wanted to address a technical issue that cropped up and see if I could do the same sort of idea, but reduce the technical issue.

The problem is that the weave starts to get 'muddy', especially at this scale.  So am I 'certain' it will look ok?  Not really.  Do I care?  Nope - because they will still dry dishes.

It looks like the current warp will be finished by the end of this week, and my yarn from Brassard will be shipped on January 6 - and then take about 2 weeks to make it here.  While I'm waiting for the yarn for the next WEFT article, then, there will be time to put this warp on the loom and see if it is actually going to look like something.  (Just noticed I didn't grab the threading in its entirety - the borders are equal.)

While I work on this warp, I'll be cogitating about the WEFT article - how best to illustrate what I want to show.  Plus I've been discussing an article in the following issue so I can be thinking ahead to that.

That is the truly wonderful thing - being encouraged to dig deep is keeping me fascinated with the craft and I keep finding new branches of the rabbit warren to go exploring.

Weaving can truly be a life long obsession - er, fascination.  

Transferring Information

 

One block tie up for the shifted twill blocks technique

Yesterday I had someone contact me, wanting the draft for a particular design they had seen in Stories from the Matrix.

I had assumed that anyone interested in this technique would have weaving software and be interested in designing their own motifs, but this person doesn't have software so delivering the information to them was a bit of a challenge.  I think I've figured out the easiest way to do that but it's going to take some time on my part.

Working out the details for this weave structure took a chunk of my time two winters ago, and I enjoyed playing with it.  However, life goes on and my curiousity is being challenged in new ways, now.  Since the days are ticking along, I have to get back to writing, so I worked on the current article yesterday and this morning.

We had a bit of sun yesterday, but today is back to overcast dreariness.  I think I am going to grab my drink (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate) and head to the loom.  I slept 'in' this morning so the day is evaporating.  However, I did figure out a few things, so I don't feel too guilty that I'm still in my jammies.  :D

We are in the lull between xmas and new years with nothing to do (other than a phone appointment on Tuesday) so I am going to focus on writing and weaving.  I'm playing around with some ideas for the next warp because I suspect I won't get the yarn any sooner than mid-January and I'd like to have this warp off the loom by then and maybe a chunk done of the next.  And then I'll be working on the next article, so this article needs to be finished before I start on that one.  With my brain still not completely functional, I can't multi-task like I used to do.  I have to really work to think things through, which is a bit disconcerting.  I'm used to flinging myself into this, that, and the other, juggling multiple balls in the air.  

I will be asking for a different pain med on Tuesday, and hopefully I will find one that will take away the pain without causing other pain elsewhere.  Rude!  (fingers crossed...)

Milestones

 

The holiday season is rolling on by.  And I continue to avoid crowds, wear a mask, focus on threads and how they behave.  Sometimes they behave in surprising ways, and sometimes they behave just exactly (sort of) how I want them to behave.  But it is a constant source of curiosity and satisfying it - or not.

The first two articles for WEFT are well in hand, and this morning the box of samples I sent for the first issue was returned.  It was a reminder of how much I enjoyed weaving them and then writing them up.

Since most of what I wove was - quite simply - 'just' samples, I'm not entirely sure what I will do with them.  I suppose if I had the energy to start a weaving study group I could share them with other local weavers.  But I still have a razor thin level of 'enough' energy to do the bare minimum, with little to spare.

And the experiment of trying to find me a pain med I can tolerate is not going...well.  I'm about to pull the plug on the latest drug as the muscle weakness returns.  I read through the description of the next two on the list, and frankly, I don't much like the looks of either of them.  But the pharmacist said to try them, in order, so I think next Tuesday I'll ask my doctor to prescribe the 2nd on the list.  And then I'll have to monitor my bp because one of the 'adverse effects' is that it *may* spike bp.  And I suspect that one of the 'causes' of the brain bleed was that I had been having 'high' bp for too long.  I do NOT need a repeat of *that*.

Thank you to everyone who ordered something over the holidays.  If you are American and have not yet heard the news, as of the beginning of the new president's term his first job (on a long list of jobs) is going to enact tariffs on goods coming into the US.  He is threatening 25% tariffs on everything coming from Canada - so if you want to take advantage of the current currency exchange 'discount' you are getting and avoid the tariff, order now so that the parcel arrives before the tariff is applied.

My books are printed in the US, so you won't get dinged tariffs on my books.  

I have committed to keep writing for WEFT magazine - so long as they want me to.  Writing *is* getting easier, but speaking can be a problem as the words I want to use fall into one of the 'sinkholes' in my brain and I fumble around trying to find something to convey what I'm trying to say.  But next Tuesday is 4 months since I fell, and while I don't have much energy, recovery is happening.  I am beginning to plan more articles.  Just waiting for the yarn to arrive for the next set of samples.  After today and mailing a basket full of parcels, I will need to get back to writing.  I'm about halfway done the 'next' article.  I'm not sleeping well and need afternoon 'naps', which takes a chunk out of my afternoon so I'm not getting as much stuff done as I would like.

On the other hand, I'm still here, so there is that.

I don't know when I have faced the 'new year' with such trepidation.  The only 'power' I have is to continue to be creative, and share my knowledge.  And vote.

Better Be Good

 

Who's a good girl?

I have only the vaguest of memories of this day.  I suspect I was 4 and I honestly don't recall if mom took me to the local theatre where we were given a few moments of 'Santa's' time and able to have our picture taken.  I suspect it would have been her because it was not something dad would be interested in doing.  

Since reaching adulthood, I haven't paid much attention to 'Christmas'.  For 40+ years the fourth quarter I was at my flat out busiest because I needed to do the craft fair circuit and deal with driving on winter roads, setting up, standing for too many hours on concrete floors, and deal with the public for way too many hours.  Hoping like hell enough people would buy to get me through the coming fallow months of income.   While the bills never stopped and we had to pay the next year's craft fair fees months ahead of when the income would come in.

After the publication of Magic I started doing more travelling to teach and frankly much of the time I was standing in my booth I was already looking at a busy time to come, organizing workshop materials, hustling to package up the yarns, send master copies of the handouts, making travel plans, frequently during times of the year where there could be travel delays.  

Mom was the one who insisted on 'family' dinners and when she no longer wanted to cook a big meal, we would tend to go out for 'dinner'.  This seemed to become even more important to her after my brother died.

Now she is gone and it is just us two, we don't do much and since covid, we don't eat in restaurants.  We had a couple steaks in the freezer, so we will have those tonight for dinner and call it done.

We no longer even buy 'gifts' for each other.  And I tend to give 'gifts' to friends randomly through the year, not tied to Christmas.

Frankly we have 'enough' of most things.  If we need something we go buy it.  Or when we make a major purchase we assign it to 'every Christmas, anniversary and birthday for the rest of our lives' - like the heat pump last year, and the hybrid vehicle this...

Friends give us small, thoughtful gifts, which are much appreciated.  But we try to live with gratitude every day of the year.

We are in our 'twilight' years, and the fall I had Aug. 31 was a shock.  Now, more than ever, we practice gratitude.

One of the things I am grateful for is you, dear reader.  When I started this blog I thought a handful of people might be interested in my pithy writing/thoughts.  So, happy holidays to you and yours.  I hope the new year brings satisfaction to you in some way.  Because I suspect 2025 is going to be Very Interesting Times, indeed.

Next!

 

Begin as you mean to go on...

Yesterday I finished sleying, tied on and decided I was too anxious to wait another day to see how it was going to look (loom state).

Am I pleased?  Yes, even though the colours aren't really 'mine', I'm happy enough with them.  Of course I won't see how the towels are *really* going to look until I get them wet finished, but I'm pleased enough.

I still have 5 cones of that fine singles to weave off, and this warp will take up most of one cone.

Now that I am beginning to feel 'better' as recovery creeps along, I have made some decisions.

If WEFT magazine wants me to keep writing, I am going to focus most of my energies on that.  They seem just as interested in all the same sorts of questions that I am, when it comes to weaving.  I've seen the 'galley proofs' for the first two articles.  They are on schedule for the first issue to come out in April.

The Ply team has also published a book on spinning, Twist by Michelle Boyd.  I'm not fond of reading on my ipad, so I'm going to wait until the print version is ready and get a copy.  I've been exploring various aspects of twist in yarn for a while, but never covered it thoroughly, and since I know Michelle, I know that the look at the topic is going to be comprehensive.

It is something I feel I need to know about, even if I never become a very good spinner.  Because if I don't understand the dynamics of how fibres are turned into yarn, I don't truly understand my materials.

With the current political situation, I will keep my ko-fi shop, but anticipate that orders from the US will dry up.  And since I have few outlets to sell my textiles, I need to stop producing *more* and perhaps concentrate on following up on some of my rabbit warren 'dives' and maybe make more 'special' textiles instead of just producing for the sake of producing.  So if WEFT likes what I'm doing, I will have an outlet for my curious mind and hands that need to be kept busy.

I have also decided I finally need to deal with my spinning stash.  I will be putting the puzzle board away when I'm done the current puzzle and dragging out my spinning wheel.  I have several bins of prepared blending board 'wyrms' and I'm going to try to empty all of them.  I could use the bins for other things and I made them in 2019 so it's long past time to get them spun up.

And that is as far as I've gotten with my 'job list' for 2025.  I don't make resolutions.  I make solstice plans, and then see what Life throws at me, and if needed, I will change my plans to accommodate them.  So far I've ordered the yarn for the next samples/experiments for WEFT, and I have articles for the first few issues.  I will finish writing the most recent over the holidays and hope to send everything to them by the end of January.  

With the fall and brain bleed in August, my new approach to doing stuff is to NOT wait until the last minute to do the things I've committed to, but get them done well before the deadline.  Which is a huge shift for me.  Nothing like a brush with mortality to fine tune one's approach to living...

Textiles for Celebrations

 

rose border on table runner

A friend went to Romania, and she found this lovely table runner.  It is a 'heritage' piece, and I would not be surprised if the linen had been domestically grown and spun.  The pattern threads look like mercerized cotton, therefore most likely not hand spun but purchased.  The teal has transferred some dye to the ground, which would not be surprising.

The cloth is quite long at about 90" in length and about 17" in width (2 meters 28 cm by 43 cm).

The foundation cloth still holds the reed marks, and there are minor 'errors' here and there.  But the beat is very even and the selvedges straight with slight reduction in width in the areas of the patterning.  And the borders at either end are not entirely 'perfect'.  The patterning is largely 'perfect' and it is obvious that someone spent a lot of time weaving this cloth.  The ends have been rolled and hand stitched down, then a crochet loop/filet on each end is used to tie a tassel fringe to it in both white (looks like merc. cotton) and red (merc. cotton).

I have no idea if they used a pick up stick or if they had a loom with loom controlled patterning, but it doesn't matter.  It was a lovely and thoughtful gift, and I am delighted to have received it.

The size and the way the cloth has been woven puts me in mind of a cloth I remember from a Ukrainian dance.  As I recall they do this dance in celebration - a successful harvest, weddings and such.  It is generally used to hold a 'loaf' of bread (memory may not be accurate) and a small container of salt.  

On the cloth that was given me, the pattern is a border of roses, so if it was intended for a special occasion, perhaps it was meant for a wedding?  

Speculation on my part, as I don't know if Romanians had the same kind of ceremony although the motif is very similar to those I am familiar with in Ukrainian textiles (no, I'm not Ukrainian heritage, but there is a large Ukrainian population in my town.)

We can learn a great deal from what our ancestors have done.  And while this cloth isn't particularly old (using merc. cotton I suspect late 19th, early 20th century) but the care and attention to details tells me that it was made with care and attention, but neither is it 'perfect' - which doesn't make it any less appreciated then - and by me - now.

It's Snowing!

 

Snowflake border tea towel

Over all I'm pleased enough with these. 

They are 2/16 warp and weft, woven in a snowflake twill around the border with a plain/basket weave centre field

They are not 'perfect'.  It's difficult to control the beat when changing between two weave structures with such different take up rates (and resistance to beating!)

But if you can't be perfect, be consistent, and I did the best I could given the challenges.

I also found weaving them rather tiring, given I'm not over the brain injury.  On the whole, everyone (in the health care field) assures me I'm making an astonishing recovery.  Since I'm only just 4 months (as of the 31st Dec.) out from the injury with a projected 24 month recovery, I can't complain.  (She says, wanting to complain!)

Anyway, I decided I would sell these after all so I have uploaded them to my ko-fi shop.  There are just 4 of this design in this colour, so if you are interested I would suggest that you act quickly.  :)  

In the meantime I am threading the loom (slowly, so, so, slowly) as I am trying not to stress my back too much.  I get my next injections in January (Merry Xmas to me?) and I'm hoping that the new pain medication will keep things more 'comfortable' - and what will help is *not* stressing my back too much.  So instead of threading for 45-60 minutes, I'm limiting my time at the loom to about 30.  

In the meantime I'm working on another article for WEFT.  I started writing the current article yesterday and it seemed to go well enough.  Now I'm facing writing up the weaving records with all the instructions and...math.  Never my strongest suit, now I'm finding it particularly difficult.  But that's what calculators are for, amirite?

The folk at WEFT are making great progress and are on track to have the spring edition on schedule.  Stay tuned!

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.