Receipts

 

I have a few other textile science books, but I didn't feel like digging any further so this pile of books represents the kind of resource/reference book I own and which I consult frequently (the two standing up) or less frequently (the stacks in front) depending on what I want to check.

If you click on the image, it should 'biggify' it so that you might be able to read the titles.  If not, the two brown-ish books laying down date from the late 1800s and early 1900s, based on their size and format.  Neither has a copyright date in them

The other stack varies from the 1970s onwards, most of them in the late 1900s.  The Guide to Textiles by Jackman and Dixon is from um, 1984?  Maybe?  Somewhere around there.  I could not find The Final Steps, which came out around the same time as the Jackman and Dixon, and which gave me the first 'serious' look at wool and wet finishing it.

(Not pictured are the binders - yes, with an 's' - of samples I wove for my GCW master weaver level, nor Magic in the Water; wet finishing handwovens,)

I have heard people say that the term 'wet finishing' seems to be a bit...pretentious...as if it was a term invented by me to make myself seem more of an expert than I am.  Others simply ignore the term and talk about 'washing' the web.  

Frankly, I don't very much care what someone calls it (although the proper term is actually 'wet finishing') so long as they recognize that it needs to be subjected to water before it becomes 'whole' cloth.

The 'finishing' of cloth by industry can consist of a number of wet and/or dry finishes.  I don't generally talk about what industry does, other than explain the principle and how a handweaver might achieve something similar using modern laundry equipment.

But if you think it's all a figment of my imagination, I share with you my imaginary friends.  I encourage you to find at least the Jackman and Dixon book, if nothing else.  You don't need the latest version, as the first edition has pretty much most of the information a handweaver should have at their fingertips.

When I answer a question on a online weaving group - the above books are what I consult, not my own book, thinking that I am the beginning and end of the discussion. 

Because it depends!  

Which is why I am so enthusiastic about Michelle Boyd's new book and am looking forward to seeing what she can teach me about the construction of yarn, and then using it appropriately.  I will happily add her book to those already in my library.

I will be completely honest - I know Michelle.  We have had the chance to discuss yarn, spinning and weaving on several occasions, and I've emailed her with specific questions when I cannot find the answer in the above books.

Her book will be a boon to weavers, spinners, knitters and crocheters.  It is being written, edited and published in Canada.

One of the things I've noticed about WEFT magazine - is how *many* of the article authors are Canadian.  Given we have 1/10th of the population of the US, it is striking that we have So Many really excellent weavers/spinners.  I know we are embroiled in a trade war (not of our making, but which we are trying to manage) and personally I am buying as little as I can of products made in the US.  But if you take a look at the author page, you will find many Canadians represented, plus the editor and technical consultant are both Canadian.  

I think the worst thing about what is going on - politically - right now, is the divisiveness that is tearing the fabric of society apart.  We (as in weavers/spinners, etc.) need to fight to keep our larger community alive and encouraging people to keep learning.  Keep exploring.  Keep creating.