Elder

 

The photo is of a page from The National Geographic from an issue around the theme of wool.  It is a great comparison of the different fibres - and gives a really excellent look at what a single fibre of the main different types of natural fibres look like.

Why is this important?  Well, the more you know about the individual fibres, and their natural characteristics, the better choices you can make when you start designing your own textiles.

Getting a designed project and working from someone else's notes (including my own) means that you get the knowledge of the project designer.  Sometimes this will include the design process - but rarely.  The 'successful' results are what people who work from someone else's project notes are after.  

But here's the thing.  You may not have the same loom.  You may not have the same skills in terms of beating consistently.  You may not get the same brand of yarn, which may behave differently from what the project designer used.

And so on.

So how do you know what to do?

You sample.  You examine your results.  You record your results.  You keep records of your results so that you can look back when you want to do something similar.

And you keep learning.  Reading books.  Articles.  Pick the brains of 'elders' of the weaving community.  Ask them to tell you the story behind the completion of a project.  What went wrong?  How did they adapt?  

It has been a long hard 13 months since my brain bleed, and along with everything else I'm dealing with, trying to decide how much longer I *can* weave (I will not stop *wanting* to) I have had to adjust, re-arrange my expectations, and generally examine my life.  Again.

Wayne Dyer used to talk about the 'stages' of life and the final one was to mentor others.

I honestly didn't know what I could do, given I cannot teach in person anymore.  But I found myself shaking the pom-poms of encouragement whenever I could.  And late this summer I wound up being asked to 'review' read two manuscripts by two different people.  

Since I was going through a rather trying spell, physically, I said yes.  If I couldn't weave, maybe I could use my brain.  And nearing the 12 month post injury anniversary, I felt that I could manage to do that.  Slowly, perhaps, but I could do it.

I am halfway through the first ms and...I am feeling honoured and privileged to be part of the process.  When I can I will share when the books are ready.  

In a time of masses of mis- and dis-information, I am firmly of the opinion that weavers, more than ever, need good information, solid information, subtle information, to base their decisions as they work through the design process.

I have had to acknowledge that I am not immortal (kinda relieved, really) and I won't always be here.  But in the meantime, I can share good information with the weaving community.  I can hold the stories in my memory banks.  I can share them with newer/younger weavers.  And I can continue to shake the pom-poms of encouragement to explore.  Learn.  Grow the craft by sharing knowledge.