Best Gift

 

north wall

south wall

Doug and I don't need much and if we need something we go buy it.  So gifts generally amount to us saying 'what do you want?  OK, happy birthday.  Or Christmas.  Or whatever.'

My office is the smallest bedroom in the house and since there are a shit tonne of office type 'jobs' I have done over the years, the workspace got crammed with decades (literally) of computer stuff.  Software, hardware, supplies.  

Over the years I have tried to clear some of the clutter but never very successfully.  I could work, but it was cramped.

Lately, since I've been working at clearing out the studio, it has begun to really wear on me at the state of my office.  Then the printer threatened to die and needed to be replaced before I was in the middle of a big job.  I found the exact same printer for sale (one only!  On sale!) and figured at least the ink cartridges I had purchased as back up (all those dark o'clock last minute print jobs that needed doing - which is when a cartridge will run out!) would not go to waste.  So I bought it.

But that meant getting rid of the old printer and I thought, why waste a trip to the electronic recycle place - time to go through all that computer crap overflowing the shelves in the office?  But I couldn't do it by myself so I asked Doug for help.

We've just spent the better part of two days (and by we, I mean mostly him) taking crap down off the shelves, sorting through the various boxes and stuff, and then tossing the item into the appropriate bin for dealing with next week.

Is the office tidy?  No.  Far from it!  I am me, after all.

But I no longer feel like I'm working in a avalanche zone.  There are things that still need to be dealt with, but I'll keep working on those.  The recycle stuff will be gone and one load of clutter will be removed from the house.  

Trying to get my shit together is a long, drawn out affair.  We have lived in this house for 50 years.  I've run a business out of my basement and the office - a complex one, because weaving and teaching weaving *is* complex.  I've had to learn new technology - at least as well as I could in order to use it.  

Now I'm in my twilight years, and I need to keep moving forward.  I need to keep trying.  Keep clearing out clutter.  Because I don't want to saddle him or my friends after I go.  Or at least any more than I can help it.

Making these decisions isn't always easy.  There are still things I can't let go of - yet.  But I consider this work that we did the Best Christmas Present.  Ever.

Memories

 

In doing a clear out of the office, I found this notice of my father's death in 1975.

This time of year has become a bit of a memory hole.  My father's birthday was Nov. 21.  My brother's birthday was Dec. 2.  And while I rarely remember death dates, I always remember birth dates.

The office clear out is happening due to needing a new printer.  As I looked at the shelves of...things...lining the walls of the room (a very tiny room, truth be told) I realized most of what was stored there was redundant.

Old computer program manuals, antique computer stuff.  I mean who knew that CDs would blow through and become irrelevant so quickly?  (Yes, I still have a large tube of blank CDs, don't judge me.)

My father didn't read.  Not that he didn't want to, he never really learned.  But he respected education and encouraged both of us kids to get an education.  I was targeted by the school system as being 'smart' - enough to potentially go to university.  If I had I would have been the first in the family - both sides. But that never happened, in part because dad got sick and there was no money to send me to Vancouver.  Instead I got a very good paying job out of high school at the telephone company and suggested that I would like to take a 'gap' year and travel to Sweden to meet my pen friend.  I didn't think either parent would be in favour, but surprisingly they were amazingly supportive, saying that if I didn't squander my paycheque I could continue to live at home rent free and save my money for the trip.

Then followed all the planning - how to get over there, etc.  (Train across Canada, freighter from Montreal to Oslo, then figuring out the train to Örebrö. etc.  Then how to get home again - train to Stockholm, taxi to Arlanda, fly to Vancouver.)

When this little clipping from the local newspaper dropped out of one of the books I was taking off the shelf, memories whelmed up.  The year dad died.  The year I chose to become a weaver.  And all the twists and turns my life went through to get me here, to this place and time.  

All the support I received from my brother to bring my dreams into being (Magic in the Water).  And how people say that it is a 'classic' of the craft.  I'm still taken aback when I see that - except that I worked damned hard to produce it.  So I am incredibly grateful that so many people still find it helpful and useful 22 years later.

Since then, 3 more books.  Years of writing articles.  Years of schlepping around the continent teaching for guilds.  Etc.

And mostly the town I live in knows nothing of this.  When my brother died it was nearly standing room only in the church.  When my mom died, the hall was nearly full.  When I die?  Well, I have a few friends, but honestly?  It's not a big deal if it's a small gathering.  Most of my 'friends' are 'away'.

There is nothing like doing a serious de-clutter to start you thinking about things.  Maybe things I should have been thinking about before now.  But taking care of things seems like a timely activity right now.  And no one really knows how long they have on this mortal coil, so dealing with one's mess is not a bad thing.  It just stirs up so many memories!

But I did decide to keep one binder that was on the shelf.  The mock up of the original Magic in the Water.  I just can't seem to make myself throw it in the recycle bin.  Not yet, anyway.

Mockup with the blank page to hold the samples (before and after wet finishing), photo of the finished item - 3 piece suit, and the draft info.  The printer wanted to make sure he understood what I wanted and did a test run in black and white to make sure.  That was the day I knew I had A Book...

Holiday Season

 

I suppose if I want to sell more books/classes I need to keep reminding people of how and where to find them?

As usual, 3 of my books are available in either pdf or print versions at Blurb.  I'm actually quite proud of this one, but it doesn't seem to have gained much traction.  I sent promo copies out and so far as I know none of them were 'reviewed'.  They can be purchased at Blurb.  It is a collection of 'essays' ranging from thoughts about weaving to some actual technical information.  I documented the development of the line of tea towels I wove two years ago in this book.

My 'memoir' is available at ko-fi as pdf download only.  A Thread Runs Through It talks about some of the things I did as a professional production weaver.  And some of the things I learned - about myself and others, not to mention a tonne of stuff about weaving and being in the business of weaving.

My classes are still available at School of Sweet Georgia and Long Thread media.  Might make a nice gift for a new weaver.

As North America (in particular) enters this holiday season, I send light and love to everyone.  

Above all, be kind.  And if you can't be kind, cut annoying people out of your life.  You don't need that kind of negativity.  Not now, not ever.

KISS

 

warping valet - notice the lease sticks position - high up near the ceiling.  Pull the lease sticks through the warp, not the warp through the lease sticks; sticky warp can be assisted by turning the leading lease stick to create a 'shed' to open the threads up and prevent them from sticking to each other; wind 2 ends at a time and the yarn will be better behaved, etc.

Weaving is complex.  There are layers and layers of 'it depends' considerations that make the craft a constant source of puzzlement.  Complexity that asks 'what if' over and over again.  Because change one thing, and everything can change.

The process of weaving consists, in large part, the act of designing, then physically making the warp and getting it mounted into the loom.  Again, a long list of precise actions that need - for the most part - to be done in a particular order.  Not just that, but paying attention to things like centering the warp, controlling the warp (I think about controlling the warp as an entity, not individual threads), then accurately entering it into the heddles and reed with the last preparatory step tying on and then, and only then, can you 'prove' the set up (check for errors) and weave your sample (if you haven't done that already).

There being many slip betwixt cup and lip, there may be issues that need to be addressed.

I've been asked to do The Weaver's Toolbox for a guild in January.  In that presentation I talk about the different between the mechanics of the 3 'common' handlooms, and discuss other tools/processes that weavers may find useful.

There are many many 'hacks' that people have come up with, but generally I find that if I look to the 'traditional' hacks, there is useful information and methods to 'fix' what I need to get fixed.  Yes, you can do all sorts of different things, but I find some of them are labour intensive and do not help me in terms of processing the information I need to complete the task of dressing the loom.

That said - everyone processes information in their own way - everyone has to work out what works best for them.  But I hope that they try the 'traditional' way and see if they work.

I hear criticism from new weavers about using a temple.  Too slow, they say.  I scratch the breast beam, they complain.  I don't want to advance the fell that often.

But here's the thing.  Using a temple can be absolutely necessary.  If it isn't, I don't use it.  But when the time comes that I see it must be used, I drag one out (I have several, of various lengths) and set my mind to the face that working slower will bring me the results I desire more quickly that *not* using the temple.  

But!  It must be used effectively!

The length of the temple needs to bring the fell width to the same width of the warp in the reed.  The temple needs to hold the warp under tension and that means the warp width in the reed, not the warp width once draw-in has happened.  And draw-in will happen quickly, so the temple needs to be advanced every inch or 2.5 cm.  You do *not* need to stop and advance the fell.  But you do need to advance the temple.  The teeth of the temple should never ever come anywhere close to the breast beam.

Why might I use the temple?

When I'm weaving about 30" or wider using a fine yarn.  The selvedges draw in and the selvedge ends get very unco-operative.  The shed does not open cleanly and there are shuttle mishaps leading to skips and floats.

When I'm weaving a denser cloth and want the weft to pack in more tightly.

I do not use a temple to 'fix' my selvedge - it there to make the cloth to the quality I need it to be.  Selvedges - in my loom - tend to take care of themselves.

As for a warping valet, people say they don't have room.  I have had almost zero room to use one and it is *why* I use one.  I can beam a warp in under 10 minutes, all by myself, with no issues with things going badly.  Some people complain because they don't want to 'waste' time rough sleying the reed.  I wind up with better quality of cloth by taking a few minutes to do that task.

Again, going slower to get the actual results you want is not a 'waste of time'.  

I don't use floating selvedges, but I know how to use them in case I ever hit a situation or cloth where one is required.  So that knowledge is absolutely in my toolbox.

I beam with tension - hopefully the same degree of tension as what I will apply during weaving and I use firm warp packing.  Yes, it takes up more space on the beam, but I rarely beam more than 13 meters on the small floor loom and the wooden blinds will allow for that.  Honestly, how many hand weavers routinely beam more than 10 meters, anyway?

So while there are all sorts of 'hacks' being shared in weaving groups on line and elsewhere, I ask myself if using them will save me grief or take more time than doing it the way I've been doing it for decades?  If I can make the case of changing what I need to do, then I will change what I do.  Been there, done that - from how I thread, to figuring out how to use the warping valet, to changing how I sley, all have been changed when I saw the benefit to changing.

My method of dressing the small loom using a warping board to wind the warp etc., has been refined over decades.  

When a new weaver is confronted with an issue or problem, I suggest that they think the process through.  And keep in mind the time honoured acronym KISS - Keep It Simple, Silly.

Weaving should not be a headache.  Most problems can be solved.  And usually each weaver needs to find the 'best' solution for themselves.

Because it depends!  And sometimes it is faster to go slower to get the results you want.  

**check the 'warping valet' tag to get all the posts I've tagged with that label for details on the warping valet...

Beatrix Potter and the Herdwick Sheep

 

Beatrix Potter and the Herdwick Sheep

Last night we watched a program about Beatrix Potter and her deep connection to the Lake District.  I had forgotten about the work she did to help the Herdwick Sheep thrive.

As a child I knew about Beatrix Potter, but she wasn't my favourite author.  And largely I didn't pay much attention to her as a person.  It was only later that I began to learn much about her.  The program was a great re-introduction to Potter as a person beyond the author and artist that she was best known for.

There are a number of spinners who have written books about the different sheep breeds, if you want to know more about them.  The one I'm most familiar with is the one by Robson and Ekarius. The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook.

But there are others, as well, all of them an enormous labour of love given how much work and effort went into each and every one of them.

And this is why I hate the LLM plagiarism machines.  They scrape the contents of such books and grind them up, spitting them back out with half of the actual technical information mere dust by the time they are done with it.  If you decide to learn via AI, please be aware that the citations may not be real, and the actual information has been twisted into nothing resembling actual facts.

Same with textile science books.  Go to the actual source.  Last I counted I had something like 11 different textile science books.  Some are really deep dives, some more overviews, some have great comparison charts, some look at areas that I haven't found elsewhere.  And sometimes I like to check a few different resources to make sure they are on the same page.  Or maybe the knowledge has grown and there is more up-to-date information than what was available in the late 1900s (yes, some of my books original printing dates are from then - and I love them!)

But watching the program on Potter, I was reminded how lengthy and rich our history is - all of it.  And there are lessons to be learned, people to recognize for their contributions to that history.

Above all, keep learning, keep adding to your foundation of knowledge.  And remembering that we stand on the shoulders of giants, every one of us.

Generosity

 

This is a scarf woven by a friend and gifted to me.  There is no one who appreciates a hand woven gift as much as another weaver, especially if it is something different than they might usually weave.

As usual with such gifts, it went into my teaching box as an example I wanted to share with other weavers.  But now that I'm trying to deal with my studio, I'm having to think carefully what I do with my teaching 'samples'.

And that's the thing.  After the best part of 50 years of weaving, most of them were also devoted to teaching in some way.  So I have a *lot* of samples!  

Lately I've been hearing of younger weavers who are also teaching, accumulating dozens (more!) of samples.  So when new weavers are aghast at the thought of sampling, I think about all the samples I have woven over the years, and how many samples I know that have been woven by other weavers over the years, and yes.  I can say without qualification that I do still sample.

I just pitched an idea to WEFT and qualified what I wanted to do with the caveat that in order to do the project I will have to sample.  I'm sure that comes at no surprise to anyone who knows me.

Today I am hoping to clear out some 'antique' computer stuff.  Since I've owned a computer since 1987 or thereabouts, I have carefully kept boxes, manuals, disks etc.  But I realized most of that clutter is redundant and needs to be dealt with.  The impetus for the clear out is that I needed to replace the printer and since a trip to the electronic recycle place was in order, it seems like a good time to get rid of decades (literally) of computer stuff.  Manuals will go into the paper recycling and the equipment to the electronic recycling depot.

Because it is becoming ever more apparent that the clutter and mess that I've lived with all my life needs to be dealt with and now feels like the time.  We have lived in this house since 1975 and turned a smallish house into our home *and* studio - a studio in which I've done quite a lot of *big* projects.  And if you are to be efficient, you need the space to move and shift things as they, well, progress.  Since I didn't have a lot of space, I had to get creative.  And frankly I never was interested in the Good House keeping Award.  Good thing because no one would ever say that my house is an example of *that*.

At any rate, I am hearing more reports of Big Projects being done by younger weavers, which I find very exciting.  Stay tuned and I'll share info when it is time.

Meanwhile, my books remain available at blurb either print or pdf, and Ko-fi in pdf only and check out WEFT magazine for the latest article

Classes are still there at School of Sweet Georgia with 4 classes and Long Thread Media  with a couple different classes in a couple different formats.

For What It's Worth

 

New weavers don't always realize that there is a name for that space through which the shuttle runs to get the weft from one side to the other.  It's called a 'shed'.

They also don't always realize that for centuries looms did not have a shuttle race, and panic when they get their 'new' loom and it doesn't have one.

But here's the thing - for centuries looms didn't have a shuttle race and people wove very well without.  Because the only reason a shuttle race came about was during the 1700s and the development of the flying shuttle.

On my Leclerc Fanny, which is a counter balanced action loom, it doesn't come with a shuttle race.  It doesn't come with a fly shuttle.  

I've just been asked to do a presentation on The Weaver's Toolbox.  It is during this presentation that I explain the (broad) differences between counter balanced, jack and counter march looms.

Along with other things.  But still, if weavers don't understand the physics/mechanics of their loom, it is difficult to know what is  going wrong, or even IF something is wrong.   

New weavers don't generally understand the mechanics and physics of weaving in the first place, never mind the more subtle effects of things like twist and tension.  There are a variety of things at play in making a cloth and to not understand the basics of how a loom works can lead to misunderstandings and frustrations.

So the other day I suggested to someone online that part of their issues was related to weaving outside of the 'sweet spot' and they would be better off advancing the fell more frequently and keeping it further away from the reed/beater.  As usual someone spoke up and said they hated advancing the fell so they would keep weaving until they were really close to the reed.

When they would get better results if they simply figured out where the loom worked to best mechanical advantage and how big the sweet spot for their loom actually is, and not try to force it to keep going beyond that range.  

Advance the fell too close to the breast beam and you risk not being able to beat the weft in properly so you wind up with inconsistent/streaked cloth.  Push the fell too close to the reed and you risk weft loops developing along the selvedge and difficulty beating the weft in as well as not being able to 'throw' the shuttle but wind up needing to push it through one side to the other, stressing the warp yarns and possibly risking broken warp ends.  The rhythm of catching and throwing the shuttle gets interrupted and it gets harder to 'seat' the weft at the selvedge.

But hey, if you are happy?

Working within the mechanical limits of your tools makes the job go easier and you can get closer to having consistent results.  And if you can't be perfect, be consistent.

Learning how to hold and throw/catch the shuttle ergonomically, how to tension your warp, and staying within the sweet spot, will go a long way towards happier weaving.

But you know what free advice is worth.  

A Little Advice

 

This little book arrived yesterday.  Written by Jamie Hurlburt and Kim McCollum it is not your 'usual' weaving book.  While I haven't finished it yet - quite - I have read enough to know that I want to share it with others.

The authors are upfront about the fact it is not a how-to-weave book.  It is more of a how-to-learn-to-become-a-weaver book.

One of the things I ran into as a new weaver was the attitude that there was only one-right-way to do weaving.  Not everyone, not by a long shot - but in certain circles it was definitely A Thing.

As I have continued to pursue and learn about the craft of weaving, I have come across some very strongly stated 'principles' and firm admonishments from certain people, certain in their knowledge and willing to share their certainties with the rest of the weaving communities.

But one of the biggest lessons I have learned over the years, is that there is no general certainty about anything regarding weaving.  There are only broad generalities, and then very specific and targeted information.

Because it all depends!

The authors introduce some of those general comments that are applied to the entirety of the craft and encourage people to examine them to see if they apply to anything that you, personally, are doing.

Because what one weaver does will not necessarily apply to what another weaver does.

This approach aligns with mine in every way, even if I might phrase it differently.  Because we are different people, and we are allowed to personalize our comments to suit our own personalities.

So while the authors may say something in a way that I wouldn't, I agree with the fact they are saying it.

When they say 'weaving it not hard' and then qualify that by saying '(not that hard)'. I might say 'weaving is complex, not difficult'.

When they say 'don't rely on processes or hacks', I say 'fill your weaving toolbox with as many tools as you can and then use them when necessary'.

Because everyone is different, information is most useful when a receptive (open) mind receives them.  But it also helps to have different voices say the same principles, but use different metaphors!

In the 21st century, weaving is primarily a hobby for most.  As people living in the 21st century, we assume that - as adults - anything we choose to do will come easily to us.  We are mature, our physical skills are refined, we know things.

But the thing is, we don't know weaving.  And as mentioned many times, weaving is complex.  It has developed over millennia, in different environments, with different materials, different cultures.  As such it has a complexity that we can only scrape at the surface of.

This year marks the 50th year that I have been weaving.  For most of that 50 years I was a professional production weaver.  I had certain goals and objectives in mind and I honed my skills, and filled my toolbox.  The reason I use certain tools is because the tools I selected were giving me consistent good results (until they didn't, and then I had to change to meet the changed circumstances).

If someone doesn't want to use a warping valet, for instance, there is no need for them to do so - IF they are happy with their results.

But keeping an open, thoughtful mind will go a long way towards a weaver continuing to learn.  The more they learn, the better able they are to fix something when it is going pear-shaped.  To adapt when something isn't working properly.  To know when a mistake is terminal, or how to fix it without fuss.  To accept that nothing is always 'perfect' and that 'good' can be 'good enough'.

Above all, we can accept that we are constant students, that there is something else to learn, and open ourselves to the possibilities.

Perhaps this little book will break down some barriers.  I may not agree with everything the authors say - as in I won't do that, personally - but I endorse the message - learn.  Explore.  Let your imagination and creativity have free rein.

And it's perfectly ok to make general statements if you allow for specific circumstances to be handled in a different way.

Because that is what lifelong learning looks like.  Above all, it depends.

Bravo for writing this book challenging weavers to question the 'wisdom' of the craft if it is not meeting the requirements of the desired results.  Sometimes people need permission to question 'authority' in order to meet their specific needs.  

All that said, if you are happy, no need to change a thing.  But if you run into a problem?  Maybe it is time to look beyond what you know and look for new answers?  

Dynamic

 

In my desire to use up as much of my stash as possible, I uncovered the singles 6 cotton cones.  I'd worked with it years ago and had fun playing with 'energized' yarn and all the possibilities that could be played with in terms of developing texture.  

Over the summer I started reading Michelle Boyd's book Twist, but had to set it aside as I dealt with some other writing tasks, but when I wet finished the next set of towels with the energized singles 6, I was reminded that I needed to get back to Michelle's book.

Why are the corners of the cloth curled, you might ask.  Well, those corners are curled because of the energetic nature of the yarn itself.  Since just the weft is the singles 6, the corners all curl in the same 'direction', following the push/shove of the energy still in the yarn.

Michelle talks a lot about the physical dynamics of the forces that we build into our cloth - sometimes all unknowing, sometimes on purpose.  Her book is a deep dive into trying to bring knowledge and understanding of the forces that we deal with, mostly unknowingly, and which tend to end in surprises - sometimes nice ones, some, not so much.

And this is part of why experienced weavers will urge newer weavers to sample, sample, sample.

The cloth in the tea towels is woven in twill - a 1:2 twill, to be exact.  I knew that the energy in the yarn would create texture (tracking) and wanted to control that effect.  The goal was a tea towel, hopefully with good drape and absorbency.  So far I'm pleased with them.  They have a nice hand, feel good to touch, and visually have an 'interesting' amount of texture.  Yes, tracking in a twill!  Who'd a thunkit!

Using the singles 6 as weft on a 2/16 cotton warp has resulted in the qualities I was hoping to see.  And yes, I did sample before I set up this warp.  I am just setting up another in the same design (different colour) because I'm pleased with them.  And I'm happy to weave the singles 6 into a cloth that I feel  should provide good service for anyone who is using it.

And yes, those curls resolve once the hems are sewn.  As usual I will hand hem (it's my 'watching tv at night' task) and then give the towels a final finishing press.  

On the topic of books, the new book I ordered arrived this morning.  I'm looking forward to taking a look at it.  

Stay tuned...

Hunkering Down for Winter

 

Still no snow to speak of, but we have been having hoar frost that sparkles and glints when the sun manages to come out.

The past 3 weeks (approximately) was filled with a bunch of personal maintenance appointments.  I seem to be running out of options for making life more 'comfortable', and now I need to sit down and think.

What *can* I do?  What do I *want* to do?  Do those two things align in any way, shape or form?

I did commit to doing another article for WEFT.  I have booked one, tentatively two, one hour guild presentations.  I find myself nervous about doing them although I do seem to be faring better in the speaking department.  I've had a couple people assure me that my 'tics' are not at all noticeable.  Maybe for others, but I know how much I scramble the wheels trying to access the words I want to use.

However, I am assured that recovery will continue, and having talked with others with brain injuries, I am hopeful that I will continue to improve in that area.  And I was reminded just how lucky I have been, spending zero time in rehab because I was deemed well enough to recover without it.  A rare thing, from what I gather.

I have asked for an appointment for counselling.  I feel like I need some help right now with accepting where I am.  I'm on the list and will likely need to wait for a while, given the state of health care everywhere.  Mostly I want to polish my attitude of gratitude, get feedback if there are any suggestions for how to proceed - from a place of reality and checking whether or not my expectations are manageable.  

I did get the warp beamed and even threaded one repeat.  But then Tuesday and Wednesday got busy and I didn't want to thread when I was tired and distracted.  However the good news is that I am still in remission, which was great to hear and a nice way to wind up the string of stressful appointments.

Today I need to make a pan of oat squares, so I'll get that done first, then see if I can manage threading.  I had a decent amount of sleep last night so hopefully I have an extra 'spoon' for baking and still leave energy enough to thread.  

I'm doing the same threading as the last warp.  It worked well for tea towels with the current yarns I want to use up.  I'm pleased with the feel of the cloth now that it's completely finished - just the hang tags and prices left to attach.  Frankly they can wait.  Plus we replaced our printer - with the identical model, so I'm hoping it will 'plug and play' so to speak.  Doug will help with removing the old and replacing with the new and then I will have to get it 'online'.

It would be lovely to stop doing the tea towels and get to the silk and cashmere, but I'm hoping to clear off the shelf of the singles 6 yarn.  I'm very focused on weaving down my stash and it's just easier for my brain to design one quality of cloth and finish that yarn before beginning something completely different.  Besides there is still a tonne of prep work to be done - converting the silk skeins to spools for sectional beaming will take hours and hours.  Much of the silk is 2/30, some 2/20 and some much finer than that.  I had to get 'creative' in my plans.  We'll see if they turn out nicely.  

And that is the majority of my plans for the winter.  That, plus the article for WEFT.  

We are already well through November.  The solstice will arrive in about 4 weeks and then the sun will once again begin its northward journey.  In the meantime, I will hunker.

Winter Reflections

 

Dad and his plough

Here is my dad standing beside his plough in the 1940s.  He was a 'utility' driver for the BC Dept of Highways (as was) for over 20 years.  He would not drive dump trucks because he got 'sea sick' when the shovels were loading the box, but he drove everything else - snow ploughs, graders, front end loaders, etc.

He was a man of few words, and not inclined to repeat himself, so as a kid I would have to pay attention if he spoke to me.  As I reflect on my childhood, most of the things that made an impression on me were his pithy comments, where I would have to take the deeper meaning from his side on approach to conveying information - in most cases.

So things that he said that stuck on me are buried in my foundation.

In the 1940s and 50s, heavy equipment didn't come with things like cab heaters - notice the machine behind him didn't even have much in the way of doors, never mind a heater.  Probably zero seat belt.

He was raised here, and winter was a hazard to be guarded against, not feared.  He had a routine he went through on winter mornings.  He would listen to the radio to get the forecast, then dress for the anticipated weather.  Always dress more cautiously than you think it might get during the day.  Too many layers could be shed, one layer at a time, but if you were underdressed, hypothermia could creep in.  He respected the weather, planned for it, adapted to it.

He would wear good old Stanfield onesie, sometimes more than one, made from Kroy wool, then layer outward.  He always wore a particular brand of work clothing - not denim.  Denim was considered 'poor people' clothing.  So he was a blue collar worker, and neither of us kids had denim, until my younger brother got fed up with being dressed in 'expensive' clothing for school - white shirts, corduroy pants, and on school photo day, a bow tie.  He wanted 'play' clothes that he could get dirty playing in the dirt.  I didn't get my first pair of jeans until I was 16.

I look at my 'wardrobe' now and realize I have gravitated back to wash and wear, usually knit - because knit cloth will have some stretch to it (although I hate the tendency to 5% lycra every damn thing).  And I tend to wear my clothing *out*, not replace it when the new season colours come out.  I'm all about comfort now, not fashion.

When I buy something, I prefer to get a better quality than most 'fashion' of the day.  I have some t shirts that are poor quality, and I would send them to recycle except they aren't worn out yet.  So even lower quality clothing has more than one season in it.  In spite of that, I keep wearing those t shirts, mostly when I'm schlepping around the house/studio.  

Anyway, the snow that fell the other day has melted.  We are in the doh-see-doh part of winter cometh.  Two steps forward, one step back.  In mid-November.  I guess we'll find out soon enough if we will have a more 'traditional' winter or more of this back and forth, freezing, melting, roads a mess.  I plan on hibernating, if I can, get to the loom when I can, see how the next pain treatment works, and how well.

While the world enters the quiet season, giving the plants and some animals a 'rest', I find that same kind of 'rest' attractive for me, too.

Today I hope to begin threading.  I have a load of tea towels to wet finish, although not, perhaps today.  Tomorrow will be a 'treatment' day and I have no idea how my body will respond - this time.  So I may just come home from the hospital and sleep as much as I can.

Human beings are incredibly adaptable - if they choose to exercise that ability.  I guess we'll keep adapting to climate change because we don't seem inclined as a whole, to do anything about it.  

November 15, 2025

 

It finally happened.  Oh, there have been episodes of sleet, although they never amounted to much.  But winter, late as it is, has been creeping closer.  Yesterday the trees were covered in hoar frost - the first 'real' hard frost we have had, here, and this morning a sprinkling of light snow.  It won't last, but it's quite late in arriving.

Climate change.

I appreciate that young people don't realize how rare it is to have warm temps and no snow this late in the season.  If they are in their 20s, by the time they were born climate change was already well advanced, so they don't know how it 'used to be'.  They don't know how unusual this is.  And while I am grateful to have it be late due to my difficulty in walking and all, I find it also concerning that human beings continue the head long dash towards burning ever more oil and gas.  It will not be me who will 'suffer' for it, I don't think I have more than a few more years left in me.  But the young folk?  They will be the ones who watch the sea levels rise, coastal cities become inundated, food scarcity, natural disasters that become worse, year after year.  Places where whole additional categories of severity of storms will likely continue to grow, winds becoming stronger, wild fires rage more violently, ground water dry up due to drought and/or poisoned by industrial pollution.

Well, that was not my intent when I sat down at the desktop to share the photo above, but it is what I have been thinking of and out it came...

Back to the usual programming...

Yesterday I cut off the last warp as there wasn't enough left to make even one more towel.  Then I changed my mind about what colour(s) to use for the next warp.  I'm getting very low on 2/16 cotton, and it's hard to decide what I want to do because there isn't really enough of any colour to do something I want to make.  I'm down to nubbins of tubes.  Yay?

I'm playing yarn chicken with the next warp, which I got half beamed yesterday.  I have to decide when to change out one colour (there are 3 in the warp) and I'm pretty sure one has too little yarn left to make it through the entire warp.  However, I only need 9 tubes and I had a total of 18 so I know I can do the warp.  There *should* be enough yarn left on the other two colours to last, but if not, I have *some* 'extra' tubes.  We'll see if it is enough.  

If push comes to shove, I could always make the warp a couple inches narrower, but the highly twisted weft I want to use up means higher shrinkage than 'usual' and I don't want them to be any narrower than they are turning out, so...guess I'll Find Out?

Tomorrow is the weaver's show and share and my WEFT magazine arrived so I have the two boxes of samples and the magazine packed up in the wheeled cart.  I may get Doug to drag it up to the guild room.  I'm not feeling horrible right now, but I still have the rest of the warp to beam and my legs were not happy after doing the first half yesterday.  Every day is a 'wait and see' day - can I do this?  That?  Or nah?

Next week I need to do light duties, so on my task list is to do the math for the article samples I've just agreed to write.  I've borrowed a small table top lever loom, which will make it easier to get photos of the process (which needs, imho, to be well photographed to understand how it works).  I need to wind a warp chain on the warping board and dress the small loom.  The deadline is in 2026, so I'm not too panicked about getting it done, and if I'm not feeling great, weaving on the small loom means I should be able to weave a little bit.

In the meantime, I look at the calendar and remind myself I need to get the 2026 calendar set up.  I have booked a Zoom presentation in February.  That seems far enough away to be 'do-able'.  Because I haven't given up on things improving.  My next infusion is on Tuesday and it took about a week for things to settle and if I see if there is improvement.  Little by little, I nurse my tiny pot of hope...

Just In Time!

 

With the Weavers Show and Share booked for Sunday afternoon, I was getting concerned if the latest issue of WEFT would arrive in time.  

Voila!  This morning's mail contained the magazine.

I have to confess that when I write (and I actually include most authors) I sweat bullets trying to include ALL the information, work hard and choosing the words that best convey what I did, hoping that anyone who wants to do the project, or even just learn by reading what I did, will get enough information to take them a step further.

I don't know if most newer weavers are aware of how hard authors, editors, publishers, work to make their magazines/books informative and interesting, and how many of us get so wrapped in the task that sometimes it's hard to *stop* polishing and just finally accept you've done your best and let it free, out into the 'wild' (so to speak).

Frankly, it has been months since I finished the article for issue 3.  During the time between I wove the napkins and finished writing the article, I have had an 'interesting' time, with the brain bleed on Aug. 28, 2024, continued adverse effects from the drugs I was hoping would make things 'better' and made things just...worse.

It was with a considerable amount of trepidation that I opened the envelope this morning and holding my breath, read my article.  (Yes, of course I read mine first!)

To my relief I was able to read the article in its entirely without wincing once.  I have not looked at the drafts - I sweated bullets at the time, and since I was using computer generated software, I'm pretty sure the drafts are accurate enough.  The question that will arise is if I have done a good enough job of explaining what I did.

I am hoping some of the weavers that come on Sunday will bring their textiles, too.  It is by sharing that we all learn.  I have been encouraging weavers to contribute to the magazine, and the guild ordered a subscription.  I am hoping that the new book I ordered will arrive tomorrow so that I can bring that for people to see, as well.

Weaving is an ancient craft.  We keep it alive by learning it, writing about it, reading about it - from actual practitioners.  In a craft that changes every time circumstances change, it is easy to forget that very few weaving questions have definitive answers.  It depends!  And that the individual weaver will need to produce their own 'samples'.  But we can still share our knowledge and encourage others to develop their own foundation of knowledge.

And if you are interested in my long form writing, my 3 books are still available at blurb.  Printed in the US, they will not have a tariff on them if you are in the US.  If you are not in the US, they are also available in pdf form.  

Marketing

 

A few days ago I saw an ISO post looking for The Intentional Weaver.  I hesitated to say anything because not all such queries are looking for a 'new' purchase.  Maybe they specifically wanted a used one.  So, if you see someone looking for one of my books, they are still available on blurb

November continues to be...challenging.  I did manage to weave yesterday and felt 'ok' - I suppose.  The weather is far too warm - for here, this time of year.  While I'm relieved for no snow on the ground, due to my difficulty in walking, I would much prefer that the temp was -10 C and the sky clear.  Our days are short, but not too bad if the sun is shining.  Which it is not, right now.

And I think about people under 20 - they think this is...normal.  They believe there is no climate change because the weather has been doing...whatever *this* is...for their entire lives.  People my age remember - some of us.  But we are given an eye roll and ignored.

Turmoil continues.  Trying to deal with the alt right is like whack-a-mole.  You get rid of one and a dozen more pop up.  

We (or at least *I*) are on tenterhooks waiting to see if the budget will be passed.  The opposition party is behaving more and more like fascists.  The government needs two more votes to get the budget passed, or we wind up with a winter election - and millions more spent to very little benefit to the average Canadian.  But I fail to see any (as in *any*) solutions being advanced by the Cons and the Leader of the Official Opposition sounds more and more like the loose cannon down south with each report that becomes public.

In the meantime, I continue to try and help others.  I don't see any other way to get through this time than by lifting others up, not smacking them down.  The new book I ordered should arrive next week.  I'm hoping to feel up to reading the thesis on hemp (sat for too long, an open tab on the desktop) and then the new book.  The new cream seems to be helping - some.  I'd sure like some more energy though.  

Anyway, if you see someone in search of my books, maybe all y'all could share the link above?

Remembrance Day

 

Dad, in larger photo, wearing his Canadian uniform in WWII; smaller photo about 10 years old

Dad served in WWII, first in the Aleutians, then being sent to England to prepare for D-Day.  He was pretty much a pacifist, but he did his duty.

He was born in 1919 in Red Rock, BC.  The family had arrived in the US, going first to Grandpa Peter's brother, who was living in San Francisco, then making their way north and eventually crossed into Canada.  Two of dad's sisters were born on the prairies with dad the 'last' here in BC.  They obtained land under the Homestead Act (as I understand it - some family stories have been heavily 'edited' by my mother) and they carved some 'farm' land out of the forest on the east side of the Fraser River.  They actually did not do too badly for themselves with a large number of boys, hiring themselves out as harvest crews, making instruments and forming a band.  Plus the gold in the river to pan.

One story is about one of my uncles who had panned gold and bought himself an accordion from the Eaton's catalogue.  One night they were playing at a dance at a village called Woodpecker (I think), Uncle Emil met some buddies and after the rest of the band packed up, Emil and buddies continued to shoot the breeze and drink more beer.  Buddies assured Emil that they could give him a ride home and the rest of the 'boys' left Emil to his visiting and drinking.

Turns out the 'ride' was in a canoe.  Having had several beers too many the three of them were tipsy and well, the canoe did what canoes will do - it tipped the boys and the accordion into the water and away it sailed, never to be seen again.  And Emil set about panning for gold to replace it.

None of the other men in the family served in the war.  Dad was so much younger than the other 'boys' that by the time war was declared, they were married, with kids, most of them farming.  But dad had none of that.  So when he was told to report to enlist, he did.  

The first few years were 'easy' - he was sent to the Aleutians and served alongside US soldiers.  Because the family identified as 'German' - spoke German, read it, had family that had been left behind when they left Europe.  He was likely suspected of being sympathetic to Germans/Germany.  But dad was born here in Canada, and he hadn't learned to speak German much, especially after his mother died when he was 10.  About the time of the smaller photo.

Life on the farm was not easy.  Most of the stories were related by mother and are, therefore, 'suspect'.

But I do believe the one about what dad did when he was de-mobbed.  He stripped all the 'medals' he had been given, keeping only his regiment identification, and when he returned to Red Rock, he packed up his two hunting rifles and handed them to a nephew and never went hunting again.  I'm pretty sure this is true because I was 16 before I knew there was such a thing as 'rare' meat.  If there was 'blood' on his plate, he would shove the plate away and wrestle with nausea.  

As for the regiment badges, he kept one of his army jacket pockets and pinned the things he kept to that - which I still have.  A testament to his personal values.  Yes, he went to war; yes he did his duty; doesn't mean he liked it.  But he did go - and fought the fascists.

Yes, my father is one of the antifa 'terrorists' that the current crop of fascists are warning us all about.  He fought for democracy - as flawed as it was, and still is.  He fought for freedom of being bullied by others who wanted to control everyone else.  He fought for his life on Juno beach, and on into Holland.

And it left him with PTSD, an aversion to seeing blood, an aversion to being bullied.  When my brother stood up to a bully who was picking on one of Don's friends, dad supported him.  Was even proud, I think.  It was a bit hard to tell, at times.  But there was no punishment, from either of our parents, in the end.  It was a short, sharp lesson, and one I have not forgotten.  

Rest in peace, dad.  And Don.  And mom.  You all made me the person I am now.  I hope you think I'm doing ok.  And on this coming Remembrance Day, I vow to continue the resistance to fascists and bullies.  As best I can.

Gratitude

 

I've been 'quiet' this week as I have been dealing with more 'stuff' than I have energy for.  But I have been so grateful for the good wishes people have been sending.

Times are definitely 'interesting' right now, and on-going health issues don't help.  I can say with some tiny amount of certainty that so far things are slightly improving.  As I have been warned, repeatedly, by several of my health care team...it's going to take time for the body to sort itself out.  Dammit.

The pain doctor used a different 'approach' to do the back injections and that seems to have effected some improvement.  The cream arrived on Tuesday and there is a slight hint of improvement with that, too.

The appointment at the cancer clinic was just a blood draw (follow up appointment later), but I was asked to participate in a research project.  The BC Cancer Agency is setting up a 'bio bank' and wanted to know if I would provide a blood sample and allow my contribution to be used in research projects regarding lymphoma.  Since I have a 'rare' cancer, of course I was.  

The eye doctor was happy with my left eye - not so much with my right which has developed a patch of dryness.  Yet more drops and ointments, now in both eyes.

Massage yesterday detected some improvement from the shots on Tuesday, and chiro was able to gently adjust my neck and relieve some restrictions there.

Today is meant to be a 'rest' day and I had thought I would try weaving for 30 minutes.  Instead I will work some more on 'light duties' and leave the weaving another day.

I was told of a new weaving book and ordered a copy.  Once it comes and I've had time to take a look I will let people know if I feel it is good for people to have in their personal or guild libraries.  

Speaking of which, I had someone email asking for some help with a technical issue they were having.  So I spent an hour this morning going through one of my books, then asking questions and giving some advice they didn't ask about but that *I* knew they needed to know.  Because I suspected they didn't know that part.  

So I spent an hour with Allen Fannin's book and remembering all the help and advice he gave us when we needed it.  And all the support and encouragement he generously offered.  

Today isn't as nice a day, but I had no need to leave the house - and won't, unless I go with Doug to the pharmacy to pick up my eye ointment.  Maybe a few minutes out from these walls would be good for me?  

I'm hoping to be able to weave some over the weekend - I have more appointments next week, and the major one (that I will need another several days to recover from) on the 18th.  And I'm already booking stuff into December because November was already 'full'.  Or full enough that I could manage.

Now if WEFT magazine would arrive for the weavers meeting, but never mind I have the samples to show/share and might bring my latest towels fresh off the loom and now hemmed.

Gold dust to all who needs it.

The Countdown

 

Some of my pain 'meds' sitting beside The Golden Thread and the Jack Lenor Larson biography.  Hopefully I'll begin feeling well enough to read more than just posts on Facebook.

I have been battling peripheral neuropathy for years, on top of the damage to my back.  For over a year I had been trying various nerve blockers as nothing 'usual' was dealing with the level of pain I had been living with.  

The back damage shoots nerve pain down my right leg and into my right foot; the PN causes nerve pain of a different sort, in both feet.  I have been getting injections every 4 months or so for the sciatic pain, but nothing much was helping the PN.

Various people gave suggestions.  The first pain doctor I saw suggested lidocaine cream.  That white and red tube is 30 grams and costs about $50.  But lidocaine is short acting.  It helps in the moment, but not long enough to sleep through the night.  And it gets expensive.

From there I learned about alpha lipoic and tried that.  It takes about an hour to kick in (if it will) and then if it helps, I can usually get back to sleep for a few hours.  

The nerve blockers were helping but at the cost of adverse effects - muscle pain in my thighs to the point I could barely walk.  Finally I was convinced to try ketamine.  Before I went that far, though, I started red light laser therapy after the recommendation from my local pain doctor.

All of those non-drug (so to speak) treatments worked for a while, but the past few months things were getting 'worse'.

Once I had stopped the nerve blockers my massage therapist suggested magnesium chloride (I think) in gel form.  That seemed to reduce the nerve damage (if that is what had happened on that nearly 1.5 years of trying various nerve blockers).  But the slight improvement in my thighs was being wiped out by the increasing PN in my feet, which seemed to be crawling up my calves.

I read.  I read as much as I could find.  But PN is one of those 'weird' conditions which is tough to nail down, and a huge number of patients are 'idiopathic' - or, cause unknown.

I had a list of risk factors, some maybe nothing, some definitely something.  As a child I had planters warts on the soles of both feet.  Another kid in my class had his 'burned' off with chemicals and wound up barely able to walk until the burned tissue healed.  My family doctor suggested having mine burned off with x-rays.  Risk factor?  No one knows.  But I had massive amounts of x-rays aimed at my feet for about 20 minutes a treatment.  Which continued for weeks and ate up that summer.

I also danced ballet.  Including toe shoes.  I experienced blisters, bruises under my toe-nails, pain in my feet.  Risk factor?  No one really knows.

My body has multiple allergies and lack of some vitamins seem to encourage PN.  Since so many different foods are allergens, I have experienced deficiencies in both vitamins and micro-minerals several times in my life.  All I know was that for a time in my 40s I had horrible pain in my feet, plus my shoe size grew from the swelling such that I had to buy new shoes.  Interestingly when I started a new one-a-day vitamin, about 3 weeks after, the pain in my feet disappeared.  Plus I have had 3 shingles outbreaks.  The virus continues to hide in the body, living on the the nerve endings (I think.)  Is that a factor in all the nerve pain I'm having?  No idea.

Then in 2011 I was diagnosed with cancer, requiring chemotherapy.  One of the ingredients was Vincristine - a *known* cause of PN.  Sure enough I developed a 'weird' sensation in my feet and then in my hands.  I was assured when treatment stopped that should disappear.  And it did.  Until a few years ago.

Reading as much as I could about PN, it is one of those 'it depends' kind of thing.  So I read, and read, searching for answers, finding very little.

More common in diabetics, but a huge number of cases have no 'cause'.  The person just...learns, as best as they can...to live with it.

But constant pain with little to treat or manage it, is horrible, whatever the cause.  With so little actually known about the condition, and such a complexity of issues, the market is rife for 'miracle' cures.

A friend sent me a link to one.  The ones I had seen previously were based on a couple of 'spices'.  Given my track record with 'spices', I was not going to go there.  (Some spices make me seriously ill, no matter how medically helpful they can be for others.)  But this one was different.

So I ordered some and today the shipment arrived.  I have tried a dab of the cream on one foot and there appeared to be some lessening of the pain in that foot.  Nor do they claim it is a 'miracle' drug - if you read the small print, they say to use 3 times a day, or more if needed, for at least two weeks to see if it is going to be beneficial.

I'm not going to call it on the basis of one cautious dab, but I'm willing to give it a go.

In the photo the 'new' cream is the little 'pot'.  It's 4 ounces and the pot was filled right up to the brim.  And it was on sale for the same price as the lidocaine cream.  It's not made in Canada, but comes from the Netherlands.

Oh, and that tiny little vial sitting on top of the new 'pot'?  That's my crop of hope.  I'm sitting it on top of the pot in hopes that some of my hope will sink into the pot and encourage some relief.

When doing web searches, remember to ignore the AI 'recommendations'.  Look for actual medical websites and keep looking.  The last one I tried didn't *look* obviously 'medical' but when I opened the site, I found the most information I'd found to date.  

I'm now on light duty tasks for a few days, until I get the next ketamine infusion.  I'm hoping to get this warp off the loom and the next one beamed so that when I can begin weaving after the infusion it will be ready.  Or at least beamed.  Because I found 8 spools of the singles 6 and now I am back to 3 large cones of that yarn when I thought I was about to start on one of those cones.  

Oh well.  Onwards.

Hanging On

 

People of a certain age will be totally familiar with this meme (or versions of it).  The one I remember was a ginger and the 'rope' it was hanging from was a single strand of rope with a big knot tied at the end.

I wasn't actually doing 'well' when I fell last year and experienced the brain bleed.  And then things got way 'worse'.  It has been 14 months of me trying to scrape my life back together and it is like trying to put jello back into the mould.  

But I keep trying.  And 'failing'.  But every time I lose heart, I remind myself I did not die that day in 2024.  What is it I'm meant to do?  Can I?  I must be able to if I must do it before I can shuffle off this mortal coil?  

I keep seeking answers.  Solutions.  

Tomorrow begins two weeks of dealing with a multitude of health issues.  I don't know why they all wound up bunched up all together, but here I am.

I had every intention of getting to the loom at least once today, hopefully twice, because I will be on 'light' duties for the next 3 weeks.  Giving my body time to recover from the procedures, and the stress of getting test results, then either putting those out of my mind for another 6 months, and to start using the 'new' topical cream that promises me...my life back.

I hope they are right.  Because if there is something I need to do, I also need a functioning body.  Or at least, one that is functioning better than mine currently is.

One of the nice things about having friends around your own age, they remember things that you do.  So when I talk about hanging on by a thread, she immediately sent me kitty hanging.  When I said I felt like I should post The Desiderata somewhere I could read it daily, she said she had it on her current playlist.

While I love my younger friends deeply, there is nothing like having your social cues understood.

In the meantime, I have some 'light' duty tasks that should provide some distraction over the coming weeks.  And I still have books in my TBR pile.  Maybe I will finally get to them?

Anyone who wants to send light and love for the next 3 weeks?  Will be welcomed.  A friend uses 'gold dust' as a way to send best wishes, comfort, whatever.  I send out a cloud of gold dust to anyone who needs it.

Teaching

 

wet finished

loom state

Since it appears to be the season in my life where I reflect on my life, I have been thinking a lot about teaching.

I started teaching almost as soon as I started weaving.  Teaching spinning, which might surprise, but I knew two cents worth of spinning and was willing to share what I knew.  And I wasn't alone - I had a co-teacher, who knew maybe 5 cents worth about spinning and together we tried to help people get their wheels turning in the 'correct' direction and how to draft and twist their fibres.

It seems I was a fairly 'natural' teacher - I have no credentials saying that I know a thing or two about teaching.  But I loved learning, had some really excellent (and some not so) teachers and had taken 'note' of those I felt were good and why, and those who were not, and why.  I learned about how to teach as well as the subject being taught.

It was not a dream or desire of mine to teach.  I really wasn't interested in teaching people who didn't want to learn, so teaching as a paid instructor in a school was of little interest to me.  But if you were interested in what I wanted to teach?  I would pull out all the stops.  

As per usual, when I wanted to learn more about something, I read about that something, and so I read books on how to teach.

It was only a few years ago I saw the quote:  A good teacher shows you where to look, not what to see.

So it is with a great deal of satisfaction I now see some of my Olds students beginning to teach - writing, speaking.  

And I think about the really hard task they will have going forward, when so many people are putting their trust/confidence in...LLM/AI. 

The thing that irritates me (one of them) is that the LLM/AI has been 'trained' by having the companies literally steal the written materials from the legal copyright holders.  And then instead of quoting them honestly, they 're-write' the stolen materials, even to the point of inventing citations for books that were never written by the authors that are listed.  (The negative environmental impacts are another thing, which I won't go into here.)

The information is a word salad of 'plausible' information that only needs to 'appear' accurate, not to *be* accurate.

So when I set out to create Magic in the Water, I did not have to 'fight' for space in the market going up against a plagiarism machine.  I had an 'honest' relationship with the people who bought my book.  I shared what I *knew* after extensive experimentation and documentation.  I continued that approach with The Intentional Weaver, and have always followed in any magazine articles I have submitted.

I'm very nervous about the next issue of WEFT.  Given I wrote most of it in the aftermath of the brain bleed, I struggled to get my words lined up in a way that made sense.  I had enormous assistance from Sheila, and I know that Jacey and Lisa worked - *hard* - to go through my text and try to present the documentation and words in a way that explains what I did.  The topic turned out to be complex enough that I over ran my assigned word count - by a lot.   And still did not cover the topic in as great a detail that I would have liked.  Subtlety is like that.  

The topic is only one of the more subtle aspects of building a textile and most people make certain assumptions - which do not hold in practice.

There are weavers currently studying varying aspects of weaving, one topic at a time.  If you are interested in such a thing, Complex Weavers has a number of study groups.  Being part of a collective search of the topic of textiles means that each person takes one aspect, researches it, then shares with the rest of the group.  And everyone learns more than they knew before and exchanges that information.

While the fallout of LLM/AI continues, this is one way for us, as practitioners who want to keep learning, can do that - with integrity.

And that is why Magic has an extensive range of samples (samples above created just for Magic). Because everything depends.  Change one thing and everything can change.

If you, like me, don't trust LLM/AI to provide accurate information, buy a book.  Or several.  Hell, acquire your own personal library!  

I am old enough now that I tend to hear about projects that are being considered.  Now, creating a book can take years.  Quite literally years.  Some of them may only ever have limited numbers published as the book industry takes hit after hit by AI produced word salad.  But I do know, for a fact, that several people are working on books and may have something ready to present in 2026.  Or it might take longer!  I spent years of my life creating Magic in the Water, using a local printer (are there any of those anymore????) and self-publishing, then marketing it.  The official publication date was July of 2002.  In 2008, when my brother died, we were *still* assembling books and it took years after that before I sold the last 'major' book, in 2011, and created the pdf version.  The Intentional Weaver took 4+ years.

It is not my place to announce things that others are doing.  But when they let me know I can do that, I will share the news.

In the meantime, I'm anxiously awaiting the appearance of the last issue of WEFT, which due to the Canada Post rotating work stoppages still hasn't appeared, and more especially the next issue. 

As usual, three of my books are available here in either pdf or print versions, and in my ko-fi shop in pdf download.

I know budgets are incredibly tight right now, but now is exactly the time society needs to recognize expertise and support it happening.  If you want to do your own research, please ignore LLM/AI and research actual knowledge, be that in books, or blogs like this where I try to explain the craft, honestly, magazines written by people who actually know stuff, don't just repeat myths that don't actually contain the 'whole' truth.

Because change one thing, everything can change...