Two Things

 

Weaving is labour intensive.

Parts of the process can be frustrating to learn.

Some people give up because they hate warping.

And I get it.

But here's the thing.  Creating textiles by weaving *is time consuming*.  It takes as much time as it takes (given the weaver's skill level).

I chose to become a weaver as my profession.  Since I had a very strong desire to do that, I studied the processes.  I began with what my teacher taught me (mostly good advice), but then I modified it where I saw places that I could do the task more efficiently.  I took the time to go slower, examining what I was doing - one step at a time - until I had carved the steps involved down to the most efficient I could manage given my physical aptitudes and what my budget would allow.

Because sometimes?  Better equipment is what you need to proceed - more efficiently.

Do I hate warping?  No.  In fact, now that I am physically compromised (back issues) it is only *because* I am as efficient as I am that I can continue to weave.

I have had to make changes, but mostly in how long I can do any one thing at a time.  So instead of weaving for 4 hours (with breaks) a day, I am now just managing 30 minutes.

Thirty minutes isn't very much time, but I can get about 15-18 inches woven in that time depending on what I'm making.  (Currently silk warp with silk weft at 32 epi.)  I'm weaving about 80" per scarf, so instead of weaving a scarf a day, I am just barely managing 1/5th of a scarf.

It's frustrating as hell, but it's better than not weaving at all.

So, weaving *is* time consuming.  But you *can* learn how to do it more efficiently so that it is *less* time consuming.  

And that's also a good Life Lesson.  There are all sorts of times in life when you need to hold two different aspects of something as both being 'true'.

Over and over again I take lessons learned during weaving and gradually see how they apply to life generally.  And learning how to accept that two opposing things can be true - depending on circumstances - has been a big one.

Don't like winding warps?  There are businesses that can do that for you.  Or, you can hire a kid to do it.  Maybe.  But you would have to accept how they do the job - or teach the kid to do it your way.

Or, just a thought - you could learn a different process.  Or choose a different yarn.  One that is stronger, perhaps, than what you have been using.

Or, you could buy a more expensive yarn, better spun for purpose, for your warps.  The warp is such a significant part of weaving - from winding the warp to beaming it, threading, sleying, tieing on, why work with a 'cheap' (or poor quality) yarn?  Given how many hours you may need to spend doing all of that part of the job?

Humans tend to simplify things when in reality Life is Complicated.  I tell my students that weaving is not hard, but it's complex.  And it's labour intensive.  

People tell me that I must be a patient person.  No.  I am many things, but patient is not one of my qualities.  So I worked hard at becoming efficient so that I take less time to do the jobs required to get a warp into the loom.  

And then I slide into a state of a working meditation while I throw the shuttle and only come out of that state if something goes wrong - like a thread breaking.  Or the loom misbehaving.

The more we practice accepting that at times two opposing things can be 'true' depending on circumstances, the sooner we will make peace with how weaving - and living - works.