Seeking Substitutions

Photo of four different yarns, all approximately the same thickness and yards per pound.  Sort of.

Further to the earlier blog post, I wondered if I could show how difficult it can be to make substitutions or not.

I found four different yarns that were approximately the 'same' when it came to thickness, two of them rated the 'same' yards per pound, the other two not very far off.  Remember that yards per pound (or meters per 100 grams or whatever scale is used) is only ever an approximation.  A guideline.  Not set in stone.  It varies.  It depends.

The two red yarns are both types of rayon (regenerated cellulose).  Both of these yarns are made up of finer two ply yarns, one with 5, one with 6.  The one on the left has 5 2-ply yarns very loosely twisted together.  The next one to it has 6 2-ply yarns much more tightly twisted together - both the finer yarns and the plied thicker yarn.

The kind of yellow/green shiny one is silk and is a two ply - two thicker singles plied together.

The white one is a 4/8 cotton.  In other words, four singles have been plied together.  This format is not as common as it once was as one of the major suppliers of 4/8 cotton now plys several 2/16 cotton yarns together to make up the yarn that has the same number of yards per pound as a 'true' 4/8 cotton, very similar to the rayon yarns in the photo.

The red yarns could most likely be used interchangably.  They are pretty close to the same thickness and both made from rayon.  The one that is more tightly twisted will be somewhat stiffer, and will likely hold it's shape better than the one that is very loosely twisted together.  It might also resist abrasion better than the more softly twisted yarn.

The rayon and silk both have excellent drape qualities, both will press up a lovely sheen after wet finishing if given a good hard press (or cold mangle - the compression is the key, not whether it is hot or cold).

The cotton would not make a good substitute for either the rayon or the silk.  It will not drape as readily, even at the same epi/ppi and weave structure, and it will not finish up with much of a sheen.  It is unmercerized, so generally matt in appearance.

So this is why it is difficult to just willy-nilly substitute a yarn of a similar thickness, yards per pound for another. 

Textile artists need to understand their materials.  They need to know how the preparation for spinning and actual spinning affects the inherent characteristics of the fibre.  They need to understand the quality of the cloth they are trying to produce and how to choose appropriately when it comes to the yarn they are using.

A few years ago I did a small run sample series called A Good Yarn.  Each title looked at an individual fibre - cotton, wool, linen/hemp, and rayon.  I had intended to do silk, but Life Happened and that issue...didn't.

I have heard of people being able to find these at estate sales.

As far as resources go, a place to learn more?  Google Textile Science or Fibre Science, or fibre characteristics.  There are websites with some information, or there are textbooks, like the one I linked to in the previous post:  A Guide to Textiles for Interior Designers.  While the focus of the book is on interiors, there is a gold mine of information about fibres that any person working in the textile field can find useful.

The book was used as the textbook for the textile program at the U of Manitoba, and still is, so far as I know.  The most recent edition is expensive, as textbooks frequently are.  I paid $35 for my 1st edition back in oh, 1989 or so, and it has been worth every penny.  You can still find the 1st or 2nd edition for fairly cheap prices.  The link in the previous post was to Amazon.ca where the copy I found there was listed for $17.50, I think.  Look at other re-seller sites like abc books and so on.  My students routinely find the title for less than $10, although sometimes they do have to dig.

To expect a pattern designer (regardless of craft) to provide info for multiple different yarns is asking the designer to provide a lot of information.  They are usually making pennies for their effort, needing to sell hundreds of patterns just to cover the cost of the copy editor, paying their sample knitters, or their time developing the pattern, providing technical information on sizing, etc., etc., etc.

Textile crafters would do themselves a favour by learning more about the technical issues involved themselves so that - if they want/need to make a substitute - they will be able to make A Good Choice by choosing an appropriate yarn.

And just an FYI - it took me the better part of an hour to dig through my yarn stash to find a variety of yarns of approximately the same thickness/ypp, then take photos, then sit down and write this post.

If I were teaching, I would be expecting to be paid $55/hour (which is the going rate in BC for people teaching classes - IF you can get it.)

Instead I have given this hour to you, dear readers, to do with as you will...

(and if you want to buy me a 'coffee', you can do so on my ko-fi account - link at the side or the tags for this post)

Contingency Plans

Warp at about the half way mark - it's slow going with needing a temple and trying to catch the weft loops that bubble up in the shed.  However, I am at the half way mark!

I'm doing four different weft colours and weaving them in rotation so that I have an equal number of each colour.  Or at least as close to an equal number as I can get.  I 'sacrificed' a yard or so weaving colour samples for the designer so I may or may not wind up with an equal number of colours.  I'm actually hoping to get 21 towels from this warp, not just 20, but we'll see.  It will also depend on whether or not I have sufficient weft because I didn't order any 'extra' of the yarn, not knowing if they were going to sell and I'd be making more, or not.  My stash of yarn is quite large enough without my buying more on spec.

I have also been doing a lot of thinking about the future.  I will turn 64 this year - I am no longer in my mid-30's - and have to face the fact that I am slowing down.  This body that I wear has sustained injury and suffered ill health - and that isn't over.  Nothing to regret, I've used my body and it has served me well.  But I cannot continue as I have been - that's just not on.

Over the past few years I have gradually discontinued doing some of the myriad things I had been doing.  Each of them brought in a small amount of income; each was necessary for me in order to pay the bills and keep home and hearth together.  But next year, well next year I can start collecting my pension.  It won't be much, but it will be every single month.  No more scrambling, watching the balance in the chequing account dwindle, wondering what I could do next to bring in a little cash flow.

So I have stopped dyeing yarn to sell.  I have stopped producing my own publications.  I have stopped (after Olds) doing yarn shows.  What is next?  Perhaps traveling to teach - that depends on my health continuing to be reasonably good.

I am throwing more effort into 'remote' teaching - blogging on Craftsy, the seminar on the Weaving Today website (link in yesterday's post), done the latest Big Project.  I have an article due to appear in Handwoven and Fibre Focus (Ontario Guild magazine) this fall.

The towels above are for a designer who hopes to market them through her store.  I will continue to do four craft fairs - until they aren't lucrative enough - in the autumn and therefore need to produce inventory for those.

And I continue to look for other ways to teach remotely via the internet.

But I still have publications to sell, so once I get home from the next trip, stay tuned for an announcement about that.

Ultimately I want to simplify my life.  All of those things I did required tools, equipment and materials, not to mention the shipping stuff in order to mail them away.  I'd really like to get rid of some of that stuff.

Anyone want an electric stapler, for instance?

Official!

It's official.  The webinar is written, tweaked, proof read (thanks Cindy!) and the technology tested.  Thankfully, the technology is fairly intuitive and I didn't have any problems downloading the program or understanding how to use the control panel.  The headphones (thanks Allan!) worked beautifully and Laura Esposito from Interweave said the sound quality was good.

We will have a final 'full dress' rehearsal on Monday, but the date for going live is...ta-DAH! - next Wednesday.  For details of how to register click here.

A note of explanation.

This is not a live video feed.  The presentation is in the form of a Power Point presentation with live voice.  Questions will be accepted during the presentation.

The topic is A Good Yarn and will discuss fibre and yarn characteristics.  Illustrations similar to the above will be part of it.  For those of you who may have not have seen this photo before, it shows two qualities of cotton yarn.  The top skein is ring spun 2/8 cotton.  The bottom skein is open end spun 8/2 cotton.

Even though they are both about the same grist (diameter) and both are made from unmercerized cotton, they look and behave quite differently.  If you buy one expecting the other, you will be disappointed....

Part of the seminar will address why they are different and how they are different.  They will make fabric of similar but somewhat different qualities....

Some people have commented that they won't be able to view the presentation 'forever'.  On the other hand, if you attended a live presentation of this topic at a guild meeting or conference, you would only get to see/hear it once.  With the webinar, you will be able to access the presentation as often as you like for 3 months.

When the internet was first conceived, I don't think anyone dreamt of the way the technology has grown.  To be able to take a class remotely, at your own convenience (you don't even have to attend the live presentation, just sign up and listen/watch when you want to), seems like a small miracle to me.

So while the format may not be ideal for everyone, I notice that there is a growing movement on the internet for more classes similar to these.  With more young people who are internet savvy coming into the craft via rigid heddle weaving, this approach seems like a reasonable way to embrace these new, younger people into the craft.  For us oldies, the experience of signing into the webinar was relatively painless.   If *I* can do it, so can anyone else!

This morning Laura E and I discussed the possibility of other topics that might work in this format.  If you have any suggestions, remember that it is a Power Point presentation - i.e. slides, no video - I am open to hearing what they might be.

PS - I've been told that the presentation, once taped, can be purchased into the future, not just next week.  And you still get 3 months to view it from the date of purchase.  You won't be able to ask questions live unless you sit in on the live presentation, but I will answer questions by email.

(Any errors in this blog are mine - check the link or the blog post on Weaving Today for details about system requirements, etc.)

Out On A Limb

Antheraea polyphemus, a.k.a., a "giant silk moth."

I am going to go out on a limb here and give a little more information about the webinar I am scheduled to do for Weaving Today later in August.

The topic is A Good Yarn and it will present information on fibre and yarn characteristics.

It is my belief that, in order to make good choices, weavers need to understand more about the inherent characteristics of their materials.

If a weaver does not choose wisely or well, they may be disappointed in their results.

So I have spent the last few days upgrading the Power Point presentation that I have been giving to guilds and at conferences to make it more eye appealing for its debut on the internet.

The above photo is one I took this morning to illustrate the silk page.  It is one of the silk moths native to North America.  No, it is not a Bombyx Mori, from which we get 'cultivated' silk.  But that is not the only species which spins a silk cocoon.

My contact at Weaving Today is out of the office this week, but is sourcing some other photos for me and I will be putting the finishing touches on the presentation before I leave again in August.  I want this wrapped up before I go so that I don't have to worry about anything but how I do the presentation when the time comes.  :)

As soon as I get the go ahead, I will post the registration information here.  If you have already taken this topic from me, you might find this a good refresher with the added benefit that you will have unlimited access to review it once it is posted on the website - for 3 months.  Always wanted a re-wind on life?  This may be your chance!

Currently reading Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb

Birthday Bash Special

Debi mentioned in a comment that she wasn't sure she liked the selling part.  Well, I don't much like it either but I learned a long time ago that until the product is sold, the job isn't finished.  Doesn't make a bit of difference if you are building the very best mousetrap in the universe if no one knows you're doing it or how to get to you to purchase it.

So I've learned to grit my teeth and do the marketing part of the job.

As part of that, from time to time I offer package specials.  With the holiday week coming up including three very important birthdays (well, I'm stretching the definition of week a bit!) I'm once again offering a very special deal.

July 1 through 7, purchase all three of the A Good Yarn titles - Cotton; Rayon; Linen and Hemp - and receive for free a flash drive with the pdf version of Magic in the Water.

Price for this package is $220.00 Canadian including shipping within North America and $250.00 Canadian outside of North America (with North America defined as Canada and the United States).

Since I'm leaving July 8 for Boston and NEWS, I am not extending the offer through my own birthday as I usually do.

Happy Birthday Canada, the United States and.....moi.

Payment may be sent via Paypal to laura at laurafry dot com or email me and I'll send an invoice, letting me know your location.  VISA/Mastercard charges will be billed in Canadian dollars and the exchange rate (if you are outside of Canada) done on your monthly statement.  Send your phone number and I can call you for your credit card number if you prefer that payment option.

Scarf 57

Getting to this point of completion for A Good Yarn:  Linen and Hemp meant that progress on the painted warps stalled.  While I did manage to weave at least a little bit each day, I didn't have much energy left over, especially after the marathon assembly/shipping days.

Then I was busy all day Saturday with the World Wide Knit in Public Day (no photos - forgot about taking some) and today was Lace Day - where I actually made a little progress on my next bookmark.  Not enough woven yet to see, but I'll take a photo and post when there is.

However, after lace I did get to the loom and began Scarf #57:

This is the last of the blue/green warps and I'm hoping to complete it and leave the loom with the next warp set up ready to go so I can jump on the loom when I get back from Bellingham.

I will be picking up another dozen warps from the dyer on the way home and frankly, with my schedule the way it is...so far...I don't have a moment to waste.  It could get a whole lot busier after my meeting with the project manager (if that's the correct term) in Bellingham next week.

It just now occurred to me that from the time I get home late Sunday June 23 until the time I leave on Monday July 8 is just - gasp - 14 days.

Currently reading River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay

Of Dust Settling

I think producing a book is a lot like giving birth.  Given enough months (years) and the labour pains subside and you are willing to do it again.  (Well, some are - I never went there in the first place, so it's only hearsay!)

At any rate, now that the dust has settled from getting A Good Yarn:  Linen and Hemp done (everything that is except the marketing and selling/shipping) I find myself drained of the enthusiasm to do another.  While I had planned on a fourth in the series, on Silk, my schedule is so full I could not possibly even begin to think about it until December.  Perhaps by then I will be ready to take another run at doing it all over again.

Part of the lack of enthusiasm is the cost involved, not just our labour, the yarn, the actual hard copy, but the shipping.  It seems as though it is getting harder and harder for small businesses to do mail order and it is impossible for me to cross the border in person to sell stuff at conferences in the US.

So, what to do?

Which is why I have been looking a lot more closely at on-line options, for all the negatives involved in digital produced publications, they do have their attractions.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you are interested in seeing more actual hard copy books in print, spread the word.  Not just about my publications, but all weaving (and spinning/felting) publications.  Don't assume that everyone knows about these things.  People like myself do not have the advertising/marketing budgets to make sure the entire fibre arts community knows.  And if publishers, whatever size they may be, can't sell their print runs, there will be fewer and fewer of them around.

Word of mouth means not just my mouth, but everyone's mouth.....

Labour Pains

Most authors write their books, edit them and then hand the next step in the process over to a band of experts.

Not me.  Nuh-uh.  No, I have to do publications with actual fabric samples.  So instead of just writing, I'm weaving (and not just one for pretty pictures, but enough for each copy), which opens up a whole other set of tasks.

Like wet finishing, cutting, stapling.  Then, there is the assembly.

Fortunately the guild has a fairly large room with lots of tables so we lugged everything (and by we I mean Doug) up the long set of stairs.  After picking up the text pages we (and I do mean we, this time) inserted the pages into plastic pocket pages.  Once that was done, the text pages and sample pages had to be collated and everything put into ring binders.

9 'man' hours, give or take, just to get everything put together in a nice (I hope) attractive package.

But, it's done.  Now I'm thinking about the wisdom of just doing eBooks - a whole lot less work, really....and I'm sure our backs would really appreciate not having to stand for 4 or 5 hours shuffling paper.

Speaking of which Magic in the Water is available as a pdf download or on a flash drive....

Stymied - Sort of...

My tight deadlines are not my suppliers' problem.

Sending the incorrect yarn, is.

Started winding a warp to drop off to the dyer next Tuesday (the plan is for 14 more warps for fill-in colourways) and got 8 out of 10 sections wound before I ran out of yarn.  Upon opening the box from Brassard, I found that they had sent entirely the wrong yarn.  A panicky email last night asking them if they can possibly get the yarn to me by Friday was answered first thing this morning, and they will ship today.  Now we are at the mercy of Canada Post....

I don't like leaving a partially wound warp on the warping board but in this case I really don't have any choice.  At 8" the warp is just way too narrow to consider a 'fudge' so it isn't worth my while to tie it off and have it dyed.  It won't 'fit' the rest of the production run closely enough.

So while I wait until noon when I can pick up the copies, I have been doing other things.  Like running back to Costco for a small tweak of my frames.  Dressing the loom with another warp.  Discussing with Doug what needs to be done over the next few days so that we can actually get the publication assembled and packed up, ready for the conference in Alberta next week.  Not to mention the orders mailed before we leave.

My suitcase is still empty, too, and if the yarn actually does arrive on Friday, I will have Friday night, Saturday night (because I'm hosting a Knit in Public day at the Railway Museum), Sunday morning and evening and whatever I can squeeze out of Monday, in between everything else that needs doing.

I'd love to take some time 'off' but as soon as I get home preparations for NEWS will be in high gear, not to mention the other two major projects slated for August.  Hoping to have more information that I can share by the time I get back from Bellingham.  :)

Miscellany

So today has not been a great day, although not horrible.  Up at 6 am to make a 7:30 am dental appointment - I think my mouth may still be a little bit frozen in this photo?

Scrambling all day, final edits of AGY:  Linen and Hemp (contact me if you have not received an email with details of purchasing) - oops - forgot about shipping boxes, dash to the office supply place to order 50.  Over to Staples to drop files off.

Phone rings - new glasses are ready.  YES!  Back to Costco (had been there earlier to buy the binders) and am now a more serious, studious(?) moi...?  (Ever try taking a picture of yourself in the mirror?  Harder than you might think!)

Then the VISA bill - hope y'all enjoyed the blog pictures as much as I did taking and posting them.  I ran through my UK data package the first couple of days.  Think three figures.  :P~

Anyhoo - new glasses = new Rx = disorientation in the middle distance.  Y'know - the distance needed to throw and catch the shuttle?  So I haven't actually tackled the loom yet.  But I will.  Soon as I finish this blog post.  Because it's the only way to get used to the new eyes, after all.

And oh my, yes, I really am....63.  Or will be in four weeks....  Yay?

One Bit(e)

scarf 45

Weaving, like life, is accomplished in the same way as one eats the proverbial elephant - one bit(e) at a time.

Big projects can become overwhelming from the sheer volume of effort it takes to get them finished.  I tend to dream up 'big' projects and then minimize the number of steps it takes to get to the end of it, to successfully get to the end point and say 'done!'

To tackle a big writing project (Magic in the Water), set out to achieve the Master certificate (Guild of Canadian Weavers), or even to just get sufficient inventory ready for the upcoming show season - all seems so simple.  When one encapsulates the 'big' project in a short sentence, it is easy to forget that getting to that point may take several months, perhaps even years, to see the thing actually finished.

So while I can say with a certain sense of satisfaction that AGY: L&H is 'done', it is only a certain value of doneness.

Yes, the samples are woven.  Yes, the bulk of the text has been set down.  BUT!

I still have to:

Design the cover (source a nice photo, assemble the image and text)
Correct any errors in the text.  Re-read for clarity and content (have I forgotten something crucial?  Are the drafts correct?)
Write the files to a cd and deliver to Staples.
Buy the binders and plastic pocket pages.
Pick up the box of paper from Staples.
Insert text pages into plastic pocket pages.
Insert cover into binder 'cover'.
Assemble. (One word.  Soooo much work!)
Buy shipping boxes.

And then the marketing.

And then I'm still not done because the orders (assuming there are any) have to be processed, the binders packaged up and then everything taken to the post office for mailing.

If I consciously thought about all that before I came up with the thought "I think I'll design and weave samples, write a publication about fibre characteristics and sell them" I'd probably come to a dead stop before that thought even finished forming.  But the optimist in me sees that reality in the corner of her eye and blithely goes ahead, anyway.

And with a pretty much blank teaching schedule for next year, on top of everything else I have agreed to sit on not one, but two volunteer boards.

Someone want to give me a smack upside the head?

Currently reading Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong

The Not So Never-ending Stash

I knew I was beginning to run out of colours of the Bambu 12, but I had not realized just how low my inventory had gotten until I got to this warp (#10).  Fortunately I had more of the custom dyed 2/10 Tencel in the semi-solids, one of which was a very dark green with lots of blue in it.

After rummaging through the stash and adding up exactly what I did and did not have, I realized that I must urgently (as in today!) place an order for more Bambu 12.  In the meantime I've dug out all the 2/10 Tencel that is left and will try to choose warps on which those yarns will work as weft.  I can't afford to not be weaving, even though my pace will be somewhat slower as I continue to tackle the text for AGY:L&H.

It's not a bad thing, this having to improvise on the planned colour ways.  It forces me to try colours I might not have tried if there had been something more obviously good for weft close to hand.  It forces me to take small creative risks.  Even if the results are not to my tastes (as some of them have not been, in the past) it is quite amazing because almost always someone will come along and fall madly in love with the very thing that I think is a 'failure'.

Off to check the Silk City website and see if they list the available colours for Bambu 12.  One of my favourite colours is not on the colour cards so I'm hoping I just can't find that card, not that it's been discontinued....

Tangled Skein

I love when things are going smoothly and all that is required is surface attention.  I can either go into my 'zone' and use weaving as a working meditation, or I can use the time to think about writing projects.

And so it was this morning that I figured I could use the time spent weaving scarf #35 for getting my thoughts in order for AGY:L&H.

Unfortunately with not one, not two, but three major research/writing projects all clamouring for attention, I found my thoughts bouncing from one to the other as a thought regarding project 1 sparked a thought relevant to project 3 which sparked a thought relevant to project 2 which reminded me I wanted to include this or than in project 3 and where was I?

Pretty soon my thoughts were in a tangled skein (pun most definitely intended)!  It very quickly became apparent that the best use of my time was to simply go into my 'zone' and finish weaving the scarf and then get to the computer with my notes and resources and get writing!

So, lunch, then hair cut and then...write?  Or weave?  So torn!

Controlled Panic

scarf 31

Working on a large project it is all too easy to let the nay-sayers living in your head to send you into a frenzy of procrastination.  Will it turn out?  Will people like it?  Will people actually pony up real money and buy it?

If you let yourself listen to those voices you can get mired down in thinking about all the things that will go wrong and wind up not doing that which you most want to do.  I find an approaching deadline does wonders to shut those voices up.  The panic from watching the deadline creep (or race) up on me is generally what provides the energy to break through the fear of failure.

With so many approaching deadlines, all of them critical each in their own way, I am having to really control the voices and the panic.  Too much of either can cause the wheels to fall off the cart, so to speak.  A little panic to provide energy is good.  Too much panic and I start feeling overwhelmed.  And get really cranky on top of it.

Because I do want to do everything on my schedule.  I know I will enjoy all of it once the deadline has been met and the event - or project - is behind me.  I will have accomplished a major goal (goals) and that will make me feel good.

But as a friend says, better to have done it than to say you are going to do it.  The anticipation is one thing.  The feeling of accomplish from having done it?  Priceless.

Currently reading Emergence by Temple Grandin

SABLE

Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy...

scarf #2 just begun - #1 is visible below 

scarf #3 -  photos do not do the colours justice

Sometimes having SABLE is a good thing.  The first of the painted warps is a bit pastel and I wasn't sure I had the 'right' weft for it.  But a good rummage in my stash turned up several good candidates.

Scarf #1 was woven with a fairly bright almost (but not quite) bubble gum pink.  Scarf #2 used a medium violet (just visible in the shuttle).  Scarf #3 is begun and lurking at the back of the shelf was the perfect darker pink, just the right shade to go with the warp at this point.

I do have bright white but there is just enough white in the warp that I didn't want to go that route.  Areas of white on white would dominate the scarf in a way that I would not find pleasing.  So, to find the darker pink plus a deeper brownish pink means that I have just exactly the right colours to go with the first two warps.  The second warp is similar to this one but has some interesting brownish/violet areas and I think the brownish pink will be perfect for weft.

I ought to be doing some more writing but I got so excited about the painted warps that I just jumped onto the loom and ploughed onwards.

Doug is pressing the samples for A Good Yarn: LandH.  The cloth got a bit scrunched in my suitcase so a tidying press will make the cloth easier to cut and staple.

The weather has not improved - it is chilly and overcast.  For a long weekend where people traditionally open their summer cabins, it is fairly depressing.  Here's hoping we get some nice weather soon.  Winter stayed far too long and spring is taking much too long to arrive....

Trip Recap

large cauldron - not sure what they used it for - scouring?  dyeing?  at Masson Mill

Jacquard loom at Masson Mill

Paradise Mill - had lots of spare loom parts stored - here are a stack of beaters with fly shuttle boxes attached

Docent at Quarry Mill explaining how a hand loom works

One of the 'jobs' awaiting me when I got home was to write a travelogue for Fibre Focus (the provincial weaving magazine for Ontario).  It was good to go through my photos and write up the journey so soon after I got home as it doesn't take long for daily life to take over and memories to fade.

I don't know what the huge cauldron was for at Masson Mills, possibly dyeing.  There was nothing explaining what it was for - it just sat in the courtyard, very imposing!

There were lots of Jacquard looms to be seen, some of them still in running order.  We also saw quite a few shaft looms with dobby mechanisms and of course fly shuttles.  The loom minder at the Quarry Mill said that one operator would mind 4 looms at a time.

Unfortunately the spinning mule at Quarry Mill had broken down the morning we arrived so we didn't get to see it in operation.  But the man who operated it said that they hoped to have it up and running in a few days as they had 'spare' parts in storage.  The mule is not original to the mill but of the same vintage.  Quarry Mill is extensive and presents the textile industry very well, generally.

Paradise Mill and the Silk museum was interesting, too.  We managed to arrive in time for the guided tour so we got to see some of the equipment being operated.  The museum was well laid out and gave a good history of silk weaving in the area.

I'm still jet lagged - no real surprise there!  But I am managing to get a few things done.  What I really need to do, quite urgently, is to review the two conferences coming up rather quickly and get my travel arrangements sorted out.

Hopefully Doug will get the samples for A Good Yarn: LandH done in the next couple of days so that I can get them cut apart so he can then start stapling them.  Once I've got the sample pages done I can do the lay out and start generating the text.

Juggling.  It's all about the juggling.

Mission Accomplished...

...sort of.

I had several things I hoped to accomplish on this trip.

¤ Cold mangle the samples for A Good Yarn:LandH.

That got done even though it did take two days instead of one.

¤ Sew two summer tops.

Well, one got done, the other is cut out and the pieces serged.  It was good to go through the layout again because cutting the pieces on the bias is not exactly straight forward!

If I can I am going to try and get the rest of the tops cut out and serged asap when I get home while it is still fresh in my mind.  OTOH, the work is piling up so I don't know if that is going to be possible given the approaching set of deadlines.

¤ Tour England and Scotland's textile mills (as many as we could fit in) and try to see their wet finishing equipment.

Well, we found some mills, some of them in better nick than others, but none of them had wet finishing to see.  Over and over again we discovered that the wet finishing was done 'elsewhere'.

So that was a disappointment.  And probably means another trip, another time?

¤  Meet some of the weavers known only on the internet. 

It was grand to meet the weavers in Scotland at Belinda Rose's studio, Cally at her studio (even though the pics didn't turn out), Andrew and Stacey.  We were near a couple more but didn't connect, so again, another trip, another time?

I just wish the commute wasn't such a killer.

Tomorrow we drive to Stockholm (about an 8 hour trip) and then on Friday at noon my flight leaves for Munich.  From there to Vancouver is an 11 hour flight.  I should walk in the door of my home before midnight.  Don't remember actual arrival time, if I get home on time, but essentially 12 hours plus the 9 hour time zone difference.

Anyone working on that matter transmitter yet????

Looking Westwards

With just a couple of days left here in Bergdala, I am beginning to look towards home and what will await me when I get there.  I had hoped to do a little more sewing before I left, but I have had a sewing tutorial and am pretty sure I can carry on at home.  Whether or not I will is another question.  In order to sew I have to totally rearrange the studio and quite frankly I am missing the loom time and am quite anxious to get a shuttle in my hands!  And after all, I do have one new summer top!

'Then there is writing the text, cutting samples, assembling and so on that needs to be done to complete AGY:LandH....

There are also two conferences coming up very quickly that I need to prepare for.  Three if you count the Alberta conference which Doug will do on his own.  And that means I have to get everything ready for him so that he can cope with the booth at Olds without my input.

Two major projects are also beginning to come to reality. (More details when I have them.)  Both will require buckets of preparation and both are scheduled for this August. 

So when I get home, I need to finish the mat warp on the small loom first.  The painted warps should arrive shortly and they need to go onto the small loom lickety-split so that the fringe twisting can be done (twisting takes as long as the weaving) and of course, the wet finishing, I should get a tea towel warp onto the big loom and think about what else needs to be woven (and finished) in time for the fall sales.

It seems odd to be so concerned about events several months down the road when my objective in terms of living is to stay in the present moment as much as possible!  But that is the nature of the life I live.  I have long term deadlines (goals) which can only be met by concentrating on what needs to be done to make those goals become reality.  And that is only accomplished by staying in the now, doing what needs to be done every day.  Weaving is like eating the proverbial elephant.  One bite at a time.  One thread at a time.  You cannot get to 'done' without the intermediate steps.....

Mangled

Spent part of today beginning to mangle the fabric for A Good Yarn: Linen and Hemp.  The transformation is truly magical!

I have some photos but unsure of how to get them out of my camera into Kerstin's laptop, Kerstin has posted some photos on her blog.

Satisfactory

Although I am running a couple of days 'behind' where I wanted to be by this point in the calendar, I can't complain.  All of the warps that I wanted to take to Sweden are woven, the 'before' samples taped and cut apart, filed in their bins with my scratch notes and the thrums which will be used to tie the yarn samples.  If I can keep myself from playing games on the iPad while watching tv in the evening, I could actually get them all done before I leave, too.

To say that you are going to create a publication is easy.  Breaking it down into manageable bits and then staying on track in order to get all the 'little' interim jobs accomplished on schedule is the tricky part.

Since I didn't think I could manage to get this much done by now - in fact I assumed this topic would not actually be finished until December - means that I am actually quite pleased with my progress.

A few things have come up since the turn of the year and these opportunities will be much like publishing.  Easy to say, harder to break down into manageable bits and get them all done on deadline.

In addition to production weaving for the coming fall sales I have two quite large commissions (one of which I may pass off to a weaving mill because I'm not sure I can actually weave and wet finish the 50 meters of cloth he needs in the time frame he needs it), conferences to teach at, plus the projects I can't yet talk about.

And here I am, getting ready to go away for 3 weeks - time and money I can't really afford.  But one thing I've learned over my life - life is uncertain.  If there are things you really truly want to do or accomplish, don't wait for some ideal time in the future.  The future is not guaranteed.  Don't put your life on hold.  Live it while you have it.