Seasons/Cycles

People sometimes forget that for me, weaving is a year round, full time job.  And so when I appear at a craft fair, the contents of my booth do not reflect just a few weeks or even months of work, but at times, years.

Since I have never yet actually sold out of anything in one year, whatever is left gets brought out the next year.  And the next.  Until I get sick of dragging it around and donate it to a worthy cause, or sell the last few pieces of a line at discount prices, usually at the annual guild sale in December.  It's a great way to support the guild (who gets a % of sales) and get rid of things that have been hanging around for far too long.

Some of the things in my booth might have been woven five years ago; some were woven this year.  

But bottom line?  If I didn't work at this all year round, I would not have enough inventory to do the (now) three major shows that I do in October and November (plus the guild show in Dec.)

Weaving by hand is still a labour intensive activity.  People constantly want to know how long is has taken me to weave something.  Which is very difficult to say without doing some serious number crunching.

So - place mats.

It takes about 30-40 minutes to wind a warp which will yield 12 mats and one table runner.

It takes about 30-40 minutes to beam that warp.  (What can I say, I'm fast)

It takes about 30-40 minutes to thread that warp.  (See bracket above)

It takes about 10-15 minutes to sley and tie on.

It take about 30-40 minutes to weave 4 mats, so a total of about 140 minutes plus breaks to weave that warp.  If I push hard I can weave the entire 10.5 meter long warp off in a day.

Cut and serge?  About 30 minutes.

Then into the washer and dryer.

Then a couple of hours to press.

Hemming takes about 40 minutes each.  Yes, finishing an item can take as long if not longer than weaving (as in shuttle throwing).

Then a final press.

Then tagging/pricing.

And I'm fast.  Most weavers can't come close to my efficiency.

Yes, people can buy place mats for cheaper at Target.  But they won't get my designs.  Because in the 21st C what hand craftspeople are selling - in addition to their skill - is their unique design aesthetic.  Something that cannot be found anywhere but from them.

For all the people who have believed in me and my skills/designs over the decades - my heart felt thanks for supporting me in my dream of creating unique textiles.

We set up for Studio Fair tomorrow, set up for Circle Craft Christmas Market (Vancouver) next Tuesday, and once I get home I will be re-opening my shop on the Circle Craft website.  

Stay tuned...

Currently reading Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Relative Time

Time is relative.  I am still being affected by jet lag and woke up way too early this morning at 5 am.  Eventually I got up and then had an 'early' breakfast, which meant an 'early' lunch.  

This afternoon I have a doctor's appointment and the day is dragging like it was crawling through molasses.  

I took a quick look at the calendar this morning and realized just how jam packed it is.  And my schedule won't let up any time soon because there are larger projects in the works that will demand my full time and attention as soon as the craft fair season ends, mid-November.  

In the meantime, I have weaving that needs doing.  I'm almost finished the place mat warp I left on the loom and started weaving yesterday.  My goal is to finish it today, preferably before I leave for my appointment, but if not?  After.  If I can.  If my energy lasts.    

Where much of my time and energy will be going over the winter.

Picking Away

I finally made it back to the AVL and this warp today.

Normally a 100 yard long warp wouldn't faze me, but this one?  It's been a challenge.  

It began last autumn.  You remember?  About the time the renovations began, and then mom got sick and died.  And I just got completely knocked off my feet in so many ways.  I finally got back to it in the new year, but the loom wasn't behaving well and the issues became just too much for me and instead I turned to my trusty, reliable Leclerc Fanny and a very simple (plain weave) series of towels.  A series that I have only just put to bed.

Administrivia consumed me for a few days but today I took a deep breath - and fired up the AVL.

Why do I say 'fired up'?  Because the loom is fairly high tech - for hand weaving.  It has the computer assisted dobby, but it also has air assist for the treadle (and fly shuttle although I'm not using that on this warp).

The loom requires a different sort of effort than the Leclerc and by the time I'd gotten about half way through the second 'towel' my neck was letting me know it wasn't very happy with me.  So instead of weaving three, I stopped at two.

I'm hoping to build back up to three per day so I can clear this warp off the loom and put the next one on - a warp for table runners.

Not only am I out of table runners (other than the ones that match the place mats) I also have a whole bunch of naturally coloured cotton that I really want to use up.  So I will be combining the two goals in one.  That warp will be 40 yards, which should give me a decent number of runners for the upcoming craft fairs.

The warp has been crunched, the yarn pulled - I just need an empty loom.

Day One

Beginning to feel a wee bit like the movie Groundhog Day...except the neighbours are different.  

The craft community really is a community and the big regret as I have cut back on doing shows is losing that community.  

Tweaked the booth display.  It probably doesn't look terribly different but as things have sold...or not...my emphasis has changed.  

So, with fewer place mats and still loads of tea towels, the mats got condensed and the towels spread out more so that they can more easily be seen.  Or at least, that's the hope.  

But there is just no telling because what has sold so far today have been shawls and scarves.  Not one mat or towel.  Tomorrow could be entirely different.  

And it isn't over until it's over. 

3/4

Well, we are 3/4's of the way through.  This show is five days, followed by a two day drive through the mountains, then set up all over again with a four day show.   The schedule is a tad gruelling and I really don't know how many more years we can continue.  Otoh, the customers are generally appreciative, sales were ok (one always hopes for more!) and I still have way too much yarn and ideas I would like to bring into material form.  

So I have already applied to return to Circle Craft next year. 

We will leave in the morning after rush hour is mostly over (like most big cities, traffic is always heavy here) and drive as far as we can, stopping somewhere along the way.  Right now roads are not great, but hopefully by the time we get to the mountains the ploughs will have done their work and we will have a good drive.  I'm hoping to see the Rockies...the last two years the mountains were shrouded in cloud.  But it's November, and we will just have to deal with whatever Mother Nature delivers. 

Time to get ready for bed.  We aren't done, yet. 

Working In Series

I like working in series.  Yes, that means that I am doing essentially the same thing, over and over again, with minor tweaks.  It means that once I have found a design I feel is working, in a general way, I can then begin making small changes in order to see how they affect the whole.  

In a stripe sequence such as this, I can change the colours, the values, the weft yarn.  All such changes are tiny.  Many people would get 'bored' but I find it endlessly fascinating how such small changes can make such a large impact on the cloth.  

But then I'm also the person who finds it challenging to weave plain weave, so take this observation for what it's worth.   ;)

Piling Up

One of the things you must do if you are selling your textiles is to have 'proper' labels.

Since the definition of 'proper' is a legal one it is a good idea to know what the laws are for you.  In Canada, labels for garments are required to be permanent (must withstand 10 cleanings), must have the fibre content in both official languages and care instructions.  Fashion accessories and household textiles don't need to be permanent.  You must also supply contact info.

I don't make garments to sell so I combine the above information on my hang tag and attach using a plastic stem gun.

The price is affixed to the tag on a small sticker that can be peeled off if it is a gift.  

Getting the tags onto the textile is time consuming and fiddly but it must be done.  Therefore I do it. 

Stack of towels awaiting their hang tags.