The Learning Never Ends

 

July is ending and so have a number of 'projects'.

Stories from the Matrix launched on July 9 as scheduled.  It took a magnificent last days effort from my editor to get the file uploaded to blurb.com but it happened.  And then *I* fell down and didn't order the envelopes that I needed soon enough; then we hit a glitch in Staples website and the envelope order was delayed a week.  But never mind, they arrived and all of the pre-publication orders have been mailed.  Several people have let me know they are beginning to arrive.  

The Lace Weaves class with School of Sweet Georgia launched.  Similar delays with that as they hit some technology issues as well.  (So glad it isn't just me!!!)  But it is now live and last I looked 80 people were viewing the class.  (cockles of heart warmed!)

The content on SOS grows monthly.  I now have 3 classes live with one more to come in November.  But it isn't just me and it isn't just weaving.  SOS has an array of classes from rigid heddle to floor loom weaving, spinning, dyeing, felting, the list goes on.  Really excellent instructors are included like Diana Twiss and Kim McKenna (spinning) and knitters, felters etc.  They are working hard to expand their course offerings and really, the monthly (or yearly) subscription is a bit of a bargain because you not only get the class, you can ask the instructor questions via the Forums.  Or connect with other textile people, celebrate your triumphs (or disasters - and you know we all have *those*!)  

Better yet, you continue to have access to the courses so that you can review them if you forget something.   The courses are formatted as chapters so you can go directly to the section you need to review.  Pretty neat.  They also have extensive supports with class handouts, projects, etc.

Not everyone has a local guild they can access and if you don't, SOS is a good way to continue the learning journey.

You can subscribe here  or use the QR code (live link on the main page of my blog).

Personally?  I have managed to keep weaving (mostly) and have my 2/20 mercerized cotton reduced to such an extent that I am hopeful of getting it all used up (or donated, if there isn't enough of a colour to weave a towel) by the end of the year.  Maybe.  We'll see.  But that really is a light I see, not the headlight of a train coming through the tunnel...

Weaving has been interrupted too frequently of late but now that the major projects are complete I'm hoping I can get back at it.  OTOH, I *did* promise to teach one last in-person workshop for my local guild so now I need to drag that binder out and start re-doing the drafts.  Problem is, I donwanna.  :(

So...I procrastinate.  Not helpful!  Time to get over that reluctance and just do it.  You don't have to be a member of the guild to take the class, just in case you want to join us for my last in-person workshop (the guild has some looms to rent or a table loom is fine.)  Registration is open now.  (Masks will be required because I'm immune compromised.  Just saying.)

OTOH, I had a lovely compliment yesterday.  I sent a courtesy copy of Stories and a tea towel to someone who weaves different qualities of cloth than what I enjoy doing and they immediately took a photo of the towel and sent it to *their* mentor - an extremely knowledgeable weaver who has worked in the textile industry for decades.  His immediate reaction, I was told, was to go grab some graph paper and see if he could work out how I wove it because it was 'different' and intrigued him.  :D  It was such an ego stroke to think that I had caused intrigue and interest in someone who most likely knows way more than I ever will about textiles.  

With that bit of positive feedback, I went back and did the tweak to my most recent draft using that technique and polished the draft so that I was more satisfied with it.  Seems the 'fix' was pretty simple and it didn't take long.  And while I would have been satisfied with the not-quite-right version, I'm happy I went back and took another swipe at it.  

The difference is slight, but sometimes that's all it takes.

Now, all I have to do is weave off the current warp, dress the loom and get this one underway.

Easy-peasy, right?

Learning About Weaving

 

What a busy week it was!  Hopefully things will begin to calm down now.  I haven't woven since Sunday and I'm missing my time at the loom.

The latest class at School of Sweet Georgia has launched.  A deep dive into the three 'major' lace weaves - huck, Swedish and Bronson.

Included in the class is a tutorial on how to do Bronson Lace using pick up so that you are not limited to the number of blocks you can use to create a motif.  But first you have to really understand how the weave structure works, so I hope that people take the time to work through the class before they tackle the pick up.  Or, if they already understand how Bronson Lace works, they will find the pick up technique intriguing.

Lace weaves are versatile and useful in so many applications.  Changing the density and using wool, toasty blankets can be created, while opening the density and using finer, smooth yarn can create a delicate lightweight cloth.  And everything in between!

If you have more than four shafts, there is information for 8 shafts as well, and a lesson on profile drafts.

The classes are paced, formatted in 'chapters' so you can go to the section you want to review (if you want to do so) without watching all the rest.  And of course I'm on the forums to answer questions if you have any.

Once a member of SOS, you have access to all the course content on the site.  

I also have information on lace weaves in The Intentional Weaver (signed copies available at Sweet Georgia Yarns) 

Today I'm having a 'catch up' day, trying to tackle the things that got put on hold while I dealt with books.  There are four bins of books ready for the post office.  They will go, one at a time.  But by end of next week, all should be on their way.

In the meantime, am I writing again?  Maaayyyybeeeeeeeeee.....

Lace Weaving at SOS

 

The Lace Weaves class with School of Sweet Georgia has been delayed by a week in its launch.  But never fear, it is nearly ready and will be available soon.  :)  

Just like producing a book, a video class requires tonnes of post production (as in post filming).  I've been very happy with the SOS team and the features they provide their students, up to and including being able to answer questions on their forums.

While I await the proof copy of Stories from the Matrix, my thoughts are turning to the in-person workshop that I will be teaching in October.  And thinking of whether or not I can do something 'more' with that information.

The topic is Mug Rugs and More, and it lends itself to a 'weave-a-long' or some such format.  There are 12 different designs, all of which are appropriate (imho) to be table textiles.  I'm mulling over whether or not I should think ahead and make the warps suitable for independent 'study'.  Or, who knows, maybe something I could pitch to SOS?  They do 'projects' for their classes.  I don't want to film anything, the concept would be for beyond beginners to begin to understand weave structure, and choosing yarns, density and perhaps colours, that would bring them closer to a project that succeeds?  

Or I could finally do a 'patreon' approach via ko-fi?

Dunno.  Still thinking.

In the meantime, I need to get back to the loom.  I am still doing my marketing, and will be sending out some more pdfs later today.  Overnight I made the decision to be prepared to go with the better quality paper if the photos don't print well on the cheaper paper and just now asked my editor to upload the file and this time select for the 'better' paper.  Once I've seen the printed proof copy I can choose which format to go with and just hit the 'right' button to 'publish' - so to speak.

Blurb is a print-on-demand website, so each order gets printed individually, they take care of collecting the appropriate taxes and remitting to the government, and shipping the book(s) out.  As someone in the twilight (so to speak) of her years, this service is well worth paying for.

That said, I will be ordering in some 'extra' copies when I place my order for the pre-pub offering so I will have a few copies left over, which I can sign and list on ko-fi.

And on August 12 I will be interviewed by Michelle Boyd for Digits and Threads for their on-line content.

The rest of this week I will be continuing with my marketing plans and hopefully will get a few more interviews.  But if not, my biggest wish is that people find my essays interesting, perhaps thought provoking, maybe even educational.

Time will tell.  Too bad I'm such an impatient person.  :)  (Patience, Grasshopper!)

In the Fullness of Time

 

Got the notice this morning that the Lace Weaves class with School of Sweet Georgia will launch July 6.  Looks like July 2023 is going to be...eventful?  

It's been just about 9 months since we drove down to Vancouver to tape the class (and the one on Sectional Beaming, due to be released in November 2023).  

SOS is very busy creating content for their members/students and it all takes time.  

I wove the above scarves (plus several others) for the class, but also for the last of the lecture series on Colour Considerations.  That one happens this September and then I think I'm done.

For me, as a new weaver, colour was very confusing.  I'm not a 'natural' when it comes to picking and choosing colour and since weaving it is different from, say, water colour or oil paints, it seemed like the colour 'rules' didn't work very well in textiles.  Until I realized that it was more pointillistic, not blending.  

Then I learned a few 'gimmicks' that helped to determine what colours might work together.  Michelle Whipplinger explained how 'value is more important than hue'.  Which I found confusing until I started working with the colours based more on their value than their hue.  And realized that 'light value advances, dark value recedes' really was a 'thing'.  And therefore a little yellow (or other very light hue) goes a long way.

The colours in the above photo are not 'true' - in fact the purple is a darker hue than it shows in the photo.  The hues are all pretty close when it comes to value, but the brighter, almost cyan blue, looks as though it is a lighter value, so it was kept to the smallest of the stripes and acts as a kind of frame.

I did four warps in total - one was monochromatic, (a grey scale from white through grey to black), one was with colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, one with adjacent colours (yellow through orange to red), and this one which is different hues, same value.

Since I was weaving samples for the lace class I wove two versions of each colour, one in all plain weave, one with a 'gamp' at one end of the scarf.

I particularly like this photo because shows so clearly how the threads will shift and migrate in the lace weave, how they take up differently, and why I will frequently include areas of plain weave in order to help maintain a 'good' beat.  When weaving lace, there is less resistance when the lace parts are being woven and there is a tendency to beat the weft in too tightly.  Having warp stripes of plain weave is a good visual reminder to maintain a 50:50 ratio (as best you can).  If you can't be perfect, be consistent.  :)

For this particular sample, I didn't do an all plain weave version, but changed the density and wove the two scarves in order to compare the results of the densities.  They were my first 'samples' for the class and lecture, and once I knew which density I preferred, I did the rest at that density, weaving one with the lace, one with all plain weave. 

My mother always said that after she 'retired' she was busier than ever.  I won't make that claim, but I will admit that I do seem to find myself filling up the days well enough, even with reduced energy and inclination.  The coming month is going to be a bit, um, fraught.

I'm trying to complete the warp currently in the loom, then beam the next warp before we leave.

We get home on July 1, hopefully my editor will have been able to upload the files for Stories, and I can get my 'test' copy, perhaps even before the launch date, the lace class launches July 6, marketing for Stories will be ramping up, then the actual book launch on July 9.  I expect to order in around 20 copies for gifts for people who have helped (alpha readers, friends who have been helpful and supportive) and maybe have a few to sell.  Mostly people will find it cheaper to purchase directly from blurb (which appears to have printing facilities they can use in Europe and Down Under, therefore no international shipping), but I *may* be convinced to order in a few to sign and sell directly via my ko-fi shop.

And of course, there will be that warp waiting for when I get home.  I designed a variation of the warp I planned on doing next, so I have two ready to go, two I'm lukewarm about and may trash.  

For today?  The smoke was 'bad' this morning, although improving as the day goes on, but there is little incentive for me to leave the house.  So it's hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to the loom I go!