Know When to Hold 'Em

Today I choose serenity.

I admit it freely - I am focused, determined, not afraid to work hard.  That also makes me obsessive and prone to over doing things, working myself into exhaustion.

So today I choose to let go of a few things.  I am facing more health challenges, although initial appointments have given me hope for treatment, if not cure.  I thank my lucky stars I am Canadian with our universal health care.  Having medical care I can count on that won't bankrupt me (in spite of some American politicians who keep insisting Canadians flock to the US to 'steal' health care) means I can put my trust in my doctors although I do inform myself and advocate for my special snowflake-ness.

I have also chosen to let go of a few other things that were causing me stress and put my faith into the hands of some others I also trust.

I still have to work on the instructors/workshops/seminars, but after three days of concentrated focus on that, I feel I have crafted a well rounded list of instructors and topics.  Of course not everyone will find something of interest - that is the nature of planning such a large event.  But I have done my best, drawing on my decades of experience in the field, choosing people I feel will do good presentations - and be fun as well.

Because if we aren't having fun, I think we are missing the point.

Book-ish

I have shown this diagram before but, well, here it is again - as an illustration of how the brain needs to toggle between many factors in order to create whole cloth from individual threads.

Recently I learned of a new book by David Eagleman and Anthony Brandt on creativity called The Runaway Species.

I've read a couple of Mr. Eagleman's books on the brain so I was intrigued with this one, addressing creativity specifically.

As a life long creative person, fascinated by how people come up with the things they make, I immediately put it on my library request list and it came in last week.

I want to just quote the entire book to everyone but that would not be possible so I will share this one paragraph (out of so many) and urge everyone to also read this book.

"We've all seen models in which the brain is presented as a map with clear territories:  this region does *this* while that region does *that*.  But that model ignores the most important aspect of human brains: neurons connect promiscuously, such that no brain region works alone; instead, like a society, regions work in a constant hubbub of crosstalk and negotiation and cooperation.  As we've seen, this widespread interaction is the neurological underpinning of human creativity.  Even while particular skills can be restricted to local brain regions, creativity is a whole-brain experience: it arises from the sweeping collaboration of distant neural networks.  As a result of this vast interconnectedness, human brains apply the three Bs to a wide range of our experiences.  We constantly absorb our world, crunch it up and release new versions."

Today I am sitting at my desktop trying to get my brain focused on the next round of edits for The Book.  The manuscript currently exists as approximately 130 pages with more photos, diagrams and the projects and their accompanying notes to be added.  It is looking like around 200 pages 'finished'.  I am exploring publishing options - perhaps digital with an on-demand print option.

But first - I need to finish this round of edits.  Now where did my round tuit go?

Black Friday

The above photos are four of the 8 tea towels/table centres currently listed on my on line shop with more to come next week.

I'd just like to remind people that prices include free shipping to the US and are listed in those tiny Canadian dollars.  Therefore a 'bargain'?

Interweave Press  is also having a huge sale.  It looks like my DVD on wet finishing is currently out of stock, but the video download is on deep discount as are both DVD and video download of The Efficient Weaver.  They even have the webinar on fibre characteristics on at half price.  Or did as of this morning when I last checked.

Since this year's craft fair season wasn't as...brilliant...as I would have liked, I am exploring other options for income.  Some independent authors/teachers are pursuing the Patreon option, but I'm not sure I can effectively manage that, especially in the run up to the conference in 2019.

So I am exploring the possibility of monetizing this blog.  

I have been offering free advice via this blog since August of 2008.  Adding pertinent advertisers will, I hope, be acceptable to my readers.  If not, I hope people will be able to ignore them.  

So - don't be surprised if you suddenly see ads appearing.  

I will do a trial of three (?) months and see if it is worthwhile.  Google says you can opt out again anytime.  Of course it probably means more robo calls from Google - the most annoying part of being a small business.  But I have finally decided to give it a try and see if it is acceptable to me and my readers. 

Sisyphus

In trying to get more organized and make my studio more functional, what was chaos now feels like an endless job of moving boxes and bins from here to there and back again.  

So instead I’m threading another mat warp, ignoring, as best I can, the mess...

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

One of the routine discussions that goes round the weaving world is that of how to hold the shuttle.

Now, everyone has to work within their abilities and disabilities, but here's the scoop on whether or not thumbs up or thumbs down is good for you:

"What is this “ideal shoulder position,” I speak of? Lucky for you, the ideal position of external rotation can be demonstrated by standing (or sitting) up straight, imagining that there’s a pencil between your shoulder blades (scapulae), and you’re pinching your scaps together to keep the pencil from falling. Lift your arms directly in front of you, make a fist and lock your elbows. Rotate your thumbs so they’re pointing towards the ceiling; you are now externally rotated at the shoulder (pictured below, ignore the arrow for now). This is an ideal position. Alternately, flip your thumbs towards each other then down towards the ground; you’re now internally rotated at the shoulder. This is bad."

(edited to add the link to the above quote)

I have been weaving, production weaving, in other words many hours nearly every day, for 40+ years.

I have two whiplash injuries, so my neck is compromised as well as my back and shoulders.  And yet, and yet, I can still weave for 3 (or more) 45 minute sessions every day, holding my shuttle as shown in the photo above.

Over the years I have consulted with various professionals - chiropractor, massage therapist, physical therapist, dance instructor who holds a degree in movement.  All, every one of them, says the thumbs down position is 'bad' for the body.  Maybe not today.  Maybe not tomorrow.  Maybe not ever!

But for those people who are already compromised in their neck, shoulders, back, I strongly urge them to try holding the shuttle in the manner pictured above.  It helps with wider warps insofar and you can more easily propel the shuttle across a wide warp.  It helps with shoulder issues (especially if you have a tendency to rotator cuff problems) and I feel a smoother rhythm can be achieved much more quickly.

I have certainly had positive feedback in workshops from students who make the effort to change. (If you are one of those who experienced an improvement by changing, please comment below?)

In the end, however, if you are happy with what you are doing, no need to change anything.  But I do suggest that if you hold the shuttle thumb down that you take frequent breaks.  And if you only ever weave for 15-20 minutes at a time, the thumbs down position may never cause any grief.

Each to their own!

Plans vs Reality

Stephanie Pollack has brilliantly summed up Life.

I am a plan maker, a deadline meet-er.  I purposely set up my life with goals I want to obtain, in a time frame that I need to work towards, pretty much daily.  Having goals and deadlines gives me the adrenaline I need to get out of bed every morning and hie myself to the studio.

With the craft fair season not quite as lucrative as I'd hoped, and debts higher, I have been kind of scrambling around trying to come up with a plan.  Or three.  Or more.

First - sort through the left over inventory, get beauty shots, list on my on-line web shop (via Circle Craft)  Today I will select the first items and try to get good photos although the light is pretty dull today so it may have to wait until tomorrow.

Weave the order of a dozen place mats I got in Vancouver.  Again - won't finish today, will aim for tomorrow.

Accept commission from another weaver who is similarly running into Life and Deadlines.  I don't mind 'ghost' weaving for another weaver, especially when it is something that I feel I will ultimately benefit from doing.  Not to mention she is willing to pay.  (See comment above about lack of income and debt load.)

Simmering in the background is a commitment to write up my part in a joint project, do the 'final' edits for The Intentional Weaver (so far), submit a proposal to Handwoven.

People have no idea how much work it takes to be a professional artisan/teacher/author.  I need my daily deadlines/goals to keep me heading in the direction of my ultimate objective.  Peaks, valleys, obstacles will undoubtedly lie on my path - not that nice straight line that I think Life should be like - might mean I don't meet my initial goal.  But if I never set a goal, a deadline, I will never get anything done.

So...I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go...

Currently reading Take Out by Margaret Maron 

No Rest

This afternoon I started dressing the small loom again, mainly because I have an order for this colour of mats.  I didn't promise delivery before Christmas, but I'd like to get them done and shipped - and paid for.  Because the show season didn't go as well as I would have liked.  I knew I was low on shawls.  I knew I was getting low on scarves.  Turned out I was low on place mats, too.  If you don't have it there to sell...

Yesterday I wound a couple of warps, this one included, but didn't even try to dress the loom.  I was tired and that is a recipe for mistakes happening.  As it was I was distracted and had to stop several times and recount my ends to make sure I was winding the warp accurately.

By 4 pm I'd hit the wall, so to speak, but managed to get this far:

I'm ready to weave, but rather than carry on while tired, decided to just wind bobbins so that I can start weaving tomorrow, hopefully when I'm better rested.