Choices

Someone asked me why I chose to use the Leclerc Fanny instead of the AVL for the place mat warp.

Looms, like cars, have different features - different advantages and disadvantages.

When I design a textile I generally do so with which loom it will be woven on in mind.

Let's take a look at the two looms and compare them.

The AVL is a 16 shaft loom, 60" weaving width, has a computer/dobby interface, four box fly shuttle, auto cloth advance and two beams, both of them sectional.

The Leclerc Fanny is a roller type counter balanced loom with four shafts, six treadles and 36" weaving width with a plain warp beam.

This line of place mats lends itself more to the Fanny than the AVL partly because it needs to be firmly beaten, partly because I wind warps 10.5 meters long, using two different hues/values in the warp.  I change things as I find appropriate, given my 'taste' on the day I'm winding warps, partly due to what has been selling.  Each warp produces one table runner and a dozen mats.  I change each warp colours at whim also based on what I have on hand when I'm making up the warps.

The weft is thick - four strands of 2/8 cotton plus two novelty yarns.  All six are wound at once on the bobbin and because the shed on the Fanny is large, I can wind really fat bobbins as long as they don't rub against the shuttle cavity.

On the AVL I tend to beam a minimum of 10 yards of warp, more usually (these days) 30 to 40 yards.  The width is generally wider (unless I'm doing scarves when I want more than four shafts) and threaded in some kind of 'fancy' 16 shaft weave structure.  With the computer assisted dobby I can change treadling/tie up as desired although sometimes I don't change anything but the weft colour in order to create a 'line' of, say, tea towels that are related through their design but different colourways.  Frequently the yarns are much finer, 2/16 cotton size, although I do use 2/8 at times.

I choose each loom for it's strengths.  Each one is 'better' at some things than others.

Currently reading Killers of the Flower Moon; the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Rough Sleying Again

Someone told me that my last blog post didn't make any sense, so I will try again.

If, as part of tying off your warp chain you tie the four 'arms' of the cross (X), untie them before you begin spreading the warp chain to the width required in the reed.

In this photo you can see how I've tied in four places, one on each side of the lease sticks on the 'top', one each side of the lease sticks on the 'bottom'.  (If you can't see the entire photo, try right clicking on it and open in a new tab to get the full version.  Blogger seems to be cropping photos in ways that don't show the entire picture.)

If these ties are not removed, they will prevent the threads from spreading out to the width needed in the reed.

Hope this makes more sense.

Rough Sleying

View from beneath as I rough sley

Just a reminder that if you tie off all four 'arms' of the cross to remove all four ties before doing anything about spreading the warp to the width in the reed.

I don't tie the waist of the X because I find it compresses the yarns and makes it more difficult to select the yarns in their proper order for rough sleying.  So I tie the 'arms' of the cross instead.

Yesterday I finished weaving the samples for Tien Chiu and will be sending them to her next week.  This completes the weaving I have been doing for her.  The last colour blanket was woven in 1:3 twill on my roller type counter balanced loom.  Yes, you can weave an unbalanced weave on such a loom, even without the shed regulator, if you sink the three shafts.  The shed was large enough I didn't even have to change to a low profile shuttle, just used my usual standard Leclerc shuttles.

I seem to be more or less recovered from all the travelling I have been doing and was able to think clearly enough to draw up a job list of what needs to happen in the next four weeks.

My editor should be arriving sometime around the end of July (date to be determined) and the studio needs a serious clean up.  Since it is easier to deal with wound warps by weaving them, I started rough sleying the first place mat warp this morning.  There are four of those, plus four table runner warps.  Since Doug is going pressing on the weekend, I'm going to try to weave as many of the mat warps as I possibly can and get them ready for wet finishing, pressing, then hemming (and then their final press).

Once those pre-wound warps are woven, I will begin shifting the heaps of bins and boxes to the annex for storage.  Because what she will be photographing is the studio, my work spaces, processes and so on for The Book.

If I can get that done quickly, I will start designing and weaving the rest of the book projects.  I have a couple done, friends are doing a few, which will help take the pressure off of me, and I may ask one more person if she would allow me to use some of her weaving as samples, too.  Still thinking that through.

After being on the lowest possible dose of the cancer drug I now have a much better idea of what my new 'normal' is.  And it isn't very much fun, but so much better than the higher doses, plus it appears to be keeping the cancer under control.  Now that I have an idea of what my new 'normal' consists of, I can begin to devise coping mechanisms.  With the muscle pain, it means shorter weaving periods and longer 'rest' breaks.  Since I also have a lot of conference administrivia to deal with, it will just be a matter of reducing my expectations in terms of what I can realistically accomplish in a day.

Life.  A constant round of adjusting to what is happening and focusing on what is important and what I need to let go of in terms of expectations...

Mentoring

One of the aspects of the Olds College Master Weaving program is being able to mentor the people going through it.  Mentoring students is just an extension of teaching.  It is a loosening of the student/teacher relationship, offering guidance and feedback.  A recognition of the fact that they are growing, learning, becoming independent of the student/teacher aspect of two people, both passionate about this craft we call weaving.

As part of my role in the program, I have made the decision to teach myself out of a job, so to speak.  Preparing the soil for other seeds to take root and grow.  As such I have agreed to mentor one student through the fifth level - the independent study.  Apparently the college is very close to publishing the requirements for that study, so hopefully those people poised to enter this final stage will be able to get the bit between their teeth and dig in.  (Mixed metaphors, but oh well!)

The older I get the less and less I am concerned about my own standing in society and the more I wish to see others succeed who will be able to take up the torch and keep the light of knowledge about this craft alive.  I am well aware that my time as a really active teacher of this craft will be drawing to a close - maybe sooner, maybe later - but that after 40 mumble years, I've done my bit.  It is time to start edging towards the side and let others take over. 

To this end, I have already talked to a few people about their intentions, whether or not they are interested in teaching.  For those that are, I will do my best to assist them in what ever way I can.

So many people have encouraged me along the years.  It's a great feeling to do the same for others.

How long will I continue to teach?  To be determined.  But I have already made the decision to stop accepting bookings from guilds.  My last guild workshop will be Oct. 13/14 for The Woolgathers guild (Comox/Courtenay) on Vancouver Island.  I MAY fill a few seminar slots at the conference here next year although I am holding myself in reserve in case we need a few more.  I have told Zachary that I will add two more classes to my schedule (given I'm not doing guild workshops).  I may also write articles, although - quite frankly - this book manuscript has about worn me out in terms of my wanting to write for publication.

The medication I'm taking for the lymphoma causes 'tired' and every day seems to be a struggle.  I need to conserve my energy for those things I feel most strongly about.  And right now, that is passing on my knowledge and ensuring another generation of teachers who will carry on teaching and keeping this craft healthy, vital and alive.

Story Tellers

As a child I wanted to write.  I dabbled in fiction, poetry, but nothing really gelled.  Not until I started weaving.  And realized that my 'story' was the story of textiles.

One of the advantages of the Olds program is that we get to tell each other our stories.  We get to share our experiences.  We get to know each other as people, as well as weavers (spinners, felters, etc.)

My opus major was Magic in the Water, but I have been writing for publication for many years.  Perhaps too many?  I recently told someone I'd been doing this for almost 50 years, but I was wrong.  It's only been 43 years.  I was tired and my brain blipped.  But however many years it has been, weaving has been part of me for many more years than I wasn't a weaver.  Or maybe I always was, and just didn't know it.

Weaving is integral to my well being.  My mental health.  My core as a person.

As we finalize the details for the conference, I am beginning to think of ways for others to express their stories, in their cloth.  To that end I am thinking about Challenges From the Chair and have come up with some ideas I will be running by the committee.

We have structured the schedule to hopefully give the participants plenty of time to socialize.  And tell each other our stories.  Getting to know each other means, I think, encouraging everyone to see that we are more alike than we are different.

Currently Reading The Temptation of Forgiveness by Donna Leon

Rode Hard

Remember this from a while ago?  There is no longer a heap of boxes, bins and suitcases on my living room floor.

Well, there wasn't - until Doug unloaded the van.  Now the pile is heaped high again and tomorrow I will try to sort, sift and hopefully put away as much of it as I can.  At least it is less than it was - the class materials were handed out, the seven boxes of homework returned.

Last night I could not, for the life of me, get to sleep.  I drove home today on about 2.75 hours of sleep.  If I could have slept in I might have gotten more, but everyone had to be up 'early' to begin their journey home.

What with one thing and another I wound up taking very few breaks and managed to stagger in the door in just under 12 hours from the time I left.  There was rain (not too hard today) there was road construction (Canada's second season - winter and road construction), there were delays due to several large (huge) oversize loads - all of which slowed traffic.  In the end I took fewer breaks - and paid for it with muscles seizing up.  Practically the first thing I did when I got home was make my way to the shower and have a long hot one.

I am trying to deal with an aging body, rode hard, put away wet too frequently by reducing the traveling I do and concentrating on the Olds program as the one that I feel teaches the principles of the craft.  Not everyone wants to dig this deep into the craft, but there has to be a core of people who do understand all the subtleties and why the most correct short form answer is 'it depends'.

All of the classes I have taught were just as passionate (for the most part) as I am about the craft.  You kind of have to be to invest this much time, effort and money in attending the five day class, sometimes travelling long distances to get there, being away from home, then the hours of homework when the in person instruction is over.

But I'm hopeful that this program will continue.  It has shown steady growth, with several satellite campuses (campi?) now offering level one, hopefully more levels as the students succeed in each year.  And I hear there are more locations interested in hosting more.

Time will tell.

In the meantime, I'm through the pinch point in my schedule - sort of.  Tomorrow I move on with the rest of what needs doing.  My inbox is full to overflowing and I suppose the best way to begin is at the beginning and work my way through...

Another Year, Another Fibre Week

All over but the packing.

Once I get home I have a ton of stuff waiting to be done.  Time to plough through them, one at a time.

I am so looking forward to being at home for a while.  Conference, book, inventory, all have been waiting patiently for me to get through to this point of the year.  Time to tug on the bootstraps and dig in.