Detergents

Orvus WA Paste is a near-neutral pH, anionic synthetic surfactant and wetting agent with excellent detergency, emulsifying, and dispersing properties.

What is Synthrapol?

Synthrapol is a special detergent used in pre-scouring fibers before dyeing, and in washing out fiber reactive dyes after dyeing. It is also sometimes used as a surfactant or wetting agent to improve dye penetration.
A detergent contains long, thin molecules which each have one end that "likes" oily substances, and another end that "likes" water. Detergent molecules will completely surround a tiny particle of something too oily to be washed away by water alone, leaving just their water-loving 'tails' sticking out, to be easily swept away by the water. Water is the strongest of all solvents, but it requires detergents to wash away oily substances.

Ingredients

The actual contents of Synthrapol are water, isopropanol (which is ordinary rubbing alcohol, a chemical "known to the state of California to cause reproductive harm", thus the alarming warnings on the label), and the detergent itself, a combination of ethoxylated and sulfated aliphatic alcohols.




For as long as I have woven (heading into 45 years) there has been controversy about whether one uses 'pure' soap or a detergent.

I live in an area that has hard water - in other words, it has dissolved minerals in it.  Specifically calcium and manganese (that I know of - there may be others).

When I would use a 'pure' soap, the result would be a scum of grey...stuff..floating on the surface.

Instead of soap, detergents worked much better in terms of getting textiles clean.

Over the years we have routinely purchased detergents without whiteners, brighteners, or perfumes.  Lately such a product has become nearly impossible to find on the local grocery store shelves.  Instead we are having to buy things that will make our textiles whiter than white.  Or use something other than laundry detergents that are commonly available.

When I tell people that if they live with hard water they need to use a detergent (for the story of soap, read Penny LaCouture's book Napoleon's Buttons for an explanation of how and why soap works), there is generally a great hue and cry from people who insist that foul detergents shall never touch their textiles.  Instead they insist using the 'best' product and routinely recommend synthropol or Orvus Paste.

Which they don't seem to realize are...detergents.  See above descriptions.  Note the word 'detergency'.

What I use to wet finish my textiles will depend primarily on which room of the house I am in.  If I am in the laundry area, whatever laundry detergent currently on the shelf is what gets used.  In the kitchen?  Dawn - original formula.  Bathroom?  Shampoo.

I have allergies to scents, so right now Doug is researching to find a laundry detergent with the least amount of perfume. I just wish the markets would provide options for people like me.  The last thing I want is my clothing to smell 'fresh' (whatever that means) for six weeks.  That degree of lingering scent is sure to affect my immune system in ways that I truly do not want.

But let's stop demonizing detergents when what actually causes problems for textiles are the whiteners, brighteners and perfumes.

Whatever is used should be used sparingly.  Pushing the pH balance will also cause problems for natural fibres.  Multiple scouring baths with small amounts of soap/detergent are better than dumping in a cup of the stuff, creating a 'head' of suds that simply gets in the way and needs gallons of water to rinse out.

If using powder, dissolve in warm water (70-72 degrees F, 20-21 degrees C) and add that to the tub once the water is drawn.  That way the detergent will dissolve completely and you won't be wasting product.  Ads are crafted to make people think they need more - more soap, more toothpaste, more perfumes - than are actually required.  Try less and see if less is actually more.

:steps gracefully off soapbox - literally:

Groundhog Day

It's February, the shortest month of the year.  And every day seems to be much the same as the day before.  Overcast.  Dreary.  Rough roads.  Last night I got 'stuck' in an icy dip on an incline with cars behind me so I couldn't back up and take a run at it.  Through two green lights I carefully tried to get enough traction to make it up the slight incline.  Thank goodness the cars behind didn't start honking their horns because I was doing my best!

Finally I managed to find a little traction and was able to make a right turn instead of the left I intended.  There is always another way.  It's not good to stay stuck in your intentions when Life tosses obstacles in your path...

Yesterday I mentioned that I work best when I have a routine.  Some folk find doing the same - or nearly the same - thing over and over boring.  They prefer to have new things to think about.  In terms of weaving they get excited about their next warp, throw themselves into planning it, preparing the warp and even getting the loom dressed.  Then after the first six inches, they begin longing for the next project to start.

When I get to the weaving part I breathe deep and head into my 'zone'.  The weaving becomes a working meditation for me.  It is in a way a 'rut', but a comfortable one.  And at the end of an hour I have cloth to show for it.

There is a great deal of satisfaction as the roll of web builds up on the cloth beam.  The reduction on the warp beam goes more slowly, but still, it shrinks.

I figure I'm about half way through the current warp.  There are two more bins with the next tea towel warps ready to go.  As I walk by them on the way to the loom or back, I see them sitting there, quite patiently.  They are the carrot that promises more fun once this warp is done.

As to who is 'right'?  We all are.  We each come to the craft for our own reasons and have our own preferences.  If you get 'bored' with the shuttle throwing, do short warps.  If you don't, do long ones. 

Above all?  Enjoy what you are doing, in the way that you enjoy doing it.

In Praise of 'Routine'

I like 'routine'.

I like having a certain structure to my days.  I like having a schedule to keep.  Or not.  My choice, but having that structure gives me something to work towards.  Routine defines my goals and deadlines.

Being someone who is highly self-motivated, I jumped into the life of a professional weaver with enthusiasm.  In the late 1970s it was assumed that if you were a woman and worked at home, you were available for any beck and call on your time.  I had to become very protective of my time.  I had learned early that we only get so much time on this earth and best to not squander it.

So I had a work schedule and I tended to stick pretty closely to it and any exceptions to my work getting done had to be caught up later.   There was no one but me to do it.

Some people made fun of me because I routinely turned out the light at midnight and would get up with the alarm at 9 am.  They would give me a bad time for being a 'sleepy head' and sleeping in so late.  Every time one friend would do that, I would ask her what time she went to bed in order to be up at 5 am?  Because I was still working at 11 pm.

She had her routine, I had mine.

And that's the thing about being self-employed.  We get to set our own schedules, craft our own routines.

Retirement has, for the most part, been an exercise in finding the 'routine' of being retired.  Of getting comfortable with a much reduced level of productivity.

My mornings were always my quiet time.  I'm slow to wake up, slow to get moving.  So my retirement routine of sitting in the easy chair in the window is not much different from my old routine.  What is new is that generally I'm done in the studio by 4 and I may only get to the loom once or twice instead of three or four times.  Or not at all.

The Megado is also slower to weave on than the AVL so while I am weaving, it's at a slower pace.

However, since I am supposed to be 'retired' much of the adjustment has been me, learning how to get comfortable at the new pace, in the new routine.

Tuesday I had the fourth pain treatment.  Today I woke up with minimal pain, even after weaving two towels yesterday.  Now that my pain levels are going down, I realize just how much pain I have lived with for - well - all of my life.  Injuries contributed to pain levels (two whiplash injuries) but also repetitive stress.  The final straw was the adverse effects of the cancer medication and then finding out there were local doctors doing something about muscle pain.  Two people I knew had had the treatments and urged me to try it.  Since beginning I've encountered two others also taking this treatment.

It is NOT for everyone.  You definitely need to be able to handle pain because it is very much a short term pain, long term gain scenario.  It's called 'needling' and I'm getting the dry version - just the mechanical breaking of the fibrous material in the muscles preventing them from functioning properly.  There is also a version where a saline solution is injected.

No it is not like acupuncture.  I've had acupuncture and that doesn't hurt.  This hurts.  But I am willing to go through it because even after the first treatment there was improvement.  After the fourth, I am feeling remarkably better.

I may never be pain free - I have too many other things going on in my body to hope for that.  But I no longer feel crushed by the pain, all of the enjoyment of life squeezed out of me.

And I have hope that I can continue to weave, even on into retirement and yes, 'old' age.  How much longer I will teach I have no idea.  With an overall reduction in pain, I might carry on for that long ago envisioned age 75.

Speaking of teaching, if you missed the announcement, I will be returning to Cape Breton to teach level four and two the end of April, beginning of May, and have agreed to teach level one at Olds College Fibre Week.

Even if someone only takes level one, that level alone is well worth the class (yes, in my not-so-humble opinion).

The program is not a learning how to weave class - they offer a beginning weaving workshop as a prequel to the master weaving course.  But it is a how to weave better program.  It delves into the principles of the craft, encourages analytical thinking, and problem solving.

People sometimes say they would love to learn from me.  Olds Fibre Week, June 21-25.  And if you can't make the class, think about buying my book The Intentional Weaver.  One of the reasons I am so supportive of the Olds program is that it covers many of the things I have been ranting about since, well, feels like forever.  

Looking Ahead

Yesterday I agreed to teach Level Four and Two at Cape Breton the end of April, beginning of May.

It is a great privilege for me to see the group that I taught level one and two to now reaching their level four.  It feels like a nice way to wrap up the cycle. 

Level four is a bit of a stretch for me and I have just now downloaded and printed out the level four manual.  I'll do the level two later - it has been upgraded so I need to be working from the most recent version.  But since I've already taught that level twice, I have a better idea of what needs to be done in order to prepare. 

But level four is going to challenge me.  It mostly addresses colour and design and I feel the least confident about those topics, even though I made a profession of designing and selling my textiles.

The biggest boost to my confidence was taking a workshop on colour with Jack Lenor Larsen.

His teaching style was more European in that he would set challenges, then critique our results.   He had no idea who had done what because mostly he would be outside smoking or chatting with others, not hovering over the students in the classroom. 

He set the challenge, then let us do with it what we would.

For me the approach was helpful.  It was even more helpful when his critiques of my results were generally positive - much to my surprise.  Over the course of the workshop I began to realize that I knew more about colour than I thought and I was able to take that new found confidence home and really let loose in my own design work.  Listening in to the critiques of all of the work was also helpful as I began to see what he was talking about through the use of the actual samples woven in response to his challenges.

Weaving some of the samples for Tien's colour class also helped train my eye as I worked through what she wanted illustrated for her students.

Talking to a couple of friends, I realized that once again I probably know more than I think I do.  So I am going to study the level four manual, learn as much from it as I can, then hopefully share that with the students.  (Some of them are already very accomplished designer/weavers - they are likely already quite comfortable with the course content!)

I have been a big supporter of the Olds College master weaving program.  Quite frankly, if all anyone does is level one, they will get a good grounding in the basics.  I know several people who took level one and said they'd got what they needed and were going to go home and put level one principles into practice. 

Personally I am delighted at how many 'young' people I am seeing in the level one classes.  I am also delighted to be teaching level one at Olds in June.

So far two boxes of homework have arrived and been marked from the classes last year.  I hear rumours of others in the works with one - at least - promised for the end of March..  The college has been making some changes and you must now have passed one level before you can take the next.  I am interested in how many from last years classes will send their home work in.  Regardless of whether or not they continue, I feel honoured to have met them and hope they continue to weave.  We need more people to ensure the craft continues and that good information gets passed on to the next generation.

Winter Storm

The photo doesn't show what is going on.  We are in the midst of 'blizzard' conditions (there are parameters for a storm to qualify for blizzard and I'm not sure this one actually does - but close enough!)  The wind is gusting hard enough the flag on the house across the street is horizontal and the snow is sticking to the windows in blobs.

And I have to go out today.

Fortunately I don't have to go far, just a short drive away.  My usual is to park in the shopping mall below and walk up the hill to the clinic, but today I'm going to pay for parking so that I'm not walking in...this.

We are no stranger to winter storms.  This isn't particularly unusual - just not very welcome.  I'm grateful I'm not headed out on a teaching trip in this weather, not just because it is bad here, but there are reports of heavy rain in the Vancouver/Seattle area and flooding.  Driving would be treacherous and flying iffy.

Yesterday my Ashford dealership was closed and one more step taken to divest myself of business obligations.  Doug is making progress on taking Puff apart in preparation to (hopefully) ship it to a new home.  Transport still needs to be arranged and an international border is in the way so things might get complex.

Not my problem and I'm doing my best to stay out of it.

Yesterday I managed to weave one towel and may not get to the loom today.  Will see how I feel after the treatment.  There are other things I could be doing, such as printing out and doing a proof read of the article I'll be submitting and the op-ed.  I'm not supposed to sit/stay still for more than 15 minutes and I'm sure there are light duty things I could be doing, such as pressing the burgundy mats I finished hemming last night.  And clearing up the yarn from the last warp so I can begin working on the next.  I could generate the threading, too.

And there is the puzzle.  It's another one with very close value/hue changes and it's being a challenge.  I'm glad it's only 500 pieces!

Every day is an opportunity.  When all I want to do is hunker down and do nothing, it becomes a challenge to get up, get dressed, get going.  But I now have a cast iron round tuit, so there is nothing that can hold me back!

Seasons

Today we have had a lovely sunny day.  The photo was taken before 10 am and you can tell from the long shadows just how low in the sky the sun is, this time of year.

There is more winter weather in the forecast, but we got this lovely gift of a blue sky and brilliant sunshine to lift spirits.

About this time of year, some people start feeling trapped or depressed.  We had a rather long spell of brutally cold weather (for us) following a pretty large dump of snow.  For a while we were like lab rats in a maze, carefully poking noses out into the street to check for on coming traffic before venturing further.

On the days where the sky is socked in with ice fog or just very low hanging clouds, or even more snow/sleet, just getting out of the house becomes difficult.  Fortunately I haven't much going on right now and I took a bunch of 'snow' days and just stayed in.

Tomorrow I go for my next pain treatment.  I think things are improving - the pain levels are certainly less, and that is a blessing!  But I still do have pain.  It's just moving around.  My 'usual' body parts seem to be healing, but now other bits that I hadn't realized were so compromised are waving their hands, 'do me next!'.  Or something like.

I still have little energy and this morning I dropped off a knitting machine to someone who offered to buy it for a small donation to the guild, then met a friend where we had a very long coffee visit and talked each other's ear off.  It was 1:30 before I got home and ate my lunch.  Now it's nearly 2:30 and while I have changed into weaving clothing, I've yet to find the energy to head down the stairs.

However, sitting in the sun soaking up some sunshine has helped and I know if I can just get to the loom I will actually feel better - physically and mentally.

Dinner will be leftovers so I don't even have to cook (as such).  Doug and his helper are in the final stages of dismantling Puff and getting things onto palettes.  We are hoping to hear if the potential buyer can arrange shipping and complete the purchase. I'm hoping that it moves on to whatever comes next for it because I'd like to cancel the insurance on the annex and get rid of that expense.

I'm hoping that the next pain treatment won't be too extreme and that my light duty days will be just a few instead of the better part of two weeks.  I'm hoping that the third treatment was the biggest hump and that the 'worst' is over.  I'm willing to have a little pain for long term gain, but the past three weeks was challenging.  Well, two of the weeks.  I seemed to cross a threshold after two weeks.  Given that is the case, I will continue on the three week interval. 

It has also become pretty obvious how many of my usual activities/tasks set off pain.  Another reminder that retiring from production weaving was a good decision. 

Currently reading Gods and Robots by Adrienne Mayor

Percolating

Now that company has gone and I'm back to thinking about what I want to be weaving, and because the current warp is well underway, it is time to start thinking about the next warp.

There are two boxes of pirns filled with two shades of beige so it seems time to do another beige warp.  This time, instead of skewing to peach, I will add some pale yellow to the blend.  Since I hadn't put away the tubes from the last beige warp, I began by pulling some of the tubes out of the previous warp to see how many I had and what I might add to the rest of the pile I pulled yesterday (not shown).

My last beige warp had mostly that coppery brown linen as weft, but this time the weft is also beige so I'm looking to have a more subtle effect happening.  The other yarns that will be used range from a very pale beige through several shades plus a little yellow, then fill in from the pile on the floor until I get a total of 32 tubes (my epi).

There is still some linen left but I need to empty these pirns.  I have actually done a pretty good job of getting the yarn on the pirns woven - there are now two  boxes filled with the empty pirns.  I was hoping that if I teach at the Sunshine Coast I could drive and deliver the pirns to the buyer of the pirn winder.  Still no word on that and with their new policies I may not hear until the cut off date which is just one month prior to class starting.  So, just in case, I'd like to empty as many pirns as I possibly can.  Which will also free up a shelf in the storage room.

Once I've decided on which yarns I'm going to use I'll start thumbing through Ars Textrina (Max Ziegler's pattern book, translated by Pat Hilts) which I use for inspiration.  Many of the drafts are written for 12 shafts with a 'key' to change them to 16.  I tend to look at the 12 shaft drafts, then fiddle with them to create a draft that is similar but easier (for me) to thread.  I can expand the drafts included or re-arrange them, or manipulate them to make borders, etc.  By starting with something that already exists, I can fast track getting a design that I want to use.

We stand on the shoulders of giants...