Plus ca change...

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Kind of sums up things, really.

I've been weaving a rather long time.  From the 1980s to 2019, I wove on an AVL, which was a very particular kind of loom.  When I got the Megado, I had to change the way I dealt with how I threaded the loom, mainly what I did with my threading draft.  I happened to have an old typist's clipboard, meant to hold things as the typist typed the information.  It might be typing them onto letterhead, or a stencil.  (Yes, I'm *that* old!)

I bought one, but didn't like it at the desktop because it didn't fit well in the limited space beside the cpu and the monitor, and when I started setting up the Megado, I had to find a different way to handle the printed out drafts.  For the longest time (late 2019 until, well, now) I had placed the clipboard onto the laptop on the table next to the loom.

But as my back got worse, twisting from sitting forward at the loom to thread, to checking the draft for the next combination of threads and marking off the ones just threaded, began to irritate me.  

On the last warp I took a look around and realized that the Megado had a 'hard top', which I understand some people use to place their ipads or laptops to run the dobby.  I don't like the prospect of setting an expensive electronic device on top of the loom, that slightly jiggles and generally is not exactly 'stable' like my table is.  However, I'm not weaving right now, and hmm - would the base of the clipboard 'fit' on the top of the loom?  

I adjusted it to tailor it to my needs, and in the end?  I'm finding it much easier.  I don't know if it will reduce the wear and tear on my back, but it feels 'better', so hopefully.

I print out the entire draft, which tends to take 5-7 pages of paper.  As I thread each bout of ends, I mark them off on the draft so that I know I've done that bundle.  As I thread them, I tie a slip knot in each group, and then when I've done a repeat, I loosely slip knot that, too.

The bottom part of the shaft is a narrow piece of wood, which I can just write on with a pencil so that each shaft is numbered 1-16.  Fiberworks prints drafts out with the number of each shaft that is being used.  For a group of numbers (13-16 for example) I have the numbers on the shafts to identify which shafts I need in the group.  It's a number to number correlation.  Which makes more sense to me than to have the draft in numbers and the heddles a rainbow of colours.  

But we each have to work out what processes are 'best' for ourselves.  Personally I find a rainbow of colours in the heddles distracting, not helpful, but we all process information in different ways, so try a few things and figure what is best practice for you!

The Centre Cannot Hold (Politics)

 Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

W. B. Yeats

I am no stranger to things falling apart at the seams, but it is sometimes good to look around and remind ourselves that we, as a species, have been 'here' before.  And no doubt we will be 'here' again.

The is just a part of the poem written by W. B. Yeats in the aftermath of WWI, but it is timely, I think, to ponder what he says.

But more importantly - what can we *do*?  

Personally I feel that it is imperative that each one of us remembers that while we, as individuals, have little control over what is currently going on in our world, we *can* do things.

Above all, we can not 'comply in advance'.  In the maelstrom of conflicting messages, we can try to tease the 'truth' out of the barrage of messages flying all around us. Before 'complying' make sure of what you are agreeing to comply with.

In the midst of a shitstorm of epic proportions, we can hang on to ourselves - our integrity.  We can question our leaders and not gulp down, without thought or examination, every word they spew into the whirlwind.

We can watch to see what they do, and if it aligns with what they are saying.  Or not.

We can hold them accountable.  Like our current Leader of the Opposition trying to wheedle his way back into the House of Commons, bleating about the government's bloated spending - while he spends more than the other parties combined.  Where PM Carney appoints something like 34 Ministers and *he* has something like 74 'shadow' ministers - all of whom are paid more than the 'ordinary' MP's salary.  

Now, who is 'bloated'?

We can support the people around us.  We can share our thoughts about what is happening and point out the inconsistencies in the messages.  Yes, even by the government.  We are here to hold *them* accountable, too, not just the 'other' guys.

As individuals we can be helpful.  Creative.  Supportive.  We can light a candle against the dark, and if someone comes along whose candle is not lit?  Maybe we can light theirs for them.

There is very little I can actually *do* right now.  I can give a hug to someone who needs it.  I can hold a hand, or offer assistance, even if it is just a supportive word or two.  

Right now I have little 'extra' in terms of money, so I cannot give much money to others.  But I can share their efforts and let others decide if *they* can support a Go Fund Me - or not.

I can answer questions.  I can share my knowledge.  I can point people to resources.  I can speak out and say 'this is not good, not 'right'.  

Last week someone referenced something I said and claimed me as a 'godmother'.  

I may not have a magic wand, but I can still 'help' as much as I can, given my current circumstances.  

As things continue to 'fall apart', I can try to help put them back together, as best I can.  And if we each do a little bit, who knows, maybe the centre will hold.

As a friend says when wishing someone good luck - Gold Dust to everyone.  May you find hope and peace during these uncertain times.  Take a cup of kindness if you need some.  Virtual hugs, if you need one.

Next!

 

Still playing around with 'snowflake' twills.

I kind of like this one, even though it's pretty 'simple' for a 'fancy' twill.  Since the fall last year, my brain has been constrained processing information, and several warps I wove through the winter wound up with threading errors in them.  Most of them were not detected until after wet finishing, or only really showed on the back side of the cloth.  So, I'm trying to not push my poor brain too hard and keeping things a little bit 'simpler'.

Since the article I just wrote (still in editing stage) was about building with twill 'progressions' it has been good exercise to manipulate some of them to create motifs.  This one appeals to me, even after letting it sit for a while, so I think I'll go ahead with it.

Using all 16 shafts the motif will be fairly large and will present more warp on the one face, more weft on the other.  I'm not sure which side I will choose to be the 'right' side, but I'll weave it by lifting the fewest shafts I can.  Even weaving on the Megado, which has a very 'light' lift, I still prefer to use the least amount of effort that I can, considering my other health issues.  

My goal is to keep weaving for as long as I can, so reducing the work load seems like a good approach.

I have appointments tomorrow and Thursday, and I doubt I will be able to finish the warp off before them, but I should have it off the loom by Friday.  And then I can begin beaming the next.  I'm hoping I could be weaving by next week.

The singles linen is finally 'gone', and now I'm working through some of my other stash.  After this warp I will have to decide which direction to go, or if I buy more of the 2/16 cotton.  I confess I am enjoying the quality of the cloth I have been making the last while.  I'm just hoping some...sanity...will be brought back into our day-to-day lives and dealings with our neighbour to the south.  Because I'm collecting a huge amount of inventory and would love to sell some more.  Until the tariff/not-tariff issues are settled, there doesn't seem much point in anyone in the US buying from me.  

Instead I've been gifting towels to members of my health care team.  They keep me able to get to the loom, so it seems proper that they should get a token of my appreciation.

Today isn't quite summer-y, but it is only the end of May.  OTOH, I am relieved that we have been getting *some* rain.  Right now provinces to the east of us are on fire and it looks to be a 'bad' summer for wildfires.  Long beyond time we should be dealing with climate change.  OTOH, most governments seem to be ignoring it, like they are ignoring Covid, so, guess we'll figure it out, sooner or later.

In the meantime, I keep trying to share what I know with others, here and elsewhere.  And yes, I welcome questions by email:  laura @ laurafry . com

AI - and Learning

 

One of the challenges in 2025 is the fact that we are besieged on every side by AI.  Word has it.  Google has it.  My email program has it.  Everywhere are 'bots' (I won't even call them 'robots') trying to interfere in what I want to do.

I get that some people are not confident about their writing skills, but whatever level of purgatory we are currently in, allowing some word salad machine dictate to me what words, what phrasing, I should be using as I try to communicate MY thoughts?  This isn't acceptable.

I keep refusing to activate their AI, and now new updates have it as the default, and sometimes I just can't figure out how to 'disable' it.  So I keep ignoring it, but mentally I curse the damned things.

The latest word salad atrocity was a list of summer reading that was written by some kind of 'AI' and half of the recommended books don't actually exist.  

So I renew my pledge to never knowingly use AI - of any kind.  It's not accurate.  It's fantasy (and not very good, to boot).  And it will give 'bad' advice.

Now, someone may well not agree with the things I say, but I am a human being with 50 years of experience in weaving.  My experience may not mirror someone else's, but within the context I offer it, it at least works for me - a human being who actually knows something about the craft and doesn't go around stealing other people's information and then twists into something that isn't real while I try to make money off of stolen information that is badly described.

Plus the environmental impacts.  The energy and water it takes to let the bot spew garbage is unsustainable.  For that reason alone I will never ask AI to write something for me, to simply 'mock' it.  It's not human.  It cannot be shamed.

There are now plenty of *good* online classes if you need to learn that way.  There are books and magazines.  

Yesterday I told the newer students in attendance that they can contact me at any time and ask me questions.  For free.  If they want a 'class', I tell them where to find them.  And my guild library has my books if they can learn that way.

I doubt very much I will live until 90 like my mother, with no guarantee I will keep my marbles until such time arrives to head on over to the loom room in the sky.  

In the meantime, I and others, continue to teach.  Explain.  Encourage.  Live human beings (and some dead ones, who have left books behind for people to continue to use even after they are gone) - not 'artificial intelligence'.  Real people who learned the craft, then did their best to share what they learned.

So please.  Support actual human beings, not 'stupid' bots.  Support actual human beings, not dude bros who have first stolen from actual human beings, then try to make money off of their theft.  

(shoves soap box off to the side...heads to loom...)

Books  hard copy and digital

WEFT magazine

School of Sweet Georgia

Long Thread Media

Socializing

 

WEFT magazine sent their contributors a pin.  Today - the first time in a very long time - I went out to the guild room and spent some time socializing with a small group of people who were interested in the magazine, and the samples I wove for the first issue.

A magazine is a wonderful thing, but it's not the Full Deal Meal, so to speak.  Textiles are *tactile* and being able to *feel* them conveys a whole other level of information about what is, essentially, a tactile experience.

I remembered to grab the pin and wear it.  

Since I had subscribed to the magazine during their Go Fund Me, plus I contributed two articles to the magazine, I had a 'spare' copy which I donated to the guild.  I hope they will subscribe, but I let people know that they could buy digital copies at a lower cost, or just buy single copies - either print or digital.

A couple of the attendees were very new, some had a bit of experience under their belts, and some were more experienced.  It made for a nice interchange and a pleasant couple of hours.

At the end I suggested that if people were interested we could do the same after each issue comes out.  Since I have articles accepted for several up coming issues, I could bring my samples in and let people have a look.  Several said yes, so I'll remember to book the guild room once I have the magazine in hand and bring the samples with me.  Or at least textiles that are pertinent.  Some articles won't be illustrated by specially woven cloth, but pretty sure I can find things to share that may be suitable to the theme.

And I was reminded how much I had missed chatting with other weavers.  I had requested that attendees wear a mask, which may have prevented some people from coming.  But honestly, between Covid on the rise, AND measles, and bird flu - people like me tend to get 'left behind'.  We want to participate, but we don't want to get sick.  I've been managing by staying active on the internet, but there is nothing quite like actually sitting down and chatting.

It was lovely to meet one of the new weavers I had not seen before and re-acquaint myself with others.  The next issue comes out in August, I think, so maybe we can get together again in September.  

Something to look forward to...

Deep Dive

 

If you don't understand your materials, you won't know how to use them appropriately.

There is a persistent piece of information that gets shared around in the weaving community - a 'myth' I have tried to explain is not helpful.

The assumption is that yarn counts give you everything you need to know about your yarn.

The photo above is the same 'count' of cotton - the brick red is the same 'count' as the blue/green - in this case 2/16 (brick red) and 16/2 blue/green.

What is not immediately apparent when you look at these yarns with just your eyesight, is that they are NOT the same.

The brick red yarn is thinner, smoother, and has a different number of twists per single and ply than the other, which is thicker, fuzzier and a different ratio of twists per single and plyed yarn than the other.

What is less obvious is how the fibres have been prepared for, and spun.  Why does that matter?  It matters because the yarns will not behave the same in the loom, or in the cloth.

How do we know?  We don't, unless we have some background in spinning, and understand the nature of the fibres themselves, and therefore have the information to understand what those changes are.

Now, it is not necessary to understand that, except that if you don't, you will be confronted with 'bad' yarn, when in reality, the weaver is not able to make appropriate choices.

It is why I took the time to make up a publication called A Good Yarn, in which I tried to explain some of this 'hidden' information to weavers.  And why I make a point of explaining this when I write articles.

A 'cheap' digital microscope can provide valuable information to weavers to learn more about their yarns.  The little microscope I bought magnifies to 20 times, I think.  To go higher meant a significant increase in purchase price, but I sometimes wish I had bought the next one up.  OTOH, this one gives me a peek that I cannot see unaided, so I'm glad I purchased it.

My goal right from the beginning, was to understand my materials, in much the same way as other craft practitioners need to understand *their* materials - potters need to understand the clay they work with, woodworkers need to understand the wood they work with, metal smiths, their metals, etc.  

That doesn't mean a weaver is constrained from using something, just they will understand the limits of the materials and how to handle them.  A 'tender' yarn can be strengthened by using warp sizing, and so on.  

The more we know, the better choices we can make.  

And yes, sometimes the yarn is 'bad' - it may have been stored improperly for too long, for example.  Or it may have critter damage - wool moths for example, will eat through wool yarns.  In that case, it really isn't worth a weaver's time and energy to try to 'fix' it.  Perhaps it needs to be assigned a different use than for a warp.  

When acquiring yarn from an older weaver, sometimes the labels are gone and so is any memory of what the yarns are made from.  In that case burn tests can be applied, as well as a close look with a magnifying glass.  The information is readily available - the weaver just needs to know that it is and go looking for it.

Lots of fibre science books will have fibre characteristics listed and detail the results of using a burn test.  Mine, for example, has a review of this information.  If you want more detailed information, my favourite book is A Guide to Textiles for Interior Designers by Jackman and Dixon.  The first edition is still available at a fairly good price.  More recent editions are more expensive and have more information on 'modern' textiles.

Also?  Don't consult AI.  It is proven to be riddled with misinformation and not reliable.  Check with an actual book.  Most libraries have books in their collection, or invest a book that you know you can trust.  There are plenty available - I own at least 3, if not more.  What can I say, I tend to collect good information to have at my fingertips.  

But if nothing else, I'd like weavers to realize that the 'count' does not give *all* of the information about a specific yarn.  All it says is how many yards/pound (or metric measures.)  After that the weaver must take a deeper dive - and weave some samples!

Oops

 

After wet finishing the last warp, I decided how much I needed to be 'concerned' about the threading mistake I had made.

The design is a modified Swedish Snowflake twill, which means it's 'fancy' (read 'busy'!) and if you look closely you can probably identify it.  But a cursory look?  Probably most people would not notice it.

In the end the towels will still dry dishes, so...

Most of them will be given as gifts, and...beggers shouldn't be too choosy?

The older I get, the more 'feeble' I feel, the less energy I have to be overly concerned with what is, in reality, a pretty small 'blemish'.  Of course I would never enter such an item into a juried exhibit!  But for friends to dry their dishes?  Well, they can just have evidence (yet again) that I am far from perfect.

I've just done something that felt very 'scary'.  I've cancelled my Word subscription.  In the end, if I can't access my old files it won't be a big deal.  The only thing I am concerned about is the next article (rough draft) and if I am truly worried about it, I will do a cursory edit and email the file to my friend that picks nits for me.  The rest?  Well, I can live without them.  But I would be sorry if I lost some of the files.

I've had Word as a software program since the 'dark ages' but now that I can no longer buy the program and it's mine, but I must pay Microsoft for an annual subscription for the privilege?  And the cost keeps going up - at Microsoft's whim?  Nope.  

(Yes, I have a 'work around', don't worry about me - I'll be fine.)

I'm also getting extremely vexxed with so many programs coming with the added 'bug' of AI to do everything, include write my articles (?) for me.  Nope.  Nope.  Nope.  Not happening.

So I will continue with this blog for so long as I am able (or Google tries to take my writing away from me and involve a bot that has zero intelligence and knows precisely *nothing* about weaving).

And that is how my Wednesday is going...