Doing the Same Thing...

Two yarns, spun to 3360 yards per pound.  Are they the same?  Will they behave exactly the same in the cloth?

One of the definitions of 'insanity' is doing the same thing, over and over and over again, and expecting different results.

Also, that people who do not know history are bound to repeat it (while those of us who *do* know history watch them do it.)

We have been inching towards today's 'reality', while historians have been warning us, and climate scientists have been warning us, and somehow, too few of us were paying attention.

Another post I saw yesterday was someone making the observation that ignoring what we don't like doesn't prevent what we don't like from happening.

All of these things are applicable to present day politics, but also?  Weaving.

I don't think there is another, better, metaphor for life than weaving.  Maybe it is why I find it endlessly fascinating.

As I have explored the craft for 50 years (next month), I have tried various things, read loads of books, taking classes with various instructors.

I learned that all of the 'best' advice was based on very specific circumstances, not necessarily 'true' in every way that can be found when dealing with fibre, string and cloth.

Over the years I became less rigid, more open to other possibilities. allowing for unique specific aims and objectives of the weaver.

And this is what I have found endlessly fascinating about weaving - the width, yes, but also?  The depth.  The information can be interpreted in so many different ways, depending on the aim, or intention, of the weaver.

It was the challenge of writing books.  Pick a set of circumstances, then give as much information and possibilities as I could think of.  As I look at the literature surrounding the craft, I see other authors have made similar conclusions, and moved to address them in the way that made sense to them.

But that's the thing - we all process information in different ways.  We all respond to circumstances according to who we are, our core values, and our level of knowledge and/or understanding of what it is we 'know'.

Because we don't know *what* we don't know until we finally know that we didn't know it.

A new weaver expressed frustration about learning to get consistent results - "Well, it seems like you just faff around and find out!".   Yes, my dear, that's exactly what *I* do.  But I do it based on the layers of knowledge that I have already figured out.  And then, every time I learn something new, that information gets installed into my foundation of knowledge.  So I'm not beginning from square one, now, but much further down the rabbit warren, with 50 years of knowledge, practice and experience, to extrapolate from.  And the 'failures'.  Because finding out what *doesn't* work teaches you where to look next for answers.

There are very few 'clear' answers in weaving (and I suspect in other crafts that rely on natural materials) and my goal now is to try to present as much as I can for anyone who wants to be exposed to my experience.

There is a meme that says a good teacher will tell you where to look, not what to see.  I try to be 'that' teacher.  (so, what is it you 'see' in the above photo????)

Books available at blurb

Classes available at Sweet Georgia and Long Thread Media

My Ko-fi shop - for towels and such

Soon to come - articles in WEFT

Milestones

 

The holiday season is rolling on by.  And I continue to avoid crowds, wear a mask, focus on threads and how they behave.  Sometimes they behave in surprising ways, and sometimes they behave just exactly (sort of) how I want them to behave.  But it is a constant source of curiosity and satisfying it - or not.

The first two articles for WEFT are well in hand, and this morning the box of samples I sent for the first issue was returned.  It was a reminder of how much I enjoyed weaving them and then writing them up.

Since most of what I wove was - quite simply - 'just' samples, I'm not entirely sure what I will do with them.  I suppose if I had the energy to start a weaving study group I could share them with other local weavers.  But I still have a razor thin level of 'enough' energy to do the bare minimum, with little to spare.

And the experiment of trying to find me a pain med I can tolerate is not going...well.  I'm about to pull the plug on the latest drug as the muscle weakness returns.  I read through the description of the next two on the list, and frankly, I don't much like the looks of either of them.  But the pharmacist said to try them, in order, so I think next Tuesday I'll ask my doctor to prescribe the 2nd on the list.  And then I'll have to monitor my bp because one of the 'adverse effects' is that it *may* spike bp.  And I suspect that one of the 'causes' of the brain bleed was that I had been having 'high' bp for too long.  I do NOT need a repeat of *that*.

Thank you to everyone who ordered something over the holidays.  If you are American and have not yet heard the news, as of the beginning of the new president's term his first job (on a long list of jobs) is going to enact tariffs on goods coming into the US.  He is threatening 25% tariffs on everything coming from Canada - so if you want to take advantage of the current currency exchange 'discount' you are getting and avoid the tariff, order now so that the parcel arrives before the tariff is applied.

My books are printed in the US, so you won't get dinged tariffs on my books.  

I have committed to keep writing for WEFT magazine - so long as they want me to.  Writing *is* getting easier, but speaking can be a problem as the words I want to use fall into one of the 'sinkholes' in my brain and I fumble around trying to find something to convey what I'm trying to say.  But next Tuesday is 4 months since I fell, and while I don't have much energy, recovery is happening.  I am beginning to plan more articles.  Just waiting for the yarn to arrive for the next set of samples.  After today and mailing a basket full of parcels, I will need to get back to writing.  I'm about halfway done the 'next' article.  I'm not sleeping well and need afternoon 'naps', which takes a chunk out of my afternoon so I'm not getting as much stuff done as I would like.

On the other hand, I'm still here, so there is that.

I don't know when I have faced the 'new year' with such trepidation.  The only 'power' I have is to continue to be creative, and share my knowledge.  And vote.

It's Snowing!

 

Snowflake border tea towel

Over all I'm pleased enough with these. 

They are 2/16 warp and weft, woven in a snowflake twill around the border with a plain/basket weave centre field

They are not 'perfect'.  It's difficult to control the beat when changing between two weave structures with such different take up rates (and resistance to beating!)

But if you can't be perfect, be consistent, and I did the best I could given the challenges.

I also found weaving them rather tiring, given I'm not over the brain injury.  On the whole, everyone (in the health care field) assures me I'm making an astonishing recovery.  Since I'm only just 4 months (as of the 31st Dec.) out from the injury with a projected 24 month recovery, I can't complain.  (She says, wanting to complain!)

Anyway, I decided I would sell these after all so I have uploaded them to my ko-fi shop.  There are just 4 of this design in this colour, so if you are interested I would suggest that you act quickly.  :)  

In the meantime I am threading the loom (slowly, so, so, slowly) as I am trying not to stress my back too much.  I get my next injections in January (Merry Xmas to me?) and I'm hoping that the new pain medication will keep things more 'comfortable' - and what will help is *not* stressing my back too much.  So instead of threading for 45-60 minutes, I'm limiting my time at the loom to about 30.  

In the meantime I'm working on another article for WEFT.  I started writing the current article yesterday and it seemed to go well enough.  Now I'm facing writing up the weaving records with all the instructions and...math.  Never my strongest suit, now I'm finding it particularly difficult.  But that's what calculators are for, amirite?

The folk at WEFT are making great progress and are on track to have the spring edition on schedule.  Stay tuned!