Moving Along

 

This photo hasn't been seen much, in part because it isn't a great photo.  But the deep dive I have been doing into my photo files means I've been 'discovering' old photos and thought I would share this one.

As part of writing A Thread Runs Through It, I spent a lot of time remembering personal projects I've done.  This photo shows a double whammy.

Doug is wearing a jacket woven from 2/60 silk and alpaca, tailored by a professional tailor in Vancouver.  Even though we didn't have a lot of money in those days, the fabric was too 'special' for it to be put into the hands of someone who didn't know how to properly sew it.  As it happens, the tailor also provided another lesson in the value of a good HARD press.  Even though I'd had it pressed by the presser at the local dry cleaner we used, the tailor spent hours giving it an even harder press before he ever contemplated cutting into it.  In the end, the custom fit jacket was a 'perfect' fit, and to be honest, it still hangs in the closet where Doug will pull it out when he needs to be 'dressed up'.  (It's a bit tight now, but at least he CAN wear it - can't say the same for the suit I'm wearing.)

My suit is also 2/60 silk warp and tabby weft, with a slightly textured silk pattern weft for the jacket and the blouse front.  The trousers and rest of the blouse is all smooth silk.

Here's a closer look at the suit:

An even closer look:

Doug wore his jacket to Convergence in San Jose and unless he told people it was handwoven, most people at the conference didn't realize it.  

Another jacket I did was this one:

The fabric is 2/8 cotton for both layers (yes, it's stitched double weave) with a fine silk slub for the weft.

I ran out of fabric and had to quickly weave enough cloth for the sleeves, which were a heavier weight than I would have liked, but I was under an extremely tight deadline and had to work from my stash.  This jacket was entered into the informal fashion show at Convergence in 1986, and at least one very experienced weaver found the cloth intriguing.

As I work my way through my memories, I am becoming aware that I really need to do...something...with the clothing I can no longer wear.  I've held onto a closet full of garments, thinking that one day I would lose enough weight to wear them again.  OTOH, with covid and me still avoiding the plague, I don't go to large indoor events anymore, and my handwoven clothing is too 'fancy' for my lifestyle (if you can call it such) now.

I suppose I could see if a local consignment shop would take them.  Or I can leave them for my executrix to deal with...

Today I am going to try weaving again.  It seems it doesn't matter if I weave or not in regards to my pain levels, so I figure I might as well end the day having done *some* weaving if I'm going to hurt anyway.

Conferences

Aerial view of my town showing the horizon

Naturally enough, conferences have been much on my mind of late.  I thought I would share some thoughts...

A conference is so much greater than the sum of its parts.  The whole package adds up to an event that can inspire, inform and broaden horizons. 

Choosing the theme of Confluences, we looked at inviting instructors who - in many ways - epitomize the theme.  They look at how cultures inform each other.  They look at how the various stages of fibre prep affect each other.  They look at how manipulation of the materials can create a range of qualities of cloth and decorate it.

Instructors were chosen for their commitment to the craft and their specific knowledge set.

We tried to choose people mainly from the region, but also a few from further away.  People who ANWG members might not be able to learn from because the cost of getting to them might prove too great.  Bringing those people here means more people can have access to their knowledge.

But we are also blessed with a large number of textile practitioners here in BC, so many of our instructors were drawn from our own pool of very talented and knowledgeable people.  (Instructors are listed on the conference website.)

What do conference registrants get?  First of all, three seminar time slots.  The seminars range from introductory, historical, or technique exploration.  The seminars can be used to find out more about something that is of interest to see if further investigation is the direction to go.  Or maybe a little is known but resources are thin on the ground (eg ceinture fleche')  Or take knowledge to the next level, find out about more resources, maybe try a little hands on.

Seminars are a menu tasting while workshops are the full meal.

Traditionally there is a key note speaker.  We have invited Abby Franquemont for her unique perspective on Peru and North American approaches to textiles.  She is currently in Peru gathering up to the minute information and will no doubt have a lot to share.  (She may even have textiles and spindles for sale - we have offered to manage sales in my booth in the vendor hall.)

The fashion show is always fun.  I'm hoping that my challenge to think about pockets makes a splash in the fashion show, but also in the other exhibits.  Speaking of which, we now have in excess of $5000 in sponsored awards to give out - BUT!  You do have to be registered at the conference to be eligible for awards.

There will be some special interest group meetings - the time and place will be listed in the registration area.

But most of all?  Conferences are a time to meet with others who are as interested in textiles as you are.  There will be time to socialize.  There will be time to shop.  The vendor hall is filling with some great booths. 

There will be opportunities to be inspired - by textiles, by people.

Conferences are an opportunity to educate yourself and grow - as a textile practitioner and as a person.

Prince George isn't hard to get to.  WestJet and Air Canada both fly in/out.  Regional airlines such as Pacific Coastal and Central Mountain Air have flights.  Or drive.  BC is a beautiful place and the highways (97 and 16) intersect here.

A conference can be an adventure.  Of the very best kind.

Adventures...

...I've had a few...

obligatory pretty textile picture

As I was writing up my latest conference blog post I thought about adventures.  I remembered how many fantastic experiences I have had since I took up weaving, all the people I've met, the textiles that have inspired me.

My first conference was 1978 Convergence in Fort Collins, CO.  (I wrote about that recently so I won't repeat that story here.)

Having dipped my toes into the biggest textile event in North America, smaller regional events such as ANWG (Pacific northwest, western Canada) were far less intimidating - and far less expensive.  They were, if nothing else, within reach - either a one or two day drive.  So my first ANWG was Spokane in 1979.

After that I attended as many conferences as I could afford - ANWG as it moved around the region (Oregon, Montana, Washington, here in 1995, Victoria 1997, Alberta)  Convergence when I could scrape the pennies together.  I even managed to get to Vav in Sweden two years ago - a dream I thought I'd never manage.

Eventually I started teaching at conferences, my first in Montana in, um, 1983?  

On the way I met so many talented people.  Some became friends and the internet makes it possible to stay in touch.

As an introvert I was nervous about attending these events, but the people are just as fascinated about textiles as I am and if nothing else there is the learning in the workshops/seminars - and smaller groups make it easier to get to know people.  Then there are the exhibits.

At Victoria's ANWG in 2017 one of the entries in the fashion show was a silk shawl made by one of our instructors - Coleen Nimetz - made from silk she had spun (may even have raised the worms and reeled it, I can't remember) and then knitted.  It was a show stopper.  

(If you want to know about silk, sign up for her workshop!  She is incredibly knowledgeable.)

One of the down sides of organizing an event like a conference is that I have no time to actually take anything.  And because I helped  choose the people and their topics, I want to take every single one!

Early bird registration ends on April 15.  If you haven't made holiday plans yet, consider coming to Prince George and join us in a fibre adventure.  Y'all come!

Girl Friends

All of my girlfriends are textile people.  As I engaged more and more with weaving, writing about and teaching it, the more weavers/spinners/etc. I met and the more I found myself wanting to spend time with a group of people who were as passionate about what I was passionate about.

One of the ways I met most of these wonderful women was through attending conferences.  How better to expand your contacts by going to where other like minded people are going to congregate?

Eventually we started meeting up whenever we could, not just at conferences, but at other times as well.

I'm really hoping some of the people I have gotten to know in the fibre world will come to Prince George while the Prince George Fibre Arts Guilds throws a party to celebrate fibre, share their talents, delve into techniques perhaps heard about but not really studied, maybe due to not having a teacher or not knowing where to find literature.

My very first conference?  I knew three people there.  One was the person who talked me into attending Convergence 1978 in Fort Collins, CO.  One was my weaving instructor.  One was the owner of a shop I had been buying yarn from and visited a couple of times.  She introduced me to another weaver from her area.

Otherwise?  I was by myself, surrounded by literally hundreds of people.  My host had been detained by a family emergency.  My teacher warned me she had her own interests she wanted to pursue.  The shop owner?  I only knew because I'd written letters to her.  None of them were 'girl friends' to hang out with.

I'd never been on a university campus before and it was huge.  There were long distances between events, so those few people I knew to speak to?  Never saw them again for the entire event.

I'm an introvert and I was feeling very lonely and isolated.  In fact I was throwing myself a pretty serious pity party, when on a march from one event to the next I spotted a man weaving on a back strap loom, attached to a very young sapling.  There were two women close to him and one was explaining to the other that the man was from Peru.  He had come with an anthropologist who had encouraged the man to attend the conference and could give him a ride.

I didn't know if the man spoke Spanish, let alone English.  His journey to arrive at that place at that time had to have been much more difficult than mine.  I'd simply climbed on a plane, been met at the airport and driven to the conference. 

But even more importantly...I spoke English!

I chewed over my pity party for the rest of the walk to my destination, where I lined up - again.  And realized that if I really wanted to get to know people?  All I had to do was turn around and see if the people behind me were open to talking to a perfect stranger - but one who was at an event celebrating textiles, just like they were.

So I turned around and interjected a comment into their conversation and then happily chatted while the line moved forward.

I'm really hoping that even if someone doesn't know anyone else attending Confluences that they will come by themselves.  Because they will be surrounded by people just as fascinated by fibres as they are themselves.

And the campus?  Small.  Three blocks by three blocks, not huge with long walks.

Come to the party! 

Old Lady

Then...

When I first took up weaving, intending it to be my profession, I resented the fact that the stereotype of a weaver was a little old lady in running shoes.

Now I are one.

The above photos are from a conference held in Victoria, now a very long time ago.  How do I know?  I was a brunette.  It may have been 1984, but memory fails on this one.

I taught the first workshop ever the month I started weaving class.  The fact that it was a spinning class and I knew very little about spinning was kind of incidental.  I knew more than the others in the room and that was all that mattered.  But I had my first taste of what it would be like to involve myself in this world of teaching about textiles.

Since then I have run the gamut of being valued...and not.  I have stories.  Oh my yes, I have stories.

Dini Moes used to say that 'comes from far away, tastes better'.  And that seems to be in large measure true.

For a great many years very few people in my home guild had any idea that I was traipsing all over the continent teaching.  Not only that, but my expenses were paid, I was housed in comfort, people were interested in what I had to say.

At home - well, I was just me, doing what I did.  I almost never mentioned when I had an article published in a magazine, or was attending a conference in order to teach there.

I didn't want to boast, or make it seem like I was anything other than just me, doing what I wanted to do.

But eventually people started to find out what I was doing.  That when I flew off to parts far away, it wasn't that I was going on holiday, but...working.

At one point the program person for my guild asked if I would present a program.  I looked at her and said that I would but that I got paid (at the time) $50 to do a guild program.

She literally gasped and sternly informed me that "we don't pay for programs!"  I looked at her and said "Yes, you do.  Every out of town teacher who does a guild program gets paid.  I get $50 - or more - for doing a guild program."

She sputtered and finally sniffed and said that she would have to get approval from the board.  "Fine" I said.  "Let me know what they say."

Eventually she said they would pay $25.  I agreed.  I would, after all, be sleeping in my own bed, no travel involved.

The night of the guild meeting, I impatiently waited while the guild business was done.  I'd told the program person I did an hour long presentation, and I watched the clock ticking away.  Finally they wrapped up the business and because it was getting late, some guild members left before I started.

At the end of the hour, I collected up my samples and other teaching aids (including my own slide projector) and program person brought over my cheque.  She stood there, awkwardly, finally said that the program had been excellent.  She hadn't expected that.

Inside I died a little, firstly because she had not expected me to do a job worth $50 and hadn't, therefore, fought for my right to earn the money.  Secondly because she had been a teacher and her words saying she had expected me to 'fail' in her estimation cut, most especially since I'd already told her that I earned an income by doing this very sort of thing.  Did she think I was just that bad, or that other guilds were that gullible?  I didn't know.  I looked her in the eye and said something to the effect that this was how I earned an income and doing this sort of program was just part of it.

Over the years I've taught at a number of conferences, again, all over the continent.  ANWG was the first, then local/regional gatherings, but also Mid-West, NEWS, OHS and ATQ among others.  I have also taught at Convergence.

Some of them have been miles ahead of others in terms of how I was treated.  Some of them have been miles behind.

There is a school of thought that says 'this event is sooooo prestigious that instructors should subsidize the event because this is how we make money to keep operating as an organization.'

My attitude is that, without instructors, all you have is a giant shopping event with perhaps an exhibit or two thrown in for good measure.

People who teach at conferences are - by and large - professionals.  Do they earn the entirety of their income from teaching?  Not likely.  Usually they will write and sell things as well.  But they do take their commitment to teaching seriously.

Time and again they are asked to work for less than they might otherwise wish to do because they will get 'exposure', they will 'build their resume' by teaching at such a well known event.  They will benefit in the future by participating.

Well, I'm done with that.  I gave up adding prestige to my resume back in the 1990s.  Where I live, people die of 'exposure'.

Teachers are frequently required to finance the event by buying their flights and carrying that debt for weeks, sometimes months, until the event happens and they finally get paid.

I think it's shameful that teachers leave an event without their pay and we will be moving heaven and earth to make sure that all the teachers leave Prince George with their pay in their pockets.

I am also building into the budget compensation for things like checked baggage (because what teacher ever travels without at least one checked bag, full of samples?) and shuttles to/from the airport.

We will be paying a per diem for food.  Which means we will give them an allowance that we will pay for each day, no questions asked.  If they want a glass of wine or beer at dinner?  None of my business.  No receipts will be required to be submitted, no questions asked about their food choices.

They will be given a room at one of the hotels, material fees will be collected at the door by an assistant and handed to them directly.  They will not have to go get the money because - in my experience - they will be busy getting the room set up the way they want it, organizing their samples, their audio/visual presentations (if they are using them).

All too often it has come time to begin and I have not collected the material fees and I don't want to spend presentation time trying to collect them.   I have just absorbed the expense, even when it may have been a really hard lump to swallow.

My philosophy in working on this conference is to treat ALL the participants with respect.  That includes the vendors, the exhibitors, the volunteers and... the teachers.

My goal is to have everyone enjoy the event as much as possible.  Our schedule will allow time for socializing - because all too often people say they didn't manage to connect with everyone they wanted to because there wasn't enough time.  Or they never did make it to one of the exhibits - because there was not time.

Our conference will be held in a very small geographical location - the Civic Centre, library, art gallery and the two hotels are in a three block by three block area.  All buildings are accessible, all buildings have elevators for the upper floors.  All buildings have a/c, although it's rarely required in June, here.

If I do nothing else in this life, I hope to help bring this conference into being by treating everyone fairly.  It may very well be the last conference I choose to attend.  I want to make it a good one.

...and now.

ANWG Conference, Victoria, 2017

This morning I signed the contract with ANWG to teach a couple of 3 hour seminars at the conference in Victoria and emailed it, along with the supporting information to the workshop committee.

It's very exciting to be part of this conference - again.  The association is possibly one of the largest geographical regions in North America and spans the border.  Given the population of Canada, the conference has only been held here a handful of times, so to have it here two times in a row, especially when the exchange rate is pretty awful for Canadians, means that I expect a large turn out for Canadians.

And since Victoria is a bit of a 'destination', I hope to see lots of representation from Americans, too.

The conference typically attracts 400-600 attendees.  The conference in Prince George in 1995 had just over 400, counting instructors.  Prince George guild members are beginning to volunteer for the conference committee for 2019 and there should be a fairly good number of people from here, attending Victoria.  Mainly because so many of our current active guild members are new to weaving etc., and they haven't attended an ANWG previously.

It's very exciting to see the Victoria conference take shape, and begin to make plans for ours.

Throwback Sunday

This is the second of the two articles from the newspaper my friend gave me a while ago.  This one is from 1999 and shows my then studio assistant modeling an evening gown I wove and a friend sewed up for the ANWG conference fashion show in Bozeman, MT.

It was interesting to read through both articles and see how little my attitude has changed.  And to think about how much has happened since 1997 and 1999.

Job List

Got home to a mail box filled with parcels, including this 'bunny eared bag o' goodness' as Janet Dawson calls them.  Apparently someone forgot to put the invoice in, though.  If it doesn't come under separate cover today I will have to email them because I know it isn't free!  OTOH, there may be a second bag.  Yes, I ordered in a lot of yarn in spite of having SABLE...seems like I never have what I need on hand!

The trip to HWSDA went well.  It wasn't very busy so there was time to visit with friends, new and old.  It is what I will miss most, 'retiring' from vending yarn - the fellowship of like-minded people.  But neither of us is getting any younger and yarn is heavy, in spite of what some people think.  Or at least, the yarn I most like to work with and have been selling.  Cotton, linen, Tencel/rayon - all are fairly dense yarns so a lot of weight in small packages.

Also came home to the realization that various deadlines are (pun alert) looming.  Another show contract arrived so that needs to be returned today.  Still one more show to hear from.  I guess I need to nag them and find out if that show is going ahead - or not.

There is prep work to be done for Olds.  I'm teaching Level 1 this year in tandem with another teacher because they manged to fill two this year.  New topic means another learning curve for me.

There is also prep work for the webinar with Interweave Press in July.  This one will be on lace weaves and I will let people know when registration will be open for that.  I just happen to love lace weaves but I need to do a Power Point presentation, get some crisp photos of samples, generate drafts, etc., etc.  I figure at least 10 hours to get it ready.

I'm nearly done the shawl warp and after selling so many tea towels in Alberta decided my next warp will be a run of those.  I need to use up more of Lynn's fine linen yarns, plus that will give me some hemming to do in the evenings while watching tv.

Lastly, more health issues, not mine this time but my mom.  I have to accompany her to her doctor appointment.  It doesn't sound like good news.  :(

Currently reading Martin Walker The Children Return

#TBT

It's not actually Thursday, but here's a throwback...

click on the photo to biggify...

The photos were taken at a conference in Victoria BC.  When I was paging through the album - one of several I sorted through this morning at the guild room - I thought it was an ANWG conference, but now I'm thinking it was Victoria guild's 50th celebration or something.  If anyone remembers, it would be fun to put a date to the photo.

Anyway, sometime in the 80's near as I can recall.  After all, I was obviously much younger, thinner and...a brunette...which I haven't been for a very long time.

The garments were woven from Treenway's silk, 2/60.  The butterfly jacket also had turquoise mylar as weft.  The dress had mylar in one inch stripes.  The top also had some mylar in it.  Not a lot, mostly just on the edge of the cloth that became the neck/shoulder part.

I sewed all the garments myself.  I'm not a great seamstress, though and it's not my favourite thing to be doing.  I'd much rather be weaving!  The dress was a bit of a challenge because I sewed one inch pleats for the bodice which then opened up into the skirt.  The dry cleaning bill about killed the household budget every time I wore it.  Now it doesn't fit anymore, so it languishes in the back of my closet.  One of these days I will recycle it - or give it to someone else to recyle.  It's mostly silk, after all.

HWSDA

The vendor hall is open from noon until 5 pm Friday, then 8:30 to 5:30 on Saturday.

We will be there will weaving yarns and some woven textiles.

Come and say hello.

Picking Up the Reins

HWSDA

Not knowing when my surgery would take place or how long it would take to recover, I cancelled all my commitments for teaching and vending for this year.  Now that the surgery is done, I have been tentatively making bookings.

My first is doing the local guild program in April, then a two day workshop on lace weaves - I think the dates are April 25/26 although I'm going to have to check because it appears I didn't actually write it down anywhere.  (It was supposed to happen in March but I felt that was just too soon - and I was probably right.)

The next date of note is the HWSDA conference, this year taking place in Red Deer, Alberta.  Doug and I will drive out and set up a vendor booth with yarns and some textiles.  I didn't apply to teach so the trip probably isn't really worthwhile financially - believe me you don't make a whole lot of money selling yarns.  Normally I'm teaching, which helps to subsidize the booth.  But with my health issues so much in the front of my mind, I decided that getting rid of some more of the yarn I bought to re-sell is probably A Good Thing.  The conference happens in May and I'm really hoping for good weather for the drive.

In June is Olds Fibre Week at which we will be vending, plus I'll be teaching Level Two again.

Beyond that, I'm reluctant to apply to teach anywhere because I just don't know what state my health is going to be in.  I have a feeling that my teaching is going to be confined to western Canada from now on.  Or possibly the internet, if I can figure out what to do and find the energy to do it.  With most bookings happening one to two years in advance, I just don't know if I will be able to do it and I really don't want to be in the position - again - of having to cancel events because of my health.

When I began weaving I really thought I'd be teaching well into my 70's.  Well, I may be, but it might be digitally, not in person.

Time will tell...

Olds Fibre Week

We took it easy getting here, leaving Friday, stopping over at Hinton, AB, then continuing the rest of the way to Olds on Saturday.  We arrived early enough that we were able to erect the booth structure and begin setting out yarn before the hall closed just after 6 pm.   This morning we were back by 9 am or so to finish setting up.  Doug has some tweaking to do with the wooden things from Don George but basically everything is under control.

It has been a struggle to dial back my participation and bear in mind that slow and steady is the approach for this week.  

I tell people I am healthy, but I'm not, really.  I have several chronic health issues and one of them seems to have exploded to the point of requiring immediate treatment.  I'm hoping the least invasive will be all that is required but until they do the test, I won't know for sure.  Yes, it could be serious but I'm under care and I just have to get through this week.

So, although I'm not what you might call healthy, I am quite physically fit, more so than many people my age (and less than others - I'm not trying to claim more than I am).   Bottom line is, though, that because I have a reasonable level of fitness I am confident that if the more invasive procedure is required, that I will come through just fine.  

Cancelling my involvement in Complex Weavers is a disappointment, but there will always be another conference.  

So Here I Sit

At my gate a O'Hare airport, sleep deprived, facing a nearly five hour flight to Vancouver, a four hour layover, and a final hour or so flight home.  Too tired to think, let alone work on the project which cannot be named.  Too tired to read.  Too over tired to risk sleeping and miss the call to board in an hour.  Not to mention risking stress to my neck....

Ok, pity party over.

Reflections on the Eastern Great Lakes conference...

Chautauqua Institute is situated on extensive grounds near the western border of NY state.  A hop away from OH and PA.

The dorms were comfortable, the food decent, the companions delightful.

With just 80 something people, there was a chance to meet most of them at one meal or another.  There are many talented and prolific spinners, dyers, knitters, felters and weavers.  There were many hand made garments to see and appreciate.

The non-wearable exhibit was small but many excellent pieces on display.  The fashion show had many lovely garments in it.

Best of all, everyone seemed in good spirits, there was laughter and hugs.

And that is why I continue to get up at oh dark hundred, hop, skip and jump my way across the continent, sleep deprived and well out of my comfort zone.  The Internet is wonderful but I don't get real hugs that way. :)

Getting Ready, Set...

My flight leaves at 7 am to Vancouver, then to O'Hare and finally to Boston.  It will be a 13 hour trip plus the 3 hour time difference at the other end.

Today I'm trying to tie up a few loose ends, leaving some things for when I get home because I just can't cope with them right now.  Like my GST return, which means balancing 3 months worth of ledger entries - which haven't actually been entered - yet.

I made some last minute decisions about what I was going to bring with me - and what I wasn't.  I'm staying at a hotel so I'll have a/c, which means I ought to be able to sleep in the heat/humidity.  But that also means a fairly substantial walk to and from the campus.  Which wouldn't be terrible, if I didn't have all the teaching stuff to lug.  I'm keeping fingers crossed I can move into 'my' room on Thursday evening so that I can get set up and ready to go for the 8:30 am start time.

I'm teaching four sessions, back to back, but at least only two topics.  Hope my voice lasts.  This time I'm going to remember to have some water!

Since I had to cancel my participation at NEWS two years ago, I'm really looking forward to being there this year.  I'm hoping to finally meet, in person, some people I've gotten to know via the internet.  I am also looking forward to seeing my friend's textile collection - things that she purchased while she lived and worked there, eventually learning to weave so she would have a better understanding of how the cloth was created.

So I'll be spending my birthday delving into some lovely textiles that I would never otherwise have had an opportunity so see in real life.  Can hardly wait!

And then I will come home to a warp partly on the AVL, and another scarf warp beamed but not threaded, etc.  There are days when I feel the need for a clone, but she'd probably start thinking up even more stuff for us to do!

25 Years

This year marked the 25th ANWG conference.  Weavers from all over the Pacific Northwest and western Canada have regularly gathered to celebrate textiles.  Long before the internet, weavers, spinners and dyers had to communicate via mail or in person at such gatherings as regional conferences like ANWG. Mid-West. MAFA, and so on.

While the internet has 'shrunk' the world and allowed us to be in close contact with other like minded individuals all round the world, there is nothing quite like meeting in person, being able to shop in actual physical 'stores' and, best of all, touch the textiles that others are creating.

I was delighted to see that my friend Betty Bell had won a People's Choice award for her lovely cotton napkins with supplemental warp and weft borders.  Unfortunately the photo is a bit out of focus - I was trying to include the award 'ribbon' as well as the lovely display in the exhibit.

There were many interesting items in the exhibit.  After 35 plus years of weaving, it is being able to actually see and (whenever possible) feel the cloth that inspires me.  Since Betty is a friend I had fondled,  handled the napkins when I last visited with her.  ;)  There were white gloves provided so that people could touch the textiles, but I didn't avail myself - not being able to touch the cloth with my hands didn't appeal, although I certainly understand why - hands contain oil and hundreds of hands touching the textiles mean that quite a lot of hand oil would be deposited onto the cloth.  (There were 500+ people attending the conference, plus people who came for the day but hadn't registered for the conference proper.)

The fashion show garments were also on display and those had handling pieces that one could touch without the gloves, so I had a good grope of those.  :D

There were instructors from round the world - Bolivia (yes I managed a short chat with Laverne Waddington), Australia (ditto Kay Faulkner), the east and south (Darryl Lancaster, Liz Walker, Marg Coe, Bobbie Irwin - and more I didn't get a chance to visit with) and of course, all round the ANWG region.  Attendees came from the eastern seaboard, California, Minnesota, beyond.

The campus was interesting architecturally, Cindy White had initiated a 'storm' of yarn type landmarks helping to identify the buildings with classes, and so on, and the rain even let up for a few days.  They don't call it the 'wet' coast for nothing!

I have lost count of the number of ANWG conferences I have attended, but it has been quite a few of the 25 (held every second year).  I am looking forward to the next one, and meeting 'old' and new friends again, in person, in two years.

Currently reading Black Dog by Stephen Booth

Looking Westwards

With just a couple of days left here in Bergdala, I am beginning to look towards home and what will await me when I get there.  I had hoped to do a little more sewing before I left, but I have had a sewing tutorial and am pretty sure I can carry on at home.  Whether or not I will is another question.  In order to sew I have to totally rearrange the studio and quite frankly I am missing the loom time and am quite anxious to get a shuttle in my hands!  And after all, I do have one new summer top!

'Then there is writing the text, cutting samples, assembling and so on that needs to be done to complete AGY:LandH....

There are also two conferences coming up very quickly that I need to prepare for.  Three if you count the Alberta conference which Doug will do on his own.  And that means I have to get everything ready for him so that he can cope with the booth at Olds without my input.

Two major projects are also beginning to come to reality. (More details when I have them.)  Both will require buckets of preparation and both are scheduled for this August. 

So when I get home, I need to finish the mat warp on the small loom first.  The painted warps should arrive shortly and they need to go onto the small loom lickety-split so that the fringe twisting can be done (twisting takes as long as the weaving) and of course, the wet finishing, I should get a tea towel warp onto the big loom and think about what else needs to be woven (and finished) in time for the fall sales.

It seems odd to be so concerned about events several months down the road when my objective in terms of living is to stay in the present moment as much as possible!  But that is the nature of the life I live.  I have long term deadlines (goals) which can only be met by concentrating on what needs to be done to make those goals become reality.  And that is only accomplished by staying in the now, doing what needs to be done every day.  Weaving is like eating the proverbial elephant.  One bite at a time.  One thread at a time.  You cannot get to 'done' without the intermediate steps.....

Updating Schedule

While I was away the brochure for NEWS arrived. I'm looking for another group in the New England area (or at least further east than the mid-West) to share travel costs with NEWS. The dates for the NEWS conference are July 14-17. Any groups interested in having a workshop with me either side of those dates?

Their website is not active yet but when it is you can find it at http://3.ly/uF3u

I'll be presenting at the Assoc. of Quebec Weavers the first weekend in June, followed by vending at HWSDA in Calgary AB. There is also a fibre festival in Grand Forks, BC in August which I'm just waiting to hear back from re: seminars. One of the topics they've requested is The Business of Weaving. I'm sure people will want to discuss pricing as that seems to be the most difficult thing of all for people who want to sell their textiles to come to terms with.

Today I dealt with some sample skeins for dyeing from Ashland Bay. They have a lovely light weight mohair boucle. I've designed a knitted scarf using the boucle and their lace weight merino/silk blend that I think ought to look really nice - I'll start knitting that tonight in undyed yarns just so I can see if it's going to work out like I think (hope?) it will.

Once I have some of the yarn dyed I'll work on a woven scarf, too. I have to start thinking ahead to the fall sales and what I'm going to do re: vending yarns. It's so very tempting to just sell off what I've got and down size that aspect of the studio. OTOH, sales of textiles are practically nil from January to August so selling yarns at least keeps some cash flowing during those 'down' times.

The good news is that my other upright wheel has sold - after the Jacey Boggs workshop. I need that wheel for the workshop. Bad enough I'm such a novice spinner - I at least have to show up with a wheel! Although I'm sure my friend would be happy to loan me a wheel, I may as well use one I'm used to using. :}

This morning the silk shawl warp got threaded, sleyed and tied on. Now to go weave a shawl. There are 19 more warps and I need more colours for weft so having a dye day on Monday is imperative!

Guess I'd better go down there and do something about getting that shawl woven.

Musings About Conferences

While I haven't been completely unproductive today - I did thread the shawl warp - I haven't done much else in the studio.

Partly because I am on the board of a regional association whose main mandate is to bring a conference to the region every other year and there is an on-line meeting going on, and partly because there has been a very lively debate on one of my chat groups about conferences. So I have been dealing with association business and thinking about the nature of conferences.

A bit of background here to explain my perspective - I have chaired two conferences and sat on a third conference committee. The last of the them was the regional conference of the board I am currently sitting on and which I chaired. It is probably the largest georgraphical regional association in North America, and I put it that way because it encompasses both US states and provinces of Canada.

The conference routinely attracts about 400 (down from 600 or more a decade or so ago), and the conference has been running for a while. If I remember correctly, the first conference was in the early 70's.

The format has been honed over the years to include a number of events - two or three days of seminars, vendor hall, guild booth display, juried exhibits, runway fashion show, etc.

The conference is generally held on the campus of a university so that participants can take advantage of dorm room rates and cafeteria for food.

The down side to using a university campus is that generally classes are scattered over a large geographical area. Not something that bothered me much when I was in my 20's and 30's, but I see older weavers struggling with walking long distances (to them) and having to deal with stairs in many of the older buildings. Older buildings also don't always have a/c.

Throughout my career I have participated first as a registrant taking classes, then as an instructor, then conference organizer and now as a vendor. Sometimes I've done all of them, or 3 out of 4, at once. I have also attended a large number of various regional conferences, generally as an instructor. So you could say that I have a kind of overview that a lot of people don't have.

One of the concerns I have about conferences is that each committee seems to feel the need to make their event 'bigger and better than ever'.

My thought is "Why don't we concentrate on making the event as valuable as possible and does that necessarily mean 'bigger'?"

Like several people on the chat group, I value the opportunity to gather with like minded people. I don't particularly like rushing hither and thither to events that have been so tightly scheduled that there is no time to eat, view the juried exhibits, shop, and just have time to talk face to face with other weavers.

As a vendor, I really dislike having booth hours scheduled from early in the morning to late at night when the participants are scheduled so tightly with events they don't want to miss that they can't make it to the vendor hall. I am going to try really hard to convey to the current conference chair that if conference organizers want to continue to attract vendors, they must allow participants to at least get to the vendor hall! I have all too often been enticed to pay my booth fee (which can be significant, even at smaller conferences), then stand there watching the clock tick while a few hardy souls managed to straggle in. Usually hot, bothered and exhausted - too distracted to focus on much, let alone make good yarn choices.

As an instructor I have generally had a good experience with the conference organisers, but my assigned aide has sometimes let me down, usually because they've been so tightly scheduled they couldn't do what was necessary. I now do not even count on a workshop or seminar aide but make sure I've got everything I need. (That's not to say I haven't had good aides - just that the others have left me relying on myself - a good aide then becomes a joy.)

As a participant, I am no longer willing to pay huge registration fees for conferences when I inevitably wind up skipping all the seminars I've signed up for in order to go to the vendor hall or the exhibits (often times a significant walk/drive away), or snag a friend (new or long standing) in order to talk, skipping the cafeteria meals because I can't eat the food. I'm also tired of sleeping on plastic covered dorm beds, with noisy neighbours. The last conference I attended I talked my friend into sharing a motel room and frankly by the time we split the room costs, it wasn't a whole lot more expensive than staying on campus.

So it seems to me that conference committees need to stop thinking about making events 'bigger and better', but focus instead on what participants want.

Feedback from participants, teachers and vendors have led me to conclude that:

People want venues with air conditioning, classes that are not more than 2-3 blocks away from the hub of the conference, elevators. Cafeteria food should have some variety to meet various food restrictions, be they medical, religious or personal preference.

Events should not be so tightly scheduled that people are rushing helter skelter in order that they don't miss anything that is important to them.

Adding more and more events to make a conference 'bigger and better' is not necessarily A Good Thing.

Next year Convergence rolls around again. It is a huge undertaking with attendance breaking 2000 a number of times. That many people means that many 'problems'. Some people deal with things going wrong better than others. I intend to be there, but as a helper in a vendor booth, not as a participant. What I am hoping to do is register for Complex Weavers - an event that I've never before managed to attend.

We'll see how it all goes.