Yeah, it’s been a little while since I’ve posted, but it’s not for lack of productivity. Since finishing the sample for Jacey, I’ve been clearing the decks (both physically and mentally) in prep for the Handwoven work. None of it is particularly inspiring, but I’ll share it here just as a talking point.
First off, placemat samples for the shop:
The owners are always looking for simple rigid heddle projects and these fit the bill nicely. Big, chunky cotton (machine wash and dry!) and a little bit of finger manipulation to make it interesting. The pattern is an adaptation from The Weaver’s Idea Book to use yarns we carry, so the write-up is just enough to describe the yarn substitution changes. I liked these, actually, and they were my first chance to make use of the table loom. Total overkill for plain weave, you might say, but I liked the fact that I could just flip levers and not worry. And no mental stress when learning the quirks of the Jane. These go to the shop today.
Second was the end of the Long Towel Warp.
It’s my own adaptation of the Keep It Simple towels and there are 13 of them there. Plus some other treadlings because I was losing my mind after a while. Also, a bit at the end to keep as a sample for color possibilities in the future. I’ll be cutting apart and hemming these babies this weekend (one or two are already sold to my neighbors) and the rest go into the bin for Art Fair. I’m more than half way to my total, so two more long warps and I’m done. I think I’ll make it.
Separately, I’ve been knitting like crazy on a Knit, Swirl! sweater. It’s big, white, and there’s lots of mohair. The knitting will get done tonight, then I can wash and block over the weekend while the weather is good. It’ll also serve as a foil for getting the sample warp on and off the loom for the vest, washing Edith (finally! It’s only been a year.) and generally trying to ignore the fact that I’ll have a lot of time to myself next week.
And who thought that Plaited Twill would get my brain pinging so hard on Blocks? It’s just crazy making, I know. I think I need a separate brain for percolating and one for actually weaving.
Yay, there’s weaving going on somewhere on this continent! (not so much here, though, although lots of knitting and spinning)
So, talk to me of whatever balance you may have or want between the relatively mindless production of shop samples and Art Fair towels, etc., vs. the much harder, very mindful aspects of weaving like learning to use blocks?
Interesting question. Given that one pays the bills and the other doesn’t (at least not for a while), I definitely can’t delete one entirely for the sake of the other. That said, the learning and expanding of my knowledge base is a long-term investment. Being able to design and develop new drafts, by playing around with what’s gone before, is what will hopefully enable me to get more serious about writing, teaching, etc. The more I know, the more I’m worth.
And, I know that pushing myself to create new, different and exciting things for the magazine is what will really make me grow. I think I need a way to turn that into things that also help to pay the bills.
How’s that for a non-answer, answer?