Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Sunny Day

 


Ah, spring!

After a winter with too warm temps and grey dreary days, we have entered spring.  The days are warming, spouts are beginning to appear, and the sun is warming up the earth - and us.

With climate change becoming undeniable, (although not to some, no of course not to some) I look towards the summer with some trepidation.

The heat pump still needs to be set up for the a/c, and it worked pretty well over the winter, even when it hit temps below -25 C.  At that point the natural gas kicked in.  I ran space heaters in the studio at times because the basement is always cooler than the upstairs.  

I have a major project for the local guild to complete - trying to sell some of the books we received from a former guild member who died a few years ago.  Their family delivered about 8 more boxes of books, some of which the guild already owned, some of which are not really appropriate for our guild members.  Some are historical or very specific specialties, and we decided the guild needed the income to help pay the rent on the guild room rather than obscure titles that may never get looked at.

I am almost halfway through inventorying the ones we will attempt to sell and I hope to begin an eBay auction before the end of April.  There are some 'rare' books and some 'classics', yes, including a copy of Magic in the Water with the actual fabric samples.  I signed and numbered the pre-orders and this copy is #120.  There are also signed books from Allen Fannin, Peter Collingwood and Jack Lenor Larsen.

But an eBay auction takes time to set up, take photos of the books, make the listings.  I have decided to list 10 titles per day so that the task does not become overwhelming.  I have not counted how many books we received, but about 8 banker boxes, full to the brim.  We will keep some for the guild library, some monographs will be offered to guild members for a donation, but that still leaves nearly 100 books to sell on.

Once I'm done the guild auction, I will list the lace books I want to sell.  These are mine, and who knows, I may finally let go of some of my own library?  (Or not.  Really hard to let some of those books, collected over nearly 50 years, go.)

OTOH, do I really want to leave them for someone else to have to sell?  This getting old(er) and needing to think about letting stuff go is, well, hard, at times.

I also have a phone appointment with the pain doctor today.  There is *some* 'good' news to report - the new therapy has actually improved one part of the pain equation, but not the other.  Not sure what he will suggest.  

Mostly, I look around my studio and take note of All The Things.  But I also note the 'holes' I have carved out of my yarn stash.  

So many 'dreams'.  So many 'plans'.  So little energy, right now.  Maybe with the coming spring and lessening pain levels, I will discover I have more energy.

Anyway, I'll announce here when the eBay auction begins.  I *may* post the entire list here so that if someone wants several books I can start a 'hold' pile for them and mail everything at once rather than multiple envelopes.  (Thinking about trying to reduce my carbon footprint by sending one box rather than several envelopes...)


Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Assumptions

 



I was reminded this morning that we usually approach weaving with a set of assumptions.

One of the assumptions that many weavers labour under is that of density or epi (ends per inch or cm).  The assumption is that whatever thickness of warp you use, you will also use for the weft.

So people will do a ruler wrap, decide on how many epi (or epcm) without compensating for their weft which may - or may not - be the same thickness as the warp.  Or it may be stiffer.  Or slipperier.  Or textured, not smooth.

All of those variations from the warp (which may be more tightly spun and/or thinner/thicker and/or textured/smooth) will most likely affect the density of the warp.

How much?  The only 'correct' answer is to sample, including the wet finishing.

Once the sample has been wet finished, the weaver must then examine their results and then decide if they need to adjust their density - closer - or potentially - further apart.

Some new weavers want to make 'perfect' cloth right out of the gate.  But weaving is complex, and weavers need to build a solid foundation of knowledge before they can say with some certainty, what their density ought to be.  Because we still haven't looked at weave structure yet.  New weavers are sometimes surprised (and not in a good way) that when they weave plain weave and twill in the same cloth that strange things can happen.  Other weave structures are even more extreme in their draw in and again, combining plain weave and lace in vertical stripes in a cloth (a scarf, for example) there will be shrinkage differential between the two different weave structures.  This can sometimes become obvious during weaving and can lead to tension problems.

OTOH, I like to include some plain weave stripes in order to better gauge my beat because a lace weave looks 'best' when it is woven to the same number of ppi as epi.


In the scarf on the right hand side, you can easily see the difference in the two weave structures as the lace will take up/draw in more than the plain weave.  The colours 'wave' and the stripes are not straight but curve up and down as the yarn travels between plain and lace weaves.

So for these scarves, I only wove the lace 'gamp' at one end of the scarf and the rest was done in plain weave to minimize the take up differential in the cloth.

I did a series of scarves in colour gamps and lace.  The lace scarves were used for the lace class at School of Sweet Georgia.

The series of scarves was used for one of the lectures I do on working with colour.  (I know, my security needs to be upgraded - waiting for my web mistress to have some time to deal with it.)

I am still taking booking for Zoom presentations.  These lectures were designed for 2 hours, but I can edit them to an hour or so.  List of topics on my website.  Or I have been known to tailor a topic because a guild requested a specific topic.

My fees will likely be going up in July.  Any bookings made now will be billed out at the current fee.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Tech Fail

 


I suppose I should have realized that when I set up the ko-fi discount it was 'too easy'.  I mean, when is computer stuff ever 'easy'?

Such was the case over the weekend when I tried to set up a discount 'coupon' for my ko-fi shop.  And then could not test the link because when I tried to check out the shopping cart Paypal would not accept it because it would not let me pay to buy my own products.

Instead I noted the message that the discount had been applied and hoped it was all going to be as simple as it looked.

Seemed I was wrong.

So, tech fail and embarrassment on my part.  

As soon as I realized what had happened, I refunded the 20% discount to the people who bought because they assumed they would be getting a discount, and have shelved the idea of being able to easily run 'sales' that way.

This was all a 'test' to see if I could run my 'usual' birthday bash sale the first days in July.  Historically I have lumped Canada Day, US July 4 and my birthday into one big 'sale' and I thought this would make my life easier.  

Anyhoo - if you want to purchase something and the coupon doesn't get applied, I *will* return the 20% discount to you from now until April 1 as advertised.

Doug has just left to pick up his new eyeglasses, and I have an appointment for May 9 (our wedding anniversary - new glasses for the two of us this year, I guess).  One thing no one seems to mention about getting older - how much the maintenance costs...

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Magic in the Water

 


loom state


wet finished

When a certain someone took over Twitter I eventually left the site and joined a couple others.  One of the sites I joined was BlueSky and over the months I've been there I've gradually 'found' other textile folk.

Yesterday a new weaver posted a photo of the very first thing they had ever woven and commented that they still needed to 'wet finish' it.

I couldn't resist and commented that I couldn't express how delighted I was to hear that they would be wet finishing it.

They replied that the instructor of the weaving class they took emphasized that wet finishing was essential.

So, I guess my constant drum pounding is making some noise.  :)

I have been pounding out the same 'tune' for literally decades.  I really got going in 1994 with Usenet rec...textiles.  It was there that people began to request more information and the seed of Magic in the Water was sown.

Over the years I have persisted in spreading the message.  Frankly I have had moments when I swore I would give up and just let whatever happens, happen.  And then I see a post like the one on BlueSky and I take heart.

If my only 'legacy' to the weaving world is to raise awareness of this vital step in the creation of textiles, I will count my time here as valid, and the hours I've sat at this desktop and pounded out the same message over and over again fruitful.

I have several guilds lined up for Zoom presentations this year (and a couple for next, already).  I may not be able to travel to teach, but I *can* still write.  And while I really hate being on camera, Zoom allows me to visit far flung places virtually.

I'm going to be a bit busy for the next few weeks as I inventory the guild books we will be selling, so weaving will likely slow.  But I've got more than enough tea towels, and it looks like my coupon (20% off any items tagged 'tea towels') is working.  The coupon is good until April 1 (No Fooling!).

If you have been looking for a copy of the original Magic in the Water, there will be one for sale (unless a guild member buys it for the upset price) so stay tuned for the eBay auction announcement (here and elsewhere).  Lots of great books in those 6 boxes!

And if you want a copy of Magic (no samples) it is available here, both print and pdf versions.




Saturday, March 23, 2024

Old Dog, New Tricks


Typically I will do a 'birthday bash' sale the first couple of weeks of July.  Doing a 'sale' generally entails a fair amount of work on my part, so I tend to not do them frequently.  

It occurred to me last night that ko-fi might offer the option of creating a discount coupon, so I rummaged around late last night, and voila, they do.  So I did.  Or at least, I tried to.

From now until April 1 I have a discount code for tea towels.  

This past year has seen some rather large expenses, and now I need new glasses.  Since we are on a fixed income, I guess I need to stimulate some sales of my stuff.  Not to mention, I'm running out of room on the shelves with two boxes of tea towels that need to be put away, and more tea towels coming off the loom.

I may not be weaving nearly as much as I used to do, but I *am* still weaving.

The code should be good for any item in my ko-fi shop with the tag 'tea towel' and is 20%.  For US readers, prices are in Canadian dollars, so you also get the exchange rate 'discount'...

Friday, March 22, 2024

Memories

 


Scrolling through Facebook this morning, a post challenged 'me' to name a city that changed my life.

I quickly thought about the places I have been in my life (more than I expected, fewer than I'd hoped) and decided that the place/city that changed me in ways I had no way of knowing it would was Örebrö, Sweden.

I spent the better part of 3.5 months there, the spring/summer of 1969.

I lived on the university campus, courtesy of a kind student who allowed me to live in their quarters.  The campus was pretty deserted because it was summer, after all, but there were a few students still living on campus so I wasn't entirely alone.  I had my pen friend, too, but she wasn't always around.  

Ultimately, my memories of that 3.5 months are ones of transformation.

Up until that time I had always relied on others to 'take care of' me.  Usually my mom.  

But I had travelled from the middle of BC to Sweden without someone to do the caring - for the most part.  Or at least, not a designated someone.  Instead I discovered that perfect strangers would frequently take pity on me and make sure I got to where I was supposed to go.

So, I wasn't entirely self-reliant, but much more so than I had ever been in my to then 19 years of age.

I found myself feeling at home there.  It felt comfortable in a way that felt utterly strange.  In those days very few people spoke English and I had to learn enough vocabulary to request what I needed.  I got very good at reading body language - gestures, facial expressions (which are fairly common to most people.)  I never did learn to speak the language - the grammar defeated me utterly.  But I learned a bunch of nouns and some key phrases.  I learned numbers when some of the students would invite me to go play mini-golf.

I learned how to navigate public transport, got 'lost' on Gamla Stan in Stockholm, made it to the 'north' to spend the summer solstice with my pen friend and her family, and watched the sun make it's journey around the sky without ever disappearing below the horizon.

As part of that trip I took a two week bus tour through Europe - Brussels to Paris to Nice, to Milan back to Germany for the ferry trip back to Sweden.

When I landed back in Canada taking my first ever plane trip from Arlanda to Vancouver, I had a gift I did not expect.

I found my strength.  My sense of self worth (although I still had a long way to go).  My independence.  My knowledge that I could do hard things.  Survive in difficult circumstances.  To trust my danger radar.  And that, ultimately, most people were kind.  (No, not everyone.)

Getting lost (on several occasions) and then finding my way back to where I needed to be let me understand that I didn't need to panic.  I just needed to think.  

I went over there on a budget.  As it happens I *almost* ran out of money - but not quite.  I borrowed some money from my pen friend's mother, and paid it back as soon as I got home.  Pretty sure she never thought she would see her money again.  But I made sure I got it back to her.

In a way, when I made the decision to become a weaver, I drew on that experience to find the strength to make difficult decisions.  To not panic.  To think.  To plan.  To keep trying, until I succeeded.  Even if that 'success' was, shall we say, less spectacular than other people's glorious results.

I had to learn that just because someone else appeared to be succeeding beyond my wildest imagination did not make *my* success lesser.  I learned to not measure my self worth against someone else's apparent 'worth'.

I also learned that we are all part of an interconnected 'web'.  That being kind is better than being unkind.

So, thank you pen friend.  Thank you for making my trip to your country possible.  For looking out for me, but leaving me to fend for myself, too.  I will never forget the kindness of the people who helped me when I was lost.  Who made my stay there more pleasant.

Ultimately I wish I had been able to see more of the world.  But I will never forget my several trips to Sweden and the people I met there.  And be grateful for the transformation that allowed me to be here, now, having lived the life I have lived.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Feedback

 


From time to time someone will contact me to thank me for 'what you do for the weaving community'.

It's always a day brightener.

My life has been largely shaped by the teachers I have had.  The good ones, obviously, but also?   The bad ones.

Not every teacher is good for every student, and I had to stumble my way into the teaching world after having been tossed into the deep end.  

I confess I have not always been the 'best' teacher.  There were times when I taught while I was ill, usually from allergies.  I learned early to demand that my workshops be scent free.  And still had people arrive reeking of scents.  Thing is, certain scents/perfumes robbed me of the ability to think and speak.  It's called aphasia, and when it happens to someone who is normally proficient at both, it's at first upsetting (what is happening to me?) and then anxiety inducing as my mental rolodex whirled round and round, so fast I couldn't find the words I needed to communicate.  

So, no, I wasn't the best teacher on those occasions.

Other times it was food allergies.

No matter how many times I would tell people 'plain food' and give them an actual list of allowed foods, someone would want to make something 'special'.  And then be offended when I politely said 'no thank you' and declined to eat their 'treat'.

Because if I ate that special treat, I'd wind up sick.  And I'd *be* sick for at least 3 days, which usually meant flying home while sick.  (My own personal hell, not a communicable disease.)

Other times, I just could not seem to find a way to express the information in a way that made sense to a listener.  I would try different approaches.  I would demonstrate, explaining what I was doing, breaking down the steps, trying to not forget something.  We all have basic assumptions, but when talking to a new weaver, they don't have the experience or background knowledge to understand a new technique, especially if I don't include every step along the way.

It was in the early days of the internet that I really began to try to find different ways to write about weaving, finding metaphors, different perspectives, allowing for as many of the 'it depends' considerations as I could think of, in the moment.

And I started developing my 'Laura-isms' as some of my students tagged them.  Short sentences that captured the essence of a principle - never use a knot where a bow will do - for example.

Change one thing and everything can change, is a more recent one.

I love reading, and I happen to enjoy writing.  I've used writing as a communication tool for a long time, including this blog since 2008.  Interest in the blog has waxed and waned, and recently seems to be growing in numbers of readers.

Thing is, I can't tell if it is just bots scraping content for 'AI' or if there are real humans reading (and hopefully benefitting) from my posts.

Comments are how I tell that actual people are reading it, be they on here, or shares on FB or elsewhere.

As I wind down my business (and my life) I find I still want to help people.  The books I published over the past year seem to have satiated my desire for writing books, but every morning I find myself at the desk top feeling the urge to write.  Something.  So, here I am, once again.

Which is all to say - apparently I'm not quite done writing.

Even though I may say the same thing, over and over again, it seems not every person will grasp what I'm trying to communicate the first (or even the 10th time).  So, yesterday I agreed to write some articles for a site.  A few weeks ago I told a friend that I didn't want to write for publication anymore because I didn't want to write to someone else's style sheet or format, or to tight deadlines.  But I was asked to write about things that I want to write about, so how could I say no?  And when someone says they value your knowledge and your talent at writing...it seemed churlish not to agree.  

Not sure when I will get the topics they asked for written, or when they will appear.  But rest assured, I will likely continue to take my second cup of coffee here, at the desktop, and muse 'out loud'.  About weaving.  And about my life.

Because I get just enough feedback to let me know some of you are reading.  And some days that's all it takes.

As always books are available here and also here (along with tea towels...)