Since

Yes, since I posted my P2P2 bit at 5.59PM Wednesday, life has been moving on pretty quickly.

I was in quite a bad shape by the time I finished typing my post, and I envisioned having "braces", (which I finally remembered are called "splints",) on both arms by Thursday morning.  Andrea threatened me to nag until I made an appointment with a particular physiotherapist, and I didn't dither.

Ben came home at 6.13PM and handed me a parcel; it was a surprise from Cally containing her second Varanasi-inspired towel, and a card.  It was such a lovely surprise, but I tell you, her towel is so soft it made me ponder showing/looking at/buying/selling textiles on the Internet, again.  It just doesn't work for me unless I can bury my face in it.  As well, the Wild Ruin Navajo Weaving design, simplified, would render easily to scarf weaving, though I would have the diamonds raining down warp-wise and perhaps work it achromatically. Inspirations are everywhere.    

Thursday came and I limped over to the physio, who pinpointed the cause and source of pain, and gave me a few exercises to do at home, with two printed sheets as reminders.  I remember two well, but I have to look at the sheets for the rest.  But she said I could weave 15 minutes at a time, (didn't say how many times a day,) so I am aiming for up to an hour a day soon.

I stopped by at the Suter to tell Andrea I had gone to see the physiotherapist, and I think Andrea was mildly surprised because I usually think about these things a long time and often deciding against them. And by then I wasn't in enough pain to buy another splint for the right arm.  I went to the Red Gallery because the cafe now has (free?) Wifi and I wanted to update P2P2 links; once there, I ran into Jo and Ronnie of Group R, so we spent discussing the Monday meeting instead.

After lunch with Ben, I went somewhere else to do the P2P2 link, and then walked around town looking for gifts for the upcoming trip home.  Men and boys remain difficult, (and the older the boys get, the harder, because I have no idea what electronic things they enjoy!)

I went into the bookshop and saw Anne Field's Collapse Weave on sale; I flipped through and looked at the pictures and left it at that.  It's one of those things I know a lot of folks tried, but until I see a truly lovely example, I'm seldom interested in what's in vogue; ditto big-loop mohair yarns, cotton/rayon chenilles, warp-painting, woven shibori, felting, and recently; eco-dyeing. I take my hats off to those who think of them first or resurrect old techniques, but so many pieces look the same as what's in Handwoven, and I'm too stubborn to learn a technique or material unless I can see, or at least sense, a way for me to use it differently.  Well, that's the theory. 

I was happy to get my hands on a visual diary with black pages, though; I have been intrigued by them for a long time but couldn't think of how I would use them.  Then in the last year or so as I've become more comfortable drawing on black paper, nobody stocked those sketchbooks, or I was always missing htem.  Now they are back, and I look forward to doodling with white, silver, gold, and other gel pens. Oh, and I bought a bag full of weird and funky stationary supplies for nephews and niece; erasable highlighters, ball point pens that look like wooden pencils with an erase at the end, etc, etc., etc. If they don't like them, their mothers will! And 5-year-old niece gets the same stuff as her fav cousins, 10 and 15, which is always a bonus.  

Friday I had drawing, and then hung out with Ben the whole afternoon; he has to have his eyes photographed every two years for his diabetes, and he is administered drops to open his pupils; he can't focus, can't read, and certainly can't drive for several hours, so we spent the afternoon walking everywhere.  It wasn't nice, though, how sunny it was on Friday, when Thursday was dark and cold and for Ben's eyes, it would have been more comfortable.

Saturday I was tired.  We dropped off the unsure scarf, got groceries, went to another bookshop, and came home.  I was exhausted, and after lunch I crawled into bed with my laptop and book.  In the evening, we watched one silly movie; I wanted to go to bed and read but Ben wanted to watch a 1963 Bond movie, so I stuck around Googling images and came across this artist.

Group R's exhibition is now 12 months and 26 days to installation, and I'm trying to think big, and suddenly I thought knowing collapse weave may help.  I'm not sure what I'm going to make yet, but I want to make something big and I've been listing techniques where structure/design-interest can be seen from some distance, as well as close up, especially when the viewer stands right up close to the work and looks up.  So today we went back and got the Field book.

And another thing.  Cally and I are going to Skype tonight.  Not exactly sure how we came about, but it was definitely me who suggested it, so I should pretty up a bit in the next six hours, (as if!,) and perhaps list things I would like to discuss.  I've only Skyped three times before and the first two times I didn't have a laptop with a camera so I could see them but they not me.  This time Cally can see me, and... we'll see how that goes!