The cloth part, I like, but the selvedge is so bad I'm beyond embarrassed. I was alert and unwove, (not crazy about the word "unpicked" because I'm a weaver, not a picker,) sections some days, but other days I missed/ignored large sections. While designing. I was careful about shafts 1 and 3 which is where the far left and right warps were threaded, but that wasn't enough. I don't remember having this much problem the last time I wove with the same combination of threads. BBBE scarves were slightly wider on the loom from memory, sleyed at 36EPI instead of 42, and I used the end-feed shuttle. This time I used the Swedish boat shuttle because I thought its lighter weight would be more suitable, but a 42EPI warp would have held the heavier shuttle and might have been a better choice. I also know the body likes certain width better than others, allowing the weaving to go inexplicably smooth and fast, but I've never examined this aspect.
I had a bad, bad evening Thursday night, pressing these two. You know, the recurring self doubt. In my case it's either: "when will I get better technically?" or "How long do I have to do this to remember THIS? I've been here before!!" On a rare occasion I put on a short dummy warp just to improve my picks; more likely when sampling I try to slow right down and practice good selvedge for that particular warp/draft, but when I'm doing the "real" weaving, I tend to prefer to have a rhythm. Oh dear.
There is another conundrum. Physical exercise is good for mild to moderate depression. I know from experience moving the body can sometimes get me out of (the perception of) tiredness or low mood instantly, and other times it rewards me for doing at least "this" much. For me, weaving or gardening works better than exercises, and this is why my garden gets a fairly good, (relative,) workout in the winter. The last couple of weeks I've been physically tired with no correlative reason, and though the mood has been up and down a bit, I have not been depressed. So I made myself weave.
I was counting on the motion of weaving putting me instantly in the singing-and-twinkle-toe-weaving mood again because I've got so much to weave. Instead, I stayed tired and mayhem takes place on the loom. And because I try not to rely so much on my feelings/perception at these times, (which may be a mistake, I really don't know,) I don't know if/when I should work just a little more or quit right away.
Another issue is, I am getting older, less fit, and even shorter. I am a small person weaving on a big loom, and although we've done everything we could to modify the big loom to suit my body, I wonder if my body is finding it harder. And that's the most comfortable of all my looms!
So I'm trying to do more general exercises, not specifically to improve my mood, but to prevent the body from being even less fit. That's seems to easiest place to get started.
Oh, dear.
Still, to busy to get depressed.
8 comments:
It's difficult to get enough exercise--as someone with autoimmune issues, I know this all too well. But I find that even if I take a walk every day, it improves my energy level. And also, when I return to the loom, I often see things differently. Hope you find a solution, Meg. This is a beautiful piece.
I know I can always excercise more. That's a given in my life, Margery. But in addition, I wished I knew when to trust my gut feeling vs when to push myself. That's very hard for me. The funny thing is, since I've been learning to cope with depression more and more, I push myself more often, and end up with badly woven pieces more and more! LOL.
Meg, it really looks beautiful to me but I know what a perfectionist you are and I understand feeling like that myself. Walking always makes me feel better, though here it's difficult to walk on the roads. Wish I could pop over and visit.
I wish you could pop over and visit, indeed, Carol. That would be fantastic! Perfectionist or not, you do realize I don't photograph/post all my booboos! LOL. These two really show how tired I was.
I find the colours very interesting, I was thinking of weaving a purple and light green scarf, but the shades of each that I have don't have the zingyness that your yarns do, they are not bright enough.
I'm finding out, Dorothy, that some oranges, especially the browny, burnt kinds, and some greens, olivy or yellow-greeny types, look not that spectacular on their own, but act as great enhancement colors, in that they create wonderful contrasts and make the "main" colors nuanced and interesting.
When I get home from one of my long teaching-and-meeting-with-supervisors days in Glasgow I sometimes find that weaving relaxes and refreshes me and at other times that my tiredness completely wrecks the weaving. The difficulty is to know which one is going to happen before I start! If you discover the secret, please let me know...
I really like the way those colours work together, rather like exotic flowers with their foliage.
It's hard knowing that, isn't it? And as I get older, it's harder as I'm having to modify "norm" all the time. The general out-of-shape-ness doesn't help, but I haven't been able to discern how much is due to this and how much go age and, of course, how much is due to the all-important weight!
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