I got some lovely art news today that really is shared with my dad. This made me miss him acutely. As I’ve been updating the projects page of this website I’ve noticed how many things I’ve made since he passed. I feel quite fortunate that we shared this, he and I, our art, and that I can still be with him in working on this or that.
Today I turned to weaving for comfort. This current project is especially comforting for me because the Tibetan yarn I’m using is one of my favourite things because of a gift from my dad. He went to Nepal and brought me back a scarf and hat that I just loved. Unfortunately the hat I lost but I still have the scarf, which I still love. My Tibetan yarn is a good deal rougher so I’m debating whether or not it should be a garment presently. In any case, working on this piece and finishing it today, brought me a great deal of peace, whatever it’s destined to be in the end.
Aside from the meaningfulness of working on the loom from my dad’s shop, using a yarn that reminds me of him, I think working on things is comforting because it gives me something else to focus on, something to do, and a sense of satisfaction. So in that spirit, some weaving updates…
On the matter of breaking my resolution not to buy art supplies, I did so partly because I thought I’d need more of this yarn to make a full scarf with it… I had a couple rolls at home already. That was a baseless fear. I made a whole scarf and still have leftovers from the single roll used to make this piece. So this has been a good example of how it’s best to buy the thing only when I actually definitely need it.
Here’s that missing thread from the beater! I was wondering what happened—if the warp thread snapped or what. Turns out no—I simply never tied the warp thread on to this one. Oops.
I’ve also learned that when you aren’t using a bobbly novelty yarn that weaving is a much much much faster undertaking. I made this in about a sixth of the time of took me to make my last piece. This is a pretty great revelation. Basically, it’s a more flexible medium than I realizes. I can make more complex and textured pieces like the last one I made, or a much simpler one like this piece depending on how much time I’d like to spend on the project.
Finally, now I have to learn to weave in the ends of the weft threads. I think I might need a special giant needle for this. We’ll see though… maybe I already have something that’ll work.
That’s all for tonight… so sleepy I can barely write this! Going to sleep content once more thanks to art.