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I thought 3 days was too long for the Supplemental Warp workshop. Hah! It was perfect since there were only 4 of us. Had the other 2 weavers who had to cancel at the last minute been there, we would have either been pressed for time or not been able to go into the depth and variety that we did.
The two most important things I learned were how remarkably versatile supplemental warp is, and that many designs can be accomplished quite well with a single back beam.
Each of us was given a different weave pattern to set up and thread on our looms, with the colors completely our decision. Mine was the only one with the supplemental warp threads all the way across the width. I decided to use what I thought was an ugly pinky-taupey-grayish yarn for my ground warp, and stripes of hand painted or variegated yarns for the supplemental warp, trying to use up bits of things.
Well, as it turned out that ground warp was sort of a perfect color. Depending on the weft used it was either dominant or would almost disappear.
We each had a chance to weave on the other 4 looms that were there (3 other students’ plus the teacher’s). Then we cut the warps off, with all of our sections in a row, and laid them out to discuss what we’d each done with color and treadling, and what we’d learned.
Some were much longer than others. Some we all liked, some we didn’t.
I had signed up for the class because I need to do some supplemental warp for my COE. Now I’ll do some just because I can and it’s cool!
I also got to weave on 4 other portable looms. Learned that I don’t like the Kyra (front levers too long and a PITA), a Baby Mac (great to weave on but too heavy to move reasonably), or a ….hmmm….what was her loom? But I did really like the Dorset. I’m going to keep my eyes open for one. If I find one reasonably I’ll buy it and get rid of both my Missouri and my counterbalance.
Oh yeah, I also got a hands-on lesson in how to cut off a warp when you’re not through weaving while preserving your tension and maximizing the length left. Not gonna try to explain it here, but if you want details, I’ll either provide them or find them online for you.
I reported in my last post that I’d made some marketing decisions: to reactivate my Etsy shop and to open a Facebook account for my business. I have now done both. I’ve put a Social Media link at the top of my page, and I hope that you’ll stop by both places.
I’m slowly getting items put up in my Etsy shop. This is not a fast process. Since it’s best to have 4 or 5 different shots of each item, first I had to set up a decent place in my house to take photos. (Notice I didn’t say a good place; I don’t think I have a good place.) Take many photos of each item to get a few decent ones. Learn that my iPhone takes better photos than my relatively new Canon digital camera. Get the photos into my computer, crop and adjust lighting, then resize them appropriately.
Then for each listing I have to write a description, figure out the best tags for it, determine size and weight of it when packaged, and so on. While I do some copy & paste stuff, much of it simply has to be entered anew for each item. I’m trying to prioritize and first put up items that I think might be seasonally attractive, like red things, and warm things, and towels because they’re more affordable and made great gifts.
If at any time you feel like tagging my Etsy shop or a particular item as a Favorite, I’ll appreciate it. Those Favorite tags help my shop and/or specific items to rise in the searches. (At least I think they do; I hope readers with an Etsy shop will correct me if I’m wrong.)
Then there’s Facebook. So much to learn, so much to figure out. In order to set up a page for Second Wind Weaving I had to first set up a personal account. Figure out how to create and upload an appropriate logo and header image.
Then I had to ‘find friends.’ Since my purpose was to promote my business, especially my baby wraps, I started by looking for all the moms I’d sold wraps to. Some I found quickly, others not at all. Send out many friend requests. Respond gratefully to the moms who responded, which includes going to their pages and commenting, or at least liking, one or more of their posts. Get myself invited to join a few closed groups related to baby wraps and other handwoven items.
Figure out how to find those groups on a regular basis. Realize that when someone I don’t know personally wants to friend me, even if it’s clear it’s a fellow weaver, I have to first go to her page and read a few posts so that I don’t connect with someone who uses FB to post political opinions or even rants, especially if those views are antithetical to me. And that far from feeling guilty about ignoring or rejecting those friend requests, that is the appropriate response.
Like Etsy, if you go to my Second Wind Facebook page and like my posts, I think it helps people find me. Again, I could be wrong.
Trust me, I have LOTS to learn at both places, and will appreciate any insights you might be able to provide.
In more afternoons than I like to think about I’m spending time doing things for the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center (WaFAC). Like writing a little grant application. Or planning out possible floor plans for a potential space expansion using graph paper and tiny bits of cut out post it notes.
Evenings I’m working on Christmas gifts so no photos of those. God forbid I should have time to actually weave. Or work on the written part of that COE application. Although I did get my Missouri loom set up for a 3-day workshop on supplemental warps that I’m taking Friday through Sunday. Not loving that it’s 3 days, but I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.
What are you up to?
As Ben Franklin once said, the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes. Like everyone else, I much prefer the changes I choose to those that are thrust upon me. Still, I have to deal with those, too. And since I’m not a woman who believes in letting life simply happen to me, that means I have to do something.
 Do you see the pileated woodpecker? Just one short paragraph on the election. I am very concerned about the election of Donald Trump, about what it will mean for people he has stated hatred for in one form or another. About what it will mean for us as a country. So I am hoping to set a few things in motion. I have sent out emails to encourage a few people to join together and send Reiki to Trump and Pence, with the intention of opening their hearts. The same thing could be done with Bohdichitta or probably a specific type of prayer circle or other practice. I also intend to start actually having regular communication with all of the people elected to represent me, something I’ve only done very sporadically in the past.
Moving on to the personal…being a micro-business owner is a challenge. As a weaver, selling my work is what it’s all about. Never easy, it’s getting harder. Fewer people go to and spend money at art shows than they used to. I get it. I, too, buy way more things online than I used to. And I, too, have made conscious decisions to reduce my unnecessary consumption and ownership. So what to do?
I’ve made three decisions, things that I didn’t think I’d do.
- I’ve reactivated my old Etsy page, which I started before I ever had a website and let go years ago. When I redid my website last year, for a variety of reasons I made a conscious decision to make it be more gallery oriented than sales oriented, and I now think Etsy is a better alternative for actual sales for me. With only 3 items up at the moment, I’m going to spend time taking photos and getting posts up over the next few weeks.
- I’m going to approach a few carefully chosen stores to place a few of my best pieces in them…the Copper Shop on the Roycroft campus and one or two more.
- I’m biting the bullet and joining Facebook. I’d like to have just a page for the business, but it appears that I need to have a personal page – or at least a personal profile – in order to have a business page. I know that there is at least one Facebook group that deals with my baby wraps, and I need to have a presence there in order to sell more of them.
I’m putting a link to my Etsy page up in the header of my blog today, and as soon as I get myself established on Facebook I’ll put that link up, too. Only time will tell if these decisions work well for me.
The above scarf is a weaverly long-distance collaboration. A while ago, Susan over at Iowaweaver posted a draft of a weave pattern she’d developed to weave circles. Because warp and weft threads intersect at right angles, this is not an easy task unless you have lots of shafts. Susan’s draft was for only 8 shafts. I wanted to try it and painstakingly copied her draft to my weaving software. But found out that there were REALLY long floats on the back side of the weaving. So I modified the tie up and treadling and came up with the above. There are 4-end floats, which I find to be acceptable in a scarf but might not be in a towel. Susan’s other readers have further modified it to have shorter floats, but then the circles are less round.
In any case, being someone who does not sample (I know, I know!), I set my loom up for 2 scarves with 8/2 rayon. Wove the first scarf at 21 EPI, the second at 24 EPI. If I do it again, I’ll sett even closer. And I’ll pay more attention. Do you see that the circles at the beginning of the scarf are not the same as the circles at the end? Apparently I forgot to treadle part of the sequence. And on the first scarf I apparently forgot the thread part of a sequence so my middle circle is actually an oval. I haven’t decided if I’ll put either out for sale yet; if I do they won’t be at my regular prices.
For the last few weeks I’ve been spending lots of hours in front of my computer. Not my favorite way to spend my time, but needed right now.
I’m back to working on my Certificate of Excellence (COE), and in addition to 40 woven samples, it requires lots of written work, too. I feel like I’m writing a college research paper, and the expectation of the output is somewhat similar. While the suggestion from the knowledgeable folks at the Handweavers’ Guild of America is to do all the written parts first, I just can’t. I need to get up and weave. My butt and my brain can handle a finite amount of screen time, and it’s definitely shorter than it used to be. Plus I need to write a bit and then cogitate. After I get the current section (I’m on page 7 already) written I’ll print it out and re-read, likely making plenty of edits. Then I’ll do the same thing with the pages I wrote several months ago and see if they sound like they were written by two different people (I hope not). The next COE submission deadline is in the fall of 2018, and I assume I’ll be working on it until then.
I’m also working on a relatively short grant application for as the (volunteer) General Coordinator of the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center. That’s due November 3rd, so has to be done soon. Thank goodness!
Meanwhile, I have actually been weaving. Based on COE info received, I have to re-do some of the weaving samples I thought I’d already completed. This one, done in plain weave, should have been a piece of cake. NOT! I had three failed attempts before I got this one that I believe meets all the standards.
It’s important to use a variety of fibers and finishing techniques for the samples. Rayon chenille is not a good choice for most (all?) of the other weaving samples, so I chose that fiber and double-twisted fringe for this one.
I also got the speckle-dyed scarves done. At this point I’m happy enough with them that I’m not going to overdye. That can always be done in the future if needed. The first one, with the lavender weft, I like. Jack does, too.
One afternoon as I was weaving it was very gray outside so the light was different, and I got a hit of what I thought was a northern lights look. So I decided I’d use a dark weft for the second scarf. That effect is much better from a distance than up close.
You may have noticed in the dye photos that there was a section that was lighter in color than the majority of the warp. I did that purposely. It would have been smart if I’d actually measured and marked how much length I needed, but I didn’t; I just eyeballed it. So after I wove those two scarves I had some unknown amount of darker speckled warp left. I chose a dusty rose weft. In addition to not having much length before I hit the lighter warp, I really rather hate the way the colors play together in this one. I doubt I’ll ever put this one out for sale. Anyone want to win it???
Then came the light section of the warp. It was a bit shorter than my usual so I sewed it into a very workable infinity scarf. I am most decidedly not a yellow person; never have been. But this warp called to me for a yellow weft. I think it’s my favorite.
What’s next on the loom? I don’t know. Something will come to me, I’m sure. 😉
On the needles — almost always a pair of socks. In fact, the same night that I finished these socks (thickish yarn, knit on size 4 needles)…
…I started these (typical sock yarn size, knit on size 1s).
Knitting socks at night while I watch TV makes me happy. And there’s a local craft store that’s stocked entirely with donations, staffed entirely with volunteers, and donates 100% of profits to a local charity. So I shop there when I can, and often get sock yarn at a great price. Those white socks? Yarn from there costing $7. The newly-finished multi-colored socks? Ditto. The newly-started socks? Yarn from there costing $3. You just can’t beat it.
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