Best Job in the Whole World

Well I guess the blogs are going to be monthly. Weekly certainly didn't work, bi-weekly didn't work, every three weeks didn't work, so we'll try monthly. Despite the fact that I don't have much time to write these blogs I do feel as though I have the best job in the world. Every day I get to share my passion with weavers all over the continent. By chance, two of my favourite weavers were both in the studio at the same time a few weeks ago. They both brought in exquisite projects fresh off the loom woven in 12 guage bamboo. At right: Josie's husband Philip wearing both scarves.

The wonderful thing about these two women is that they are both 88 years old, vital, creative and so inspiring. Josie has been weaving for more than 40 years and is one of the foundng members of the Salt Spring Island Weavers Guild. Josie is a natrual colourist and she is never afraid to try something new. She took home the Grand Rosette at our last Fall Fair.

Josie and her husband Philip are also very accomplished gardeners. A few years back they sold their ocean-front home with remarkable gardens to new owners. You can see their garden featured in Gardens West Vol 22 no. 8 October 2008, page 7. Josie and Philip are referred to throughout the article.

Here are my gals: Josie is on the left and Pam on the right. Click on the photos to see close-ups.

Josie's scarf was woven in a turned twill pattern at 32 epi, 32 ppi on 8 shafts. Her warp was predominantly soft greens with a crocus weft. Pam's colours were lime, sky, indigo, crocus and sugar plum woven in a 4 shaft huck lace, sett at 28 epi, 28 ppi. The hand and drape on both of the pieces were perfect.

Pam first learned to weave as an occupational therapist before she retired. When she was in her late 60's she decided to take her weaving more seriously and began her very disiplined exploration. She is always dropping in to show me what she is working on and is always striving to make her weaving better. So often I hear my students say: "Oh, I wish I had learned to do this earlier!". Let Pam be your muse because it's never too late! Each project is a step along your weaving path. Keep moving forward along your path, don't dwell on what you haven't done, take positive action by moving forward.

P.S. Pam has a remarkable garden too.

A Few notes and a Joke

Last week was awesome. On Monday, 7 students participated in a one day seminar called "Honing Your Basic Weaving Skills". We went over making warps quickly, efficiently and most importantly, VERY WELL. Then we dressed
a loom Back to Front and discussed the pro and cons to the many methods of warping looms. Bobbin winding which is often
under-rated was demonstrated and good shuttle handling, posture, and shedding sequence was practiced by everyone.
By the end of the day everyone's selvedges were straigthening out and weaving was much faster and fun and the cloth more
even.

On Tuesday, some of the same gals returned and we added some new ones to look at "Project Planning 101". We went over
all the questions you need to ask yourself when designing your projects, starting with 1. What do you want to make?
2. What do you want to make it out of? and then we went from there. Everyone provided a scenario and therefore we learnt a great deal answering everyone's questions. The math is not so daunting when you think about it in a logical sequence.

Wednesday was a wild and wooly affair. We made a 4 yd. brushed mohair warp and had it on the loom by noon and then we beamed another 45" brushed mohair warp that was 7 1/2 yds. long. That was rolled on by 1 p.m. After lunch we went over
winding bobbins so that yarn doesn't stick and exits the the shuttle easily. Again good posture, shuttle control, shedding sequences were demonstrated and then everyone sat down and wove on the mohair warp. It is amazing how easy it is to
manage difficult yarns when you know a few tricks and are willing to adapt your technique a little bit to suit the situation.
We just can't weave everything one way. Just like cooking, sometimes you have to change 'this a little' and 'that a lot' for the recipe to work.

Thursday was a very special day. Susan Brown and I led 5 women through a day of self-discovery based on readings from
"The Creative Habit", "The Four Agreements", "The Path of Least Resistance" and several others books that have meant a great deal to Susan and I. It was a very powerful and personal day with a goal of addressing our creative needs.
Thank you so much to Sasha, Crystal, Sally, Lynne and Susan.

This week we are getting revved up for Cheryl Wiebe's "In Pursuit of the Rainbow", dyeing workshop this weekend. Looms are getting squished into corners so dye tables can come out. It should be a very colourful 2 days, even if the sun doesn't shine.

Well, thats what we've been up to in the last few weeks. The studio is a wonderful place to host these workshops so let us know if you want to learn something specific and we'll try to rustle up a workshop for you. Acutally more than a workshop.
We are trying to create wholesome learning experiences that feed the soul on many levels.

My friend Dawn Russell is always sending me great jokes and I have to leave you with this one. Read it with all the theatre you can muster.

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A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.

Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.

'Careful,' he said, 'CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOD!

You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW!
We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?

They're going to STICK! Careful . CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER
listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you
CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you
always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!'

The wife stared at him. 'What in the world is wrong with you?
You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?'

The husband calmly replied, 'I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving.'

_______________________________
Have a great week,
Hugs,
Jane

The New Jane Loom vs. the Kombo

Sorry it has taken so long to get to this. I'm not turning out to be the best blogger in the west. However, I would be happy to tell you the difference between the old and the new. The Louet Kombo has been evolving for about 20 years and the recent modifications are significant improvements.

1. The first improvement is the way the pattern shafts move. The new system was designed for a little table loom that Louet came out with a few years back called the W30. All the cords now run over rollers providing a marvelous action.
Because the rollers move there is never any wear and tear on the cords and no friction. The toggling action on the new loom is far superior to the Kombo.

2. The second improvement has to do with the overhead beater. I believe the Kombo was the first table loom to have an overhead beater which provides a great deal of control while beating due to the long arm action. On the Kombo the beater had to be held back by the weavers hand or with elastic bands on the arms to move it out of the shed while throwing the shuttle. The new Jane has little bumpers that keep it back out of the shed while throwing the shuttle. This has increased the shed size to 3"+ which is remarkable for a small table loom.

3. The loom folds slightly smaller than it did before, but the best part of this is that it locks in the folded position and a warp can be tensioned while the loom is folded so things don't fly apart if you are going off to a workshop. 4. When it is folded it has a great leather handle that allows you to carry it like a brief case leaving your other hand free for important things like a coffee cup or yarn : )

In addition to these improvements the loom still has the greatest weaving distance in front of all table looms. It comes with a built in raddle and the beater swings over the top of the loom for easy threading. It has metal ratchets and cogs, not plastic.

All in all, it is just swell.

Thank you for your interest in the Jane and I hope you are able to wait,
Cheers,
the other jane