Friends

...and the things we do for them!

I spent the last 3 days of my week off doing something I’m grateful I don’t have to do anymore. Prepping for weaving is hard work!

I took the kids to a dear friend’s house and helped her get her studio back in order.  Like everyone else, her life got in the way and things got out of hand. 

Linda is a weaver of the finest caliber that I met early on in my weaving career.  I remember walking with Linda through a field in Akron at the Hardesty Park Art show where we were both setting up our booths.  Her daughter, Cara, zoomed up to her and whispered that the ‘competition’ is here.  Linda replied to her that she knew, she was walking with it. I don’t know who was more astonished, Cara or myself, as being someone’s competition is really outside my thinking.  I have always looked at Linda as a friend. I will admit I am a competitive person; I just tend to compete with myself. I want to do better than I did the last time, that sort of thing. It’s part of what drives me to excel.

Weaving is hard work. I did it for 2 decades.  Linda has 3 decades of weaving under her belt.  Making a living as an artist is not easy no matter the medium and I’m not saying any artist has it better than another when it comes to whether work is hard or not. To me the best part of doing something you love and making enough money doing it to pay the bills is that you are doing what you love. How many people stumble through life stressed out over work?

One of the things I found myself most grateful for these past three days is leaving all the dust behind.  There is a smell to fabric, it is not a bad smell, but it is very prominent. As you descend into the stairwell from Linda’s house to her shop you become aware of the difference in the air.

The kids and I sorted, stacked, moved and sorted some more and came home exhausted and sore.  We all went to bed early on Wednesday. I hurt so bad in places that apparently muscles have not moved much in the last 12 years that another thing I was grateful for was a soft bed.

Before Wednesday was over Emily and I also warped a loom. 

Ironically, weaving is like riding a bicycle; you just get back on the seat and remember how it all works.

On Thursday Emily tied on the threads we put on the beam to the existing threads in the heddles and Linda showed her how to pull it through and prepare the loom to weave. Laura helped me warp the second loom on Thursday between bouts of her sorting work areas. 

On Friday I had Laura tie on the threads from the second loom to the existing threads already in the heddles.  Emily helped her pull through and Linda tied that one to prepare for weaving.  By Friday Linda was getting pretty excited about being able to weave again.

not quilt finished tying on, that is why there are sagging threads

Just seeing the floor seemed like a miracle to me!

I promised to go back when Linda gets warp in to help warp this big loom

Today I am back to sewing quilt blocks, quietly being thankful that I am a quilter now. Weaving is hard work.