If you’re like me, you prefer making weaving processes as easy to do as possible, especially the thinking side!
Recently I have been preparing 4-shaft samples of stitched double cloth for an upcoming workshop. The warp has a 2 cotton to 1 wool ratio and it was easier to wind the warp in twos – 2 cotton, 2 wool, 2 cotton, repeat. That made the warping process pretty easy and fairly fast.
Once the warp was wound on the loom, I then had a slight issue with the threading cross order. Of course, because of the winding, it was in a 2 cotton, 2 wool, 2 cotton, order and I needed a 1 cotton, 1 wool, 1 cotton order for the threading. This isn’t a problem. Although the threading cross gives you a different order, within 6 threads, you will be back at the start of the repeat, so it was easy just to cross one cotton with the 1st wool end to thread the first group 1 cotton, 1 wool, 1 cotton, and then the same thing in reverse was required for the next repeat – 1 cotton, 1 wool and 1 cotton – and I was back to the threading order to start the next group.
Small adaptations like this are really no problem in the threading process.
It got me to thinking about other adaptations we make as we do things, and how sometimes it is all too easy to be restrained by doing things the way we have always done them. Weaving, as I said in my accompanying video, is all about doing things the way that is best for you – there are as many ways as there are weavers (well, you know what I mean!). Practically every single thing we do can be changed, turned on its head, adapted to a way that works for the individual.
That’s as true in life too. It’s the way we look at things that can restrict our approach and experience of life. If we can see things from a different perspective, it can change everything! I’m trying to look at things in lots of different ways these days so I don’t fall in to the trap of only doing things one way or looking at life from one perspective. I’m finding it keeps life much more interesting and engaging and is good for brain plasticity too!
I’m off to do some photography of work this afternoon, with a friend and good photographer. No doubt he will be challenging me to look differently too! Onwards and upwards!
Happy Weaving!