Saturday, December 29, 2012

Feeling Jane's Love

Ben found an envelope from Jane in the PO box this morning. And it's so lovely. A card with a small bookmark, with a message and the list of contents: eight threads, (5 meters each!) from her working box, either used recently or her favs, in a delicate bag; a small hot pink noteboook, the same size she carries to record inspirations, (a kindred stationary lover,) a set of photographs about Jane, (the one showing her bookmarks I've taken out to show you below the threads; another set of inspirations from Lapland of Finland; her business card with interesting words, and a tiny crocheted flower.

Her personal photographs and how she came to be interested in weaving is wonderful - exactly the kind of things I love to learn about another weaver. It turns out we both started with handmade looms. I had forgotten about mine; in college I worked out how I can weave a relatively large piece (hanky-size) of plain weave cloth and had my then-boyfriend build a frame about A2 size, (double letter size,) and hammered in tiny nails all around it myself. Even then, I tried to make as flat a cloth as possible using the skinniest knitting yarns I could find. From memory, one was orange! 

I've been thinking a lot about Heather's felted broach, achromatism, and texture, and Jane's threads and the bookmark on the card fit into my thinking; not exactly achromatic but lovely and possibly more to my taste our summer light. 

The small size of the notebook and the photographs make me wonder, too. I write big and my eyesight is bad, so I tend to prefer larger things, (at least A5, roughly half of letter size,) but I can carry Jane's photographs and notebooks so easily, and I look forward to taking Jane along to Japan next Feb,. In fact, I think I'm going to take all my envelopes to show my mother. 

And Finland, oh, Finland. If you celebrate synchronicity, you will smile when I tell you I also received a card from Maria today; you know, she's from Finland, though I don't know if it's Lapland.

I appreciate the thoughts that go into these envelopes. They are lovey, personal, touching, and very, very special. Thank you so very much. 

* * * * *

"A Day in the Lift of Looms" Version 4; let's do it. Take loom pics on January 1, 2013; post and send me the links or send me pics. It's a Loom Pic Fest, so no theses required.

Here are V1, V2, V3. I didn't realize we've been doing this for this many years. And one of my looms still has the same warp as 2011! I'd better get a move on.

3 comments:

  1. Hurrah! It arrived. I'm looking forward to my trip to Japan :-)

    I wrote a few words when I put it together which I've just released now that I know it arrived safely - I'm hoping that the US one also arrived. More at http://jane.dallaway.com/weaving-project-25-weaver-to-weaver

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  2. Well, the plan is, (and it's bound to change many times,) either, we will go to the city of Kiryu which is the Tokyo/Kanto Region's kimono production center, OR, go visit a production weaver/manufacturer in the Osaka/Kansai region, who has a small factory, and who is constantly experimenting and innovating in order to produce fabric to order for small garment manufacturers. We'll see if I can travel the distance!

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  3. Sounds fantastic, and I know what you mean about plans that change :-)
    I've only spent 50 hours in Japan and that was in Tokyo city a couple of years ago on the way back from a trip to Sydney. An amazing city. And definitely on the list of places to return to someday. I'm just a bit jealous.

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