Saturday, July 2, 2011

Counting my Blessings

After a longish meeting on Monday, and helping to pack up Red almost all day Tuesday - Friday, I realized this was the first time in a long while I went into town for most of the day for the entire working week.  I remembered how bad I was at living, outside of work, when I worked. I couldn't think of much else, and I was a tired zombie when I came home.  As I was this week.  That is how I work.  Even on days Jay brought me home in the late afternoons, laundry was about the only thing I could manage.  That, and hours and hours of computer games and TV. 

I'm grateful to Ben to allow me not to work and weave instead; it is my "work", my life, but it's also a big indulgence.   

On Friday I was asked if I wanted to buy a weaving business; it is a one-weaver business weaving yardage and then having them  sewn into garments sold at souvenir/crafts shops targeting overseas tourist. It was the easiest "No" I ever said, even though in the past I always asked if I could sleep om weaving/art-related proposals. It's not even about the money.  I congratulate this weaver for, like Sue,  having made a successful business out of handweaving, but I couldn't fathom weaving the same 2/2 twill yardage day in and day out.

And I can do this because Ben lets me.  "Lets me" is a strange way to describe it, but that's the only way I can describe it now.

I slept in this morning, and as I expected, I had a hard time slotting back into a weaver's life.  I knew the only way to get back into the swing of things was to get on the loom, so I wove that strange experimental thing, and that was the end of the red warp put on in March. The loom and the surrounds needs serious vacuuming, but I am looking forward to the next project.
(We discussed on Monday what we consider ourselves, among them "textile" vs "fiber/re artist". More than anything I prefer "weaver" now, but for five years Red called me thus.)

4 comments:

  1. I was about to say i saw myself as a textile designer, but then i realised I'm doing a degree in textile design, and it seemed rather proscribed.

    But when i think about it, I do have a rather generalised education in textiles it seems appropriate.

    In my heart I'm always a weaver though

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  2. Funny how "labels" can dictate how we see ourselves, which in turn can change what we (hope to) make, too, don't you think?

    Sometimes I don't care any more, I'm me, and let's leave it at that. Sometimes I'm a HANDweaver. Other times, I'm a bum, just touching and feeling all the yarns and cloth in my possession!

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  3. I avoid defining myself as a handweaver, but only because I'd like to be using powered looms someday and I don't want to change my internalised propaganda machine ;)

    I intend to gain a better working knowledge of carding, spinning and finished too, so I guess I'm very process-orientated

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  4. Oh, you remind me of the discussions in the mid-90's on Majordomo. Define "powered" looms for me, please?

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