Slothing...

I haven't totally finished winding on the very fine silk organzine warp yet.  I have just one more bout to wind, but for this entire week, probably because of the exhaustion brought on by the fallout of something that happened at the medical center last week that came out of nowhere like a stealth asteroid and hit us all directly in the emotional places, I have been massively tired. 

After all the pieces were picked up, no one had been physically injured, but it has taken me more than a week to get over it.  Even my usual solace - playing with string - wasn't helping.  I just needed to sit and process and get over it.  It's good that I have had the opportunity to do so, and to recognize the need for taking time to recover. 

This weekend I'm planning to return to the warp.  One more bout, and then it's onto threading the heddles again.  I'm also going down to Tien's this Sunday where we will try to mount the new fly shuttle mechanism onto Emmy, her loom.  It'll be good for me to see this through, especially concerning the micro-adjustments that will undoubtedly be necessary.   The AVL loom I bought from my weaving friend in Oregon has a fly shuttle, but I haven't yet attached it because there is not quite enough lateral space in the garage to accomodate the extra width and the allowances it would require.  One of these days, though.

I confess that I have also been slightly depressed after the completion of the last project - the altar runner commission.  I had so much fun doing it.  It was also a project that involved collaboration with my family, which was especially nice.  After it was off the loom, I had the kind of feeling that I used to have in high school after the Drama Club would strike set after a play - sad for the dissolution of a wonderful momentary collaboration, happy to have been lucky enough to experience it, and then sad because the 'set' was 'struck'.  An empty loom is a sad thing; an empty loom when you have neither energy nor drive for a little bit is even sadder. 

The solution, of course, is to move onto the next project.  This of course is the crimson (cochineal-dyed) bombyx mori organzine warp, which will be a sampler for using various wefts for satin weaves.  I'm also planning to weave in a bit of the silver and a bit of the gold from John Marshall. 

Another upcoming project is to make 'a little something' for my childhood pal Terri for her wedding in September.  She's given me quite a lot of leeway in figuring out what it should be, and I've decided to weave a nice silk to be used in making a petite reticule bag for her to carry in procession.  While I'm not decided firmly on that, I'm playing with color ideas.  One idea: White bombyx mori organzine warp with wefts of white bombyx mori tram and either the silver or gold threads as well for parts of the weft.  Or, in the guise of 'something blue', a medium-light blue (indigo) warp with the silver weft.  Small item, but made of the very best materials. 

And this is my favorite approach to a project: making little heartfelt things for people I love.  And one always wants to use the best of the best materials for that. 

On another note, and speaking of the best of the best, at CNCH I bought a little bit of yarn made from the bast bark of the linden tree from Ryukyu Textile.  It is quite rustic and quietly gorgeous, and has a sublime, subtle beauty even more beautiful than the finest gold thread.  I *could* weave it as weft for something, but it occurred to me as I looked at it that it would also look very nice worked as netting, or perhaps I should learn to make Sprang.  A netted grocery bag, like the ones used in France, is a neat idea, and I think I have just enough of the linden yarn to make one.  I also bought some very handsome indigo-dyed ramie at  CNCH, from the same folks, and it might make a nice combination with the golden-brown linden yarn.  We shall see...