In a comment on a recent post about the Reflections piece, Alice said, "An intriguing piece. Hard to believe you can weave this while people are going in and out."
Well, I have to admit that it's a good thing the loom driver has a reverse gear! I occasionally found myself unweaving a few picks between groups of visitors. Most people wouldn't notice that I had started with the wrong shuttle (i.e. got the color order backwards) so I could just distract them by explaining the mechanical action of the loom. "If you look up here, (well above the offending wefts) you'll see the solenoids operating their plungers and the corresponding hooks being caught by the knife as I weave..." and then fix the errors after they had a chance to ooh and ahh, say "thanks for the tour," and depart.
When I was at university, I had no trouble writing musical compositions in the Student Union Snack Bar, sitting with my back to the [loudly blaring] jukebox and happily ignoring the noise and activity around me. As I get older, that ability has waned somewhat, and I have learned that when I demonstrate on the jacquard loom, it is a good idea to stick to one- or two-shuttle weaves and leave the difficult stuff for those times when there are no distractions.
The Reflections piece is now woven, and I am contemplating what should be up next on the jacquard loom. Especially since there's very little warp left on it so I have to be careful how large a project I begin.
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3 comments:
I was feeling challenged during our OS because I was still weaving 8-shaft echoes on the countermarche loom - not nearly as complex as your multi-shuttle weave, but I just kept losing my place in the treadling! Still, as you say, nothing you can't unweave quietly later...
I can't even weave when my husband is home in another part of the house some days. Good for you and all those who can concentrate on tasks on hand!
what a drag !i too feel the age as my multi tasking skills are fading.
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