Saturday, April 21, 2012

Super-productive Day

I used my emotions to make a decision for once, and I think it was a good one. After weeks of dealing with the tension issues on the blue beam I decided to just work super long days and get it done and out of my way instead of sitting there as a constant reminder of the mistake I made back in the old basement studio.

I was reminded of the adage, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" and struck by the passive-vs-active dynamic in the wording. It doesn't say "remember lemonade", "wish for lemonade next time", or "talk about lemonade". It tells us to think of the best result we can achieve with what we have and take action to make it into reality. Action is magic.

The result of my push to do the best I can with the blue beam has resulted in a big bolt of cloth, much of which is in the form of strips with fringe between them. (It's about 30 yards altogether.) I foresee a new line of fringed stoles, dresser scarves, table runners, placemats, and some beautiful long scarves.

Here's a photo essay to show how the end of the weaving went...

I also created a new system to keep track of how much yardage I'd woven in the various colors. The strips of tape have one inch of length for every yard of cloth.

After the cloth was done, I immediately put the remainder of the grey beam onto the loom. Then I went into "new studio setup" mode, clearing out the other loom nook, stapling up the plastic to protect the cloth from fiberglass, vacuuming, and hauling all of the loom parts up the stairs.

And then, after doing dishes, I spent a few pleasant hours sitting in the comfy chair next to a jar of hyacinths brought in from the garden. Simple pleasures like this make it all worth it.

2 comments:

eldri said...

WOW the patterns show really well on those!

---some tinfoil (or mylyar ?sp?) in key places over the plastic, will brighten any dark coners, while still being cheaper than drywall

BloggerPlus App said...

Hey, Eldri!

The patterns always look crisp and clear on the cloth before it goes in the wash. The water makes the structure collapse in on itself and become luxurious. You should feel the cloth before washing - it's like burlap!

Now that the sun is here, the light problems in the studio seem like a distant memory. And besides, with artificial lights, tinfoil walls, dehumidifiers, and such, people are likely to think I'm running a different sort of business... :)