sweetgeorgia

Time to Weave

Time to weave. Time to craft. Time to learn and explore… Anyone who knows me, knows that I can go a little overboard when exploring the things I enjoy (Hello, Maiwa overdose?). And as much as I want to plow through Peter Collingwood’s Techniques of Rug Weaving and Anni Albers’ On Weaving, there are just never enough hours in the day to do all the crafty, fibery, creative things I want to do. That’s why I was immediately drawn to the title of Jane Patrick’s new book, Time to Weave (Interweave). I somehow imagined that she’d be my crafty time management saviour… a superhero, maybe? I mean, not only does she help found the company that makes my beloved spinning wheel, she also breaks down weaving into manageable, bite-sized projects…

… AND, she answers some of my burning questions about weaving…

sweetgeorgia: Thank you for asking me to participate on your blog tour for the Time to Weave book. Yes, I love the words "projects to make in almost no time"! What I love in particular about your book is that it is like the "gateway" book to such a wide variety of weaving techniques — there’s basket weaving, plaiting, twining, pile rug weaving… not everyone is ready to dive into Peter Collingwood’s 480-page rug weaving book right away! Your book makes these things accessible. What inspired you to write about these specific weaving techniques?

JANE: My premise for the book was to try to make projects that were appealing, accessible, and didn’t require a lot of equipment. With these guidelines, restrictions really, I found myself naturally turning to ancient techniques. I didn’t start by saying, for example, “I want to do twining in my book,” but rather, I discovered twining as the solution to constructing the Hearth Rug. I might also add that I was time and time again impressed with how ancient people developed ingenious methods to make cord or fabric, or baskets with little more than their own two hands for tools.

sweetgeorgia: As a child, my first exposure to weaving was with a Fisher-Price loom — basically two-shaft, fixed-length toy loom. And as an adult, my first weaving class started off directly on a four-shaft Leclerc table loom. Now, why did you choose NON-loom weaving as a starting point?

JANE: I didn’t know when I started that I would only use a frame loom for a few projects. I did know that I wanted to make some non-loom projects. The idea was to not have equipment be a hurdle. It was really the solutions to ideas that led to the kinds of construction techniques I finally ended up using.

sweetgeorgia: What do you see as the challenges or barriers to attracting new people to take up and learn weaving?

JANE: I think time is a factor, the perception that weaving is hard, and lack of exposure. Weavers can probably think back to what propelled them into weaving. Often it was seeing someone weaving or seeing weaving in an art show, or learning to weave at school. One of my goals with the book is to get people excited about weaving so they’ll want to explore it even more.

sweetgeorgia: What is it about weaving that might attract knitters, specifically? Spinners?

JANE: With weaving you can make fabric. If you think about knitting a scarf vs weaving a scarf, you can probably weave it faster than knit it. I think weaving offers knitters and spinners the opportunity to make of fabric for pillows, table runners, napkins, wall pieces, and clothing. Weaving offers another way to use yarn to make something with your hands. Weaving enhances your yarn-working repertoire.

sweetgeorgia: Knitting is often touted as being portable and social. True, when I attend my local weaving guild meeting, people bring their knitting to work on… one member brings a spindle, but no one brings anything to weave… not even a little inkle loom. Weaving does seem to be a mostly solitary activity (in my corner of the world at least). How do you think we can make our local weaving communities more social, more vibrant?

JANE: This is a good question and one I’ve been pondering myself. Weaving is solitary. While you can take your spinning wheel with you to a spinning gathering, it is hard to take a loom. Also, I think you have to pay attention more when you are weaving. With spinning and knitting, it is fairly easy to talk and do at the same time. Maybe we shouldn’t look at weaving the same way. Maybe weaving should be dedicated to alone time. This can be good time because it is time to reflect, to be with our joys and sorrows, to gain clarity, to have quiet time just for ourselves. In my opinion, we don’t do this enough.

What I’d like to see are vibrant groups of weavers that get together to discuss and work on what they are doing. I’d like to see weaving groups meet regularly to encourage each other, offer ideas, and help. Really, I’d like to see a solid weaving community developed around groups such as this. Also, I think in order to keep going, weavers need to be excited about what they are weaving. A group can help keep the excitement going, help solve problems, and provide the stimulus needed to keep inspired.

sweetgeorgia: Since I knit, spin, dye and weave, my challenge is having enough time to practice all these crafts. When I started to learn to spin and weave, people commented that "learning to spin/weave would cut into my knitting time". And it’s true, my sweater-making rate has declined since I took up weaving. As well, we are all so busy with working full-time, running businesses, volunteering, going to school, or chasing after our kids, your concept of "chair time" (which I LOVE) sounds like a luxury! But "time" is so necessary to the creative process…

How would you respond to issues of time, having enough time, making time… time management? Any tips on how you fit in "time to weave" in your busy schedule?

JANE: It’s easy to say, just make time. But as we all know it is never that easy. But you are right, how do you fit weaving into the other important things like family and job? In the year I worked on Time to Weave there were certain other things I didn’t do. I was fortunate to work fewer hours at work (my office staff was great in taking up the slack). I got up around 4:30-5:00 in the morning so that I had a couple of hours before going to work. I worked in the evenings and on the weekends. I didn’t do other things like garden, bake bread, or entertain. I did still go on dates with my husband, exercise at the gym, have bi-monthly dinners with my daughter, take a month-long bike trip, and support other family members in need.

It seems worn-out to say you have to prioritize, but you do. That said, it isn’t easy to decide what is important. And do it without guilt. Making this book was important to me (I also had a deadline and commitment to Interweave) and this is what motivated me to make time to do it. I think the first step in finding time is just becoming aware how you currently use your time. Also, what do you really, truly want to do? And finally, learn to use the two-letter word, “no”. Just because someone asks you to do something you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.

sweetgeorgia: Another big hurdle for many potential weavers seems to be cost. A year ago, when I was thinking about taking up weaving, my question for every weaver that I met was "isn’t weaving really expensive? all that equipment?". What do you think of the perception that weaving is expensive? Real? A misconception? How else can we make weaving more accessible?

JANE: To really weave you need a loom. Not just any loom, but a loom that works. (Over the years working at both Interweave and Schacht, I’ve talked to people who got a loom “bargain” at a yard sale or over the internet. Most of the time these are new weavers who don’t really know what they are buying. It isn’t a bargain if the loom doesn’t work or parts are missing…) Again, making a loom purchase is a matter of prioritizing. Just like it takes a commitment to join a gym, or buy a golf club membership, or purchase a bicycle, buying a loom is no different. It’s a matter of deciding this is something you want to do and making a commitment to the investment. If you amortize your purchase over 5, 10, 20 years, your cost per hour of weaving pleasure is pretty cheap entertainment. Your loom is not going to wear out in your lifetime—how many products that you buy today can you say that about?

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Thank you again, Jane, for your thoughtful responses, for making weaving more approachable and … for inspiring me to get up tomorrow morning at 4:30 am to warp my loom. Happy national spinning and weaving week, everybody!