Inviting Creative Weaving

A couple of years ago I read some inspirational suggestions for doing creative embroidery. I no longer remember which book the suggestions came from, only that the book was English. I thought they were pretty neat. I selected the suggestions I liked and revamped them to fit weaving. I then typed them up and put them in a small frame which I keep on the top of my loom. I called them: Inviting Creative Weaving

1. Plan, warp, weave, in silence.
2. Spend one whole year with one weave structure.
3. Keep a weaving journal.
4. Make goals that move you out of your comfort zone.
5. Change or modify in at least one way any weaving design of someone else that you use.
6. Exercise at least 20 minutes, 5 days a week.

I pretty much have been doing these things. Occasionally I do listen to music when I am weaving. Most of the time, however, the weaving requires too much concentration. So, even if I have music playing, I will realize after an hour or more that I have heard none of it. I am pretty much a person who is happy with no background noise.

I have been spending about two years with crackle. Perhaps I am carrying that suggestion a bit too far?!? My mother wanted me to take Latin in high school. An obedient daughter, I took two years and went on to take two more years. My mother said, I only wanted you to take two years of Latin. Then you needed to move on to a modern language. Ah well. Must be something in my personality.

Nearly every piece I weave takes me in some way or another, out of my comfort zone. Usually it takes me out of my comfort zone in more than one way. And no, crackle is not yet in my comfort zone.

Most of my weaving is my own design. Maybe all of it. I can remember only once having woven someone else's design: a summer and winter yardage for a winter jacket.

Finally, I actually exercise more than 30 minutes a day 6 days a week. At my age that is a necessity. Flexibility, strength (physical and aerobic) no longer are a part of my natural being, unfortunately. They have to be fought for! And as a weaver (not to mention gardener), I need all three. So I walk, I stretch, I lift weights.

The one suggestion that I was not following was the keeping of a weaving journal. I tried several times. I tried with a journal. I tried with a software journal. Nothing seemed to fit. So I decided to blog. My blog has in essence become my journal.