Being the Tortoise...

...avoiding "avoidance" and steadily making progress

Hey, everyone! February just sort of blew through and ended in a blink! I realize it’s the shortest month, but this year was it only 2 weeks? That’s how it seemed here.

In pulling together this Musing by scrolling through photos, I realized several things “came up” in February that pulled me in different directions. The first thing was a post on Facebook:

This is the Aztec Diamonds Towels pattern, adapted for a much wider rigid heddle loom, a larger fiber, and an amazing project! When I saw this posted, I had to reach out to the weaver, Walter Fosdick, to learn more. That led to a video in which Walter and I have a weaverly chat about his project.¹

However…

Even while I was thinking, “I need to talk to Walter about this project,” I was also struggling with the design for a Little Looms project.

The whole process really bogged down when something that looked good on paper just didn’t play out in the weave structure. Yet I knew that it could eventually be really nice. Ten (10) attempts later at the same 40 rows and I finally achieved something.

However, after that, I lost perspective. I was about 10% through weaving the project and it had taken me days to get to that point. I was tired of the project, tired of the technique, and feeling pretty overwhelmed.²

It’s also not helpful when there are physical discomforts involved. This particular project needed some hand manipulation and raising my right shoulder for extended periods³ has become a source of discomfort. It’s hard to get motivated to work when you know the outcome could lead to pain.

So I became the tortoise

Image: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Just in case you don’t remember the Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare… the hare was mocking the tortoise for his slowness, so the tortoise challenged the hare to a race. The hare, assuming an easy win, took off, saw his huge lead on the tortoise, and chose to nap. Meanwhile, the tortoise kept plodding along. Eventually, the hare awoke and realized that the tortoise was near the goal. But no matter how fast the hare ran, he now couldn’t beat the tortoise to the finish line. The motto is, “The race isn’t always to the swift.”

So, I figured out how to pace myself (and my shoulder.) I set a timer and worked for 45 minutes at a time, maybe an hour, or until I started to become aware of shoulder discomfort. Then I would find a stopping point and put it aside until later, or even the next day. The key was to work each day I was able to be at a loom. Not surprisingly, the project eventually got done, got easier, and really finished much faster than I had anticipated.

Other Creative Events

We had a great Online Rigid Heddle Guild meeting on February 12th! We discussed color and weave, had a short presentation on the history of the rigid heddle loom, and shared our projects! In March, we are having a guest speaker who has a lot of experience designing, and registering, tartans - definitely a popular color and weave project.

I also attended two different scrapbooking retreats the last week of February. I really wanted the weaving finished before I left. It was nice to shift gears and work on memory keeping for a while.

March Plans

Meanwhile, things are shifting back closer to “normal” and I have a LOT of pattern writing to get done. The project for Little Looms mails out later this month, and all of the words are unwritten. I have a completed scarf needing a pattern (it’s been languishing ALL month), and two more patterns in the works. I have the next Musing about 80% written, so you will be hearing from me again soon!

Remember, it’s not about the amount of weaving you do, but the joy you obtain through doing it!

1. Things like this take a chunk of time. So scratch off one week of February for this!

2. It’s not time to share some of the stuff behind the scenes at Mingo’s Corner, but there are big things afoot on a personal level. It’s exciting, but it literally eats time and is a full mental workout!

3. As in more than an hour. Which, admittedly, most of us don’t have reason to do on a regular basis.