texture tuesday

The thing about long slow projects—

—is that they tend to be (ahem)—

—long—¹

—and slow.

Not that the making of this particular project has been as long and slow as the wearing out of the trousers² and sheets without which it wouldn’t exist.

Nor is it as long and slow as the wearing through of both the original fabric and the myriad patches—

—of these as-yet-to-be-dismantled-and-apparently-still-decent (at least in the privacy of my work room) pants I’m wearing to weave it. ³

But it is long enough—

—that its textures fill my brain even when I’m not able to work on it directly.

And slow enough—

—that I’m mesmerized by the simplest aspects of its creation when I return.⁴

Now it may just be that after back-to-back visitors⁵—

— my brain has gone awol —

—and light, shadow and texture—

—are all I have the capacity to notice.

Or it may be that the textured trails I keep following—

—really are irresistible.

Most likely however, it’s that both these things are irrelevant—

—and there is no need to measure the cloth in front of my nose—

—or analyze the mud beneath my toes—

—when I can relish them both.

1. unlike this video which is crazy short but which for whatever reason is the only fragment of those I tried to take that showed actual weaving (using this stick shuttle like a giant bobbin), rather than the armpit of my sweater.

2. The faded beige cloth was once a sheet, the blue a pair of indigo dyed pants that after years of constant wearing and several mall mends, suddenly decided to tear everywhere all at once while I was at the grocery store—which led it to direct leap from my legs to the scissoring pile .

3. A garment that would prefer be worn and not thought about too much lest I get any precipitous ideas about it becoming part of the next rug.

And how wonderful is it that these these lovely, breathable, renewable, delicious feeling fibers do wear out so they can be patched, reworn, remade and finally composted-- how wonderful that they do not hang around forever as synthetic fabric does in ever-increasing volume. Indeed for a mind boggling and fascinating glimpse at our increased use of synthetics, take a look at this Woolmark Video that beautifully demonstrates (and reinforces), my desire to commit myself to clothes I can wear and wear out. Thanks to Clara Parkes’ Wool wire for this link (and all the other fabulous wool-centric things she brings to our attention.

4. If you too are a bit obsessed with the reciprocal deliciousness of the natural world and what happens on our looms—and are curious about more ways the two can work hand in hand— do check out Rebecca Mezoff’s free Mini Course and Summer of Tapestry class and devote yourself to combining summer adventure and weaving—because why not?

5. compelling and beloved all..