Historically speaking, I think we can safely say that I’m rubbish at New Year’s Day resolutions.
I remember a New Year’s Day when I was a pre-teen deciding that I was going to write a letter to someone every single day of the year. This was in the 80s before the internet though I probably had learned to type on my electric typewriter by then. But my resolution was to put pen to paper and hand-write someone a letter. Every. Single. Day.
I made it to January 8th.
As humans we certainly love to make grand promises to ourselves of how we’re going to change our lives starting with this one day which marks a new calendar year. But it is just another day and we are still the same people we were on December 31st (though hopefully a little more sober).
First letter. Fringeless tapestry.
So I stopped making official resolutions sometime in the last decade. I now call them goals and I try to make them completely reachable by keeping them small. Baby steps are the thing.
Most of us these days have a lot on our plates and deciding that this is the year we are going to lose 20 pounds, write our novel, take that trip to India, and paint the entire house (while raising two teenagers, taking care of our parents, and working a full-time job)… well, that is just crazy-making.
So let’s be kind to ourselves and start small this year. I looked back at last year’s New Year’s post and I had a similar thing to say. Last year I said to “pick one thing.” I’m talking to myself here when I say that I need to do that again.
I made a long list of goals. Some are priorities and some are wishes should I happen to find an extra couple months in 2020 where I’m just sitting around twiddling my thumbs. The goals are achievable and I can break them down into little parts so that I don’t get overwhelmed.
But the one thing for 2020?
I think it is time to pick up a mantra from a good friend, colleague, and mentor of mine, Tommye Scanlin. She says to “Weave every darn day.”*
I am freakin’ busy you all. (Aren’t we all?) This is not the time for lofty goals. But I also know from long experience that if I weave for a few days in a row, I get into a rhythm. A habit is formed and I want to sit down and weave again the next day. And the amazing thing is, that practice breeds both confidence and learning and my weaving gets better. Also, weaving gets done. And even if I only weave for a few minutes some days, the tapestry gets bigger and eventually is finished and I can start another one.
I tested this theory out a bit last fall—weaving a little bit every day. Could I do it? I didn’t want to feel like I had failed in this endeavor. I didn’t want another January 8th to roll around and have already fallen off my program. I think I can do it.
No rules except that I have to have a loom in my hand each day for long enough to weave a pick or two. Most often once I start, I get absorbed and I have to finish that particular element or see what will happen if I try this other thing. Once started, it isn’t hard. It is starting that is the difficult thing.
And if I miss a day? Who cares? I’ll try again the next day.
Who is with me?
I’ve seen many of you floating this same idea on social media this week, so I know there are other interested people out there. Let’s do it. I don’t want to commit to anything like posting a photo every day with a particular hashtag, but that might be exactly the thing that motivates you. (If so, I suggest Instagram. Use it to document your year. Take a photo every day and maybe make your own hashtag or use something like #weaveeveryday.)
My first day
Yesterday I warped a new loom. I wanted to weave a word for the year. This word popped into my head in a yoga class on Monday. My teacher Melanie, who I will say is the living embodiment of this word much to my admiration, often asks us to choose a word for our practice. My word was Steady. During the class it occurred to me that this was my word for the new year. I need to remember to find my balance and move from a place of solidity in all areas of my life. So I wanted to weave this word as a reminder starting on January 1st.**
I wanted this project to be a word on a longer, fairly narrow Fringeless warp and I had a free large copper pipe loom. The photo below is my actual studio and yes, that is what it looks like most of the time. I didn’t have a jig as long as I wanted this piece to be, so it was straps and sticks for me. I could only find 4 straps (the other 2 showed up after I didn’t need them anymore), so I used warp for the center ties. It worked fine though it was a real pain to get set up and I certainly wished I had a jig this long!
Copper pipe loom with strap jig for four-selvedge warping.
Warped up with jig still in place.
The wonky warping worked just fine with a little blue tape and a vise to hold the loom for me. And after a few hours of warping and weaving, there was most of an S. Today there will be a T.
All warped up and ready to weave. The piece will be in the center section. The orange is supplemental warp and won’t be woven on.
Four selvedge tapestry underway. January 2020.
I hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration whether that meant you took a hike, played with some kids, or made some art. I raise my water bottle to 2020. Let’s do this thing.
*Tommye will tell you more about this in her upcoming books this year. Watch for them from University of North Georgia Press and Schiffer sometime mid-year. I’ll let you know when they’re out! Also, Tommye’s book quote is not as clean as what she might tell you in person… in case substituting another “D” word helps you remember it. I should also note that I have heard this same thing from Barbara Heller and that Sarah Swett is another good example of someone who models this. In fact, the deeper you look into the tapestry community, the more examples you’ll find of people who produce gorgeous work and who also weave every day. That is definitely not a coincidence.
**Note that I did not say that I was going to weave the whole word on January 1st. See how much I’ve learned already? That wasn’t realistic. But starting was. Win!