Yes, we do need to tell people that what we do is worthwhile. All of us.

This past week I had the most excellent opportunity to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak. I have been something of a stalker groupie for a very long time. I expected to laugh, and I did laugh harder than I have in many months. In fact, all you have to do is say, "baking powder" and I'll be rolling on the floor again. It was that funny.

But I especially appreciated Stephanie's case for sticking up for ourselves as fiber artists. She is a knitter, but I do believe this applies to all fiber pursuits.

From time to time we as tapestry weavers cycle through the same discussion about changing the art world's perception of us from "weaver, craft-maker, hobbyist" to "artist". There are various discussions about how to do this and many of them are grounded in truth and are extremely valid arguments.

But here is where it starts.
We have to believe in ourselves.

If you have the courage to show someone your work, when they say they love your use of color or the way you made those curves flow into each other or the way you made that particular window placement question the rest of the composition and you reply,
"Yeah, but I really screwed up the selvages and did you see the weft float over here? and I can't believe I wasn't able to make that circle round,"
you are doing all fiberists a disservice. I don't mean to be harsh about it, but if you work hard on something and you show it to someone and they say nice things about it, there is only one thing you should say in response.

Thank you.

Do not point out the flaws that you see in it. Other people don't see those.
Celebrate the joy you just inspired in someone else. Look at your work through their eyes for a moment. Do not make self-deprecating comments.

I'm not saying this is easy to do by any means. I think it is especially difficult for females. We are trained not to value what we do.

This is bullshit.

You are beautiful. Your work has value. You have value.
Life is excruciatingly short. Celebrate every accomplishment. Love the amazing things you make with your hands. Accept compliments. Say thank you. Just try it.

The things you have to do to run a life... Sheesh!

I spent the better part of today taking a Sales Tax Law class. I found out about it late yesterday. I got out of bed at the crack of dawn and drove to Denver in the rain and traffic. I have the name tag and little pen with Colorado Department of Revenue on it to prove it.

It turns out that
(1) you actually do have to pay taxes if you want to run your own business. I was pretty sure about this, but was hoping there was a loophole I was missing.
And (2) Colorado tax law is the most complicated tax law in the entire country.
I just moved here from a state where the gross receipts tax form has ONE line you have to fill out with a total of 5 boxes. Seriously. This might be the source of my disillusionment.

I hung in there really well. I followed the presentation, I made notes on the Powerpoint handout on the little lines next to the little boxes. I squinted at the text that was too small for 42-year-old eyes to make out in the dim light of the projector, and I put my hand up unashamedly and asked a lot of questions that might have been stupid. But I am pretty sure no one else had any idea either that in the state of Colorado you are supposed to voluntarily pay what is called a Consumer Use Tax. That means when you buy something from out of state but you are going to use it in your home state of Colorado, you have to report that you bought it and pay the 2.9% sales tax that rightfully belongs to the State of Colorado because you are USING it here. I really really wanted to raise my hand with fingers wiggling and ask if ANYONE does this. I just bought a book for my niece on Amazon. Yep. Subject to Consumer Use Tax. I didn't ask. I was afraid I'd get audited immediately.

I have a hugely inflated respect for my sister today. She has successfully run a small business in Colorado for many years now and she figured this all out on her own. She rocks. Maybe if I bring her wine and cheese and free babysitting she'll decode some of it for me. I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out all of this in New Mexico. I had NO idea what kind of abuse Colorado could deliver. New Mexico is child's play compared to the Colorado tax code.

The main presenter today was a bad-ass woman named Ruth. She knew her stuff and what is more, she knew how to teach adults. She was a shining example of how to help people understand difficult things. It fell apart about halfway through when the rules just seemed too ridiculous to possibly be true. (Or perhaps my first class American University Graduate-Level Education was not good enough to comprehend the taxy-vocabularium that is the tax code--your call.) She brought in a tax examiner for the last hour of the day.

Here is a small sample of my experience with him:
Student Frank* who is starting a business selling wool children's clothing mostly online: So if I am selling a product to someone in Denver from my store in Bayfield, all I have to worry about is the state sales tax? I don't have to pay county or city tax?

Tax Examiner: That depends. [He said this in answer to every question.] There are the jurisdictions to consider: state, county, city, and special districts. Do you have the current DR1002? Make sure you check the scientific districts for Denver, both RTD and RTA and which county exactly are you sending the item to because it might not be Denver county and other counties have different laws. CDOR doesn't deal with the taxes due to Denver county, so you'll have to contact them about that. Also Denver is a Home Rule city and that makes a difference. Do you know if Bayfield is Home Rule also? Make sure you fill out a HD987-6372 C and file that BEFORE you get to your DR1002 and don't forget the consumer use tax which is also necessary in this case. Is it an event, because you'll need a special event license before selling there. And what it all comes down to is what are your involved jurisdictions. Remember, it is your fiduciary and statutory responsibility to pay your state taxes.

Student Ed who currently runs a service-based business doing commercial glass etching but wants to start selling products: [Sighs, looks at his hands, shifts in his seat, whimpers]

Student Ed: [Clears throat and raises his hand] Is there anyone who, um, could help us do this if, um, we aren't quite understanding how it all works right this moment? You know, just until we get up to speed?

Tax Examiner: That would be an accountant.

No one else asked any more questions. We were too flummoxed.
Without any more research I think I can safely say that being an accountant in Colorado is a lucrative profession.

I hope that I can make it through a tax cycle eventually without crying. Perhaps the one right after I find a good accountant.
 _________________________
*The names of the students have been changed to protect the confused tax-payer who may well not get all of this right for his first 300 filings. I'm sure 301 will be perfect. I know mine will.

The loom parts! Or how the upper countermarche lamms finally find a home.

I have a lot of looms. Most of them had to be taken apart in some fashion to move to Colorado. My packing regimen now includes liberal use of masking tape for labeling parts and taking copious photographs. Unfortunately, I always fail to take a photograph of the part that stumps me.

And the upper and lower lamms of the Harrisville rug loom are those parts.

There are little baggies (fortunately I learned to put each of the sets of rollers in their own baggies!) full of small round parts and lots of empty holes to put them back in. I know I'm in trouble when I start looking for the places the wood is darker to tell which way a piece went in. That is actually how I got the lower lamms on the right way. I got the whole thing together except those upper lamms at which point I started hunting for the manual that came with the loom.

After a few hours some time digging through the opened boxes scattered around the studio and office, I did locate the manual. Then, sadly, I remembered that grandpa bought this loom in 1980 and the manual then had no photos. Finally it occurred to me to Google "Harrisville Rug Loom" and what came up? Mostly photos from my own blog. Sigh. One of them was fairly helpful in positioning those lamms the correct way.

THIS photo is for the next time I move, many many years from now. I hope Google finds it right away when I type in, How do those #$%@! lamms go on the Harrisville Rug loom.

Unfortunately for my secondary loom, a Macomber, I completely failed at getting it down the stairs to the studio. She is now enjoying a lovely home in our living room. I was fairly desperate. I had the moving guys who unpacked the truck try first. When it looked like the scrawny guy on the bottom was either going to get crushed by the loom or the Macomber was going to go through the recently repainted wall, I told them to STOP. Days later I started taking parts off hoping I could get the loom to a shape small enough to go around the corner. After every possible part I could strip off was taken apart, it was clear she still wasn't going to fit. At that final moment of resignation I realized I was going to be working on those smaller pieces upstairs. At least the frig is nearby.

The third loom story isn't much better, but it did have a happier ending. My Leclerc tapestry loom is not one I use much, but I do want to set her up for some sampling and perhaps a tapestry diary. So I was pretty invested in that loom not living in the garage (as was Emily's car). Alas, a shockingly similar storyline played out. I took a whole pile of bolts out and couldn't get the expertly made joints to come apart. Fearing breakage, I put all those bolts back in and took it apart the other way. And it wouldn't fit down the stairs (I'm not a spatial doofus, I was pretty sure it would fit, but apparently not. There is no way a box spring is going down there--my apologies to all future guests). I put all of it back together and took it apart the other way AGAIN. This time I used a rubber mallet to gently tap those joints and they came apart. Then it fit.
Third time's a charm.
After a trip to ACE Hardware for the correct ratchet set since I was DONE with the wrench/plier combination, I even put it back together.

All of my other looms traveled in one piece. Thank goodness.
I'm done with assembling things for awhile. That proposed trip to IKEA? It is definitely off.

PS. If you ever lose the cable guy, look here. I lost him a second time and he was next door playing with the neighbor's dog Deuce.

Throwback Thursday in a BIG way

Throwback Thursday seems to have become popular on Twitter and Facebook (and perhaps other social media sites that I am too old to understand choose to ignore. Here is my submission for this week.

My sister Laura suggested that we recreate a photo taken of us when we were very young... you know, just a few short years ago. So when we were both at the family homestead a few weeks ago, we did just that.

You may be able to tell by the changes in vegetation and the town behind us, that AHEM, we weren't born yesterday. We're still cute though, right?

How it all works (well, maybe not quite EVERYTHING)

I have had some questions from people interested in my online tapestry techniques classes about how my brand of online education really works. I made a new video to address this. If you're curious about my online classes but just aren't quite sure how the interface works, this video shows you. And even if you're not interested in the online classes, watch this one for the blooper reel at the end. I thought it was funny anyway. (hint: click that little square icon in the bottom right corner of the videos to enlarge to full screen... or hit the YouTube icon to view them right on YouTube)

 And if you missed the trailer video, it has some further images.

And if you have more questions about what you'll weave, try this video! These are examples from Part 1 of the Warp and Weft tapestry techniques class. I'm working on some video from Parts 2 and 3.

And if you're all video-ed out, pull out your loom and weave. It is the best medicine.

Sheldon Cooper's newest disturbing obsession

"Leonard, we're going to be rich!" (As weavers!?)

I am a fan of the Big Bang Theory. I caught this old episode from season 1 recently and I was pretty sure that a weaver somewhere would have made sure it showed up on YouTube. Korean subtitles or not, this clip is hilarious... if you're a weaver anyway.

Luminous fish are as good a way as any to find your way to weaving.

I think this loom is a Schacht Mighty Wolf. Any other votes?

Wherein Rebecca gets an article published in Fiber Art Now... and goes a little nuts with the yarn.

If you are not a Fiber Art Now subscriber, I highly recommend becoming one! And you'll want to get a copy of the current issue because it has an article by yours truly.

Remember this video?

This is what a week of intense dyeing does to you:

You mistake wool for a cool dip in a puppy pool.
That is my article:

It is called American Tapestry Biennial 10: The Humble Value of Concentration. The subtitle is not mine. The editor added it. It is a great title, but the credit belongs to Dr. Jessica Hemmings who wrote the essay by that name for the show. You can read Dr. Hemmings wonderful essay in the ATB10 catalog which you can get from the American Tapestry Alliance. (Highly recommended because guess what? The catalog is also full of amazing photos of, well, tapestries!)