weaving, and more thoughts on process and product

Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on, and where my brain is at.

More weaving this week. And it’s gotten me thinking even more about the connection between process and project (product).

Are you in it for the process?
Or for the product (project)?

These weaving projects,
the one up above,
and the multi color length of fabric from last week,
started because I had the yarn,
and wanted the fabric.

(Project) Product.

I want the fabric.

I want these yarns to combine and interact,
to play and dance off of one another.

There are plenty of ways to create fabric.
And tons of things that can be done,
once the fabric is finished.

I don’t know what I’ll do with this fabric once it’s done.
But I want the fabric.

And I chose to create a woven fabric,
because weaving is faster than knitting.

Process.

Because weaving is faster than knitting.

Back when I originally got this pile of yarn,
it was the middle of winter,
in the middle of my self-made wardrobe project.
It was damn cold.

And I had originally thought about making,
a slip stitch knitted sweater with this lovely pile of autumnal yarn.

A slip stitch,
to blend the colors –
like in my crazy colorful sweater (that still needs sleeves).

And because,
a simple slip stitch (knit 1, slip 1, knit 1, slip 1, etc.),
is wicked warm.
(It’s the stitch I used to knit my winter coat.)

But that never ended up happening.
And so the yarn sat.
And sat, and sat, and sat.
And then I borrowed a loom.

Originally I borrowed the loom for a totally different project.
But I wanted to get some practice first.
I’ve woven before, but not on a rigid heddle loom.

So I finished what was already warped,
and then warped one of the skeins from my pile of yarn,
And started blending colors,
two colors at a time, five colors in total, plus the color of the warp.

Last week, I started and finished, and was entranced by the process.

Entirely entranced.

Entirely entranced by the process.

It turns out,
that I have no internal rules about weaving + color.
I have many internal rules about knitting + color.

Well…

I have a part of me speaking up and saying,
“what the hell are you talking about?
“you have NO RULES about knitting + color,
“you’ve knit this, and this, and this,
“and you’ve worn them all.”

To which, I have to laugh and say,
“yes, that’s very true.
“But the process felt different.”

The process felt different.

The process feels different.

With my knitting, I plan the whole project from the beginning.
Sometimes it changes.
Oftentimes it changes.

But from the beginning,
I can visualize the finished piece.
The beginning, the middle, and the end.
They are planned.
It is planned.

With my weaving, I don’t.

I don’t care.
I don’t care that, the end and the beginning are entirely different.
I don’t care that, the middle stops and starts.
I don’t care that, the transitions between colors aren’t smooth.

I don’t care that the piece of fabric doesn’t look visually complete.
I want the fabric.
And I want the fabric for it’s malleable fabric essence.

I want to create the fabric because this fabric isn’t in existence anywhere else.
I want the fabric to be fabric, I’m just going to cut it up anyway.

The project isn’t done yet.
The final project isn’t even started yet.

Once the weaving is done,
the weaving is done.
The fabric is complete.

The project,
whatever the project ends up being,
isn’t done.

The process feels different.
Because the product is different.