Must weave faster...must weave faster...

We are down to the final push to get all things woven and off the looms.  It's only nine days till check in for the Contemporary Handweavers of Houston Fall Sale.  And I'm going to be gone for four of those days.

I love weaving but I hate weaving to a schedule.  I like to get lost in my weaving to the point that I lose track of time.  What I do not like is to keep checking the clock to see how much time I have left.  And to keep checking the warp beam on my loom to see how much I've got left to weave.  It is another indication that we would feel very different about this business if we were putting food on the table and clothes on our children's back solely on the basis of our spinning and weaving.  Then it really would be a job and not whatever it is.  A passion, certainly.  A love, of course.  But the things we love and are passionate about can become drudgery if we are chained to them.

Usually I do a pretty good job of getting started at an appropriate time and working along to get my projects accomplished.  I know what our schedule is and when this run of kitchen towels or that triangle shawl needs to be finished.  And I know how long it takes once the fabric is off the loom.  Everything we make is washed before much else happens to it.  Then there is the blocking for all things knitted.  And the serging and hemming for kitchen towels, linen face cloths and napkins.  Then most things need to be ironed.  All of those steps take time.  I have spent more time than I care to admit hemming towels at 3 am or turning the ceiling fan up on high to get that lace shawl to dry more quickly.

So here I am just trying to weave faster so I can get these face cloths off the loom.  My plan is to get them finished today and washed, serged, hemmed and tagged tomorrow.  That gives me a couple of days slop in case anything needs more time.