Comfort for the Apocalypse: Issue 4, Weaving in Light
www.comfortfortheapocalypse.com
In the textile studio I am quiet, but my equipment is not. Shck, sprrr, thump. Shck, sprrr, thump. My foot presses down against the treadle and pulls the shafts into place, I throw the shuttle through the opening, bringing the beater down to tap the yarn into the weave. Every few minutes I rise and advance the cloth that’s been woven, and start again with a new set of threads waiting to be patterned into place. Each advance of the gears wraps new cloth around the beam underneath the loom and I am caught by the rhythm. When I sit at the loom, my goal is to find the dance–the shuttle goes through raised heddles, I move my foot over to the next treadle in the pattern, I beat the fabric; throw the shuttle, move my foot, beat the fabric; shuttle, treadle, beat; shuttle treadle beat. Shck, sprr, thump.
Comfort for the Apocalypse: Issue 4, Weaving in Light
Comfort for the Apocalypse: Issue 4, Weaving…
Comfort for the Apocalypse: Issue 4, Weaving in Light
In the textile studio I am quiet, but my equipment is not. Shck, sprrr, thump. Shck, sprrr, thump. My foot presses down against the treadle and pulls the shafts into place, I throw the shuttle through the opening, bringing the beater down to tap the yarn into the weave. Every few minutes I rise and advance the cloth that’s been woven, and start again with a new set of threads waiting to be patterned into place. Each advance of the gears wraps new cloth around the beam underneath the loom and I am caught by the rhythm. When I sit at the loom, my goal is to find the dance–the shuttle goes through raised heddles, I move my foot over to the next treadle in the pattern, I beat the fabric; throw the shuttle, move my foot, beat the fabric; shuttle, treadle, beat; shuttle treadle beat. Shck, sprr, thump.