More on the Companionship of Women

This is a picture of the women in the District Check weaving workshop that Emma participated in a few months ago. I started wondering why the pattern drafting class members seem to be a closer-knit group than this one, which is less diverse.

Here are my ideas:

In the weaving workshop, it was hard to talk because of the noise of the looms. In the pattern-drafting class, the sewing has been almost exclusively hand sewing, so it is easier to carry on a conversation.

In the weaving workshop, there was really no need for help from the other participants. In the pattern drafting class, you become intimate with your sewing partner right away because you have to measure each other's bodies; everyone is called upon to identify the fitting problems and help solve them; you are somewhat exposed and vulnerable during the fitting process (as when you are standing very still while two people are pinning your bust darts), but then you are reassured and grateful when the other students are so helpful and encouraging. In short, there are many opportunities for bonding with the other students.

I don't mean to imply that the weavers didn't enjoy camaraderie. They did. But it was when they left their looms to talk in a group and when they did the waulking of the wool. The waulking drew them together most of all because they were singing together and working rhythmically together on the same wool blanket. And this synergy was heightened when the master called for them all to take a shot of whiskey together to re-vivify themselves for the next round. Unfortunately, waulking is the last step, so the feeling of community it engenders cannot be enjoyed during the weaving process.

One thing that both groups benefited from was eating lunch together. Nothing seems to build community as quickly as sharing a meal.

So this is what I learned from the two experiences:

If you want to promote community within a group of women who are strangers, have them share a meal together first, preferably a pot-luck. Then have them work together on something that is quiet enough for conversation to flourish but for which each individual will need the help of the other group members. Finally, create opportunities for one-on-one bonding.

Honing Homemaking Skills

For this writer stands in awe of the real housewife: an accomplished housewife must be far more knowledgeable than the so-called professional man or woman and much of the knowledge, as she will tell you, is difficult to achieve.--John Seymour, Forgotten Household Crafts

For a long time now Emma and I have been talking about her taking over the menu planning, shopping, and cooking. Now that she is driving by herself and can find her way back home from the grocery store (if she exits the same side of the parking lot that she came in), we are ready to start.

She wants to try using the gasto system.

We learned about it when we read My Heart Lies South by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino, the true story of an American young woman who weds a Mexican, Luis de Trevino, and how she adapts to the Catholic culture of Monterrey, Mexico. She says, "Gasto means 'expense' and is generally used to indicate exactly the sum set aside for the daily purchase of food and household necessities. . .With my gasto I was supposed to buy meat, milk, vegetables and fruit, bread and such staples as sugar, rice, beans, and coffee. Luis had fixed the gasto after long worried discussions with Adela's husband, and they had calculated in a certain amount of slack because of my inexperience with Mexican ways."

We see many advantages to this method, but the top two reasons are: we expect that as a young housewife Emma will be working within a limited budget, and being given a gasto helps reinforce the husband's role as head of the family, which in America needs all the reinforcing it can get. I just wish I had Luis here to help me figure out how much to give her. At least she doesn't have to bargain with vendors. That was Mrs. Trevino's undoing, and I am sure that it would be Emma's too.

Starting tomorrow, I will give her $10 a day. She then has to plan menus for that day, determine what miscellaneous household items must be bought and then go shop for them. I never shop daily, but it would seem a good way to start this project until she and I get the hang of it. I figure we're going to be eating a lot of rice and beans. But at least she doesn't have to waste any of her gasto on dairy products or eggs. I expect that I will be adjusting the gasto before the end of the week. That's OK, because I'm really choosing ten dollars at random.

I would like for her to keep a notebook with her shopping lists, menus, and expenditures, but I won't push it. She's already pretty busy with the twice-a-day milking, chickens, rabbits, a batch of new chicks, and s sewing project and is going to start working one afternoon a week as a mother's helper for a lady from our parish. She is from Puerto Rico and has read and loved My Heart Lies South, too. So I'm hoping Emma will learn a lot.

Seeing this all written down makes me a little worried. It's probably too much. Herb wants her to take college classes in the fall. Once you throw that in there, I don't know when she would get a chance to do anything. And I didn't even put weaving on the list! We both got so excited at her District Check workshop because several of the weavers there weave their own linen sheets. They said nothing you can buy in a store can compare to them. Talk about an outstanding hope chest project! Plus, Emma sat next to the lady who wove her daughter's wedding dress fabric. She brought it to show, and it was gorgeous! Emma and I talked about her weaving her own wedding dress fabric and enough for the groom's shirt as well. Now I'm thinking it would be really wonderful if she wove enough to make an heirloom christening gown. She could have it done and waiting in the hope chest. . .the wedding dress, groom's shirt, and christening gown all from the same fabric--so symbolic, so romantic. . .

Then there's reality. Darn.


In the photo above, Emma is posing with the ten half-pints of strawberry jam she made on Friday.

A Waulking Song

One of the songs that Norman Kennedy sang during the waulking at the workshop Emma attended last month was Nancy Whiskey . Norman and all the weavers were pounding and passing the wet wool as he sang, so the atmosphere was much different than in this clip where he is singing only. Still, if you close your eyes and rhythmically lift/drop/pound a wet dishtowel on the table while you listen, I think you will get a good idea of what it was like.

In the song's lyrics below, I believe that Calton refers to the hand-weaving community near Glasgow, famous for going on strike in 1787 to protest wages being cut by 25 percent.

Nancy Whiskey

I am a weaver, a Calton Weaver, I am a rash and a roving blade
I've got money in my pocket and I'm going to follow the roving trade.

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey. Whiskey, Whiskey Nancy-o.

As I went in to Glasgow City, Nancy Whiskey I chanced to smell,
I went in and sat down beside her. Seven long years I looked her well.

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey. Whiskey, Whiskey Nancy-o.

The more I kissed her the more I loved her. The more I kissed her the more she smiled.
Soon I forgot my mother's teaching, Nancy had me soon beguiled.

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey. Whiskey, Whiskey Nancy-o.

Now I arose early in the morning to wet my thirst it was my need
I tried to rise but I was not able, Nancy had me by the knees.

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey. Whiskey, Whiskey Nancy-o.

Well I'm going back to the Carleton weaving, I'll surely make those shuttles fly,
For I made more at the Carleton weaving than ever I did at the roving trade.

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey. Whiskey, Whiskey Nancy-o.

So come all you weavers, you Carleton weavers. Come all you weavers where ever you be.

Beware of Whiskey Nancy Whiskey, She'll ruin you like she ruined me.

Whiskey, Whiskey, Nancy Whiskey. Whiskey, Whiskey Nancy-o.

Learning from a Master Weaver and Spinner: Norman Kennedy

"I understand now what the Greeks were talking about--how if you want to learn something you go and sit at the feet of a master," Emma told me on our way home from the District Check weaving workshop Sunday afternoon.

During the two-day workshop, Emma kept leaving her loom to go listen to Norman talk. Someone was always bringing something for him to see or asking a question, resulting in an explanation or a story that she did not want to miss. I did not discourage her. I was constantly aware of the time slipping by. How much information could she absorb in two days over the clack of a roomful of looms and the smoky screen of his Scottish brogue? Information sprang from him like water from a fountain, and Emma struggled to catch what she could in her little cup.

Then there was the waulking, which was simply incredible. It is a process whereby the fabric is wet down and beaten rhythmically by a group of people around a large table. After each beat, it is passed down the table in a continuous motion. The fabric shrinks and becomes more cohesive, which is desired because it is more wind and water resistant. Norman sat at the head of the table, picked up the fabric and beat it down on the table, establishing the rhythm. Then he began to sing one of the old Scottish songs.

The women joined in on the chorus. At the end of each song, Norman measured the fabric to see if another round was needed. Shots of whiskey were served to revive the workers. I asked Norman if this tradition was really intended for the men instead of the women, and he asked, "Why would they (the women) not drink it? It was a treat for them." He explained that the work was hard, and they were very poor.

Emma sports a borrowed cap that reads, "I waulked with Norman."

Scottish Estate Tweeds, features gorgeous color pictures of many of the district checks, also called estate checks or tweeds. Emma was delighted to discover that its dust jacket design featured her pattern, Aberchalder. The book was published in 1995 by Johnstons of Elgin, a Scottish woolen mill in continuous operation since 1797 and one that is responsible for many of the district check designs. It gave the following background information about the Aberchalder estate and its associated pattern:

Aberchalder

The estate lies on the south-west side of Loch Oich which is part of the Caledonian Canal. It is owned by Miss Jean Ellice. The Ellice family bought Aberchalder, which was part of the Glen Garry estates, in 1860. They brought to Aberchalder the original tweed which Miss Balfour, later Mrs. Ellice, had designed when her family were tenants at Glenfeshie and the tweed was used on their new estate. The tweed is no longer used on the hill but it remains the origin of all Scottish estate tweeds. Although they were not necessarily the original makers, Johnstons first invoiced the tweed to Macdougalls of Inverness on 22nd June, 1846.--Scottish Estate Tweeds by E. P. Harrison, published by Johnstons of Elgin.

Putting the District Check Warp on the Loom

Emma checked her warp one last time before tying it off.

Clarice helps her get it started on the Baby Wolf loom. She told Emma that Norman Kennedy, the workshop teacher, will be so excited that she is milking a cow. He was the head weaver at Colonial Williamsburg for many years. Emma is hoping that he can teach her some Scottish milking songs in addition to the weaving songs he will be teaching at the workshop.

I still don't know what her pattern will look like. I started reading a book on Scottish Woolens, and it said that the patterns should not be reproduced without permission because they are the property of the estates. I've not gotten far in the book yet, but it sounds like the lord of the estate had the pattern designed for his livery. So each district check is associated with a particular estate.

Clarice also told us that the waulking tradition includes drinking a shot of whiskey after each time the head weaver measures the cloth. I'm not clear on the waulking process yet. I think it involves wetting the fabric; then the weavers gather around the table that it is on and beat it with their hands to shrink it. I guess it has to shrink a certain amount, and that's where the measuring and shots of whiskey come in. The singing is to keep everyone in rhythm as they beat the cloth. Emma suspects that the shots of whiskey were only for men weavers. I'll let you know on Monday.

Clarice told Emma to hold the yarn like she was driving a team while she got the other end rolled up. It must have been a runaway team, because Clarice had to tell her twice, "Not so tight!"

Emma describes the process of threading the heddles as "tedious".

The completed heddles look like this from Emma's side of the loom.

Now she begins sleying the reed.



Can you tell she is happy to be finished? She started at 2 and finished about 6:00. Now we have today to plan our picnic lunch that we will take with us tomorrow.

Snow White, Black, and Bittersweet

These are the colors in the pattern that Emma chose for her district check weaving sample. This picture was taken after the warp was completed.

Her pattern is called Aberchalder.

Here Emma is about a third of the way through with the warp. By this time her hands are moving so rhythmically, they seem to be communicating with the wool in a beautiful secret language. The closest comparison I can make is that it is similiar to the motions that hula dancers make with their hands.

It took about two hours to complete. We go back today for Emma to put the warp on the loom. The workshop is this Saturday and Sunday from 9-6 each day. It will end with the waulking of the wool.

Patterns in Weaving, Dancing, and Driving

Emma received word this week that it is time to come and choose a pattern for the District Check weaving workshop with Norman Kennedy so that the thread can be ordered. This week she also attended her first dance practice for the demo she is going to participate in for the Robert Burns Supper and Ball in Houston on January 23.

As we were driving to the dance practice she resumed the thread of a conversation we had several months ago as we wove in and out of interstate traffic. She said then that dancers make better drivers because they are trained to constantly adjust their position in relationship to the other dancers. In the renewed conversation she elaborated that she liked interstate driving and is good at it because it is very orderly. She admired the design of the infrastructure that facilitated this orderliness. I have never thought this way about driving. It interests me, though, to consider how our activities shape the way we see life.

Full Me With Song

I have signed Emma up for the February 2010 "District Check" weaving workshop with Norman Kennedy. The whole idea of combining weaving and traditional Scottish folk music tantalizes us most agreeably.

Here's the workshop info Emma received from Clarice Shanks at Upstairs Studio:

Okay Norman is going to teach a workshop in Feburary 2010. The final date has not been set. We would like him to also give lecture at CHH meeting if he is teaching close to that week end. Which would make it a 3 day workshop. We are thinking of a 'Wool Waulking' ( this is a traditional fulling with a woven piece of yardage with 12 people at a table while Norman sings the old waulking songs) on the last day Sunday. You will need your own loom, 4h table or 4 h floor loom. This is only going to be sample weave. District Check is still being worn in Scotland by people that work for the big Estates. It identifies them as working for a certain estate or Lord. They may not always be check some are plaids. They are mostly drab colors. You will receive all of the wool ahead of time and must come to the class with your loom loaded.

The Sampler is Finished!

Now she just has to trim some threads, finish the warp repair, and hang it. Emma can't wait to work on her own loom now. It is a 45-inch Nilus Leclerc, and she can make much bigger projects than the sampler, which was woven on a Schacht Wolf Pup.

Learn to Weave Day 4, Creative Possibilities

These pictures were taken last Thursday. I had hoped that Emma would finish that day, but alas, we must go back tomorrow.
The white "stripes" at the top of the picture above are actually formed by weaving in plastic sticks.

Making chenille the old-fashioned way. Clarice mentioned the Cajuns as one of the groups who traditionally favored this technique.

The strange-looking bunch of white threads in the upper left corner is where Emma learned how to fix the warp after accidentally cutting six threads.

The palette, above and below.

It's fun to see how these different threads/yarns change in appearance when they are woven.

An interesting view. We can't wait to see the sampler hanging on the wall at home.

This stuff is so beautiful and soft.

Little bits of the pink wool are worked randomly into the sampler.

The rag rug technique. Clarice gave Emma strips of indigo-dyed cotton and cochineal-dyed cotton to work into her sampler. Clarice has an indigo-dye pot. I think that she said it takes 44 pounds of indigo leaves to make one ounce of dye. She was going to show us some dying techniques on Friday, but we couldn't go that day.

I forgot the name of this fringe-looking technique. I'll find out tomorrow.

Restoring American Textiles

I've been noticing a slow but sure increase in Americans' willingness to pay more for healthier food, whether that is through a co-op, the organic food and produce sections at the grocery store, or buying directly from farmers. It is awfully encouraging to me.

As I sat watching people weave at Upstairs Studio last week, I asked if anyone thought there was hope for restoring the American textile industry. I read that 44 textile plants closed just last year.

We had a long discussion about the unwillingness or inability of the textile companies to pay competitive American wages and benefits, footing the bill for safe working conditions while competing with cheap labor overseas. It would seem that the the American consumer will have to be willing to pay more for American-made products.

Wondering if there is some middle way, somewhere in between homespun and corporate textile companies, I read up on craft guilds in Catholic Encylopedia. Here's the excerpt, titled "Craft guilds" (in England):

"Seeing that the merchant guilds had become identical with the municipality, the craftsmen, ever increasing in numbers, struggled to break down the trading monopoly of the merchant guilds and to win for themselves the right of supervision over their own body. The weavers and fullers were the first crafts to obtain royal recognition of their guilds, and by 1130 they had guilds established in London, Lincoln, and Oxford. Little by little through the next two centuries they broke down the power of the merchant guilds, which received their death-blow by the statute of Edward III which in 1335 allowed foreign merchants to trade freely in England. In the system of craft guilds the administration lay in the hands of wardens, bailiffs, or masters, while for admission a long apprenticeship was necessary. Like the merchant guilds, the craft guilds cared for the interests both spiritual and temporal of their members, providing old age and sick pensions, pensions for widows, and burial funds. The master craftsman was an independent producer, needing little or no capital, and employing journeymen and apprentices who hoped in time to become master craftsmen themselves. Thus there was no "working class" as such, and no conflict between capital and labour. At the end of the reign of Edward III there were in London forty-eight companies, a number which later on rose to sixty."

Does anyone know of such a guild operating today? I know that Harrisville Designs will take your fleece and spin it into yarn for you, and I once bought a wool blanket from a Louisiana farm that sent its raw wool somewhere and had it turned into blankets. These kinds of activities are a step in the right direction, but still a long way from a functioning medieval-type guild. If any one knows of individuals who have organized textile co-ops or have other ideas for restoring small-scale American-made textiles, please comment with the information.

Learn to Weave Day 3, Twill is Queen!

"Shuttles are so elegant," Emma told me. I think that must be the kind of thing girls say when they are in "raptures". Strange, but interesting.

Yesterday was pure bliss for Emma. She skipped when she had to go ask a question and smiled and sang at her loom, "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls with vassals and serfs at my side."

The beloved antique bobbin winder.

Can you chew gum and pat your head at the same time?

The elegant shuttle, with a cargo of pink thread.

After losing her place several times and having to take out her work, Emma found a pattern holder on an unused loom and borrowed it.

See the diamond pattern in the middle?

Emma's favorite, pink and purple together.

Learn to Weave: Day 2, Tabby is King!

You can't see it, but Emma is standing on a cloud of euphoria. The majority of the first two days of weaving lessons were occupied with getting the warp ready, and Emma was fairly reserved. The Day 1 post and the first five pictures below show that. Then, when that was finished, the last 45 minutes to an hour of class yesterday, Clarice took Emma into her shop to choose yarn, and Emma started to percolate with excitement.

Emma is following the pattern in her lap to thread the heddles.

On the first class day, Clarice showed Emma two methods for the threading, one easier but slower than the other. Emma adopted the faster method. She said it felt more comfortable because it reminded her of crocheting.

Here she begins sleying the reed.

The warp is tied onto the front apron rod. Then Clarice showed Emma how to run her hand over it to check for even tension.

Gravitating immediately to the pinks and purples, Emma begins choosing her colors. So far, this has been the only part of the weaving lessons that has been difficult for her, because she only had five minutes to choose if she wanted any time to begin weaving before the end of the class day. If left to her own devices, she probably would have spent a half hour or more. As it was, she followed Clarice back to the studio, agonizing over the green thread that she had chosen to go with the pink and purple.

As Clarice set up the thread to be wound onto the bobbin, she explained that someday, because of life experiences, Emma might not care for pink anymore and could possibly come to love orange. Emma was not convinced.

Clarice showed Emma how to wrap a bobbin and insert it in the shuttle, then headed back to the loom with the shuttle in her hand. Emma scurried close behind her and begged, "Can I hold it?" I wish I had a picture of Clarice's face when she heard that. She kind of chuckled and had this "knowing" look. She clearly realized that Emma was consumed with the weaving bug.

The project Emma is working on is a sampler. The first weave Emma learned is the Tabby, and Clarice emphasized that, "Tabby is King!" She had Emma "beat" soft, then hard, to see how it affected the weave.

Several inches of pure satisfaction.