NH noob with fancy tartan weaving ambition

[NHhighlander]

NHhighlander, I have always had inclinations towards weaving, I have a couple of small looms and developed a hybrid crochet/weaving technique which is quite portable, but was too busy to go the whole hog and get a full size loom.

Turns out it is in my DNA. Two of my patrilinear ancestors were blacklisted for agitating for a living wage two hundred years ago, in the linen weaving industry of south Yorkshire - they had their own looms and workshop, but ended their days being supported by female factory workers in cotton mills - the sons had to leave the trade as they were identified by their surname. Hand loom weaver goes back as the family trade for generations before the time of the Chartists.

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When dyeing remember to wear gloves - you too can be dyed.

Now you tell me!

I'd advise not going over the top when deciding what to wear for that clan gathering - in my travels as musician and singer of folk songs I see many people in costume, but also those who put on the garments as though they were born to it.

Anne the Pleater

Hi Anne!

So many reflections, your message brings...

What we do is what we are is what we do? For generations...

My Socialdemocrat Central-Europe ancestors have had quite a ride in my own life. If nothing else, and combined with being born in one of the richest and also among the most corrupt countries in the Americas, I have been raised to respect labor, the hard work of those born to toil - and also to notice and recognize how incredibly blessed I am, to be able to enjoy moments like these, to pursue a craft, after my own years of work, while I still keep to farming.

Yes, keep it simple is wise. Dad used to quote the Beatles, "keep it simple, we can always complicate it later." In this and this whole adventure of weaving, it's his creativity that inspires me, while I hope that my Mom's "stick-to-itiveness" will accompany me also. Adding a thread of yarn after another, it's a metaphor for our place in the roll of generations, isn't it?

BTW, I am seeing your comments in several posts related to weaving and such. Looks like there will be much to learn from your experience, thank you.

Yama