Controlled Chaos

I love designing. I love the process of thinking through the details of a project. I think about shape, color, texture, purpose, the recipient. Sometimes I think for a long time and sometimes design decisions come quickly. I love designing for different mediums.

Then comes the practical aspect. The process of turning a design into reality.  The finished design opens the door to chaos and the path out of chaos is in the myriad of steps to complete a project. Be it a quilt, a sweater, a new yarn, a towel. I love the process - controlled chaos. 

The chaos of quilting is defined by piles of fabric, pieces to arrange, threads to trim, and batting to baste. Quilting by hand or machine is the next stage of the chaos. Then the quilt requires edge binding. When I’ve cut the batting and sewn the binding to the front ready to hand sew to the back I know that the chaos is contained. The visual treat of piles becoming straight lines then turning into a textile that can be folded neatly is amazing.

The chaos of spinning is defined by the shearing of sheep, processing the fiber into roving, choosing dye colors, splitting and pre-drafting the roving and finally watching the individual fibers twist into yarn. 

The chaos of weaving is defined by cones of yarn, a warp chain, dressing a loom, sampling. I love the moment when the warp is finally tied to the front beam and the tension is even. The path from draft to weaving always feels a bit messy to me. There are so many steps to do before actually weaving. When I get to throw the first pick of the weft, the chaos disappears.

Life is chaotic and messy, too. I rarely feel in control of mine. Containing the chaos of my textile crafts helps me feel organized and neat. Although, looking at the stuff around me - the piles of paperwork on the floor surrounding my desk, my spinning wheel and basket behind my chair, my loom and sewing table stuffed into my bedroom - sometimes makes me wonder if my textile work may be contributing to my sense of daily chaos. I love my life.