Study for Meditation Mat

Study for Meditation Mat
Handspun Tapestry Weaving

Saturday 11 January 2014

Spill the Wine: Winter Count and Random Thoughts on a Saturday Night

Coleen and I spent a pleasant few hours together yesterday, weaving, chatting and eating.  I did some random weaving on my Cactus Loom-the pipe loom is too heavy to carry far-then came home, inspired to work on the Winter Count tapestry this evening.

Day Three:




Yes, things always go better with wine, especially organic wine, which I believe can be classified as a health food. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)  I can manage only one glass of wine while weaving; by the second glass, things go terribly askew.




Weavers will note that I'm incorporating soumak knots (with a line or two of rya pile knots) into this piece. Those knots are a nod to Colin's Wednesday yoga class, where he talked about untying knots in the body by using the breath. Here I'm adding knots; the rhythm of winding thread around thread calms my breath and body.

In today's meditation class, we explored using a three part Viloma Breath to connect past, present and future.  Although it's important not to dwell in the past, what has gone before determines what we are Now. Although mindfulness brings awareness to the present, it also reminds us to consider what is important and allows us to use the present to build the future.

My tapestry weaving is much like this practice-each pass of the weft thread focuses my attention.  I can only think of Now as I position line upon line of weaving; distractions mean skips in the fabric, unfilled warp threads which require reweaving. Those passes build upon each other. What has gone before determines what will be woven in the future.  A strong foundation guides the unknown outcome.  Despite that Not Knowing, experience has taught me that each pattern will eventually form a cohesive cloth, though seldom one which went according to plan.

It's a pretty good way to spend a Saturday night-weaving, drinking wine, listening to Holger Petersen's Saturday Night Blues.  Outside, the temperature is rising, snow is blowing.  All is well.

Or perhaps I'm just drinking really good wine.

Namaste.

 

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