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Over The Hump with Hemp
Greetings Weaving Friends! I have had a difficult time with “re-entry” after my knee surgery. No matter what I did, I was very tired all the time. I tried resting, pushing myself, smiling a lot and pretending I was fine, letting myself feel everything and even crying too. I was the dreaded….”Unproductive”. It wouldn’t go away! I stopped in at my shop for an hour or two here and there and was simply overwhelmed. I wondered if I would ever feel “normal” again. Even as my knee improved…I got out of bed, then off crutches, then walking with a normal gait, then not in pain all the time…My life seemed to be more difficult to manage. But slowly, the real me has been re-emerging. My life seems to be coming back on track. I guess I am “over the hump”.
And guess what….I am back at the loom!
While I was on leave, we started carrying hemp cord at Poppyfield Bead Company (my bead shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico). I have never worked with it before and on one of my post-op visits to my shop it captured my attention. I like mixing opposing elements, and I wondered how the the natural organic texture could blend and contrast with elegant glass beads. In keeping with some skills I picked up during my last experiment (see post), I decided to warp with hemp cord and weave a combination of two-holed Czech beads, hexagonal delica seed beads, and fire polish beads.
Working with a variety of sizes of beads can be tricky. It took me several attempts to figure out how to keep the sections aligned. Two 3 mm fire polished beads should combine to take as much as space as a 6 mm bead. But there are other factors that come into play, and they don’t. So being flexible and willing to “undo” and make adjustments is key getting the “mosaic” look I wanted.
Finishing this will be the next challenge. Stay tuned!
3 Comments
Janna Maria Vallee
That is so gorgeous, Julia! I’m so glad you’re feeling yourself again. Times like that can feel so alienating, but like you said the real you shines through eventually. Good on you for waiting it out so bravely!
Gail
Glad to see hemp being used. I have had some for a while but didn’t know how it would hold up to the tension needed.
I had knee replacement surgery in March and can relate to your situation. Each day is better than the last. Hang in there.
Julia Hecht
Hi Gail, Thanks for your comment. Today I am using the warp ends for macrame to finish it and design a clasp. I will be posting when I’ve got that worked out.
Julia