Repeat the lesson

Repetition has been a foundation of my life and a cornerstone of my work for decades. Repeating an activity (physical or mental) allows me to get better at it, to work towards perfecting it, to revisit it from an new angle.

Thread by thread.

Repetition is part and parcel in the territory of weaving. One of my mottoes is "thread by thread"...by thread, by thread, by thread. You get the idea.... by repeating threads I create/build a better weaving.

I also love a daily practice which for me is the repetition of a morning routine. I try to get up at the same time every day. I feed to dog, let her out/in, make tea, then meditate and do some yoga for an hour. This morning pattern sets up a grounding for my day. With the repetition of some form of daily exercise I keep my body healthy. So through repetition, I gain strength, skill and insight.

My trusty tool, my right hand.

But with all good things, there is a dark side. Repetition does have draw backs. As some of you may have read in a past blog,  I had a disc problem in my back about 23 years ago from the repetitive motion of weaving.   Last week, after years of symptoms, I had surgery on my right hand for carpal tunnel syndrome, mostly likely caused by the repetitive motion of spinning, weaving, knitting, stitching, gardening. The good news is that I am healthy, will heal quickly and the surgery has a 90% success rate. So before long I'll be back to all my old repetitive habits, but with new insight and no pain or numbness!

An old sign found in the Macomber shop recently.

The title of this post is "Repeat the Lesson"...which is to say, that like many creatures, I need to revisit old lessons. Lessons from the loom, lessons from the yoga mat and lessons from Mother Nature.The lesson here is that here is that my hands are a valuable tool. They can work hard, but I need to be aware of the potential for over work, for wear and tear. And ....that they can heal, renew and be good for many more years of faithful service. Thank you hands.

Meanwhile, at the Macomber shop, Eddie has been building looms for well over 35 years. His hands are well worn, missing part of one digit and physical evidence of his repeated good work. I stopped by the shop today, got a big bear hug from him and news that all is well with his loom building hands!

 I hope that all you weavers out there take good care of yourselves. As someone who has been weaving for over 40 years, I can attest that this profession can take its toll on one's body. But I can also attest that with respect and care, one's physical body can be of good service to our passion for decades and decades.

Happy weaving my friends ~ Sarah

It's official! New price list!

The folks at Macomber Looms have just released a new price list with a 10% raise in loom prices as well as some loom parts. It's been 8 years since the last price hike, so I suspect no one will complain! I have embedded the price list here as well as put it on the side bar as a larger file.

Thanks to everyone for all you business, your kind words about my blog and most of all for your companionship in this weaving world!

Eddie and Linda Hart will be attending Convergence out in Long Beach this coming week. Macomber Looms will have a vendor booth after years of being absent. I suspect that many weavers will be quite happy to see these looms in person and to meet the famous Eddie! Please be sure to use my name if you order a loom and let me know!

As noted in my previous blog posting, I was away all last week teaching at a campground in Searsport ME. At the end of the week, I visited the accident site where my dear brother Weston was killed last August. The prayer flags that have been hanging just shy of a year are beautifully weathered by the sun, wind, rain and snow.

Happy weaving to each of you. May the warp and weft of your days reveal life's truths to you. Namaste ~ Sarah

Prayer flags

Thread by Thread

Giraffe love

"Thread by thread" is a standard phrase I use to remind myself that weaving is a slow, repetitive process that in the long run offers me time and space for reflection and encourages me to be grounded in the present moment.

As many of you know, this winter I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Simonstown, South Africa to Barbados in the Caribbean. This seven week ocean passage offered me a similar opportunity. Through the repetition of daily life on board a 43' boat, the landless wide horizon and living under the stars, sun and moon, I found myself able to just hang out in the beauty of the present moment. To just sit and watch the horizon for hours was a precious gift.

I have much to share, many photos of our passage and of course Macomber Loom news. Thanks to everyone for keeping in touch with me. I realize that my last blog posting was in December. So I promise to do my best to share images, memories and news.

Elephant family on the move

Prior to leaving South Africa, our crew went on a short safari. Don't you just love the eye lashes and horns on this giraffe?? We had a wonderful extravagant 5 days in the bush. We were able to witness up close all of the Big Five (leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros), as well as many other beautiful animals, birds, trees, and flowers.

I have posted a short video on UTube of some lionesses we watched lounging in the hot South African sun. Check it out!

weaving in the produce

We left Simonstown, South Africa on January 26th. Here is an photo of my "weaving" the produce into a shelf to prevent it from flying around the cabin while we were under sail!

Land Ho! Approaching St Helena

Since we were East of The Cape of Good Hope, we had to scoot around this point and we now know why this point used to be called "Cape of Tempests". The waves, the wind and the current all combined to give our boat, Bahati, a rousing entrance to the South Atlantic. After about a week the seas calmed down and we had a lovely 2 week passage to St. Helena. This little rock of an island is where Napoleon was exiled and died. Here is a photo of our approach to St Helena and Longwood House, the estate where Napoleon lived during his exile.


From St Helena, we sailed for seven days to arrive at Ascension Island. This small island is mostly a military and communication outpost on a volcanic rock. The landscape on Ascension was a strange combination of red dirt hills, white sandy beaches, grey volcanic rubble and green lush jungle. This tiny island is where green sea turtles swim from Brazil to lay their eggs. We were there during egg laying season and watched these giant creatures lumber up on shore to dig a nest in the sand and deposit their eggs. You can see more images of this bizarre landscape by checking out the Ascension Island website.

Mars-like Ascension Island

We departed from Ascension Island and sailed

for 24 days to reach Barbados. I will continue to share images and stories of this amazing trans-Atlantic voyage.

Thanks to all of you who continued to place orders for Macomber looms and parts in my absence. Kudos to my dear husband Ben who learned more about this stuff than he bargained for!

Harriet Tidball threading her loom.
Notice the front beam is dropped down to allow easy threading.

So just like Harriet Tidball who is threading her loom, I continue to believe in the power of weaving to keep me grounded in the present moment.

And I continue to discover the beauty thread by thread, warp and weft.

Happy Spring from coastal Maine ~
Sarah

More Testimonials

More fine words from your colleagues out there in weaver's world.

"Just back from a workshop in NJ. It re-enforced my love affair with
my Macomber looms. I took my very portable 20" four shaft Macomber. I worked on Baby Wolfe, Schact, Dorsett, and table looms I refuse to mention.

Nothing worked as well as the 30 year old Macomber even with a frayed break cord which I will now replace. "
~~ Shuttle Song in MA

And because I cannot make a post without an image, here's one from last spring of work in progress.

Sarah