Mastercrafts: on weaving

9:05pm i receive a text message from my not-yet-brother-in-law...BBC2 watch it now!

overcoming a mild wave of guilt at not touching my loom for an eon, i switch over to Monty Don driving through anonymous countryside ruminating on how little he knows about weaving. Margo Selby appears smiling and surrounded by an array of glistening pastel coloured weave celebrating the form of the oval. quite why Ricochet decided that a weaver who was trained in london, has a very lovely shop in london and weaves in london had to be showcased in a country house, i am at a loss. something about craft and cities i imagine. sigh. get beyond that and it shaped up to be a well rounded, moving programme of three approaches to the craft that revealed much about attitudes to the whole enterprise.

the terms amateur and professional reared their ugly heads. for a change the terms actually informed a seedling of a conversation about the true difference between those that dedicate themselves to mastering a craft, and those who want to give things a go, learn the basics and move on to the next pot/sock/print. for the record, i'm not entirely sure which group i fit into, but i know to which one i'd hand over hard earned cash for an item of their making. there was a great deal of grace amongst the participants, a heap of tenacity, and a dash of impressive ingenuity. given six weeks, could anyone pick up double cloth, overshot, eye stopping colour combinations, and the matrix like lift patterns? give it a watch on iplayer and make your decision. i was crying by the end. and this morning began advertising my loom in exchange for a smaller version. i have no urge to generate three metres of double cloth in two weeks, but just a desire to pick up the basics where i left off almost 2 years ago. if i can fit the loom in my flat that might be a good start!