Waste Not

Waste not, want not.  One man's waste is another man's treasure. Both good pithy quotes, but...how do we define 'waste'?   What happens when we 'waste' one thing in order to 'save' something else?

In my studio, my life, my most valuable commodity is my time.  I will therefore 'waste' yarn when salvaging yarn will cost me too much time.  If I place a value on my time of, let's say $10/hour, am I going to spend $2.50 worth of time to rescue 5cents worth if yarn?   No, I'm not.  

I am now experienced enough that I don't need to weave a very long header, but I always do,  a header is where you examine the cloth for errors that need fixing.  I check weft colour to make sure I am using the best colour.  I check my beat and warp tension.  

If I need to re-Sley, I do that before I weave the entire warp and wind up with a cloth that is too dense or not dense enough.  A header is never a 'waste' of yarn...or time.  

I sample.  Over my 40 years of weaving I have sampled a lot.  None of that yarn - or time - was a 'waste'.  The acquisition of knowledge is never a waste.

And if you haven't spotted my mistake?   I miscounted the lavender threads in one of the stripes.  After thinking about it I'm not going to fix it.  The mistake is a visual one, not one that will in any way compromise the function of the cloth.  It is, instead, a reminder that when I'm not feeling well I really shouldn't be doing something that needs concentration.  They will go into the gift box or be sold as 'seconds' even though they will still work just fine.   And once again weaving has served up a little humbility!

Currently reading Visitor by C J Cherryh