This year, I didn't learn anything really earth-shattering, but more nuances to what I already had learned.
I looked up a few things about the state of travel and the roads. I came across a quote in Churchill's "Birth of Britain," the gist of which was that in Britania, a lonely outpost of the Empire--the wild west of the time, a woman could walk the roads alone from one end of the land to the other and not fear for her safety. My opinion, in the lack of anything else I could find on the subject, is that if such was the case in Roman Britain, how much more so in Judea and the Gallilee. Obviously, then as now, if undertaking a journey, one would take normal safety precautions, such as not venturing into "bad parts of town" such as the Jericho-Jerusalem road, or into Samaria, if Jewish and vice versa. But I got the feeling that for a woman to travel alone was as normal as a woman travelling alone coast to coast by plane, train or automobile would be nowadays.
We tend to look at the state of women's rights at the time of Jesus and assume that women were as restricted as they are now in that part of the world. Such may not have been the case. One thing I have found is that everything we think we know about Judaism by comparing the practices today and the laws in Leviticus, and so on, may not be what it actually was at the time for the majority of people. This is a bit of an understatement, but Judaism would have had to have changed radically after the fall of the Second Temple. Those who were scattered had to adopt some of the practices of their surrounding neighbors in regard to the women, just to ensure their own safety. People will give up freedom, and other things dear to them in order to have some level of security in life.
I was asked by one of the visitors if I didn't mean woof insted of saying weft for the horizontal threads in weaving. I prefer to use the term weft because I refuse to sound like a dog and either term is acceptable in English. One of the other spinners asked me what was the term in Hebrew, so that evening, off I went to the translation sites. I found the words for both warp and weft, but what was interesting to me was the word for warp threads, dallah, with the accent on the last syllable. Dallah indicates something that hangs down or dangles and is also weighted down--which aptly describes the warp on a warp-weighted loom! Dallah was also used to describe the "masses;" those whom we would call "pawns" nowadays. People who aren't really important in and of themselves, but hold the fabric of life together in mass and are weighted down with the cares of life.
One thing I look forward to every year with Bethlehem is the new insights I gain on the Bible. Sometimes it is only a sharpening of focus. Sometimes it is like hanging a modern art painting a different way--vertically instead of horizontally. Something that makes you say, oh! I never thought of it quite that way before. What I find is that the things that the Bible says are accurate. We have problems understanding because we have not discovered the evidence that sheds light on the text yet.
I think the most important thing I learned is that a loom cannot be warped in strife or stress if you want the weaving to turn out right. You must be calm and focus. You must not be concerned about how much time it is taking or how long you are going to be. That is the path to discouragement. Making the heddles is tedious and time consuming, but you have to go through it--like pregnancy--only it doesn't take nearly that long. I also learned that the groups of 10 warp threads need about 5 or 6 ounces of weight each to hang properly, and each air-dried clay donut weighs about one ounce each. I had to make more weights this year.
Those whose hope is in the Lord will be restored.
They shall fly on eagles' wings.
They will not be wearied from running,
Nor will they faint from walking.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Journey to Bethlehem, 12/07/08
2,468 tonight! Yaaaay!
There are now 6 to 8-ish inches of cloth on the loom. I am pulling the blue shed threads forward and holding them while passing the shuttle through. That works best.
A lady I'd invited from my Curves exercise place came tonight. I had many very little helpers weaving and some adults who were brave and tried it also.
Kudos to the Gonzales family! Another lady who goes to my Curves and a lady who is in a weaving class with me both mentioned that they had heard about Journey to Bethlehem from them this year (in addition to hearing about it from me and Rose Ungerman!)
Fun things to say to the visitors to Bethlehem:
Ask the children what the Angel said. Tell the ones who answer correctly to go and come back and tell you how much does he weigh, does he look like his mom or his dad, and how long is he? You know, the things everyone asks complete strangers with a newborn.
One little boy who did not answer correctly was scolded by his older sister who said he never listens! I said they should put him with our rabbi and if he did not listen, the rabbi would beat the torah into him! (they laughed.)
People who have the cell phone thingies in their ears: Sir/ma'am, there is fire coming out of your head! You should be more careful! Put it out before your hair catches fire!
Children with blond hair and/or blue eyes. Tell their parents they will have no trouble finding matches for them. Or tell them to beware the Romans because they like to buy slaves with hair that color so they can shave the hair of the slaves to make wigs for themselves.
I can't wait for tomorrow night! It is sad that it is our last night at Journey Manhattan
There are now 6 to 8-ish inches of cloth on the loom. I am pulling the blue shed threads forward and holding them while passing the shuttle through. That works best.
A lady I'd invited from my Curves exercise place came tonight. I had many very little helpers weaving and some adults who were brave and tried it also.
Kudos to the Gonzales family! Another lady who goes to my Curves and a lady who is in a weaving class with me both mentioned that they had heard about Journey to Bethlehem from them this year (in addition to hearing about it from me and Rose Ungerman!)
Fun things to say to the visitors to Bethlehem:
Ask the children what the Angel said. Tell the ones who answer correctly to go and come back and tell you how much does he weigh, does he look like his mom or his dad, and how long is he? You know, the things everyone asks complete strangers with a newborn.
One little boy who did not answer correctly was scolded by his older sister who said he never listens! I said they should put him with our rabbi and if he did not listen, the rabbi would beat the torah into him! (they laughed.)
People who have the cell phone thingies in their ears: Sir/ma'am, there is fire coming out of your head! You should be more careful! Put it out before your hair catches fire!
Children with blond hair and/or blue eyes. Tell their parents they will have no trouble finding matches for them. Or tell them to beware the Romans because they like to buy slaves with hair that color so they can shave the hair of the slaves to make wigs for themselves.
I can't wait for tomorrow night! It is sad that it is our last night at Journey Manhattan
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Journey to Bethlehem 2008
2,049 people!
The loom worked! The warp is kind of sticky and I made the heddles too long, but I've got two inches on it! What I do is this. Since the "blue" shed (the heddles are blue) is annoying, I weave that. Then I have the open shed ready for someone who wants to weave. I can't weave all the time--you have to interact.
It's not about the weaving. It's about what life would have been like, sort of, in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Sort of.
We are portraying the birth of Jesus and our ultimate aim is to bring people to Him. Because people think they know what the birth of Jesus was like, we have some things that may be historically or even biblically inaccurate, like the presence of the wise men, for example. But people expect to see some of these things, so we find a way to explain their presence if anyone asks. We walk a thin line between what people expect to see and what people will accept as different.
The loom worked! The warp is kind of sticky and I made the heddles too long, but I've got two inches on it! What I do is this. Since the "blue" shed (the heddles are blue) is annoying, I weave that. Then I have the open shed ready for someone who wants to weave. I can't weave all the time--you have to interact.
It's not about the weaving. It's about what life would have been like, sort of, in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Sort of.
We are portraying the birth of Jesus and our ultimate aim is to bring people to Him. Because people think they know what the birth of Jesus was like, we have some things that may be historically or even biblically inaccurate, like the presence of the wise men, for example. But people expect to see some of these things, so we find a way to explain their presence if anyone asks. We walk a thin line between what people expect to see and what people will accept as different.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Journey to Bethlehem Dress rehearsal
Well, another dress rehearsal Journey to Bethlehem has come and gone. The census taker said we had 750 people come through tonight. Last year, I think we had maybe 400 something.
I spun camel hair on my "toy" spindle--it's a dowel rod I sharpened in the pencil sharpener and cut a groove into with scissors all round at the top and I use a toy wooden wheel, courtesy of Joann's for the whorl. My fingers hurt.
Tomorrow, we will have the loom up, so I will work at it. Donna, my "newbie" spinner is doing very well. She is making a varigated blue and white yarn on her spindle and has a lot done so far. It should be full by tomorrow night.
I can't wait for tomorrow night!
I spun camel hair on my "toy" spindle--it's a dowel rod I sharpened in the pencil sharpener and cut a groove into with scissors all round at the top and I use a toy wooden wheel, courtesy of Joann's for the whorl. My fingers hurt.
Tomorrow, we will have the loom up, so I will work at it. Donna, my "newbie" spinner is doing very well. She is making a varigated blue and white yarn on her spindle and has a lot done so far. It should be full by tomorrow night.
I can't wait for tomorrow night!
Meditation at the loom
The loom is warped! yayyy! Here are some thoughts I had while working today.
I sit at the back of the loom, picking up colored thread from the heddle bar and bringing it through to tie on the strings of the back warp, one by one. I have made mistakes and skipped a total of four strings in the front, so I had to start over. That was yesterday's work. If you warp a loom in strife, this is what happens.
The room is quiet. There is a ladies group meeting a couple of rooms over, and I hear their Christmas music playing. I concentrate on the strings in front of me. It is like a harp, but the strings make no sound if you pluck them. I feel the presence of the countless thousands of women through the ages past who did just what I am doing--tying heddles--on looms just like this one. I must not hurry. I must be calm. I must concentrate on the threads.
Hurrying makes your work go slower. You cannot be calm when you rush. You cannot concentrate on the threads. I pick up the blue thread on the stick at the front and bring it through and tie it. I do not look at the threads I have finished, I do not look at the all the ones left to do. I look at the next one, move it over four threads and bring it through and tie it.
Outside, there is strife and hurry and other things to worry about. At the loom, it is quiet and peaceful. I quiet my mind and reach for another thread.
Weaving is more than throwing the shuttle through the warp. Weaving is also setting up the warp. It is lashing the header to the beam. It is separating the front and the back threads. It is making and tying the loom weights to the warp, and knitting the spacer cords. Weaving is also tying the heddles to make the second shed. Weaving is mostly preparation--what most people see as weaving is the result of much preparation. I reach for another thread.
I sit at the back of the loom, picking up colored thread from the heddle bar and bringing it through to tie on the strings of the back warp, one by one. I have made mistakes and skipped a total of four strings in the front, so I had to start over. That was yesterday's work. If you warp a loom in strife, this is what happens.
The room is quiet. There is a ladies group meeting a couple of rooms over, and I hear their Christmas music playing. I concentrate on the strings in front of me. It is like a harp, but the strings make no sound if you pluck them. I feel the presence of the countless thousands of women through the ages past who did just what I am doing--tying heddles--on looms just like this one. I must not hurry. I must be calm. I must concentrate on the threads.
Hurrying makes your work go slower. You cannot be calm when you rush. You cannot concentrate on the threads. I pick up the blue thread on the stick at the front and bring it through and tie it. I do not look at the threads I have finished, I do not look at the all the ones left to do. I look at the next one, move it over four threads and bring it through and tie it.
Outside, there is strife and hurry and other things to worry about. At the loom, it is quiet and peaceful. I quiet my mind and reach for another thread.
Weaving is more than throwing the shuttle through the warp. Weaving is also setting up the warp. It is lashing the header to the beam. It is separating the front and the back threads. It is making and tying the loom weights to the warp, and knitting the spacer cords. Weaving is also tying the heddles to make the second shed. Weaving is mostly preparation--what most people see as weaving is the result of much preparation. I reach for another thread.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The weights
Yesterday afternoon, I took my 6th grader to Joann's and we got the air drying clay, a fondant rolling pin (I am NOT using my good wooden rolling pin to roll out clay!!!!!), a set of brushes because mine keep disappearing, and a push mold for faces.
I made the clay weights out of my clay and he tried to make the jar bottoms from his. Once I got my weights done, I helped him do his jars. We ended up rolling out the clay and covering old medicine bottles we dug out of our recycling bin. There are four. I will have him do the human one tonight, because it is the easiest--it has the push mold for the face. I will have him use some of my glass beads I have for jewelry for the eyes.
The weights turned out well. They didn't dry completely last night, by the way. I didn't want to set them on the furnace floor vent, but I probably should have. Last time, I set them in the sun for two days. Last time I also made them much earlier in the year. It has been foggy and cold (for Los Angeles) this past week. However, they are somewhat dry and I don't think they will lose their shape if I hang them. I'm not going to run the warp directly through them, though. I'll make string loops and use those.
If anyone reading this is interested in warp weighted looms, please note: I use air dry clay because it's easier and doesn't flake if the weights clink together. I usually use wire or string to tie the weights to the warp, because I don't want terra cotta color on my warp! The warp is wool and I'm going to use the wool we have spun for the weft. The story is that the governor has commissioned a white wool homespun tunic just like Augustus wears. So, being a good businesswoman, I'm charging him three times the regular price because he's from out of town (the meaning of "special price, just for you!").
Audrey
I made the clay weights out of my clay and he tried to make the jar bottoms from his. Once I got my weights done, I helped him do his jars. We ended up rolling out the clay and covering old medicine bottles we dug out of our recycling bin. There are four. I will have him do the human one tonight, because it is the easiest--it has the push mold for the face. I will have him use some of my glass beads I have for jewelry for the eyes.
The weights turned out well. They didn't dry completely last night, by the way. I didn't want to set them on the furnace floor vent, but I probably should have. Last time, I set them in the sun for two days. Last time I also made them much earlier in the year. It has been foggy and cold (for Los Angeles) this past week. However, they are somewhat dry and I don't think they will lose their shape if I hang them. I'm not going to run the warp directly through them, though. I'll make string loops and use those.
If anyone reading this is interested in warp weighted looms, please note: I use air dry clay because it's easier and doesn't flake if the weights clink together. I usually use wire or string to tie the weights to the warp, because I don't want terra cotta color on my warp! The warp is wool and I'm going to use the wool we have spun for the weft. The story is that the governor has commissioned a white wool homespun tunic just like Augustus wears. So, being a good businesswoman, I'm charging him three times the regular price because he's from out of town (the meaning of "special price, just for you!").
Audrey
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Warp-Weighted Loom
For the past three years in Journey to Bethlehem at Journey of Faith, I have been trying, without success (for various reasons), to have a working warp-weighted loom in operation. Every year, I leave the steps I accomplished the previous year as intact as possible and roll up the project and dismantle the loom. (Yes, I know it's bad for the project, just deal with it, okay?) I have to be home when my kids get out of school, so I can only work on it in the mornings.
So, yesterday, Monday, I went up to church to check on the wool box and put the loom up. The wool box was fine--no moths! Yayyyy! I put together the loom. Thanks to Ron, it is all properly bolted down so it won't list from side to side.
I lashed the warp to the beam and untangled it. The loom is very wide, so I got someone else to hold the spacer cord on the one side, while I tied the other side to the uprights so it would be stretched out evenly and match the front warp. Thank you man with the cut on the head!
That was yesterday.
Today, I got the weights attached. Well, some of them, anyway. I need to make about 10 more. I figured out I need about 5 to 6 ounces for every 10 strings to make the warp hang straight. That's with this particular warp. The weights I made a few years ago are about one ounce per clay donut and a couple of them have broken. I am hanging about 5 donuts together from the warps.
I started to attach the back threads to the heddle rod, but realized that the weights needed to be fixed first, since one weight on 10 strings wasn't working.
Tomorrow, I plan to attach the new weights and, finish attaching the heddles and it will be ready to weave on Thursday.
I have to take my kids to Joann's to get more clay--how fortunate that my 6th grader has decided to do canopic jars for a social studies project!
More tomorrow.
Audrey
So, yesterday, Monday, I went up to church to check on the wool box and put the loom up. The wool box was fine--no moths! Yayyyy! I put together the loom. Thanks to Ron, it is all properly bolted down so it won't list from side to side.
I lashed the warp to the beam and untangled it. The loom is very wide, so I got someone else to hold the spacer cord on the one side, while I tied the other side to the uprights so it would be stretched out evenly and match the front warp. Thank you man with the cut on the head!
That was yesterday.
Today, I got the weights attached. Well, some of them, anyway. I need to make about 10 more. I figured out I need about 5 to 6 ounces for every 10 strings to make the warp hang straight. That's with this particular warp. The weights I made a few years ago are about one ounce per clay donut and a couple of them have broken. I am hanging about 5 donuts together from the warps.
I started to attach the back threads to the heddle rod, but realized that the weights needed to be fixed first, since one weight on 10 strings wasn't working.
Tomorrow, I plan to attach the new weights and, finish attaching the heddles and it will be ready to weave on Thursday.
I have to take my kids to Joann's to get more clay--how fortunate that my 6th grader has decided to do canopic jars for a social studies project!
More tomorrow.
Audrey
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