Well, that made my day...

A very nice thing happened to me at etsy today. :)

When you really like someone's shop, or an item someone has made, you can select the item or the shop as one of your favorites, sort of like bookmarking it. But etsy also tracks how many people have marked you and your items as favorites, and you can see those stats from any store's front page.

At any rate, another handweaver, whose work I *really* respect, gave my shop a heart! How cool is that?? Check out his shop:

http://scarfguy.etsy.com

Our weaving styles are different, but he really does beautiful work - twisted fringes, precise, beautiful weaving (look at the selvedges on his pieces - the edges - no bumps or wavies, a sign of a very good weaver), gorgeous fibers, classic design and color schemes. (And he's got the picture taking thing down pat, argh, lol.)

And he gave me a heart (and some very nice compliments in a private conversation)! Heehee, I feel like I just got a gold star from the teacher or something (I'm such a nerd).

It is interesting, though, how many style possibilities there are once you really get into weaving. There are sooo many weave structures to choose from... I've dabbled in overshot, doubleweave, rep weave, twills, turned twills on multiple shafts, some tapestry work (talk about time consuming, whoah), lace weaves, supplemental warps, etc. And then there are all the fantastic fibers out there from very fine silks and linens to thicker wools (handspun, hand-dyed, you name it). Throw color into the mix and it can be overwhelming! There's so much to learn...

It's been a long process for me to try to pick a weave structure that is interesting enough to hold my attention for more than just a couple pieces - so far, shadow weave is doing it for me, and I've got lots of ideas for how to take the structure even further floating around in the back of my head... I really love doubleweave, also, just because of the amazing variety of designs you can produce with it and the complexity of the design process. Overshot appeals because it's such a traditional weave (think of those classic Colonial coverlets, though I definitely update the color aspect of things when I work in overshot - that's what I'm doing in the little pic of me at the top of this blog). All three of these structures appeal to me, overall, because they result in fabrics that you don't normally see being mass-produced by factories...

At any rate, it's been a wonderful journey so far, and getting compliments from people that have been at it for a much longer time than me just gives me the determination to continue. Thanks Fred!