I think I’m in heaven. For the last two days, it’s been nonstop weaving – two seminars per day, plus two study group meetings per day, plus miscellaneous other things like the Lillian Whipple exhibit, showing the exquisitely beautiful work of the Queen of Fine Threads, and the Complex Weavers Fashion Show, which featured all sorts of fascinating weaving, many on 24 or more shafts. Plus the marketplace, the silent auction, various speakers, and a wonderful woven-animation movie by Alice Schlein (and a group of ten or twelve additional weavers who wove the “frames” for the woven animation).
Really, could a girl be happier?
Tomorrow there are two more seminars and two more study-group meetings, then Complex Weavers adjourns and it’s time to hoof it over to…drum roll please…the Convergence Fashion Show! It’s at 8pm tomorrow and I can’t wait to see the wedding ensemble out on the runway. (I have no idea how they’re going to find a model it looks good on, since it was built to fit me skin-tight, but they have ten professional models and maybe one is close enough to fit.)
They’re announcing the award winners immediately after the show…I don’t expect to win since I accidentally damaged a small section of lace on the lining of the dress at the wedding, and didn’t have time to fix it before shipping it off. (You may recall that I went straight from the wedding to the dry cleaners, and barely made it before closing time for the cleaners, even going straight from the wedding! Definitely no time to pick up and deliver a small section of lace for repairs.) Nonetheless there’s always the outside chance, so one never knows…and in any event, I’m happy just to have the dress in the galleries, where it can be seen and appreciated. One of my dreams has been to get a woven piece into a juried show, especially at Convergence, so this is literally a dream come true. Having 2,000 people see it “live” is just icing on the cake.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe that I had only been weaving for two and a half years before beginning the dress. I’ve learned so much since then that it seems like a very long time ago…and it just seems so improbable that my work should be showcased with the work of so many far more experienced weavers. But the dress is beautiful, so perhaps I’ve accomplished more than my years of weaving would suggest. I’m still awed, and humbled, by the idea that I made it.
Back to bed! I’ve been sleeping poorly the last several nights, mostly from excitement, but my sins are catching up to me. I’m hoping to get a decent night’s sleep tonight.
