Every time I see a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be fishing” (or biking, eating chips, etc.), I wonder why I’ve never seen one that says “I’d rather be weaving.” I’d rather be weaving than doing many things: paying bills, coming up with something new to make for dinner, sitting in traffic, doing laundry, and lifting weights, to name just a few. That got me thinking about what other quotes could be readily adapted to weaving. Here are a few quotes originally about fishing that, just by changing a couple of words, seem to describe weaving:
- Calling weaving a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job. (Original quote by Paul Schullery)
- If I wove only to produce cloth, my weaving would have ended long ago. (Original quote by Zane Grey)
- Weaving may be said to be so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learned. (Original quote by Izaak Walton)
- If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of looms. (Original quote by Doug Larson)
- Many people weave all of their lives without knowing that it is not cloth they are after. (Original quote by Henry David Thoreau)
- Creeps and idiots cannot conceal themselves for long at a fiber retreat.(Original quote by John Gierach)
- My biggest worry is that when I'm dead and gone, my spouse will sell my stash and weaving equipment for what I said I paid for it. (Original quote by Koos Brandt)
- Some go to church and think about weaving, others weave and think about God. (Original quote by Tony Blake)
- Be patient and calm—for no one can throw a shuttle in anger. (Original quote by Herbert Hoover)
Wouldn’t you rather be weaving Deborah Heyman’s Playing in the (Bateman) Park Scarf (Handwoven March/April 2019)? Photo by George Boe.
That exercise leads me to believe there are similar elements in weaving and fishing that appeal to many of us:
- Fishermen have natural beauty surrounding them, and weavers strive to create beauty.
- Fishing has a fundamental physical quality, as does weaving.
- Fishing doesn’t always yield fish, and weaving doesn’t always yield great cloth.
- Fishing and weaving each requires—and develops—patience.
- Fishermen and weavers know that the value of their endeavors is more than what the fish or the cloth is worth.
Patricia Crane had to exercise patience while weaving her weft-faced Diamond and Bars Twill Rug, and it was worth it! – Handwoven March/April 2019 Photo by George Boe
Weaving is more than just something weavers do. We’d rather be weaving.
Weave well, Susan