Hi, I'm kind of stuck on the nomenclature of Blocks vs Units. In page 2 of the season 6 Episode 1 handout where you define Unit weave structures and Block Weave structures, it seems that you are stating that the defining feature of Unit weaves is that they 'have rules'- like requiring incidentals. ie they have idiosyncrasies, like crackle and overshot, but Block Weaves you define as cleaner, less fussy, where the units can be repeated without worrying. Yet, Madelyn van der Hoogt, in her Handwoven article Nov/Dec 2011 basically says the opposite when she says "some Block Weaves, such as Overshot, Crackle and Spot Bronson are not Unit Weaves... they have certain limitations that restrict their use with profile drafts". That is Madelyn's teaching is that it is Block Weaves that 'have rules'. How do I reconcile these two seemingly opposite definitions? Or am I missing something in the language? Thanks! Barbara
Hi There, I teach it the way I learned it and it always made perfect sense to me. All weave structures have units which when repeated make blocks. Whether you want to name them unit structures or blocks structures fussy or not fussy is really up to the individual weaver. The most important thing is that you understand the rules of the structure you are using at the time......that you understand what you can repeat and what you can't repeat, what structures need incidentals and which structures don't need incidentals. How to bend the rules and achieve graphics you might not have thought possible with that particular structure. I sometimes worry that I teach things differently than others but then I look at it all and it makes such perfect sense to me. I do consider Madelyn to be brilliant, she understands all weave structures intimately, we just call things different names. She also warps front to back and uses a temple. I warp back to front and never use a temple. We are not right or wrong, just different :)