Wow, looks like we have a goodly number of members in this group, but maybe everybody is afraid to post?  So I'll go first.

Has anyone posted any tablet weaving projects yet?  I haven't tried personally yet, but I want to.  Too many other things to do like weave more bands!

FYI, the Summer TWIST journal is due to hit inbox/mailbox early August.  Visit http://www.tabletweavers.org if you want to subscribe.

I'm always looking for article submissions and pictures for the Gallery section.  Just send me a message if you are interested in submitting.

Keep those cards turning!

john

www.malarkycrafts.com

Comments

Caroline (not verified)

hi John, I'm coming back to tablet-weaving after a gap of over 20 years. I taught myself to weave using playing cards set up on a backstrap loom, and was fortunate enough to have a local library that had the Atwater book "Byways in Handweaving", and a copy of Peter Collingwoods' book, because I didn't know a single weaver.

I found my backstrap the other day, and a copy of the Atwater book on Ebay, so am about to warp up a new set of cut-down playing cards to see how much I remember - I hope its like riding a bike!

One question: some tablet-weavers are using inkle looms to hold their cards. Is there any advantage in using a loom of some sort, and if so, what type? Doesn't it limit you in trying to untangle the warps, and are standard inkle looms even long enough?  In the meantime I shall warp up and see what happens.

cheers, Caroline, in Australia, where she still knows very few weavers.

Cheekyredhead (not verified)

I'm no expert but the few times I've done tablet weaving I've used my inkle loom.  I like the fact that I'm not tied to my work and its so much easier to take my weaving with me.  My inkle loom is a Schact and the maximum warp one can put on the loom is 8.5' which for me has been plenty long.

Caroline (not verified)

hi Cheeky, I do have an inkle loom that does double duty as a warping board sometimes, but its only about 6 ft around, which seems a bit short to me. There isn't much space from the front to the first peg either, so I'd be forever moving the warp around.

I'll probably end up using it, as I haven't got a convenient place to hitch my backstrap, but since I'm supposed to be taking photos to show how I set up a backstrap at the same time - this warp is going to be well travelled by the time I get to weaving it!

I've been reading some of the past issues of Twist and feeling in awe of the talented work there, but the new techniques I've been reading about are fascinating - they were just theories 20 years ago. So much to look forward to!

jmullark (not verified)

Hi Carolyn,

I use a Schacht inkle loom as well, and lately a floor inkle loom for longer warps.  I generally get a good six foot band from the Schacht, and I can weave about six inches before having to advance the warp.  I do patterns that are balanced mostly, so the twist that accumulates behind the cards gets taken out eventually by reversing the pattern.

When I do a pattern that has uneven twist build up, I'll switch to a warp weighted setup where each card is tied to a weight.  That way I can easily work out twist if it is building up unevenly over a few cards.

The inkle is just so easy to warp, portable, and a breeze to advance the weaving on.

john

www.malarkycrafts.com

Caroline (not verified)

 Looks like I might need to design an inkle loom that will do double duty then! I like the idea of warp weights, I used to get into a terrible mess when trying out some of the then new techniques but it was great fun, and I now realise I mastered quite a few difficult techniques, but since there was no-one to tell me they were not for beginners, I just did them anyway. Now, of course, I realise how much I have to re-learn!

wwknitandspin (not verified)

 I have just made a few tablet weavings, but I love it.  I use my folding Ashford 12 inch wide ridgid heddle loom.  Remove the reed and you can easily set up as long a warp as you like.  No tangling problems.

Kathleen

garic (not verified)

Hi, I've taken a few project type classes over the years, but haven't done hardly anything on my own.   I just bought a Palmer loom from John at MWC and in the process of experimenting with it now.   I tried the suggested first pattern in the instructions and that went OK, certainly not perfect, tho.  Something distracts me and  I keep forgetting which way I'm turning. :-(

I used the continuous warp method which went well.   Then I tried a simple pattern from John's book where the cards aren't all threaded the same (#4).   What do you do in that case?  I ended up measuring & threading the odd warps separately and the rest continuous.   It was fiddly trying to get them all on with equal tension.

When I finally got it all warped I discovered that I had skipped the tension peg.   Won't do that again!   Anyway, it's finally on the loom, but shorter than I had intended.   I'm finding my pattern doesn't exactly look like the computer printout in the book.  I'm getting a broken line at one point in the middle where I reverse the cards.   So I don't know if I'm making a mistake or if that's the nature of the beast.  Anyway, it's consistent.  ;-)

DH just shakes his head, but I think it'll be great for traveling.

weavingmaggie

When I first discovered tablet weaving I made a couple dozen belts in fairly plain-vanilla V-designs. The weaving was very portable, especially once I discovered the trick of putting both a 2" keyring and a snaphook on the end of the warp -- then I could attach to something almost anywhere I was.

After all the belts and guitar straps I needed, though, I fell away from it, got more interested in 4-shaft looms. Last year's MAFA workshop with Inge Dam opened my eyes to a whole new way of using Tablets -- as borders and selvedges for woven cloth! We made and threaded an ordinary warp, leaving some extra space beside it, and then made a separate tablet warp which we weighted after hanging it over the back beam. Throw the shuttle, turn the cards; throw the shuttle, turn the cards. It was glorious, lovely work and I'll be doing some more of it this year.

daneinge (not verified)

Hi weavingmaggie 

I just read your comments now.  I am glad you enjoyed the workshop at MAFA and I would like to know if you have woven anything using the technique and if so would you post a picture of it?  I also wanted to let you know that I am writting a book on the techniques and hopefully it will be finished in the Spring of 2013.  

 

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