Thought we could talk about our new adventures and frustrations via this closed group. I only knew your usernames so will get others to register at next meeting. Mary

Comments

Mon, 05/06/2013 - 01:46

monarch (not verified)

You guys told me to do a sample using the overspun linen. I decided I wanted all-over collapse rather than pleating, since eventually I want to make fabric for a garment. Well there was no getting out of it then, I had to warp with overspun, not just use it for weft. Rats!

So to not get too crazy, I thought warping with my overspun cotton (the cone from Laura Frye in Canada) would make things easier, since it's marginally thicker, yet might make an interesting fabric. Of course, all of my looms have stuff on them already -- or  -- wait! Hold on!! Turns out that among the many treasures Anne Rudemann gave me when she sold me the big Glimakra was a wide (old) Schacht rigid heddle loom. (All the books say you have to do at least an 11" sample or it won't acurately reflect shrinkage). There were 3 different heddles with it (!! I love that!!) so I chose the densest one, and warped at 12 epi.

Here's the cool thing: using a warping peg, the whole warping process took exactly 1 hour, now I'm ready to weave! Now that's my kind of sampling, ha hahaha!!

Will update y'all when I start working with the weft -- I'm still scared and intimated by these materials!! How's everyone else doing?

--Joan 

Mon, 05/06/2013 - 01:56

Mary B (not verified)

Wow, I was just looking at my rigid heddle and thinking "warping is soooo easy with my rigid heddle, I wonder???" I think I'll use my table loom for my 1st sample. I'm still waiting for my yarn to come from Habu. Wish they would hurry up. Have been enjoying both my new books and trying to absorb through reading but there's nothing like doing. ~Mary
Thu, 05/16/2013 - 18:43

Mary B (not verified)

Panicking because my over twist yarn was lost in transit. They are sending more but it's Thurs and next week is study group. I'll do my best if it makes it. How is everyone else doing?
Sat, 05/18/2013 - 01:56

monarch (not verified)

Aw geez Mary I'm so sorry your yarn got lost. That always seems to happen when there's a schedule involved!

Meanwhile, on my experimental overtiwst cotton warp, I finished a shuttle-full of overtwist linen, so added a new weft: overtwisted silk. Wow this stuff is temperamental. I think I'll try a non-end-feed shuttle next go-round, it keeps jumping out and kinking up! Sheesh! Well here's a picture of it on the loom, because I think by next Thursday I will have succumbed to curiosity and washed the dang thing to see how it collapses!

Sun, 05/19/2013 - 01:40

Mary B (not verified)

Finally got my order and proceeded to warp my warping board with a different sett than Fields recommends so I'll be in trouble but I wanted to see the differences in the yarn setts as it appears that yarn reacts very differently to each other whether closer or farther apart. I'm going to use balanced yarn for the weft because I used all my over twist in the warp. It is a sample after all and I'm curious. Any hints for taking off the warp from the warp board. I see calamity happening with this yarn. It has a mind of its own The pic is lovely. Great work! By the way Fields talks about Tex system we need to understand that and how to translate between that and the US system. I was confused anybody else?
Sun, 05/19/2013 - 01:43

Mary B (not verified)

Finally got my order and proceeded to warp my warping board with a different sett than Fields recommends so I'll be in trouble but I wanted to see the differences in the yarn setts as it appears that yarn reacts very differently to each other whether closer or farther apart. I'm going to use balanced yarn for the weft because I used all my over twist in the warp. It is a sample after all and I'm curious. Any hints for taking off the warp from the warp board. I see calamity happening with this yarn. It has a mind of its own The pic is lovely. Great work! By the way Fields talks about Tex system we need to understand that and how to translate between that and the US system. I was confused anybody else?
Sun, 05/19/2013 - 04:36

monarch (not verified)

Hey Mary, yes the answer to the warping board is weight. Giovana says to hook a weight on it and literally drag it over to your loom. I just clipped a film can with coins in it. Also, even if it seems twisted up, pulling out one strand at a time (using your other hand to hold the "wad") works almost 100% of the time.

I'll set up a few notes to discuss the Tex system (and more importantly, converting to more what we Yankees understand) at the next meeting. It's actually a cool system, but is completely backward from our thinking.

Good luck, can't wait to see how your samples come out!

Mon, 05/20/2013 - 03:57

Mary B (not verified)

I was thinking of weighting and dragging. Thanks. I'm also going to try the duck tape stickum method.
Wed, 06/26/2013 - 14:52

Mary B (not verified)

The overtwist fiber is a challenge to warp. Control is essential. Tension is a must but you just have to go for it. I have enjoyed the process and now that I'm weaving with various fiber I recognize that warping is the hard part. The sampling process is so worth it from a learning point of view. Overtwist is a breeze compared to very fine elastic yarns. Oh my! Any suggestions on keeping elastic high energy yarn in control while using various shuttles?