Here we are at the last month of another year!. Everyone has been so busy and not just with weaverly things. Now to make it through the holidays . . .  Weave on!

Comments

Tue, 12/02/2014 - 21:16

ReedGuy

Well, there's no doubt about it, face cloths and towels with pile have to be double cloth. I found that out last winter and now also. I've examinated face cloths and towels by the hour and they use basket weave selvedges and twill in the pile area, which works out to be a reversible twill no less.

I'm about to explore it with a 4 yard warp in 20/2 cotton. It only took me an hour to wind 30 spools with 60 yards, but that is only the ground cloth, need much more for the pile because of take-up in the pile loops. Wish me luck. ;)

Wed, 12/03/2014 - 00:43

Walkingquail

Reed Guy! I can live vicariously through your weaving of bath linens because I doubt I will ever get to that. The usual excuse, time!

I was looking back through previous messages and realize I didn't post even once during November. I guess that shows how busy I have been. I am finishing up whatever I have at this point for a gallery holiday boutique. Pressing, tagging and making an inventory sheet. And then, a short break for house cleaning before I start another dishtowel warp for a few gifts, I think. Oh yes, and all the holiday packages I need to ship to family. A very busy time of the year!

Wed, 12/03/2014 - 13:10

Artistry

ReedGuy, I wish you very much luck ! You've going to have a very nice bathroom set when you're done:) I'm slowly cleaning and organizing the studios. When I'm done I won't have to dye outside anymore:) will have good ventilation ! My projects won't freeze ! My goal is to have this done by this weekend. Good luck to you WalkingQuail on your Holiday shows!
Thu, 12/04/2014 - 00:44

ReedGuy

Everything is beamed, I start threadling heddles tomorrow. The ground warp is only 4 yards, but I beamed 12 yards of pile on the supplemental.

Stay busy all. :)

Thu, 12/04/2014 - 17:09

theresasc

I had planned to weave some pile weave towels a few years ago, even bought the yarn I wanted to use.  I never got to and sold my loom that had a double back-beam on it.  Sometimes I think about trying it again but none of my current floor looms have a double back-beam, and that I would think you would need for pile weave.  Didn't you build a another beam for your loom, I thought I remember you doing that.  I still have struggles dress my CM loom, I just cannot even begin to imagine trying to beam 2 warps onto the beast.  The two beams on the Kessenich were set up one behind the other, very user-friendly.

The only weaverly things I have been doing is wet-finished some placemats, still need to press and hem, and weaving a bit on the double-weave.

Oh, and I oogled the class listing for MAFA 2015 - it is now out on the MAFA website.  Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Thu, 12/04/2014 - 18:45

pammersw

I need to finish the final scarf, and make a couple placemats in the next two weeks.  I'd better get busy!

Thu, 12/04/2014 - 19:10

ReedGuy

Good time for a photo theresasc. :) I'm threading away.

Thu, 12/04/2014 - 20:01

Artistry

Thrilled to say this Sat we drive to Detroit ( 5 hrs about) to pick up my new to me Shannock loom! That's a tapestry loom, 6 ft wide, all metal. Too excited. John Shannock doesn't make too many of these any more so not too easy to get your hands on one. I don't care about the 6 ft, but having a loom of that caliber is very exciting ! Will post pix when we get it set up :) Everyone has been so weavingly busy! ReedGuy your back beam and flanges are perfection:)P.s. loved the other thread discussion on warping sectional beam. I have one, only used it a couple of times. Need to use it more and get comfortable :)
Thu, 12/04/2014 - 21:27

ReedGuy

6 feet wide? Your going to make murals now? :)

I'll be waiting for those pictures. ;)

Fri, 12/05/2014 - 02:31

Artistry

Murals? Ha, ha! I go to B.C. Monday for Dad's 91 st birthday . Assembly and pix after that:) well...maybe Sunday !
Fri, 12/05/2014 - 14:52

theresasc

I LOVE going on loom road trips!  I live is SE Wisconsin and I have driven as far as VA and PA to pick up looms - too fun!  Driving back from the east, listening to the music of heddles humming in the back of the van.  I also have gone to Indiana and Illinios for looms:-)

Reedguy, the warp is looking sweet!  The double beams look like they are working well.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 13:48

tien (not verified)

No weaving here yet, but hoping to get back to it soon! But I can offer you some chocolate (click for the larger version - the designs don't show clearly at that size):

flavor insert for 2014 chocolates

I made 116 lbs this year, with help from two friends!

This weekend will likely be scrubbing down the kitchen, but next week I'm hoping to unbury the loom and do some actual weaving! It's been at least a month, and I'm itching to get back to the loom. I think I've managed to forget my frustration with this warp, and will have more patience for debugging now. I hope, anyway!

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 17:42

Walkingquail

the weaving of one more scarf and then I'll warp for more dishtowels, a white warp with each towel a different weft. I need some neighbor gifts since I'm not making shortbread anymore. I had to go gluten free due to digestion issues. I will miss that shortbread and so will my neighbors and husband! It's just too difficult to bake something I can't eat! I may try some GF recipes for it but everything I have tried has serious texture problems. I am not sure I want to waste all that butter $ experimenting.

But, Tien, chocolate has not been eliminated from my diet! your flavors look delish.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 19:35

pammersw

Walkingquail, you could be me! Substitute placemats for towels and boyfriend for husband,  and we are very alike.  :)

The folks at Cooks Illustrated have a good gluten free flour mix and a great cookbook. I gave copies to myself, my sister, and my daughter last year.

Here's a link to the flour mix:

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/7854-americas-test-kitchen-gluten-free-flour-blend

This is a link to the cookbook:

http://howcanitbeglutenfree.com/

On that second page, they offer a gluten free newsletter - sign up for that to have more free recipes sent to you occasionally.  

Tien, those chocolates look So Good, but on my screen just tasted like plastic. I guess you have to be there.... ;)

Seriously,  gorgeous chocolates! 

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:52

ReedGuy

Wow tien, that's a lot of chocolates. They look good. mmm :)

I have everything threaded and just have to do the treadle tie-up in the morning, then I do the treadle shuffle. :D

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 02:55

Artistry

Tien, oh I'm dying here, those look and sound so delicious. You're creative in so many ways! Just returned home with my new to me loom, all in long gigantic pieces . I'm so excited
Sun, 12/07/2014 - 12:20

endorph

I think I gained 116 lbs just thinking about your chocolates!

Tue, 12/09/2014 - 16:55

sally orgren

..has kept me from my looms since returning from Arizona and Utah December 1st. I did finish a quickie 5-yard narrow band to make a key fob (plus other stuff) for our guild's holiday exchange, but that was cancelled, due to a sloppy, icy, nor'easter today. 

I have one traveling "loaner" loom out, and I am working on clearing off all the rest. I want to get my "basket+one" project on the big floor loom so I can weave that over the holidays.

Meanwhile, like Tien's chocolate, I am known for holiday care packages, the key ingredient being dehydrated apples. So I am on a 12-hour cycle of processing more than a hundred apples, and hope to finish before the 15th.

Tommye & Cathie, I saw the tapesty show in northern Philadelphia at the George School last week. Guys, this was like seeing all the "rock stars" of the tapestry world, in one place! The size/scale of the majority of the work was amazing, and the fineness of some of the tapestries was also impressive. The catalog is extremely well done, and that is what got me there. However, in person, the catalog paled in comparison to the actual work. It was a real wow – credit to Micala Sidore for curating this one and the artists who submitted amazing work. 

Also, there will be an international tapestry show opening after the first of the year at the Hunterdon Art Museum in New Jersey. (Curated by Carol Russell.) That also looks to be very good! The gallery talk is on a Sunday in February, so I am thinking to try and attend. (Anyone else?)

If anyone is traveling for the hoildays, I recommend checking out the HGA calendar for textile shows appearing in the state, and possibly city, where you are headed. (Other countries are listed, too.) Some good offerings in Canada, as always. (http://www.weavespindye.org/calendar).

Diving back in now...

Tue, 12/09/2014 - 20:57

tommye scanlin

Sally... I'm so glad you got to see the Art is the Cloth exhibit at the George School.  I wasn't able to get to the opening at the New Hampshire Institute of Art where it opened.  The show at the Hunterdon Art Museum should be stellar.  Carol Russell is doing a book based on the show, I think.  I hope you can see that one, also and give a report to those of us who won't be able to make it!

 

Wed, 12/10/2014 - 06:57

Artistry

Thanks Tommye, I love that loom! Sally, I got the catalogue through one of the weaving online stores, don't remember which one, and the pieces are incredible! I am so glad you got to see it in person! I'm going to the Provincial Museum tomorrow in hopes of seeing some Chilkat Dancing Blankets.
Thu, 12/11/2014 - 16:09

theresasc

what is on my looms, so the other day I cut off a trial of echo weave that was not coming out as I hoped and wound a warp and dressed the loom with a simple 8-shaft crepe weave scarf.  Back to digging yarns out of the stash, found a lovely variegated blend of rayon and silk and some other rayons that went with it and warped up stripes.  It is weaving nicely but I just cannot get the picture to come out right to show you - I am really bad at picture-taking.

Thu, 12/11/2014 - 17:26

Walkingquail

for the links of gluten free, Pammersw! I'll look into it soon. It's better not to bake too much but so nice to do it at holiday time.

Yes, back to warping the towels. I hope your placemats come out nice. We are having a nice big rainstorm which we have not seen for many years, good weaving weather!

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 03:08

endorph

a non-weaving questions for everyone - I am having friends over for Christmas dinner and don't know what to make - we did the turkey bit at Thanksgiving and I would like to do something different for Christmas  - my first thought was ham or a stuffed pork roast of some sort but I just found out that the friends coming over do not like ham or pork. . . Any suggestions for something else - I could always do beef but. . . or maybe go totally non-traditional and do lasagna or something. . . HELP!!!!

 

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 03:52

sandra.eberhar…

My in-laws, when invited for a holiday dinner, were always late (hours late).  I started serving a texas style BBQ brisket beef.  Wrapped in a double layer of tin foil and cooked at a low temp, it gets better the longer it's cooked.  Rave reviews.  Get a brisket with a good amount of fat; it helps keep it moist.

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 08:38

ReedGuy

Oyster Rockefeller and oyster dressing. :D

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 12:52

endorph

but ewwwwwww!  Now brisket is a possibility....

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 13:47

Weavolutionary6

Oliver and I have been having snowcrab for Christmas dinner the last few years.  It's so delicious,  though only really affordable for a small group of diners! 

Right now I'm withy at home with TAJ. Oliver had a large night wood working accident last week and is at the hosptial waiting on plastic surgery to reattach the tip of his finger. I didn't see the wound, only drove him to Accident and Emergency. He assures me it wasn't too bad and that it is OK that it has taken the hospital this long to get him in for surgery. TAJ should be napping, but is not. I'm hoping to get a bit of my nervous energy out at the loom later. :)

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 14:50

endorph

sounds wonderful - The young lady who is coming has decided she is vegetarian and won't eat meat, seafood, fish, and she doesn't like mushrooms - so I am thinking I will do a vegetarian lasagna for her and something else for the rest of us.

On the weaving front I am going to get back to the towels this weekend - I figure if I keep telling myself that it will happen.

Erica, I hope Oliver's finger is okay!

Fri, 12/12/2014 - 16:30

Artistry

Erica, I do hope that Oliver's surgery has gone o.k. and I hope that he isn't in too much pain. What a scare! Now to Xmas dinner! While ReedGuy's suggestion sounds delicious in my book, I gotta tell ya about some of my dinners..... Vegans, Vegetarians, and Regulars, 30 of them. I made the regular, and then Indian. Indian food I have found works for just about everyone and it's yummy good:) Cathie who's still in beautiful Victoria!
Fri, 12/12/2014 - 17:54

Weavolutionary6

Surgery went well!  Oliver is a okay, but I didn't get any weaving done.  I hope I have tracked down the solution to the latest development Roadblpvk, but I won't be able to check until after TAJ's bedtime! ;)

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 01:15

debmcclintock

Love the warp beam flanges! 

 

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 07:22

justmekaybee

We are a vegetarian family.  We often have a special soup. (Potatoe, split pea and lentil, or  minestrone )With lots of breads cheeses, salads, and desert.

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 18:19

Weavolutionary6

I did manage to weave a few inches today. I also wpund several bobbins for my next color sample. Yes I have learned tha value of sampling.

I forogot to mention, I won the title of Royal Artisan in our medieval group. You can read more about my experience and other medieval projects here, http://thepurplelotus.org/aggregator

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 20:52

Walkingquail

if the guests are not vegetarian is chicken marinated in basalmic vinegar, olive oil and garlic and then baked in the marinade. It's a Giada de Laurentis recipe which you can probably get online. If vegetarian, roasted veggies served on pasta. If you serve a great dessert, no one remembers dinner! 

I am finally sleying the reed for my next batch of dishtowels. I took a break yesterday to see Wild at the movies. It was very good but I wish they'de put less salt on the pop corn!

Weavolutionary. Royal Artisan, very impressive!

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 21:37

endorph

decided on lasagna - I will do a vegetarian lasagna using summer squash and zucchini as faux noodles (there will be real noodles as well) and also a non-vegetarian version with a polish sausage and mushroom sauce, along with salad, garlic bread, etc.

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 22:42

laurafry

My weaving also consists in doing some teaching.  This year I taught (for the first time) for the Master Weaver Program at Olds College in Olds, AB Canada.

This week I got the first box full of completed homework (they have until May to complete their course work). 

Today I cleared off my work table and opened the box so I could take a quick look-see at the submission.  Over the next few days I will take a close look at each problem and mark it.

So nice to be involved in this program and seeing the new *younger* (than me, anyway!) weavers coming along.  :))))

cheers,

Laura

Sat, 12/13/2014 - 23:59

sandra.eberhar…

I think we will do brisket for Christmas dinner, but for New Year, I am ordering a rueben sandwich kit from Zingermans in Ann Arbor.  Expensive, yes, but it's an incredible meal that is already made.  

Sun, 12/14/2014 - 22:59

ReedGuy

With a few days of sampling and experimenting with draft tweeks here and there and more sampling, I'm now finally ready to weave facecloths. This sample is wet finished. It appears the pile take-up is roughly 6 yards to 4 yards of ground warp. 20/2 cotton here.

 

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 00:19

pammersw

Nice face cloth! 

I finally got back to the scarf, half of it will alternate brown and varigated yarn, and hopefully it will look intentional. :)

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 23:46

Artistry

Very nice face cloth ReedGuy! How many picks of ground weave do you have between pile, and do you have pile on both sides? I love it! BTW. bought my first HBBlanket this week saved $100 bucks through coupons and such, which is good because they hardly ever go on sale!

Here is my new to me Shannock loom and it's owner :) The looms' name is Beauty.

Shannock Loom

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 00:07

Artistry

sorry about the dup! got excited :) ReedGuy saw in Post #1 that you"d be using double cloth with twill as ground. You could use 3 picks between pile that would make sense. Still interested to know how you got that beautiful pile.

Names of looms:

beyond the turquoise wall lives " The Beast" the AVL, she's a workshorse, when she's good she's very very good, but when she's bad she's horrible!

Then the card tablet loom " Twirling Girl"

The 25 year old 8 Shaft Baby Wolf called " She never lets me down!"

The 70 year old Nilus LeClerc 4S "Jessie"

The 2 Mirrix's, Tapestry looms called Darn and Da**

The others remain nameless.

Anyone Else?

 

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 00:54

endorph

Cathie - and you are looking good too! Congrats

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 01:49

ReedGuy

Nice new loom. I can see lots of inspiration eminating off that loom. :)

 

There are 48 picks per inch as near as I can count on my ruler, a tight 3 per 1/16". I have pile both sides. There are two picks under each loop and one pick between each loop like commercial face cloths. I was trimming a sample with the scissors and I didn't even have to close the scissors. Like you would on some fine commercial woven cotton, open the jaws and just run them down the cloth. :D

I made the loops with 1/8" hardwood dowel, I use 4 dowels and just advance by weaving 2 picks- 1 shed each, then top dowel in a new shed, then a binder pick, then the bottom dowel in a new shed, then 2 more picks-1 shed each. Repeat. There is one ground warp between pile warps. Each side of pile on it's own shaft. I tried one dowel after another, but the binder pick in between has better results. Need a firm beat and that supplemental beam is nice with just the right tension to weave the pile and not too slack. I engage the pawl though to weave the ends. Other than that, just the band break with a little resistance. Nice sturdy cloth.

I've only just done samples up to now, continuing from last winter. Now I have a new ground warp on and will weave the actual face cloths. A new Brother overlock just arrived here so I have that to make the finished edgings. Of course some material to practice on with the former samples to. ;)

They feel some nice. :)

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 01:51

ReedGuy

That Bay blanket will keep ya warm I bet. :)

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 02:00

tommye scanlin

Great loom and super that you have her. Have fun!
Tue, 12/16/2014 - 02:48

Artistry

Nice Description of how you do the samples for the face cloths. Slow going, I imagine, but well worth the effort :) Thank you all about the loom ! She's sweet, and I can tell already has very good vibes :)
Tue, 12/16/2014 - 10:23

ReedGuy

Yeah, it's slow for sure, as far as progression of cloth, but the steps are no more consuming than Pique or overshot. Fine threads take a lot of weaving to get anywhere. :)

I watched a video online once of a foot powered loom with a fly shuttle. They were weaving with some fine threads. It seemed like forever to go an inch. But, also the loom may have had some kind of auto advance that, at the time, I didn't know to look for. Might have been a lot faster than I realized. ;)

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