Snow day here in SE Wisconsin, supposed to get up to a foot of the white stuff so that means a weaving day for me.  Going to plan the warp for Chapter 2, MWS and hopefully work on the bath mats.  Stay warm!

Comments

Sun, 02/01/2015 - 16:50

ReedGuy

I have been working on an overshot coverlet draft. It is Whig Rose on 4 shafts. I took it from "Keep Me Warm One Night", but I had to fix threading errors (blocks were not square) and I expanded it so I can get near as I can to 24 epi. I'm not sure yet whether I want just the circles, or some other motifs in it. And I may end up expanding to 8 shafts. I'm looking at a Pique weave and use the motif of the 4 shaft version. But I will have to sample to see how it wet finishes. 10/2 ground, worsted wool singles for pattern piques. We'll see. :)

Sun, 02/01/2015 - 19:47

sally orgren

and I am still working on loom calculations for the doubleweave patterned overshot. Darn, I don't have the Sullivan book, and I don't think I have  extra heddles for this loom. (Sigh.) Re-calculating...Re-calculating...

We are preparing for snow (again). That means everyone leaves their cars at the bottom of their driveways, nose out, and windshield wipers flipped up, away from the windshield. That gives all the cars a sort of surprised look, like they have their eyebrows raised, or puny little hands raised, as in "I give up".

Sun, 02/01/2015 - 21:14

Erica J

Sally,

I love your description of the snow preperations! My updated might leave you all with a surprised look. As I said at tthe end of January, I really have been weaving. Here are the last 3 samples off my stripey warp, plain weave to "fancy" twills. :)

Above basket weave, below my two interleaved twills.

Night all!

Mon, 02/02/2015 - 16:05

endorph

for starting this thread - I was away from the computer this weekend and did not get it done. Nice to know others are on the ball!

Erica - I am really enjoying following along with the MWS focus group - the samples being posted by everyone are so inspiring.

Mon, 02/02/2015 - 19:35

ainz

Hi everyone. 

I do not usually post anything here, as I am just a beginner. But hey. 

Today I moved. To a small town close to the Pyrenees. What did I bring with me? My books. My kitchen ware. My table loom. My tapestry loom. My spinning wheel. And everything related to the above. 

I really have been bitten. I finished the translation job I'd been working on for the past 6 months and I deserve a holiday. I have classes 3 times a week. I will spend my mornings in class or at the library. But the afternoons will be mine. I hope to be posting a lot of samples for the MWS group.

One of those things: the past few weeks I was translating a section on how to help children enjoy warm-ups before going out onto the soccer field. I am not kidding: every time I had to write "warm-up" I typed "warp-up". Def. a one track mind. 

Mon, 02/02/2015 - 22:23

ReedGuy

Been working on the border area of my coverlet. In the main body I've isolated individual whig rose motifs. The motif is around 10-1/4" diameter. I have what some books would call pine cone at the intersections of the vertical/horizontal stripes. I have not made up my mind yet with the edging on the long side. Looks like 5 whig rose motifs needed for the width along with the edge stripes.

Have a good evening. :)

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 18:36

Artistry

ReedGuy, I'm enjoying your experimentation. I know the pine cones, and your Whig rose looks great. I really like what you have in the bottom corners. They look slightly different . Are you saying that you would go untraditional and put 5 different patterns across? Or that you'd use one pattern for the corners and a second going across? Thereasc, Very funny, about the translations. I use to do a little bit of of translation , fresh back from France, after college. I say a little bit , because that was all I knew:) 5 hr. CranioAngiogram over. Easy Peasy
Tue, 02/03/2015 - 18:56

ReedGuy

I am hoping to have the twill along the top there and the bottom of the piece. And make a repeat of the whig rose and the right and bottom edges, then end the width with the beginning narrow band in the repeat. Maybe instead of the twill at the ends I could put the bottom band there as border all the way around. When all the repeated are together by width and length you notice a smaller diameter circle comes out from the neighboring whigs and the middle 3/5th's of the band. If I do a twill along the right and left edges I loose pine cone. The treadling changes.

Perplexing. :)

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 23:25

theresasc

glad things went well for you.  If you are anything like me, you are learning more than you ever wanted to know.

Reedguy - I am enjoying the developement of you draft, really fun to watch it come together.

Wed, 02/04/2015 - 15:24

sally orgren

ReedGuy,

Yes, the treadling gets tricky, doesn't it? I like the corners on the bottom (they make diamonds) and noticed the band along the top is different (point twill in those corners). Are you going to make them match, or pick one?

Cathie, so glad your procedure went well. This has been a very tough winter, health-wise, for so many people I know.

It's "guild night", and considering one of my guild meetings has been cancelled two months in a row, everyone is looking forward to a night out. And a heat wave is expected today, it should reach the 30's I think.

Wed, 02/04/2015 - 17:28

theresasc

I have started with a straight draw, weaving an undulating twill by treadling.  This is a really cool concept to me.  I have no idea why I have not thought to do this before because I find threading 8-shaft undulating twill to be challenging to get them on without threading errors.  Have created a project here if you want to follow along.  I think that this chapter is going to keep me playing all month long.

Wed, 02/04/2015 - 17:57

ReedGuy

I might have to put two pieces of paper in a hat, one each with a 1 and a 2, then draw the lucky number. 1 for twill, 2 for pine cone. :D

Just received a used book, "Swedish Weaving"  edited by Thelma Nye. Time for some reading. :)

Thu, 02/05/2015 - 17:00

theresasc

"Summer and Winter" by Donna Sullivan was in my mail box last night when I came home from workSmile

Fri, 02/06/2015 - 00:31

tien (not verified)

I beamed on my new warp yesterday! It's 14" wide, 60/2 silk/cashmere yarn sett at 40 epi. I'm going to thread it up as a tied weave, with 6 shafts dedicated to the ties and 34 pattern shafts threaded in point order. The ties will be threaded up on a 3-end network so I can have a network drafted pattern in the ties, giving a nice wavy pattern.

I'm drafting this to weave the sea turtles I posted about awhile back, but I'm also planning on weaving at least two other designs on the same warp. One is going to be images of snowflakes - no two alike, of course! - woven with a white silk ground weft and a qiviut pattern weft. (I had been trying to think of Arctic-themed images, and drawing a blank, until someone suggested snowflakes!) And I'm not sure about the other yet, but I think I might try using a gradient weft. I have some bobbins left over from Autumn Splendor that would work very nicely to give a gradient-dyed ground, which I would probably weave with a metallic gold pattern weft to give a solid gold image over a gradient dyed background.

 

Really excited about the possibilities here! Can't wait to get started. :-)

Fri, 02/06/2015 - 03:50

Queezle

I just received "handwoven shibori" -- I started my textile exploration 40 years ago doing batik (in middle school), and handwoven shibori seems like an awesome way to combine weaving and dyeing.  Plus, unlike the amazing Tien, I found dyeing warp without messing it up to be rather frustrating. 

Tien - cannot wait to see your sea turtles.

I am about to warp a small sample for chapter 2 of Mastering Weave Structure.  This time I've used some bright colors.

Fri, 02/06/2015 - 08:26

Artistry

Queezle, I love combining handweaving with surface design. Especially different kinds of shibori. Not necessarily japanese, but the African resist techniques are very cool too. Something I really enjoyed using different kinds of fiber in block form: a block of linen with a block of mirinowool/silk next to it. Very cool effects because the fiber takes the dye differently and you get different shades of the same color. Have fun ! Cathie Of course Ellis, is she the authour ?, is talking about doing the shibori on the loom. You can also do shibori after the weaving on a PVC pipe for a completely different look. Catherine's work is beautiful though . I took a workshop from her about 3 years ago and was really pleased.
Sat, 02/07/2015 - 03:49

theresasc

that the printed word is alive and well in the weaving community!  I love getting new-to-me weaving books.  I know that there is an amazing amount of information online, but I want the feel of a book in my hands or next to me as I figure something out.  As a weaver I feel that I am a very tactile person so I guess it just goes hand in hand to love books.

Sat, 02/07/2015 - 12:33

Nassajah (not verified)

I've been trying to complete a alpaca warp on one loom and tie a dummy warp on the second loom.  But, it's been so cold in the house that it's hard to sit at the looms (59F/15C).  At least the computer generates heat.  

But, with a few wamer days, I should complete both projects.

Sat, 02/07/2015 - 14:36

Queezle

Yes, my new-to-me book is by Ellis, and it is about weaving in the strands that you use to gather the fabric for resist.  I am very excited by it, but have been very undisciplined - mostly looking at photographs and reading their legends.  It will be very fun.

I managed to measure out my twill sample for the MWS study group.  Busy days, and only a single small lamp in my studio are hampering my progress.  I really need to select a light fixture (wires are hanging from the ceiling), and longer days are coming. 

Sat, 02/07/2015 - 19:56

Walkingquail

weaving will compete with cleaning up the kitchen and a wine stroll through downtown Martinez. I should be winding my next towel warp but we'll see how it goes.

I love weaving books especially since most of my learning starts with them. I don't always get what I want out of classes, over stimulating for me, all those people. 

Erica, I love your samples! I am not very disciplined about producing samples although I often try some things at the beginning of a warp. I know samples are recommended by many but it's just not the way I work. I am pretty good at envisioning color stories so maybe that makes me think I don't need to? Of course, I regret that from time to time...

Mon, 02/09/2015 - 04:46

tien (not verified)

photo of partially threaded sea turtle warp

About 1/3 of the way through threading. Might slow down for a few days, though - I bought about 30 pounds of blood oranges, pink grapefruit, and Seville sour oranges and will be busily candying peels this week....

Mon, 02/09/2015 - 19:48

sally orgren

This from the Textile Study Group's show Square, in NYC @ Lexington & 54th. The show is very good, and the exhibit space was really nice. I think there are nearly 80 pieces, all presented in a 15 x 15" format, a variety of techniques and materials, and not all members live in the east.

Thanks to ms.thimble, I also got to see the last day of the Matisse show at MoMA. That exhibit certainly provided some food for thought when it comes to designing. It was interesting how he kept to a fairly limited color palette, and that got me to reflecting on his careful use of color, too.

Meanwhile, back home, I had to redesign my tied-weave runner for the third time. At first, I thought I had two yards of warp left. After weaving almost two feet, I was worried I didn't actually have that much left, so I redesigned for a shorter runner. However, as I approached the second end of the shorter runner, it certainly looked like a lot more warp left than I anticipated. I bit the bullet and ran the warp through to the front and measured. Duh! I was right the first time, I had two yards. I took the opportunity to redesign to something I liked a bit better, even tho' it meant unweaving at least 6-8 inches before restarting again. The little piece of white tape at the top of the middle is where I stopped weaving to redesign.

Mon, 02/09/2015 - 20:48

Artistry

Sally, that's amazing! I love it's free form feel !
Tue, 02/10/2015 - 20:57

ReedGuy

Been working on a quilted pique woven pillow case using the whig rose motif. Strickler has an example of using a motif from overshot with blooming leaf in her book. I will use 30/2 cotton for the tabbies, cottolin for the pique, and 10/2 for wadding. I'll have to do up a small sample to see if the thicker wadding weft get covered well.

I'm weaving the pillow length to the width of the loom, the pillow width will run the length of the loom. This gives the open edge of the pillow case a clean selvedge. Just hem bottom, top and right edge, fold from bottom to top. Sew the hemmed edges to close the pillow case. I drew out the whole draft to see things better. Shortcuts can often lead to errors. ;)

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 21:32

sally orgren

Here is how the middle section wove up on my Ginko Runner project. A little tricky on the brain to think positive and negative spaces at the same time, but fun. Warp is 10/2 and 20/2 cotton, weft is 10/2 dark green and really fine (moss-colored) bamboo.

 

Wed, 02/11/2015 - 04:35

loomyladi (not verified)

It has been awhile, but I've been totally and completely swamped!  I've been VERY weaverly and my biggest challenge has been finding enough time to get it all done.  We survived Convergence (WOW what a blast), finished orders, I finally got juried into Tamarack (an Artisan center here in WV), filled their orders and have picked up 3 retail outlets (filled their orders too).  Enjoyed the holidays with family, survived the cold, and finally said phooey to the morning commute and quite working under the golden Arches - again!  I thought WOW all this free time!  Heee heee heee, at least I now spend that extra 20 hours a week doing what I LOVE!  I have to tell myself I'm getting up and going to work every day!  I'm learning Fiberworks, prepping for a beginning weaving class that I will be teaching in March in Missouri, and planning changes to my studio space to accomodate my new 2 me AVL.  Yee hawwww!!!  There's so much more, but you get the idea!  I've missed reading what you've been up to and learning from you all! 

Wed, 02/11/2015 - 04:50

Queezle

Loomilady - you take my breath away - so much activity.

I am still plugging along with at least 10 minutes a day.  It does add up. Am threading the reed for my MWS chapter 2 project, and wondering how to order yarn without my DH noticing.

Wed, 02/11/2015 - 12:54

endorph

loomilady, we have missed you.

Sally - All I can say is wow, wow, wow - I am in awe.

Everyone is so busy. It makes my heart go pitter patter. I have been usy just not too weaverly. Spinning and knitting mostly. And then on Monday I got a new to me book - Women's work looking forward to reading this - it has been on my wish list for a while now. . .

Wed, 02/11/2015 - 15:25

sally orgren

Hey – are we going to get to see you at MAFA this summer?

And have you penciled in the Weaving History Conference in Clayton for May? (It's the 3rd weekend in May, no conflict with Maryland Sheep and Wool.) Proposals to present are due Feb 17th.

Queezle, I can't claim to adhere to your consistency which is impressive. It's more like stops and starts for me. Each day I think I am going to finish work and go weave, but things don't always turn out quite as planned after 7 p.m.

Thu, 02/12/2015 - 10:30

ReedGuy

I have too many hobbies: from woodworking, to upholstery, to weaving. I need to scale back. :D

Been stuffing my chair, and I just dedicate 2-3 hours max to hobbies and some days I do none of them. I just don't like rushing through things 100 miles an hour. So it can take me weeks or months to get some of my stuff done. I did say hobbies, right? I would never be a factory worker. ;)

Thu, 02/12/2015 - 15:27

Queezle

Its really difficult to "do it all".  Reedguy, you are impressive in that you have multiple hobbies, and you are truly an artist at them all.  Its amazing.  For me, I have a very demanding career, have raised 2 kids (one has now left the nest), and I like to cook (and eat).  The career and kids is why the looms sat forlornly in the basement for about 14 years.  Then I realized that I was managing to find time to do some pretty involved cooking - and when I heard about the 10 minutes a day idea, it clicked.  Now I do include hemming the pile of dishtowels (some of which date back to the 1990s), as well as planning the next project/sample.  And some days, I have to set a 10 minute timer, because I really cannot spare more time than that.  But it does mean I have my head back in the game.

 

And I now remember -- it feels so good to be making things again.

Thu, 02/12/2015 - 22:10

tien (not verified)

Finding time for everything is really difficult. For me, I have a fairly demanding job as well, and juggling weaving and the book has been really challenging. I've finally decided to set some boundaries around the book - I'm going to work 12 hours a week on it, and the rest of the time is "my" time - for weaving, cooking, or whatever. In practice this means that I get up around 5am and spend 1-1.5 hours working on the book before leaving for work, and then I do weaving and othersuch in the evenings.

Book-wise, I've now written all the missing parts-of-chapters except the last half of the last chapter (which is about selling your work). There are a few intro and conclusion paragraphs that need to be written, and the Introduction, but other than that it's a complete and fairly well-integrated manuscript. I printed out the entire manuscript this morning and went through it with a red pen while the car was at the mechanic's - parts of it still need work, but it hangs together quite nicely, I think, and the transitions aren't awkward. So I'm very pleased, and think I will have an editor-ready manuscript by my March 12 surgery date. I may even have it ready sooner! That would be nice - I can use every minute I get.

Weaving wise, I've discovered that shafts 36-40 are floating again. I have some potential fixes, but need to partially disassemble the dobby box to put them into practice. I'm feeling sufficiently discouraged by that that I haven't done any more threading - I want to fix the loom first! But I will need my DH's help to disassemble the dobby box, so it will have to wait for the weekend. Waah!

Fri, 02/13/2015 - 00:04

laurafry

Well, the weekend is nearly upon us. Hope you can get it sorted out. Cheers Laura
Fri, 02/13/2015 - 04:31

Queezle

Tian, I like that your book's progress partially focuses on the transitions - that is where I think many works fall apart, be they books, talks, movies, etc.  I look forward to seeing it in print!

Sat, 02/14/2015 - 06:52

fiberassociations

For two years I have tried to work on some textile project every day so I thought checking in here would help that goal. I also count spinning, dyeing, knitting and planning projects ( even mending) as textile projects. I just finished a dishtowel that is a sample for a simple huipil that I am designing. Using Sally Fox 10/2 naturally colored cotton with a plan for a tiny bit of pick-up around the neckline and sleeve tops. Still only weaving rectangles, but I thought after 33 years of weaving I should focus on adding handwovens to my wardrobe so have several garments planned. 75 degrees in the Bay Area today so gardening and walking definitely compete with work and weaving. Might not get here daily but setting a goal of weekly to see what you are all up to.
Sat, 02/14/2015 - 14:48

Weavolutionary6

Welcome Fiber Associations!

It is nice to know I'm not the only one who hasn't yet done modern garment construction with my weaving.

today I mostly finished winding my twill and satin sample warp. You can see above the first desugn for my weft faced table sample. I was also able to weave this de s ign today! Now it's date time, with Oliver of course!

Sat, 02/14/2015 - 17:46

Soluranne

I'm new here on Weavolution and decided to join this group to both see what other people are doing and to be inspired to weave myself. I'm having a full time job that are some times more than full time, so I will probably not check in every day.

I have been tablet weaving for a bit less than two years and am working on the "getting more experience" part and by that, better quality to my work.

At the moment I have three ongoing projects and a fourth I should start as that is the only one I have a plan for (except for that "getting experience" part).

Now off to continue on the Dragon's Breath band that came with this loom from To-ply Fiber Arts earlier this week :-)

Photo of loom

Sat, 02/14/2015 - 17:55

Soluranne

I had some prolems posting, and ended up posting the same twice. Also it seems there was an error on adding the photo.

 

Sat, 02/14/2015 - 19:55

Queezle

Its difficult for many of us to find time to weave, myself included, and I find weavolution to be a friendly and enthusiastic support group.  I'm looking forward to seeing your projects.

 

Sat, 02/14/2015 - 21:20

endorph

our new members we are happy to have join with us in our quest to be weaverly. Some of us ar emore successfulo at it than others! Just reading what all of you ahve been up to makes me feel like such a slacker! Keep it up!

Mon, 02/16/2015 - 15:00

sally orgren

I realized this with about 14" left on the warp, and removing the reed from the beater and using super-slim shuttles to beat right up to the heddles wasn't going to make it.

Although risky, I decided to cut the warp at the back rod, tie 268 dummy warps on, tension with water bottles (26 pounds total!) That was 3.25 pounds per inch of warp width to match the tension I was weaving with previously.

Here you can see how far the warp needed to enter the castle, so I could complete the project.

All you have to remember is that if this happens to you, all is not lost! It's a bit of a fiddly process, but it CAN be done.

Mon, 02/16/2015 - 17:48

tien (not verified)

Sally, you are far braver than me!

Soluran and fiberassociations, welcome! I look forward to hearing all about what you're working on, so please post and tell us!

I have achieved nothing, weaving-wise, in the last two days. Instead, I have spent two eleven-hour days cleaning up the garage and installing three new shelving units. I think there are only two things in the garage that I didn't take out and move, one way or another! It was a TON of work. But - the garage is now clean, there is no more clutter on the floor, and I can actually get to the loom, which is more than I could have said two days ago! So my plan is to fix the loom today, and get back to weaving later this week.

Book-wise, I finished writing the laughably short half-chapter on selling a production line of craftwork (I mean, entire books could be written on the topic!), and am starting to integrate quotes from artists throughout the entire text. I'm now up to 128 pages, 37,700 words. I think it will be 40,000 words (as I more or less expected) by the time I'm done adding quotes and writing the introduction.

Mon, 02/16/2015 - 20:18

Weavolutionary6

Sally,

I think you are now on my list of heroes! You've also made me think I need to figure out how to allow us to bookmark comments to store for later! :)

I have my first real silk warp wound and on the back beam of my table loom. First note on silk warping do not use stiff paper as warp packing. :)

I also fininshed my first weft faced plain weave sample. I must confess I did not weave the entire first sample from Tabby to Taquete, I'm rusing on to Sample 2, since it is twill and we are studying twills in the Mastering Weave Structures Study Group this month.

My apologies if I don't check in as often, I'm doing more weaving, and over in the Study Group in most of the free time I have. I am still keeping up with all your inspiring progres though! :)

Mon, 02/16/2015 - 20:31

ReedGuy

We are sometimes in some sort of predicament with this craft. :)

Welcome to any newcombers I have missed. Look forward to seeing what's going on at your looms.

I'm mostly just puttering around with my chair project, putting arm pads on and shaping them with stitching. :)

 

Carry on.

 

 

Mon, 02/16/2015 - 23:56

sally orgren

I think that might be me. My guildmates knew it a long time ago. Now you guys know it, too.

(And now you also know what some of my favorite beverages are.)

Tue, 02/17/2015 - 09:58

Artistry

Sally you are just " Crazy Good" as my family would say ! Bravo! I'm enjoying reading about everyone's endeavors . A lot busy weavers and one writer in particular! Still not weaving 'till health issues are resolved however I'm having a good time going through my weaving library. I have my favs. But there are sooooo many books I'd forgotten about. It's fun to get them out and look at pictures, read through the pages, inspiring:) Queezle, I ran across Women's Work by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. ) She used to teach at Occidental College in Pasedena, CA where my brother went to school in the 60-70's, I think they may have overlapped a year. I met her at Convergence when her book came out. I read it right away. Time to read it again ! There is one culture I can think off the bat, Mali, where the weaving used to be " women's work" and where the men had taken it over and the women started making pots( less money) and in some areas dyeing, but many places the men were doing that too( bogalafini) . Her book of course reaches way back.
Tue, 02/17/2015 - 16:56

tien (not verified)

No luck repairing the loom. We're going to try ordering some parts for a cobbled up solution that might repair it, but they will take several days to arrive. Grump. You'd think this would be easier...

Group Audience
Daily Weaverliness