Hppy New Year's everyone. I still have a few hours to go until the new years starts but  know some of our members in other parts of the world are already in the new year. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and weaverly year to come!

Comments

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 16:50

sally orgren

I went to the gym already, next I plan to weave.

That way, I will be doing today what I hope to be doing for the rest of the year!

P.S. For those of us in the Mid-atlantic area of the U.S., MAFA registration opens tomorrow!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 18:17

Erica J

I wove about 5" on TAJ's fabric today. I chained off the first half of the extra 6" needed for Oliver's cloth.

I wound 40 ends of cotton for my plain weave sample for the Mastering Weave Structure Study Group. I'm colour sampling on this warp as well. 2" each of an 8 colour wheel. Today I would the orange. Orange was the colour of my friend Lycurgus who passed recently. It is lively and vibrant just like he was. I think orange will always remind me of him, which is a good thing!


Thu, 01/01/2015 - 20:34

endorph

loom today but so far no weaving. The dogs were up before the sun - well actually I haven't seen the sun today. It is cold, gray and rainy. But once it got light we went to the soggy dog park. I have would some hanks of yarn into balls, have thought about spinning, knitting and weaving - but I think today may just end up being a lazy day. Happy New Year's everyone.

Erica - I am loving TAJ's cloth - color, pattern,everything

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 20:51

theresasc

I started this morning weaving on a scarf, and then Mastering Weave Stuctures called to me and I wound a warp for trying my hand at weaving dimity.  Dressed the new table loom and it is weaving. 

Erica, TAJ's fabric is looking wonderful!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 21:41

laurafry

Grey dreary day here, too.  It's 1:30 and feels like sunset.  :(

Finished the blue place mats on the small loom, cut and serged them ready for wet finishing and started winding the next mat warp.  Keep losing focus, maybe because it feels like it's the end of the day, it's so dark and dismal out.  :-/  However tonight we have tickets to Cirque du Soleil - our Xmas gift to each other.  :)

cheers,

Laura

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 23:22

Alison (not verified)

I am taking off the current warp off the WDL and rewarping a larger thread to check and trouble shoot the CDIII.  I'm making the difficult decision about whether I need to upgrade both my AVLs to CDIV or get rid of my A series and get a different loom.  So it could be a big year!

Fri, 01/02/2015 - 00:30

Queezle

I got in my 10 minutes first thing this morning - and of course it stretched into at least 30 minutes.  Then I discovered a broken warp - that will wait to be fixed tomorrow.  We've had bitter cold for the past week, and today it got up into the 20s - which felt balmy. 

Last year I vowed a new warp per month.  Sadly, I'm still weaving February's warp!  So this year its my goal to weave 10 minutes a day, every day.  And hopefully stretch to face some new weaverly challenges.  Happy new year, and wishes for much joy.

Fri, 01/02/2015 - 00:46

laurafry

Got the next warp ready to weave so I can begin tomorrow.  Tonight we're going out.  :)

cheers,

Laura

Fri, 01/02/2015 - 21:08

Erica J

Queezle,

I'mI'm with you on trying to weave 10 mins each day. I worked in the studio for an hour today. However, TAJ's catch phrase over the holidays has been Mommy hold me! This is awesone, but meant my back wasn't even up to 10 mins. I did get another section of warp wound! I decided on 6 rather than 8 colours,  so I'm 66% there!

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 01:26

tien (not verified)

Our flight lands at San Francisco International Airport in about half an hour. Almost there!

I wove one more inkle bookmark before boarding the plane. Since I'm doing fairly extensive pickup, I wasn't really able to weave on the plane, but here's the design that I did this morning (from p. 100 of Anne Dixon's The Weaver's Inkle Pattern Directory). Celtic knotwork in a turned Monk's Belt structure.

Celtic knotwork design on an inkle loom

Can't wait to finish this warp, cut off, and see the finished pieces!

Happy New Year everyone!

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 14:35

Queezle

Tien, I'm loving watching your inkle weavings - I've never done pick up, nor thought I wanted to - but you are making me reconsider.

The power of 10 minutes a day - yesterday my daughter commented that my 10 minutes had stretched to over an hour.  This is good, and I've got only 1 more dish towel to weave before I can start on my plain weave sample!

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 14:42

Erica J

I've wound my plain weave colour sample warp. I also started winding a wapr for sampling saimutum. I got my 10 minutes of weaving in on TAJ's cloth.

On another note, I recorded a Cyber Fiber Class, so now I need to learn how to use iMovie to edit the video. I spent nearly an hour on that already today and go officially no where. Video editing is nothing like weaving, haha. :)

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 15:29

Artistry

All of you are soooooo inspiring! ! I'm reading about how to warp Beauty today, Exciting! She will be dressed sometime next week, pics when completed ! Double Wow Tien, I love what you're doing on the Inkle. big results with simple looms, gotta love it! However there's nothing simple about pick up, concentration, right? I'll catch up soon:)
Sat, 01/03/2015 - 16:16

theresasc

is the only kind of pick-up I like doing.  The bands are only a few inches wide so I only need my fingers to do it.  I have a long-standing pick-up band on my floor inkle loom and have been working on it again.  It is an irksome project because it is in wool so it has very sticky sheds and is kind of a hassle to advance the warp through the heddles.  It was one of those ideas that sounded great but kind of lost its zing on application:-)  I really want to finish it because I ordered the pick-up book featured in Annazinmeister's recently posted project.

I think I need to stick to the inkle for a bit, weaving on my table loom is taking a physical toll on me, not quite as healed up as I thought I was.

Cathy, I am excited for you and your new loom and am really looking forward to seeing it in action.

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 18:41

Artistry

This is the cartoon for the Patagonia tapestry I'm doing. It's really like an engineering drawing, I like to think, because not only does it show the "images" abut also shows the shadows, highlights, fisures, etc. not everything is as dramatic as the shapes too. For instance the sky is really misty, those shapes are just gentle areas of darkness. I tried to show the wind in the waves which will be done in a technique called soumac, a textural technique which I hope will show power with out too much color difference than the water. The best thing about the cartoon is you can change your mind about it if you want while weaving! I keep in mind the very wise words of Kathe Todd-Hooker as I'm about to embark on this piece 1st " There are no Tapestry Police" in other words, whatever works, no one is going to show up at your door and rip it any from you! And "Don"t dumb it down!" just go for it, figure it out, don't not do an area because you're scared of it, work at , and get it right! Here we go fun and games! I'm off to FedEx to get it blown up, next step is dressing Beauty!

Tapestry Cartoon

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 19:40

tommye scanlin

I'm eager to see it underway on Beauty!  Enjoy the journey!!

Tommye

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 23:17

endorph

love the cartoon - looking forward to seeing your progress

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 23:40

Artistry

Thanks Tommye and Tina! I'll post as I go along. It will be 30 " wide and 33" tall. I haven't done one this size for a while so I'm super excited! I'm still toying with sett, 8 or 10 epi and which yarns to use. I really like to bundle my wefts with at least 3 threads preferably 4. I'll have to look at my yarn samples again, oh, such problems:)
Sun, 01/04/2015 - 00:16

laurafry

Just got the next warp on the loom and about to go toss the shuttle until dinner time.  Spent the morning indoctrinating another new weaver.  Offered to help put her Scandinavian style loom together if she can't figure it out.  :)

cheers,

Laura

Sun, 01/04/2015 - 10:53

Artistry

I have come to find out that Beauty does not like to be beamed under tension, ( what I call tension) that gives this weaver the willies! I'm plowing ahead anyways. Instructions in hand , I'm hoping everything will fall into place and not on the floor :)
Sun, 01/04/2015 - 10:55

Artistry

Plus Yay Laura for Introducing another person to weaving! That's my favorite thing to do:)
Sun, 01/04/2015 - 14:44

Erica J

I finished weaving off my colour sample with about 13 different treadlings on a straight draw threading,  there are over 60 other treadlings you can use with a 4 shaft straight draw threading. I'll add these into my Exploring Twills Cyber Fiber class, which should be available soon. Now the loom is ready for my plain weave and beyond warp for the Mastering Weave Structures Study Group!

Sun, 01/04/2015 - 16:07

Artistry

Erica, Isn't it remarkable what can be done on 4 shafts? I loved the colors of your warp chain, your color blanket must be beautiful! I'm having sooo much fun:) I'm allowing myself new tapestry yarn for this project. I'm going to use Thin Vevgarn probably with maybe a strand or two of Alf (Thanks Tommye!) yarn. I may just use the Vevgarn, it has a slight roughness to it that I want to convey in the piece. I've been working out of my stash for about 1 year so I'm just about giddy:)
Sun, 01/04/2015 - 18:14

tommye scanlin

Giddy is a good thing, always! And it's so nice to get giddy about yarn!!

Tommye

Sun, 01/04/2015 - 19:47

Artistry

Yes Tommye, great way to start 2015!
Mon, 01/05/2015 - 01:21

Artistry

That's an informative post , Tommye. It didn't occur to me to use that many bobbins (20!). It makes perfect sense though.
Mon, 01/05/2015 - 14:32

tien (not verified)

Thanks everyone for the comments on my inkle weaving! I hadn't expected to enjoy pickup as much as I did - as Theresasc said, it's a narrow band so not that difficult to pick up. The Celtic knotwork is done over just 20 pattern threads, which only takes a minute or two per pick. (I used a bamboo skewer for the pickup - easier for me than working with my fat fingers!) It's still slow going, but it doesn't feel like forever. It's making me much less full of dread at the prospect of hand manipulation - I'm now considering doing some inlay in my next several pieces.

I cut off the shadow weave warp on Saturday afternoon - I never was able to get it working, and decided I needed to do something easier while working on the book. So I spent yesterday putting on an instant gratification warp - only 500 threads, placemats and a table runner in 10/2 cotton. My, that went on fast! It took me just over one day to get it on - pure gratification.

double weave warp on the loom

It's a mix of double weave (one layer narrower than the other) and integrated cloth - the center is double weave with white on top mixed with a 3-1 broken twill, mixed white and green. The pattern will be much more distinct after wet finishing since it's woven with Lunatic Fringe's colorgrown cotton yarn - which gets a lot darker after being simmered in alkaline water with detergent (takes out waxes). here's a pic of the yarns before and after:

colorgrown cotton yarns before and after washing

The left two swatches are before washing, the right two are after washing. Quite a dramatic difference!

Mon, 01/05/2015 - 15:20

theresasc

I love weaving with organic cotton.  It is always fun to see how it looks after wet-finishing and the yarn itself is just lovely to handle.  I smiled to myself when you said you wanted to try inlay after playing on the inkle - I keep my finger manipulation just to inkle, cannot imagine doing it across the width of a floor loom.

Cathy, it is fascinating to me to watch your design process for your tapestry.  I am such a "seat of the pants" weaver that is really wonderful to watch how you do it.  I am excited for you too - new loom and new yarn - what a great combo!

This past weekend I wove a bit on the table loom and some on the inkle, it was a lay-low kind of weekend.  Back to work today after being off since the middle of December with medical issues.  Kind of a blessing and a curse, it will be nice to see my co-workers again but kind of yuk on actually having to do my job - LOL.

Tue, 01/06/2015 - 08:07

Artistry

Thereasc, Hope you're feeling better ! Design; sometimes I like to just wing ,it if it's a really small tapestry ,and see what comes of this crazy mind of mine :) it's freeing. But now I'm more likely to do that in my sketch book because in 2 hours I can be done while with tapestry, well, you know how long that takes! I started to want to plot out my designs more after doing the tapestry diaries for awhile. Because of composition. By the time I got to " the flowers" I was using cartoons which were pretty detailed. I have all my TD's on my project page and you can see how they change if you want to look. Well, I almost have all the colors picked out. TODAY is the day to warp Beauty! I can't believe I don't use a warping board and I don't use a cross ! It looks remarkably simple, ha! That's what I say now :)
Tue, 01/06/2015 - 08:15

Artistry

Tien, Your placemats look great, it will be very cool to see them turn color !
Tue, 01/06/2015 - 17:22

theresasc

I actually broke down and picked up a sketch book last week.  If and when I will use it remains to be seen:-)  I always want to do a tapestry diary, but I prefer to weave on the Tissart vs. my smaller tapestry looms.  I like the tensioning and treadles on the Tissart but I keep thinking, if I have a tapestry diary on that loom, then I cannot weave a project on that loom.  This is that catch-22 of having too many looms - I end up with WAY too many projects going and I want to weave on them all.  This morning I worked on an 8-shaft scarf because I want that loom to weave some towels for someone, but I cannot weave the towels til that loom is empty, and here goes that circle again.  Oh well, back to a loom I go - LOL!

Tue, 01/06/2015 - 17:32

Walkingquail

up my two little loom rooms. Somehow in the flurry of work since mid October or so, boxes of yarn have appeared from the closet and other perchs and have not put themselves back in place. I am finally installing the rollers on my baby wolf so I can easily roll Grace out of the way and vacuum all the fuzz and tiny cuttings.

I finished all those towels and their hemming and giving so now I can put my sewing machine away and bring out my small tapestry loom again, only one workspace for both to share I'm afraid. I have planned a New Mexico pedernal which O'Keefe painted many times. I did a small watercolor at Ghost Ranch almost 5 years ago when I first learned to weave. The tapestry will be very simple, more so than the painting which was also very simple since it was only postcard size. My weaving group starts up again Thursday. Our tapestry teacher retired so we are seeing if we can continue the group at the library every week. I will try to attend regularly. It sort of depends on who exactly shows up! Our teacher encouraged some to hush and there won't be anyone to do that in a more social with weaving group. I guess I'll see! It's good to see friends but not so good to see people who drive me crazy.

Tue, 01/06/2015 - 19:35

ReedGuy

Put some more pile warp on the loom and threaded again for a few more face cloths. Then I have to get at my chair project and get that done. No more digressive weaving. LOL :)

Tue, 01/06/2015 - 21:35

laurafry

Threading the AVL with a 41" wide warp for 'table toppers'.  Leclerc has another mat warp on - this time in blue/green.  Hoping to start weaving on the AVl tomorrow as this afternoon is rapidly waning and tonight is guild drop in.  I'm hoping new weaver will return for another session.  :) OTOH, we had a bit of a dump of snow (12") so she may not be able to make it into town.

cheers,

Laura

Wed, 01/07/2015 - 14:25

Queezle

A week into the new year, and my 10 minutes a day is reaping dividends.  My February 2014 warp is nearly woven off.  I am looking forward to sampling plain weave with the study group.  My only concern is how big the basket weave squares should be.  I measured out a warp planning on 1.5 inch and 1 inch squares, but I realized last night that the samples I've seen typically have smaller squares.  But that is why we sample, isn't it, and so I guess I will find out. 

Wed, 01/07/2015 - 17:05

tien (not verified)

...and, the finished placemat!

finished handwoven placemat

It's not really hemmed yet, and definitely unpressed (cat was on the ironing board, and I didn't have the heart to move him!), but it gives a good enough idea of the design. My one regret is that it isn't larger - it's only 12" x 18" overall and the white portion is more like 9" x 15". Which makes it look kinda ungraceful with a full size dinner plate on it. But the warp's already on the loom, and I really like it as it is, so I'll likely stick with it. Thinking possibly about re-sleying to 36 epi to make it a little bit wider (currently sett at 40 epi) - but then I'd have to resample and recalculate proportions, which would be a pain, and I like it the way it is. So I think I will "go with the flow" and just weave up the other 5 placemats + table runner.

For your amusement, here's a "before and after" shot to show how wet-finishing changes the color:

washed vs. unwashed placemat

Quite a dramatic difference! I wet-finished by simmering in water with lots of detergent plus some soda ash - the water was medium amber when I was done, but the colors intensified dramatically!

Anyway, I'm very happy with it and am planning to enter the finished results in Handwoven's "Handwoven for the Home" contest. Despite the complex appearance, it's only eight shafts!

Wed, 01/07/2015 - 17:10

ainz

This has WOW effect. And I love the idea of the cotton changing color!

Wed, 01/07/2015 - 17:42

ReedGuy

Tien, it made the pattern have a more crisp definiton. :)

Thu, 01/08/2015 - 00:00

laurafry

Just cut another mat warp off the loom.  Now to finish setting up the AVL so I can weave the table toppers.  :)

cheers,

Laura

Thu, 01/08/2015 - 07:40

Artistry

Tien, Love it ! Beauty and I are getting to know each other:) I've decided to use a warping board and a cross! Even though the instructions don't include this step. Things were getting pretty crazy without one ! Got a big box of new colors for wefts coming on Monday ! Can't wait to start weaving:)
Thu, 01/08/2015 - 15:11

theresasc

I have never finished my organic cotton items in simmering water.  That is something that I will have to try.  I have always just tossed them in the washer.  I guess with these yarns, hotter is better?  I am wondering if my colors would have been deeper had I finished the way you did.  Thanks for the idea.  The pattern on the mats is lovely, I get such a kick out of how squares turn to circles, great image.

I have just been jumping from loom to loom.  Need to get a couple empty so I can put on the new projects that are bopping around in my minds eye.

Thu, 01/08/2015 - 17:59

JeanOCuilinn

Gosh, y'all are sure fast at dressing looms! Only 500 ends... Sheesh I think 500 and my chest gets tight and my toes curl a little. But, I expect that with more experience I will get more attuned to the routine and not worry over every little step of the process. I am hoping to finish beaming my first " by myself " warp of 362 ends today. I have taken my time with each part of the process and honestly I have enjoyed it. A friend said she couldn't believe I'd have the patience for it- I had sent her a picture and she's never seen a loom. I told her its a different kind of patience from dealing with silly or difficult people. It's quiet and calm and like putting together a moving puzzle. Oh, AND, happy new year ......
Thu, 01/08/2015 - 18:19

laurafry

It's the alkaline that causes the greatest colour shift.  The hotter temp makes the process happen more quickly.  I just used the hottest water out of the tap in the washing machine (I was doing a 'large' quantity) and then let the cloth sit in the hot alkaline water for an hour or so, then finished with the regular wash cycle (gentle wash/gentle spin).

cheers,

Laura

Thu, 01/08/2015 - 20:50

laurafry

Finally - almost - ready to start weaving.  Just one 'oopsie' in the reed to fix and I can begin.  Nice red/green warp.

Thu, 01/08/2015 - 22:02

ReedGuy

I've used those colors with Briggs and Little wool singles when weaving scarves. Spruce and dark maroon. :)

Thu, 01/08/2015 - 22:06

laurafry

A square for the table. :)  will post another pic once I've got more woven.

cheers,

Laura

Fri, 01/09/2015 - 00:10

tien (not verified)

I don't know if it would work on dyed organic cotton - I've only heard of doing it for the colorgrown cottons (the ones where the cotton fiber grows in colors on the plant). I'd try it on a little swatch (or a yarn sample) before doing an entire piece!

As Laura says, you don't actually have to boil it - I did that because I was in a hurry and wanted to make sure I got to the final color. Tap hot + alkaline water will do just fine.

Today I wove the first half of the second placemat, and put in an hour and a half on my book. I'm now done annotating the interviews and tagging the annotations (many thanks to Laura for doing my transcription!) and am ready to get back to writing more chapters. My writer's retreat starts in just over a week! Can't wait. I'll be bringing my inkle loom and new card weaving cards with me. (My custom card weaving deck shipped yesterday, so it should arrive by Saturday!)

Fri, 01/09/2015 - 01:04

laurafry

Made significant progress on the table topper warp today.  :)\

A good example of how the value of the weft is going to completely change the appearance of the cloth.  :)

cheers,

Laura

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