Here we go again. April showers bring May flowers and unstable weather patterns and tornado season in the US. . . . but here in Central Texas we have actually had a spring of sort and the wild flowers have been amazing this year. I am keeping fingers crosssed that the severe weather stays away. The pink and purple phase is moving into the red, orange and yellow phase which should last for a few more weeks until really hot weather arrives. I have been impressed and amazed at all the wonderful work that has been accomplished so far this year - you are all so inspirational. New techniques, new looms, experimentation, spinning, dyeing, moving, traveling - wow! Keep up the good work and weave on!

Comments

Sun, 05/18/2014 - 18:08

pammersw

Awesome, reedguy! My boyfriend and I have been talking about buying or making something like that. We made a yurt two years ago, and a wall tent would be easy by comparison! My new loom is now 40% mine. I've been busy on other projects this week and haven't gotten around to using it yet!
Sun, 05/18/2014 - 22:12

Queezle

and enjoying watching all of your hard work.  My new floor is in (1200 sq feet clear maple), sanding begins tomorrow.  DH and I are really happy with the way its starting to look - open, light, clean, and modern.  I'm figuring another month before I can take up weaving again, but we will see.  I do have at least a week of staying off the floor during the finishing process.  One of my looms has a >10 yr old warp on it.  I just might be able to move the various boxes just enough to unfold it and weave off that ancient warp.  I vacuumed the dust off it a couple weeks ago and found that I rather liked it ;)

 

 

Sun, 05/18/2014 - 22:35

ReedGuy

Hard maple or yellow birch is nice flooring. The nice thing about hardwood flooring, is it can be refinished in later years and keep on keeping on. ;D

Maple flooring is the traditional hardwood flooring where I'm from because our hardwood forest is dominated by sugar maple. We have red oak and bur oak, but not enough to have a market. Bur is rare here and red oak is extremely sparse and mostly in the river valleys of the St John and Mirimachi. Go 15 miles out and not a one. ;)

Sun, 05/18/2014 - 23:09

Queezle

are the prettiest around!  When I lived in GA, I made my mother a wreath and used the burr oak acorns as bells.  Here in Utah there is one lovely big burr oak on campus, and in the fall, I often go collect their huge acorns.  My dog even likes to eat them!  Here in Utah maple flooring is uncommon, but I think we will really like it.  Tried to convince myself to buy engineered or prefinished, but just couldn't get past the beveled edges (AKA dirt collectors).  My installer said that in 5 years of work, this was only the 2nd maple floor he had put in - mostly red oak around here.

Sun, 05/18/2014 - 23:25

Artistry

Sounds like it's going to be so nice Queezle ! Theresasc , Nice placemats! I like those colors of blue together. Our niece made it to the semi finals but lost by 2 points, they played hard! Got home and felt very Weaverly , so finished sleying the reed and started building my files. All that fresh air I guess, it's gorgeous outside!
Mon, 05/19/2014 - 00:24

ReedGuy

Queezle yes, oak is a lot more abundant as you go south. So it certainly makes good sense to make use of it. :) I have a white oak tree here that turns scarlet red every fall. It came from dad's uncle's in NH. Our wild red oaks turn yellow here, then go brown. Our bur oak up this way has smaller acorns than bur oak down south.

The black bears have been spreading red oak seed on my woodlot from a nearby mountain. Suspect moose as well. I have a lot of moose. My lot never had a mature oak on it until recently I'm now finding saplings and seedlings. But the bear and rabbits are some hard on them. The bears climb for the nuts and the rabbits eat the seedlings. :/

Back to weaving. ;)

Rain here....for the next few days to.

Mon, 05/19/2014 - 01:20

pammersw

Queezle - I'm with you on those beveled edges!  Plus solid wood will last for decades. It can be refinished,  and feels good under foot. I hope my next home has hardwood floors! 

Mon, 05/19/2014 - 06:40

Weavejoyforall

My case of bronchitis is over and am starting to weave again. Still working on my 3ed scarf but like I said I am weaving!  Thank goodness!  Amazed to see all the wonderful things others are doing, as I always am.  Someday I might be doing something wonderful to... for now just happy to be back on the loom.  I still have so much to learn it will take me till I am 120 years old to get as far as some of you ...but heck such fun on the way... Thanks so much for all the encouragement in pictures and words that keep me hopeing to do some of the same lovely work you all do.

Mon, 05/19/2014 - 18:34

E.A.Y.

the baby blanket is off the loom, ends zigzagged, and in the washer.I'm excited and nervous to see how it comes out!

Mon, 05/19/2014 - 22:12

E.A.Y.

My baby blanket survived the washing/drying process. I have to get some binding so I can finish it and ship it off to my expectant oldest niece.

 

Mon, 05/19/2014 - 23:14

sally orgren

But at least I was THINKING about weaving. (That counts, right?)

My yarn order came Friday, so after I meet some deadlines, I hope to begin winding nearly 800 ends of 20/2 for a tied weave.

Here is one of the more unusual low profile shuttles I have seen. It holds 3 sewing thread bobbins!

And, this is an original Theo Moorman handwoven "hostess gift" necklace.


Mon, 05/19/2014 - 23:31

Artistry

Sally, Thanks for the photos! The sewing thread shuttle is wild, I love it! The original Theo Moorman Necklace is pretty special.
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 08:48

ReedGuy

That sewing bobbin shuttle is interesting, as someone must be weaving with some real fine threads. I have used overlock thread before in warp and weft, just for kicks to see what the loom was capabable of. I did a piece with 64 epi, I do plan on an 80 epi piece. I would actually like heavier polyestyer. I want to make sail cloth sometime. :)

Tue, 05/20/2014 - 13:04

Artistry

WIF Files. Downloaded several from Handweaving.net. Using Weavemaker, the most recent, can I run my AVL off the Wif. For more than two repeats? I went ahead and made new Weavemaker files which took 2 minutes. But I'm just wondering if it was necessary. I will test it out once I start weaving, just wanted to know in advance, maybe save some time:) Thanks!
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 14:28

Queezle

Love the thread bobbin - and Theo Moorman piece.  Have heard about Theo Moorman, but really know nothing, so very interesting.

Found an opportunity to wedge my other loom - one with a >10 yr old warp - and spent the evening weaving.  Floor is being sanded and prepped for finishing, so no more mud work.  Had to figure out how the loom was threaded, and very greatly hampered by only having six treadles.  But this is what I was able to accomplish last night.

twill variation, 4 shaft

Tue, 05/20/2014 - 15:23

Penny Skelley (not verified)

Spent Saturday and Sunday in the backstrap weaving class with Laverne learning complimentary weave patterns. Lots of fun. I pick up the patterning fairly quickly--well I should as this is my third backstrap weaving class I've taken with Laverne--but my selvages are always a mess.

Tue, 05/20/2014 - 17:02

tien (not verified)

I got my photography studio up and running! It's incredibly crammed, but I managed to get just enough space to photograph the dress form. Hooray!

Also hooray: I finally have a design for Phoenix Rising that makes me really happy. Three years I've been fiddling with this! Here it is:

New design for Phoenix Rising

Now it's time to start sampling fabric. The dark blue parts will be blue/black, woven with a mix of cotton and cotton/polyester thread, maybe with a tiny bit of metallic in it. I'm going to use a plain weave structure with woven shibori, then set the crimps permanently with heat to produce a crimped, textured cloth.

The flames in the "skirt" will be woven using 120/2 or 140/2 silk in some structure that is close to plain weave - huck lace, or maybe a networked twill alternating with plain weave. I want the fabric to be as light and thin as possible, so plain weave or a variant of plain weave is the way to go. I had been thinking of shadow weave, but that's a two-shuttle weave, and at 80-100 picks per inch, it would take forever to weave the yardage.

Wed, 05/21/2014 - 12:14

endorph

it is fascinating to watch your creative processes. This is going to be a spectacular garment - looking forward to seeing it "rise from the ashes" so to speak!

Wed, 05/21/2014 - 17:13

endorph

ready to go home to Wyoming for the week. I am looking forward to getting out of Texas for a few days and visiting with family and friends. I will be taking my wheel and drop spindle with me along with sketch book / journal and maybe some towels to hem. . .  or maybe not!I also have some magazines and a couple of books. On Sunday I am visiting the SageRigde Mill and Critter Farm - that should be fun. . . The rest of the week will be rest and relaxation.

Thu, 05/22/2014 - 08:00

Kate in Scotland

Fascinating, Tien! And it is closely related to the medieval technique used to weave Robert the Bruce's shroud (now in Glasgow). 

Fri, 05/23/2014 - 00:32

E.A.Y.

Today I made a sample warp for the upcoming placements, and it is wound on and I"m in the process of threading the heddles.

(I planned the placemat project for real and true, yesterday and the day before, ditching the rosepath in favor of Landis Valley Linen from Handweaver's PB. I altered the draft a little bit from Davison's book, so we'll see if I got it right in the sample)

Fri, 05/23/2014 - 00:38

endorph

packing the car - first though, I had to finish spinning up some polypay batts for a challenge - I ended up wiht 208 yds of 3ply -

Fri, 05/23/2014 - 11:02

justmekaybee

I finished weaving my braided twill scaff which turned out too weft faced and stiff.  It was more a learning experience than anything else.  By the time I finished I had figured out how to beat it for a balanced weave.  I wound the warp for the  huck lace sampler.  I got a new toy for my birthday this month.  A small 11.5" triangle loom.   I've been weaving up my very old hand spun spindle yarns and the triangles are addictive.   I've woven 16 small triangles in 2 days.  Lots of fun!

Fri, 05/23/2014 - 14:41

sally orgren

I am planning to do my first demo day of the season at Millbrook Village, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, tomorrow. Come visit me if you are in the region! NJ Exit 1 on I-80, Old Mine Road, head north about 10 miles and YOU ARE HERE.

Also, I am threading nearly 800 warps of 20/2 in an 8 shaft summer and winter. (I will post a photo when the process gets more interesting.) However, I timed myself last night while winding this 8 yard warp, and I was surprised to discover it took me 2 hours total! It was all one color, and winding a warp goes fast if you can wind off of more than one package.

I am also still processing the nearly 600 photos I took last week while traveling. I thought this photo of Sonja Wahl holding up the handwoven textile that depicted binomial expression and was a discussion point at a past conference was fascinating. Wish I had zoomed in for a close up! I look forward to checking that piece out in more detail the next time I am in Clayton.

Happy Weaving Everyone!

Fri, 05/23/2014 - 22:40

Artistry

Sally are you near Peters Valley Craft School? I think they are near Layton N.J.? It sounds like you'll be in a beautiful area regardless! I've been totally weaverly! I've been collaborating with my friend Linda on the stroller blankets. So when she comes over and weaves on them then I do dye work or design work. When she leaves or very early in the morn I weave. Feels great. My wrist is doing ok as long as I where my brace . Though I have to duct tape the Velcro so it won't stick to the warp, only color , purple:)
Fri, 05/23/2014 - 23:00

Artistry

Sally, The piece with binomial expression? Is it called that because it depicts an algebraic equation? I'm totally lost. I see the bilateral symmetry along the diagonal . It's beautiful, but I don't understand what I'm looking at.
Fri, 05/23/2014 - 23:29

endorph

weaverliness for today was making up poetry as I drove through miles and miles of nothing. . .  here's the rough draft _ i think there may have been more verses but I can't rremeber them now - writing while driving is not a good thing and while my dumb phone has voice notes I never have my phone ou in the car. . . so anyway

Up and down, to and fro / Warp and weft makes the cloth grow

Red and blue, green and gold / Like a story the pattern unfolds

The story told across all nations / handed down though the generations

Up and down, to and fro / Warp and weft and the story grows

And like the story that will not end / the cloth from our looms will forever wend

I am being very liberal in my definnition of the word wend but it works. . .

Fri, 05/23/2014 - 23:41

Artistry

I like it, Tina , very nice way to spend a drive :)
Sat, 05/24/2014 - 10:56

sally orgren

I found out the piece was woven by Ada Dietz and sparked the formulation of Cross Country Weavers. She wrote a booklet on the binomial theory. (That would have been more than 50 years ago.)

And yes, I will be just a bit south (30 minutes) of Peter's Valley Craft Village, on Old Mine Road.

I only have 48 more warps to thread. I ran out of 12 heddles on shaft one, and thought I'd deal with it when I get home later today. I just plan to add the heddles, no big deal. But I have to dig them out of the loom bench. THAT is the big deal as the bench is covered in books!

Sat, 05/24/2014 - 23:20

E.A.Y.

Took the first sample of my cotolin off the loom. Nice! I'll need a floating selvage for the twill. I'm not thrilled with the colors I used.

The remainder of the warp, after some width reduction, will be woven off for little dollhouse rugs. And will let me practice keeping my selveges nice.

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 11:00

Erica J

Love the poem Endorph. I'm still using my breaks at work to spin and watch Deb Ronson's DVD. I'm on Disc 2 Long wools now. 

I made it to the half way point of tgreading the loom today. Warping takes a long time when you only get 2 hours or so on Saturdays and Sundays! :)

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 14:59

Queezle

A colleague of mine had a baby last week, and knowing how #2 child often gets many fewer items (and by the baby's sweetness and my affection for my colleague), I became inspired to make a baby blanket.  I have a very nice 10/2 cotton, but its really light colored, so I thought I'd dig out my dyes.  I purchased them while I was a postdoc at Caltech, maybe 1992? 1993?  First tried the cobalt blue (procion MX) at ~2% and 4%, and was shocked by how dark they turned out!  Unfortunately, my choice of using the washing machine to soak the yarn post-dyeing and then running errands led to them going through a strong agitation cycle.  Darn!  So I measured out some more, and used the std blue MX, and at approximately 1%.  Again some success!  Now to come up with a draft I like on 4 shaft (my 8-shaft loom is inaccessible).  I wanted to thread twill stripes in the warp, separated by plain weave, but I don't think I can do that on just four shafts.  And I'm trying to make this a quick project, meaning single shuttle.  Any ideas for me??

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 15:04

Queezle

10/2 with Procion MX blue 400 (left) and cobalt (406) on the rightHere are my dyed yarns.  Quite happy with them, though the cobalt (2 on the right) will need many more hours of fiddling to untangle enough to use them.

 

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 15:20

theresasc

basket weave and twills works out great.  There is a 4-shaft draft in "Weaver's Craft" #17 for towels in twill and basket weave that you would be able to modify to heavier yarns for a baby blanket.  

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 19:33

pammersw

Beautiful shades of blue! I like them.

I need to overdye some scarves to give them more of a blueish cast. I'll try to take before and after photos of them for you all. :)

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 20:14

Artistry

Queezle, Beautiful Blues!!!!!! I followed with interest the shelf life of the dyes in the other thread, I have loads of Procion left other from when my youngest son was working theater costumes in High School and I was the dyemaster( my nick name, lol) they are hmmmm 8-12 years old. Baby blankets, New Key to Weaving has small easy twill designs( birds eye) , if you can get through your library Shirley Held s book Weaving she has a whole gamp of easy Twills. Good luck and have fun!
Sun, 05/25/2014 - 22:18

Queezle

I'm thinking light blanket - something for when a breeze picks up on an otherwise hot day (Utah's dry summer heat can be chilly when a breeze kicks up).  I'm with you on the twills - am liking the M's and W's drafts I've seen, and add a bit of yellow/gold to give the fabric some life. 

Cathie, I'm amazed that these two blues have stood up so well.  I have quite a few more to try, but so far its been fun.

One thing I have yet to figure out, though, is how to tie tight enough to keep the yards from tangling, but loose enough to allow good dye penetration. 

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 23:26

pammersw

I like the idea of combining your blues with yellow.  Those are my two favorite colors!

I think you wrap the ties around the yarn loosely, but tie the knots snugly, and tie it many more places than you think you need!

Do you think that loosely chaining the yarn, like chaining a warp, would help reduce tangling?

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 23:47

endorph

shots of my visit to Sage Ridge Mill & Critters. Several bags of fiber made their way intp my car!

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 23:49

sally orgren

Success! Now to try some treadling options... (Of course, I tied up upside down... opps. Too excited to correct just yet.)

Sun, 05/25/2014 - 23:51

Artistry

Pammersw, Mt Fav. Color combo too, yellow and blue! I wouldn't chain the warp to dye even loosely ,each thread needs to be able to move. I use figure 8 loops around my skeins . I tie in at least 6 places sometimes 8 , very loosely. After the first tie, I follow that yarn division and make the next tie. When you agitate, I dye by hand, instead of stirring I do more lifting and dunking than twirling around, making sure all ends , end up under the surface, I'm really gentle. I have a large stainless steel spoon, wooden chopsticks ( ultra smooth) , to stir with. Hope this helps!
Sun, 05/25/2014 - 23:54

Artistry

For the tie you divide the skein in half then make your figure 8. That's clearer!
Mon, 05/26/2014 - 00:17

bjr1957

...well now!  This is VERY interesting indeed.  I had no idea that one could weave with paper.  I am so glad I began weaving.  It has been educational, stimulating and....wonderfully frustrating!  I am planning things for my loom, I am just short of money right now.  There are so many things that must be paid first.  But that is okay.  I am also a spinner and have a rigid heddle loom too.  If i can't do one I have the other. 

bjr

Mon, 05/26/2014 - 01:46

Artistry

This is what my friend Linda Rouse and myself have been collaborating on. One down 5 more to go. 16S Hin und Wieber from Handweaving .net. Really, The Fanciest Twills of All, Fred Pennington, these are old German patterns from the 1700"s.  We had to do some redesigning of the drafts so the floats wouldn't be so long. One pattern is a Linda original, varigated red yarn, very pretty. You already know about this warp, but it's behaving now:)

stroller baby blanket

Mon, 05/26/2014 - 02:11

pammersw

Wow, that's pretty fancy! I would have been happy with any of the designs in a single stripe. I guess weaving is more fun this way, though. :)

Mon, 05/26/2014 - 02:24

sally orgren

This is fantastic! 16 shafts? It would make a great skirt, too!

Endorph, those clouds are so perfect they look photoshopped in!
Mon, 05/26/2014 - 02:53

Artistry

Thanks Pammersw and Sally! It's more vibrant than the pic. Yes 16 shafts. Blanket # 2 has the same flavor as this one. The next 2 are going to twins. I'll use the same patterns but use color in a different way. Should be fun:)
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