Wow! Look at all those sticks! Can you tell us what all the sticks are?
I can see one string heddle? And the white tube is a shed stick?
I love the color you are using too.
Can we get a close up of the weave?
Greetings from California.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
Franco,
Yep, the Burmese looms have a lot of sticks! I am not experienced enough in backstrap weaving to explain why, but their looms are def more complex than the ones I have seen in online photos. Since I am going to start weaving with one of the women, I will be able to answer your question in a while.
The white tube is a piece of PVC pipe for the shed. It weighs less than the wood dowels we have been using. At first, we went for oak for the dowels and battens (good strong oak), but the women complained about the weight of them in use. In Burma, they'd use bamboo, so I am looking for a source of that. Indianapolis is not exactly the center of the bamboo retailing world...
The photos: One shows the carved wood spacer bar the Burmese use in their looms. The other is a close up of making the heddles..jpg)
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Where in Cali are you? My home town is San Francisco.
Nina
I'm in Sacramento and we love visiting San Francisco.
The space stick sounds like a very practical item. It's also one more thing to keep track of.
I just noticed that if I double click the picture I can see the enlarged version.
Okay, So the lady is wearing a backstrap that looks like a grain sack (rice?) with rope attached to a 3/4 inch loom bar.
Then two beater or shed stick, possibly made from floor molding (home depot),
3/8 dowel string heddle, then two 1/2 dowels looks like she's using them to open the shed instead of using a shed stick?
Then white pvc pipe for shed stick.
The three more of 3/8 inch dowel that seems to be holding open another warp cross?
I'm lost.
But I did google burmese backstrap weaving and found some good pictures of weaving and cloth.
Please feel free to share more pictures when you get a chance.
Have a good day!
hi Nina, and welcome! I am in Australia, and interested in Asian backstrap weaving techniques. I have just ordered a second-hand book on Burmese fabrics, which I hope will also include weaving techniques, but AFIK the book concentrates on the Shan people. I am very interested in learning more about the differences in Burmese looms - I have seen several videos on Youtube featuring Indonesian weavers, who make it looks so easy, when I know its not. and I have found a source of some 50 year old home movies - I will have to check them but I'm pretty sure they include some of Burma. Once I find the link I will post it.
Must dash as I have a busy day in front of me, but I will keep an eye on this thread
Hi Franco,
isn't this amazing!!! These ladies are doing inlay work with supplmentary wefts as far as I can tell. So, besides the heddle rod and shed stick they can pick up the warps under which their inlay wefts will pass and ''store'' them on separate sticks-I learned in this Guatemala where they also do supplementary weft patterning. You can keep one set of warps on one stick and keep it stored on top of the warp up above the shed stick. You can store a second set on another stick and have that out of the way until needed under the warp. When you need to use them you slide them down toward you. In Guatemala we used a maximum of two patterning sticks-one under and one over. You can add another two for a different set of warps temporarily but you will have to remove them in order to use the two original sticks-oh my- this a lot of blah blah-I wonder if it is making any sense to you!!!
I expect they are using a circular rather than straight warp and that may explain some of the other sticks. Many women in Guatemala also choose to use the pvc pipe so they can have a nice thick piece without the weight. Notice how they have set up something against which to brace their feet.
I am pretty sure that I will be heading to the US in the next 6 months and would love to go visit these ladies.
Nina,
If I come to the the US, do you think I could visit these ladies? When you ask for volunteers, what kinds of skills and services are you looking for? I would SO love to get involved in this!
Laverne
Laverne...You are most certainly welcome to come visit!
All refugee resettlement agencies are looking for donations of cash and in-kind donations of household goods. Volunteers are used to h elp teach English and classes on US culture, take refugees to medical and social service appointments, to orient them to shopping & buying food, our banking and money systems, assist with job skills development, resumes, take them to job interviews...often we get churches to sponsor refugee families or individuals.That way, many people share in the experience. Volunteers take reufgee kids and families to the zoo, childrens museum etc. It is not all appointments and business.
Refugees are expected (by the US gov't) to become self sufficient within 6 months of arrival. (!!!) I expect you can understand this since you have been in another country for quite a while...there must have been a first year and adjustment period for you, when things were not familiar, you struggled with language (deep understanding if you already spoke Spanish)...just all the things people living there knew how to do, but you didn't.
Refugees are very motivated to successfully resettle in a third country. They know it is a permanent solution to their situation. They are refugees precisely because they crossed an international boundary, and they cannot return to their country of origin for fear of capture and prison, or worse - and the country to which they fled won't allow them to settle there. So, they stay in refugee camps for years. Many of the Burmese we work with have lived as refugees for up to 20 years. If it is not in a camp type situation, then they live in cities where unscrupulous people prey on them, and they often enter a black market of employment. It is not a decent life. Not only is their escape fraught with danger, their lives as refugees - whether in camp or town - is also fraught with danger. They are vulnerable to kidnapping and being sold into slavery...I have heard a lot of chilling stories...
Nina
Some more photos.
Franco,
It is a rice bag. They are ubiquitous in the Burmese community. And, these bags are strong. Good way to reuse a plastic bag.
Yes, they use more than one cross. I will post more photos.
Nina
hi Nina, I have been happily Googling away - it gets harder by the day to avoid all the commercial adverts and get to the serious stuff, but I did finally find the treasure among the junk!
This is slightly OT, but you are the only person I know who can answer this question for me:
can you or one of your friends identify this?
Is this the genuine article? It was found in a dumpster when an Asian restaurant went out of business and the shop was cleared. The background material is velvet, the elephant is covered in sequins, and it certainly looks similar to a lot of the touristy photos online! Its in a frame without glass, but has come a bit loose and I don't want to damage it by a bad repair job. The colour of the trim around the edge has faded a bit, and the little doughnut beads around the very edge appear to be brass.The red velvet is not as bright or quite as light as in the photo. I fell in love with it when I saw it and rescued it.
Heres hoping you can help!
Caroline,
I can't ID this 100%. But just looking at it, it seems something from India. It doesn't look old or antique, but it is pretty and if you like it, then you have found something wonderful. Not everything we can have in our homes needs to be old and valuable. I grew up in a family that did not have a lot of money for material things, so we made a lot of stuff...furniture, paintings, even the ornaments on our Christmas trees!
I recently rescued a plant from a neighbor's garbage, and now it is healthy and happy in my home. One person's trash is another's treasure...
Nina
Hi Nina,
If you need help setting up the blog, please let me know. I'd be happy to lend a hand in any way possible. I really admire the work you are doing and would like to support your efforts.
Claudia, co-founder Weavolution
Thanks, Claudia. I appreciate the offer!
Nina M in Indy
Welcome Nina!
Thanks for posting all the info and photos. I'm off to google Burmese weaving.....
Jan
Nina, you should know that I get a lot of calls and emails regarding backstrap weaving. If you are selling looms, there is a market in resettlement agencies. A lot of us are trying to do the same thing.
I too am working with refugee women, in Phoenix, AZ. Getting backstrap looms made, then finding suitable and affordable threads, has been a struggle. A church member, with wood working skills, made three for us. Still, what thread is best and affordable? I'd like the women to be able to earn a profit from thier weaving.
Many of the agency's new arrivals are from Bhutan. The women are skilled in a variety of fiber arts, which I am not. . . yet. Again, materials here are different. I purchased a book charkha, but they were not happy with it. Do any of you spinners know how to build one of those pvc wheels? Our funding is very limited, so I'm open to creative solutions. What about knitting projects that would sell in hot Phoenix, AZ?
Others weavers include a woman from West Africa, who wants a traditional loom, and an Eritrean woman who made and sold carpets in Kenya. We do have a verticle frame, for the carpet weaving. However, materials and labor are much more expensive here than she is accustomed to.
So, any suggestions are appreciated. I'm new to this site and will continue to check out the different resources. If you know of any weavers, spinners, etc, in my area, please send them my way!
Here is a link to the Women's Empowerment Program blog: www.refugeewep.blogspot.com. If you happen to be cleaning out your supply closet, please take a look at our wish list.
This is wonderful!
Here are some hints for your backstrap looms: I found the CVPC (cream pipe instead of white) stronger than the white PVC used for general plumbing. also check the 'schedule' (40 vs 80) of the pipe, some is stronger than others. (some of the clerks at homedepot know what this is, some don't). The cream pipe comes in 2 sizes... a small 1/2" size and a larger about 3/4" size. Look near the copper pipe lengths. If you get a product called 'carb cleaner' (for cleaning carborators on small engines, a strong acid in a spray can) it will clean the writing off of the PVC pipes, but use it sparingly, and probably with gloves. I normally spray it on a paper towel and then wipe the pipe.
Another option is to find and locate and attend your local Spinning guild meetings, and the localest weaving guild meetings, even if it means a long drive. The resources that a larger group can 'hook you up to' is great! Often people will donate fiber to the guild for a small donation, and very often if an older weaver passes, her relatives contact the local guild first before donating the loom/goods elsewhere.
Sharon
