Halloweave Groups are Forming!
HalloWeave is a new self-directed fun learning experience here on Weavolution. We all know what the next step in our growth should be but we let our busy lives or the cost of the materials or the fear of the unknown deter us from doing it. HalloWeave is a chance to get advice and encouragement to go ahead and take that next step. We can improve one shaky step at a time. You can chose a goal, or DARE, that is compatible with your life.
But it easier with some friends who are undertaking a similar journey. You can now look for fellow travelers in the HalloWeave Teams. There are currently six teams formed. Anyone is welcome to form a new team for simple or sophisticated goals. Here is the page to start a new Stripemanics of Transylvania, Revenge of the Shrunken Heads, the Double Dares, Las Catrinas, Spook of the Loom or the Spreading the Word on your blog, or showing your support through our special line of Halloweave Merchandise. You may also have noticed the new Support Halloweave Donations button in the sidebar. Although Weavolution is a free there are still many expenses that go along with providing the site. We always welcome donations of any amount. If everyone donates just $5 we can not only keep Halloweave running, but also fund many of the improvements that have been requested by you our users.
Keep Weaving,
Claudia & Erica
Welcome to HalloWeave!
Halloweave is a fun four week event where each of us gets a wee bit better at fibery things.
This event coincides with National Spinning and Weaving Week.
Set a personal goal or challenge. Confront what haunts you. Join like
minded fiber freaks for festivities and fortification. Take a risk, be
fearless. The difficulty and intensity of the goal is individual -- so
long as it's something above and beyond your usual. Is there something
fibery that you have been avoiding - a fiber, technique, structure or a
color?
Set your goal higher than your normal, triy something you might
otherwise postpone or avoid. Try flying that broomstick; you may fall
many times, but flying is great - even with bruises. This is about
becoming a slightly better weaver, not about making a masterpiece.
- Work on your project every day of the HalloWeave. Five minutes counts.
- Join a team that reinforces your goals. State your goal.
- Share your progress. Post your trials and tribulations; get support.
- Celebrate your achievements. Motivate others.
- Prizes will be awarded:
- At random to team members.
- By votes on pictures posted on Weavolution.
New loom in the family
We've just added a new member to our loom family. A 56" Add-a-harness
B4E sn 2733. It has 16 shafts, dual warp beams and flying shuttle. It
needs some cleanup but is in great shape.Any information about this loom
would be appreciated.
Win a Eucalan Gift Pack!
We’re giving you a chance to try all four scents of Eucalan Delicate Wash with our latest giveaway on The Woolery’s Facebook fan page. Click here for more details and your chance to win - we’ll pick one lucky winner on Tuesday, May 29th. Good luck!
Cotton Preparations Demystified
Cotton is prepared in many different forms before it is spun into yarn. Whether you are a hand spinner or just curious about the ways in which fiber is prepared before being turned into yarn, this short video is a fun way to get to know cotton better!
jacket facing
light blue silk/cotton sett at 12epi for warp grey-green spun silk noil at 12ppi for weft threading: 1234 2341 3412 4123 treadling: 1/3, 2/4 floating selvedge
This was a trial warp for my Dorothy after she had her new Texsolv heddles installed and after I had added a permanent raddle to her castle. I have a similar warp on my Mira that is giving me problems so I endeavoured to try a variety of wefts. I used:
- 2/16 white unmercerized cotton at 24ppi
- sock weight Arequipa wool at 20 and 12 ppi
- teal rayon chenille at 24 and 12 ppi
- grey-green fingering-weight noil silk at 15ppi
I liked the Arequipa at 20ppi best. It gave a weft-faced fabric that had a subtle rib from the threading. But I decided that using a silk warp for a weft-faced fabric was a waste. And the balanced weave with this yarn didn’t use either warp or weft to best effect.
The 2/16 cotton gave a rough feeling hand and an uninteresting look
The chenille was okay as a weft-faced fabric, but again that’s a waste of silk warp. And as a balanced weave I was concerned it would worm.
The silk noil gave a pleasantly nubbly feeling web with a nice subtle warp-wise rib. Though the colours aren’t exciting together to me, I thought I might dye the results since silk is supposed to take dye so well.
Dyeing
I zig-zagged some swatches to test out various dye combinations. My goal was to get a colour that would compliment the purple silk noil fabric in my stash.
I’m using acid dyes. I discovered that:
- neither yarn took the dye very well.
- red was taken up preferentially
- black (purple based) + a small amount of blue and a tiny amount of red got me a reasonable finished fabric
Finishing
I hard pressed the damp cloth until dry. The resulting fabric has a much smoother and more lustrous finish than the pre-dyeing
Plain and Bronson Pattern Scarf
Still getting used to weaving! Playing close attention to keeping the selvedges nice. I think there are 3 "shafts" to this pattern, but I am using two stick shuttles to pick up sections of the warp behind the reed when doing the bronson pattern. I am still learning the terminology of weaving so I might be wrong on the numbr of shafts I listed. My heddle is 7.5 dpi, threaded slot 1, hole 1, etc. for the plain weave between the bronson pattern blocks. :)
Powhatan's Festival of Fiber
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Mark your calendars now for Powhatan’s Festival of Fiber to be held on
Saturday, April 27, 2013 in the historic Courthouse Village of Powhatan
County.
A dedicated group of volunteers are working hard to ensure this will be a
FIBERTASTIC day!
Check out Powhatan’s
Festival of Fiber for details as they become available.
