Hey, wow, it's March already! What are you weaving?

Comments

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 13:51

tien (not verified)

Out here, I'm weaving sea turtles!

sea turtle warp

Since AVL is coming out tomorrow to fix my loom, I decided I should put a warp on it, if only for troubleshooting purposes. So I finished putting on the sea-turtle warp, and wove one set of sea turtles. It looks pretty good, even with flaws in the design from shafts 39 and 40, which are floating. Can't wait to get the loom fixed so I can weave off my sample exchange yardage! The turtles look wonderful.

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 14:00

tommye scanlin

I'm doing ongoing weekly complete images this year, along with day by day bits (squares, rectangles, bands adjacent to the week's image).  I completed February yesterday... will begin March later today.  Image theme for this month?  Soon to be decided!

TommyeScanlin-2015 tapestry diary

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 14:16

Artistry

Beautiful. Beautiful, Tommye ! Tien, your Sea Turtle design is perfect, I love their shells! Good luck with the Big Fix!
Sun, 03/01/2015 - 18:00

laurafry

Still not weaving, but started knitting. Cheers Laura
Sun, 03/01/2015 - 18:00

Erica J

I saw both your pieces in your blog posts earlier today. You are both very inspiring. I also attended the Cambridge Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers Guild meeting. Julie gave a very energetic and inspiring talk titled Meandering Threads. She does not keep a notebook, ratger she walks in nature and takes a lot of photos, which she uses as inspiration. I have always loved the idea of a sketchbook, but it has thus far always fallen by tge wayside. So this idea is intriguing.

Today, I have finalized my ideas for my block twill sample and finalized the warp, aka fixed the few errors. Oliver kindly retied the end stick on the cloth beam for me! It is now perfectly straight. :)

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 20:18

Erica J

While looking for information on bound weave, I came across the PDFs of all the Weavers Journals. I had never read one before. I think I am officially addicted! ;)
Sun, 03/01/2015 - 21:28

Artistry

Erica,
I keep an almost daily sketch book. Sometimes I spend longer with it than others. Sometimes it's just charcoal pencil, other times it's colored pencils ( I know some people who incorporate collage in theirs) usually I draw just ordinary things around the house, car keys, teapot, whatever's around, sometimes I just doodle. Many times these drawings have become the basis for tapestries. It's really fun to do!

Laura,
Fast healing.

sketchbook page from one week

sketchbook drawings for future taps.

Shoe Tapestry

shoe tapestry


Sun, 03/01/2015 - 22:06

theresasc

I am always so impressed with how creative everyone is. 

Today has been a kind of piddling around kind of day - baked earlier, then attacked the stash room.  That was a mess, stuff all over the floor.  I also had received many, many cones and spools are yarn when I bought my latest table loom and all of that was just heaped on my dining room table.  That is now all put away upstairs in the stash room, along with the 3 new-to-me reeds for that table loom.  Felt good to put some order in there.  Wove a few inches on the bath mats and cut weft for another project that is on my 6-shaft loom. 

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 22:41

sandra.eberhar…

Ah, I undestand the feeling of accomplishment after a cleanup.  I had to empty and move two big shelving units to get the AVL inside and set up.  All the stuff (about 200 pounds of 10/2 and 5/2 cotton) is in boxes and on the floor in the main part of the barn loft.  It's been too cold to work there,  Tuesday, it's supposed to be 40'!!!!!  That'll be warm enough to start picking it up and putting it away.  It'll be nice to not see it lying around.

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 23:10

endorph

for starting this thread - I wa not able to log into the site until a few minutes ago so missed starting the March check-in. BTW I am in love with the sea turtles.

THeresa I agree with you there are so many talented people here on on Weavo and not just talented but generous in sharing their knowledge and experience with us!

Laura hope you get back to weaving soon. Glad you are at least able to knit.

Here in Central Texas iit is wet and cold but at least the threat of ice seems to have passed.

Weave on all!

 

Tina

Mon, 03/02/2015 - 16:31

theresasc

and the lovely sound of warp seperators falling off the back of the loomSmile  That is one sound that I like to hear coming from my loom - just have 1/2 of the last bath mat to go and they will be off the Cranbrook.

Mon, 03/02/2015 - 18:39

sally orgren

Beaming 11.5 yards of warp, and shoveling way too much snow. Almost done (with the beaming). More snow on the way tomorrow eve, so wish I could say the same about shoveling!

I hope to begin threading tonight or tomorrow eve.

Attached, my "advanced 101" warping method. I like to warp from multiple packages if I can (i.e. wind more than one thread at once), and I do not like to tie off when there is a frequent color or fiber change. Looking to eliminate things that slow me down, I came up with a way to "anchor" the inactive threads off to the side of the warp board with clamps until I am ready to activate them again. The photo only shows the three different warps, but I was actually using two differerent tubes for each color, so 5 or 6 packages total to wind from (until I ran out of yarn on the second tubes.)

Normally, I would leave empty pegs at the top and bottom to anchor the inactive yarns, but in this case, I was nearly at capacity for my warp board, so there wasn't a convenient place to leave an empty peg that wouldn't impede the warp path.I just added the clamps off to the side, attached to other parts of the floor loom. (I clamp my warp board to the side of my castle when warping, so I can sit in a chair at a comfortable height, and don't have to lift my arm above my shoulder to reach the top row.)

The other difficulty with this warp is that the repeats were in odd numbers. So even tho' I was pulling from two packages of a single color, if the repeat was 3 or 9, (not an even number), I had to leave one thread at the bottom of the warp board, and continue back up to the top with the other, to finish out the sequence. Not cutting and tying off with every change not only saves time, but also materials.

I told my guildmate my warping process can look a bit like an octopus at times.

Mon, 03/02/2015 - 21:09

ReedGuy

I have my next warp all sleighed, but not tied on yet. I was looking things over closly, but found 4 errors, which were easy to catch with there being two different warps.

Tien, the sea turtles look great. I'm sure the loom will be back in shape soon.

Cathie, like your drawings and tapestry rendering.

Laura, you'll soon be back to form and healed up.

Have a good evening. :)

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 01:37

LindaHahn

I would love to see a tutorial on this method. It looks very interesting, challenging and useful.

 

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 03:09

Dawn McCarthy

I broke down my studio 8 months ago as we were trying to sell our home - it is still on market.  I had a couple of inspiring comments on my blog and spent Sunday re-building my studio and have three projects planned - it feels good to have my home base back!

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 03:16

theresasc

better than what I did.  Years ago, I wove some color and weave on Rosepath threading, and was changing colors very frequently and with odd numbers too.  I put pieces of velcro on my warping board, top and bottom, to hold the idle ends.  It sort of worked but could not keep as nice of tension as what you have with the clamps.  Thanks for the great idea!

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 03:57

tien (not verified)

Bob, the owner of AVL Looms, came over today and fixed my loom. He fixed it in less than an hour, but then spent another three hours inspecting the loom, adjusting the alignment of the dobby box, setting up the auto-advance, and answering my (many) questions about this and that aspect of the loom.

HURRAY!!

Here's what I wove tonight. 900+ flawless picks of awesome. :-) :-) :-)

flawless sea turtle weaving!

(I'm very pleased with the ripples running through the background. That is the result of using six shafts for the ties - the tie pattern is network drafted on a 3-end initial. The result is a very organic, curvy ripple, which I like a lot. It's subtle and appears/disappears depending on how you look at it.

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 04:44

laurafry

Glad the loom is fixed. What a relief. Cheers Laura
Tue, 03/03/2015 - 05:21

Queezle

Tien, I can see the ripples - it looks to me as if the water were shimmering.  Very very nice effect.  And am happy for you that the loom is as good as (better than?) new.

Super busy at work, missed a couple of my 10 minutes sessions, alas.  And travel over most of the next two weeks (Florida and Washington DC).  I will bring dishtowels to hem, and make an actual list of things I want to weave.  You all inspire me so much, thanks.

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 09:37

Artistry

Tien, Love,love, the sea turtles. Lovely background, it's perfect! So glad Bob fixed the loom and gave it a good once over! Sally, Yes, your way is my way too, but I never thought to clamp the warping board to the loom ! What a great idea! I love all your clippies and stuff ! Don't you LOVE hardware stores? Thanks ReedGuy!
Tue, 03/03/2015 - 09:55

ReedGuy

Hooray for the sea turtles. Your design is coming out nice. Glad your loom is performing good again. 900 picks is a lot in an evening. :)

Dawn, I'm sure your back in your happy place now that your weaving. Your house will sell soon I'm sure.

Sally, we do get inventive at times. ;) Thanks for sharing your process to get'r done. :)

Have a good day all.

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 12:54

endorph

sea turtles are looking great. The ripple effect is awesome. So gald you got the bugs worked out of the loom!

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 19:21

Erica J

I also love the ripples on the background. The turtles still look great! Everyone is super active already.

It's been another week where I'm mostly weaving the web right now. We had a super exciting design meeting with our developer last night. I, unfortunately, can't show you anything right now, but I think you're going to love the new look and feel! We're still at least a month away from needing testers, but that gives everyone plenty of time to let me know you're willing to help test out the new site! :)

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 20:44

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

Well just for information and education, what was the reason those shafts were not lifting???
Tue, 03/03/2015 - 21:03

tien (not verified)

Well...not sure how helpful it will be, but here's the scoop:

 

Shafts 39 and 40 were staying up for one extra pick sporadically. It turned out to be a timing problem: the e-Lift was stopping one notch short of fully opening the shed, so the sensors didn't trigger until the next pick started. So the solenoids didn't fire/release until the knife was already moving down to lift the shafts for the new pick. Shafts 39 and 40 are very close to the top of the knife, so there wasn't enough time for the solenoids to release and the cable to spring back into position. So they would be caught by the knife and would raise on the next pick. 

Bob fixed this by opening up the dobby/e-Lift box and shifting the e-Lift lever arm by one teeny-tiny notch on the gear wheel. And suddenly, it all was working again!


I'm thinking I may try writing up a small dissertation on how to troubleshoot AVL compudobby looms...I've learned a lot in the past six years and it might be of use for other weavers. Perhaps at some point...

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 22:26

Artistry

Go for it Tien! The troubleshooting chart I have ,admittedly very old, is so short! I would love a thorough presentation as I know you would give. Perhaps after you finish your book, it would be a tremendous contribution to many of us! Cathie I know your book will be a great contribution too! Yikes! No pressure,really :)
Wed, 03/04/2015 - 17:18

loomyladi (not verified)

I LUV turtles.  They are a good luck omen for my mother and the family has spent years adding to her turtle collection.

I had hope to get back in the studio today as it was supposed to warm up.  The good news is the snow has all melted away from the rain and the bad news is creeks are rising and flooding has commenced.  Many local schools have sent kids home early while they can still get buses around.  A brief stop at the studio assured me that at least one more day at home was in order, it was a balmy 40 in the studio and with the moisture in the air it would take HOURS to heat up to a tolerable level.  I know spring is coming.

Today I will finish off a tartan scarf, beam another overshot potholder warp, and wind cones for chenille scarf.  Thinking of doing a basic basket weave for a quick & easy project.

I picked up a new retail outlet yesterday (YEAH!) and they have specifically asked for Fiesta inspired kitchen towels.  WV is home of Homer Laughlin and we love our Fiesta ware.  Any thoughts or ideas?

 

Wed, 03/04/2015 - 17:25

loomyladi (not verified)

I'm always amazed at what you all create with tapestry.  I admire your patience.  I have never been inspired to try my hand, but perhaps someday I will take a class just to say I have. 

What is the largest tapestry loom you have worked on?  My ongoing archiving of a personal collection has me wondering what to do with a 5'x6' tapestry.  It's mostly handdyed wool.  Themassive tapestry loom was built into the center of a bedroom.  Some of you know Bruce from Purrington, he tells of coming home from college and finding that while he still had a bed to sleep in the rest of the room had become a tapestry studio. Shelving was built behind the loom and while no weaving has been done for MANY years it is still sitting there like a beacon.

Wed, 03/04/2015 - 20:15

Artistry

Loomyladi, Several years ago I was invited over to a rather prolific tapestry weavers house. She had several very large tapestries 6 ' long for sure maybe 4 ' wide that she had done. She had a pair hanging back to back suspended from the ceiling and used them as a room divider. I would hang just one so you can look at the back, which is very interesting to see. Of my big looms , I have two tapestry looms that have a weaving width of 6 ft. I'm trying to sell one. The widest I've woven is about 48" , which was really fun until my warp started buckling and a few other problems , I cut it off. The last 6 ft. Loom I bought, was not because of it's size but because of it's make, Shannock, I don't think made anymore. I doubt I'll weave a 6' tapestry but then you never know:) Tapestry is slow, and there are many techniques to learn plus one must concentrate all the time, I think it's a lot of fun :)
Thu, 03/05/2015 - 04:20

pammersw

Erica, I love the thumbs up/like button you introduced about a month ago, and the new bookmark and report spam buttons on messages, too. I see we can also quickly report a spam post (initial post). Thank you!

Thu, 03/05/2015 - 04:27

pammersw

I love fiesta ware!

I think for fiesta themed towels, I would put on a long white or off-white warp, and make each towel a different single color of weft. You could do several of each colorway,  of course! Placemats would also work. Yellow,  blue, gold, green, seafoam, red, brown, sapphire,  all the colors Fiesta ware comes in! That's what I'd do,  anyhow.  :)

Thu, 03/05/2015 - 10:35

ReedGuy

Someone on Facebook was actually weaving Fiesta themed napkins  recently. :) Not sure if the link will come up unless your joined in the group. There was a gamp kit from Lunatic Fringe.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203316699544861&set=pcb.757875767635923&type=1&relevant_count=2

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 19:13

Erica J

Fiesta towels/warp/colours definintely go along with the beautiful day we've had today. The best part of my day, other than my amazing family, has been finishing hand stitching the hem on the sample which I started last weekend and starting a folder of photos for inspiration. A good friend and collegue has been doing Venice Carnival for years. I find her costumes an amazing inpsiration for weaving. If you're ever in need of color inspiration her board is a great place to start!

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 20:08

ReedGuy

Here's my nearly free solution for cloth protector on the breast beam. A warp stick secured by cords at the ends. ;)

Weaving my pique pillow cases. :)

Sun, 03/08/2015 - 16:50

Erica J

If the entire sample looked this this I'd be really pleased. However the selvedges are a binky wonky in part of what you don't see. Not to worry, I have a much better understanding of using blocks now, so all is well.  :)

Sun, 03/08/2015 - 16:59

tien (not verified)

I finished weaving sea turtle samples and have started on a scarf:

beginning of handwoven sea turtle scarf

(In case you are wondering about the paper and blue tape, it's because I have Fireside rotary temples on my loom. There are some screw gizmos on the back side of the temple that were constantly catching the yarn, so I put paper baffles over them. Ugly, but it works!)

I needed to do some fiddling with the design - the turtles were too squat, so I lengthened them by about 20%, and I made the turtles reverse at the center of the scarf so they would appear to be swimming the same direction when the scarf is worn.

I designed the scarf to be 72", 5040 picks - I think it will wind up being about 75" plus beaded fringe, which is perhaps a trifle long, but we'll see. I am now 1800 picks in, and hope to finish it before surgery. But I am not going to push myself on that; I'm doing my best to take it easy the next few days, so I'll be well-rested, well-prepared, and relaxed for surgery on Thursday.

I also finished hemming my placemats and table runner for the Handwoven for the Home contest that Handwoven magazine is running. I had abundant feline help, of course:

a helpful cat!

another helpful cat!

Admittedly, said "help" consisted mostly of batting at the thread while I was trying to sew, or sitting on the placemat I was trying to hem, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Sun, 03/08/2015 - 20:20

Erica J

After TAJ went to be, we put on Hercules and I finished sample #2 for this weekend! I am very proud of this, I gotin m7ch more than 10 mins. the past 2 days, which probably made up for the several days where I achieved 0 mins. of weaving.

Mon, 03/09/2015 - 01:53

Queezle

Good job, Erica; the block twill, esp the first photo, looks amazing.  I'm falling down on my 10 minutes a day as I am in Florida (for work), returning Wednesday, and then off to DC for the better part of a week on Sunday.  Tien, those slimmer turtles look great! Trying to plan my sateen samples when I have time.

And finally - I love the thumbs up buttons, too!

Mon, 03/09/2015 - 11:46

Artistry

I feel so inspired by all these looms and busy weavers and inquisitive cats! The turtles are just fab and I'm loving what is coming up in the Mastering Weave Structures Class ! ReedGuy every time I see your loom I'm in awe that you built it! It's a beautiful piece of equipment! I'm feeling pretty perky this morning so got 2 hours done on Beauty
Tue, 03/10/2015 - 13:31

sally orgren

I did something crazy again last week. With daunting deadlines for work and weaving looming, plus extensive shoveling from at least two snow storms, I decided impromptu to join a 2 day workshop about 7 p.m. Thursday eve. I started warping @ 9 p.m., (160 warp ends of 10/2, at 8" wide). I employed all my speedy warping techniques, including winding from 3 cones of similar value colors, and I finished in 3 hours, by midnight. Since I keep all my weaving tools in a tool tote, it was easy to throw everything in the car and GO early the next morning.

The workshop was WONDERFUL. I had no idea how great it would be and I am so glad I decided to do it. The presenter was Susan Wilson on crackle. I thought I knew crackle, but this workshop was like signing up for Spanish, and learning German, French, Latin, and a smattering of exotic languages, too! There was a lot of time spent "old school" drafting (not on the computer, but in ways that you could carry in your head and translate to weaving on the loom). With this structure and the way she presented it, it is actually faster and made more sense to skip the computer drawdowns, because they can't exactly show you want is happening on the loom with the threads – somewhat like doubleweave.

This was another one of those workshops that will alter the course of my weaving life-not necessarily because I want to weave a bunch of crackle, but rather my understanding of this structure and how it relates to other structures, variations in treadling, and how to really read some of the old drafts (it was like being provided with the secret code to decipher what the draft is really showing you, regardless of how it might be labeled.) It was a WOW! If this workshop opportunity comes up near you, take it!

P.S. Reed Guy, I love that idea for a cloth protector!

Tue, 03/10/2015 - 16:45

pammersw

Going to start planning my placemats soon! In addition to the ones for my boyfriend's parents, I will make several sets in seasonal colors for our use. Planning on Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn because it's easy to get, inexpensive,  and washes well.

Tue, 03/10/2015 - 19:02

laurafry

So jealous, I still can't get to the looms. However I did work a little bit on the bobbin lace trim yesterday. If I can get enough done to pull pins out, I will post a photo one of these days. Right now it still looks like a hedgehog. ;) Cheers Laura
Wed, 03/11/2015 - 00:29

Artistry

Here's sending you healing thoughts Laura! Good luck to you Tien, I hope everything goes smoothly for you with your surgery. Will be thinking of you:)
Wed, 03/11/2015 - 20:29

theresasc

and posted a project for today's weaverliness.  Finally finished the color and weave towels - yippy!

On to really good news - looking around outside, since it is finally sunny and sort of warm, I have daffodils peaking their little legs up out of the ground here in SE Wisconsin.  Of course all the other ones are still under a foot of snow, but where there is bare ground, there are daffodils.

Thu, 03/12/2015 - 11:14

tien (not verified)

Sally, your workshop sounds wonderful!! I will have to take the class if it's ever offered near me.

I finished weaving and overdyeing the sea turtle scarf. The selvages are a bit wonky and the pick density varies rather visibly, so it's not a show piece - but that's fine, because I love it! Here are photos of the front and back of the cloth:

sea turtle scarf

I'm going to do a netted beaded fringe, just as I did for Phoenix Rising. Here are the beads I'm considering (will probably use multiple colors):

beads for sea turtle scarf

Which ones to use will have to be figured out after surgery, which starts at 7:30 am today (in about three hours!). I have a really skilled (renowned) surgeon, but I'm still a bit nervous!

Thu, 03/12/2015 - 11:50

endorph

with the surgery Tien - we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers

Thu, 03/12/2015 - 13:48

Artistry

Tien, I love, love, your sea turtles! You are the Queen :) Sally, Yes, your workshop DOES sound mind expanding, it's one of those eye opening wonderful moments! I have had a few teachers who have done that for me , and I have been eternally grateful. The right time, the right teacher, magic! Susan Wilson was here and everyone said she was fantastic, I was out of town, darn! Sally, because of how you think of all these ways of fixing your projects and making them work out, dummy warps, extended warps while warping, two looms back to back transferring warps, I have to call you the Wizard:) Cathie
Thu, 03/12/2015 - 14:01

ReedGuy

Excellent Tien, good luck with the surgery and heal up quick. :)

I finished weaving the pillow cases, I hand washed, but put it in the washer for a rinse......then out it comes to dry.

Thu, 03/12/2015 - 17:40

sally orgren

I am in AZ now, and last night I visited the Telarana Weavers Guild. A huge guild and they had a great mini-workshop program. (Also, great baked goods for snacks!) I guess I am going for a record of 4 guild meetings and one workshop in two states over a two week span!

I had to download images this morning, my camera is getting full, and I pulled one up from the workshop. Believe it or not, that is the same purple warp across each row. It is the background tabby that shifts the color when weaving traditional crackle (which we learned about from Susan.) If you are a color-junkie, this might be the structure for you! (Note the weft colors off to the side).

...posted from your weaving wizard...

Thu, 03/12/2015 - 22:01

Artistry

lol, love it Sally ! I am a color junkie and your weaving illustrating color being relative is great !
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