So, I am a day early but wated to get this thread started while I was still thinking about it. Looks like March is going to come in pretty lamb like around here. But that is the way our whole winter has been. A few cold days but mostly unseasonably warm. I am not ready for hot yet!

So what is on everyone's weaving plates for the upcoming month. I need to get started on some research and samples for a study group I will be starting in the next couple of months. Keep your eyes open for that one. I also need to get the dish towel warp off the loom. It's been on there way too long and I need to start something fresh and more inviting to get my weaving mojo reactiviated. I am looking forward to see what Sally comes up with for her new snow warp and Tien, your triple weave project sounds intriguing. Everyone in here keeps me inspired. Weave on!

Comments

Erica J

Yep that is my plan for March. I need to weave off my taquete warp in various monochromati designs, which will become pouches, this is to make room for my warp repp warp. Finally I need to weave off my tied weaves samples for the Complex Weavers Tied Weaves Study Group. 

This is my first year taking part in the study group and I think I've only just finally cracked that nut today! Whew!

Missus T.

I've been reading along here for a few weeks, shaking off what I hope is the last cold!  I am within two inches of finishing my Navajo rug warp, but of course, those last two inches will be time consuming -- soon I'll lose my shed stick and it will be over/under/over/under.....

I'm taking a break from knitting for the next month or so and hope to finish the rug as well as the wide cotton curtain warp which was beamed awhile ago.

 

 

sally orgren

I took a Navajo weaving workshop with Pearl Sunrise in Denver, 2004. I finished the piece at home, a month later. Used umbrella spines to weave in the last few picks. Her advice was to weave until you don't think you can add any more picks. And then add 3 more. The last half inch took me F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

ReedGuy, my copy arrived two weeks ago. A delayed (and unexpected) Christmas gift. Imagine my surprise when it just showed up, unannounced! Probably came so quick due to my proximity to Schiffer. I really appreciate their focus on producing weaving books for us and have heard good things from previous authors about working with them.

Queezle

February was a train wreck for me - and I optimistically have high hopes for March.  So much so that I started measuring out a warp on Sunday.  I am ready for nice weather and a let-up on the relentless nature of my recent job-related activities. 

tien (not verified)

Sally, my experience with Schiffer so far is that they are great to work with! While they don't pay much, they have a commitment to keeping books in print - as long as they have printed copies they will keep the book in print and available. This is huge - most publishers remainder books after a year or so, or as soon as sales start to slow.

Schiffer also has been very reasonable about edits - as they said, "We want your book to sound like you". So I am very happy to be working with them, at least so far!

I'm currently sulking. I ordered more yarn so I could re-wind my warp, but UPS says there's been a shipping delay, so instead of arriving today, it won't be here until Thursday. I may take the opportunity to tie-dye myself a new wardrobe!

endorph

time on the site this morning identifying spam and letting Erica and Oliver know about it. It has been a busy week so far for spammers in here! I am getting out some weaving sticks tonight to play around wiht some hand spun I have. Not enough to knit with but I think I get a skinny scarf out of it on the weaving sticks.

sally orgren

I am warped and weaving idea #2, which doesn't look like much on the loom because it is one of those collapsing, differential-shinkage textiles. Can't wait to see what happens!

If anyone is attending Complex Weavers Seminars in June, you might get to see these textiles in person. I have been collaborating with a weaver in Minnesota on this idea, and we submitted to present a poster session on our work at the conference. Of course, there is still a lot of time between now and June, so at the moment, I am just plugging away. When I catch a break, I'll post project images.

Oh, and tonight is guild night. Dena Gartenstein Moses (Vermont Weaving School) is doing a lecture and lace-weave round robin, so if I see anything interesting, I'll post when I get a chance.

Endorph, thank you for cleaning house!

Tien, I am not sure if everyone knows that Nancy Schiffer is pursuing weaving. (She was in my MAFA class last summer.)

tien (not verified)

Yes - she mentioned that when I spoke to her at the Schiffer Author Picnic. They are actively looking for weaving books, so if you have an idea, send in a proposal!

Artistry

Sally and Tien, after you both mentioned Schiffer , I decided to go right to the source and see what they had. To my delight they had a new Carol Russell International Tapestry Book ! So I ordered it. Nice to do business direct !

no weaving yesterday or today, bummer. I have a sore left hand , right below my thumb. I know it's from the hours spent at the loom. Even though it's only 3 hrs. A day I guess my hands aren't used to it yet. What do you all do for sore hands? I certainly don't want to wait weeks for this to go away!

Yes and Tina , thank you for helping keeping us spam free!

Cathie

sally orgren

Aspirin & cold packs (to reduce swelling), while watching a weaving video?

Ironically, I always think that compared to my illustration days, weaving uses gross motor skills when throwing the shuttle. (I was not considering tapestry!)

Queezle

Aching hands are the worst!  I did in my hands in the fall with garden clean up, but thankfully it only took a couple days to be able to use them again. 

I vowed 1 new warp a month, and I am already behind.  But I do have yarn measured out for a new project (scarf).  I am looking forward to longer days coming soon - my room does not have a light in it, and our winter days are mighty short.  I tried to make a pretty long warp so I can try out my new trapeeze!

endorph

so far for the day has consisted of reporting more spam to Erica and Oliver - brother. . . . Oh well. . . .

Artistry

Keep at it Queezle , you'll get there! The stars will align for good working time ! When does spring usually hit Utah?

my hand is feeling a lot better, I 'm giving it today to make sure, then tomorrow,back in the saddle :) I have the guildmate coming tomorrow, to work on her project on the AVL , so extra fun. She'll be putting on her first warp pretty soon. Right now , we're doing some design work. She has lots of ideas, exciting to watch!

tonight is our guild meeting, Judy Dominic is talking to us about the Creative Process ( thought of you Tien and Sally !) I always love to hear people's different approaches .

Cathie

sally orgren

Say Hi! I have talked to her on the phone, but I have not met her in person yet. Hopefully at Convergence. She sounds very fun – I'll bet you'll have a great time!

Here's a quick snap from the meeting last night. We had about 30 attendees and everyone could find self-reflection and humor in the things Dena was saying about our weaving processes. At the end of the presentation, she demonstrated some of her key points at the loom while everyone gathered around.

Erica J

Wow! It looks like everyone is having great fun at their landbased Guilds. I love the Cambridge Guild, but also love comign here to catch up with my online guild mates!

I hope to have a Weavolution "guild meeting" at Convergence. Unfortunatley with visitng family and Convergence, I won't be making Complex Weavers Seminars too.

I wove 6 samples for the Complex Weavers Tied Weave Study Group. I feel like my samples for that are mostly full of what not to do, but hey ho that is good information too right?! This is my first year in that study group, so I'm not sure if there is generally more discussion after we all get our samples, but I have learned a lot from that group. It has given me a lot of ideas for our Weavolution Study Groups too! I'd love ot hear thoughts from those people who participated in the February Study Groups. 

I think these have been a great additioin to Weavolution, unlike all that spam Endorph has been catching! We really appreciate all that our members do for the community, whether it be leading groups, or catching spam, and in Endorph's case both! :)

Happy Weaving everyone!

endorph

weaverliness for me last night. I was too tired to concentrate on much of anything. However, earlier in the day I did work a few moments on mounting a of couple of small weft faced "rugs" on some balck felted wool for a small wall hanging. I am still trying to get that attached to the stretcher boards! Photos later.

this morning i sent off an email to erica and oliver with links to about 7 or 8 new spam posts. The spammers are certainly active this spring!

Artistry

Fantastic presentation on The Creative Process by Judy Dominic at our Guild last night. she's going to be a keynote speaker At Missouri Fiber Arts, after she gives her talk I'll tell you her major points.

tapestry today, hand feels great !

read The Tapestry and The Unicorn, great book, loved all the tapestry work!

ReedGuy

Another "whack" or "Whad" of yarn ordered this morning. I found myself short on black for a S&W blanket, so to make it count I ordered additional yarn I did not get the last time, plus 4 different styles of weaving shuttles. A stick shuttle, ski shuttle, rag shuttle, and end feed. I figured the stick shuttle is handy when splicing heavier wefts in rugs to bring the ends to the surface as different points. I saw it done, and it looked like a nifty inexpensive tool, so why not? :D

Artistry

ReedGuy, you ordered yarn you didn't get?

i like my stick shuttles, I don't use them often but a nice tool for a heavier yarn , as you remarked :) 

how is it up north? Met some people from Montreal, and they said it was particularly bitter this year.

 

ReedGuy

Been real mild here until the last two days, and no lasting snow at all since 5 weeks ago. Been getting rain. But so far this March is colder than the first 3 months, down around 0F. Sunny today and yesterday though.

The yarns were not ordered earlier, waited until this time. The people out of Orangeville, ON I order from always get my order right. :)

 

Around Ottawa and Gatineau they have a lot more snow then here. El Nino!

Queezle

Oh Cathie - I agree - I loved the The Tapestry and The Unicorn - a good read.  I got caught up in the ridiculousness of the republican debate last night, and squandered my 30 minutes of twilight so did not get my warp moved to the loom.  Days are getting much longer, it seems to stay light till 6:30 or so.  I hope to get the warp onto the loom this weekend. 

theresasc

for a little this morning.  I have been dealing with a late winter cold, cannot imagine how that happened what with one day being 60 degrees and the next 5" of snow.  We are just on a roller-coaster of a weather pattern - enough, I want spring!

Reedguy - how fun for you!  I love getting yarn and weaving toys in the mail:-) 

What is with the spammers the last few days?  Weavo has been getting slammed.

Erica J

I finished my Tied Weaves Study Group Samples! Hurray!!! Boy did I learn what not to do weaving those! After that I should be pretty good at weaving tied weaves the next time I decide to use one!

This weekend I'll focus on weaving off the taquete and creating a cartoon for the Tapestry Study Group, weaving I can share!!!

It was what I call "faux nice" weather here today. Looking from the inside out it looked nice and sunny, but was still bone chilling cold when you actually went out. 

I think we have hit a phase on the site where actual activity has had a good uptick and thus attracted the spammers. It is annoying, but is effectively a compliment from them to us! :)

Artistry

I spent all day working on beauty ! Having trouble with the center spacing due to overlapping shafts, which the instructions told me to do for a tapestry of this size :( I have tried double twining, and half hitching with doubled seine twine to no avail. The only thing that seems to help is to frequently pull the shafts apart. So that is what I'll be doing. I 'll know soon enough if that is going to work, if not I'll just cut it off, rethread the heddles and so on.

today I worked on the problem and put the header in. I'm so excited to be working, problems are just part of the process :)

tien (not verified)

I've wound three more warps to replace my botched first attempt - two yesterday and one today. I was going to wind all three yesterday but found myself feeling a bit of dizziness/vertigo from watching the warping mill go 'round and round for several hours!

Anyway, the new warps are in the dyebath now - hopefully they won't tangle as badly as the old warps. Fingers crossed, anyway!

I also just sent off a request to do a poster session at Seminars. About the book, naturally. I should also really start writing the materials for my seminar! It is a complicated topic so it would really behoove me to work on it before the last minute. But other stuff is always calling...

Erica J

Here are the 13 samples for the Complex Weavers Tied Weaves Study Group. I checked with the group leader to see if I can share the photos of my samples outside the group and she said that is fine! Yeah weaving I can actually share! As you can see I learned a lot about what does not work in terms of color selection and weaving!!! :) Don't ask why I tried using 2 alternating colours in a tied weave.

13 small tied weave samples in dark blue hot pink and grey

ReedGuy

You can as long as the weft is one color or the warp is one color such as my polka dot project or alternate ties and pattern with the same 2 colors as in my 2-tied twill project. ;)

Erica J

So my warp was tie down warp one color pattern warp the other color, maybe it was the 2 colors I chose, but it did not seem to work out very well in my opinion. Or if I understand you properly Reed Guy if I had alternated in both the tie down and pattern warps that would have worked better. Is that right?

As you can see in the photos, I tested out 3 different pattern weft colors. I tried those with 3 different ground weft colors. The last combination worked out fairly well. I did achieve some designs I was happy with in the end. It was well worth the effort and exploration!

ReedGuy

Yes and use all one color for the tie and pattern wefts.

So if the warp tie is green, warp pattern white, use both weft tie and pattern green.

Or if warp tie is green, pattern is white, use weft tie white, pattern weft green.

First off the colors have to work well together before the ties come into it. If the colors don't compliment each other it's not going to show pattern well from the get go.

ShawnC

The drawloom (most of it) has been home for 1 week now. I'm winding the 20/2 cotton warp, transferring the draw pattern to graph paper and organizing pattern units with lingos (6 thread units per lingo). I was missing a few parts for the pattern shaft holders in the back and the entire draw console. Luckily, after much searching, the seller located them. Unfortunately, when she set them down on the stove to run upstairs and grab my address before heading to UPS, the stove was turned on- some of the pieces were burned! Luckily, her house did NOT burn down. She's shipping me the pieces as she thinks they are useable, and will order new ones. Poor thing!

Artistry

ShawnC , designing for the drawloom sounds exciting, but my goodness, that loom has excitement of it's own now! 

i have solved my problem! Head slap, but at least it came to me:) I will remove two threads every so often in the crowded epi ( 12 epi) section to make it 10 epi, retwine,  that should shift the threads over to fill in the gap! it will only make the piece about 1/4-1/3 in. Narrower, no big deal :)

so happy! A little to take out, but that's a daily activity with tapestry, lol!

tien (not verified)

I just finished dyeing my replacement blue and red warps. I'm hoping I didn't botch this set as well - I was working in a hurry trying to finish before the rain hit, so the warp may have gotten a bit more manhandling than is really good.

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself for having figured out a thorny problem. I wanted to overdye the silk/cotton warp using acid dyes, but I didn't have a pot big enough to hold the warp (it's 20 yards long and weighs over 3 lbs even when dry). So I painted the warp by squirting on acid dye mixed with vinegar, let it sit for a few minutes to allow the dye to bond to the fiber, then put it in a big plastic container and poured simmering water over it. Then I insulated the whole thing with towels and am letting it cool in the dyebath. I think that should produce what I'm after - a variegated effect unified by a single-color overdye. And the water's hot enough to bond the dye - I checked it with a thermometer.

Erica J

Whew! I wove one and a quarter taquete bag today. I figure I have at least 3 more to go, one each for Oli J and TJ, that will leave me a total of 4 for gifts. I would like to get a few more out of the warp, but we'll see. I haven't really kept track of how much warp I've used so far.

Queezle

I

I am making use of the daylight today to get this warp going.  For some reason my phone's photos upload here sideways, but the trapeeze does work!  And maybe if I could warp more frequently, I could do everything correct the first time....  many error and I'm only winding on, but the nice thing is that most errors are correctable.

Tien - that sounds like an interesting approach to dyeing.  I bet it was fun, too.  And the drawloom and tapestry sound really interesting.  The tied weave looks interesting - its something I know nothing about (yes, its on that very long list of things I do not know about...).

I am now taking a break - off with the dog off to see if the Avalanche Lillies are blooming. 

Artistry

Tien, very clever with the dyeing! With your regular immersion dyeing what kind of heat source do you use? I have hot plates with a solid surface and it's near impossible to get them up to the correct temp. For lanaset dyes. I'm looking for a different heat source.

cool gifts Erica! Plus Queezle, I kind of like the sideways pic :)what are you making ? love the color!

 

tien (not verified)

I have a huge propane burner (meant for turkey fryers), but I also have a portable electric burner. Both work very nicely. But for this particular project, since it was raining and I had to work in a cramped space under the eaves, I used an immersion heater - the kind that's used to heat water buckets for horses etc. in cold water. They're cheap and this one got the water from about 140 to 180 in very little time. I don't know if it would have boiled it though!

The warps are drying now - I have one hanging in the garage and the other in the food dehydrator (which gets used for many things, but only occasionally for food :-) ). Later I'll switch them. I expect they'll finish drying tomorrow. I won't be using them then, though, as we're disassembling and storing Emmy, my 40-shaft loom, tomorrow.

sally orgren

I finally looked up skier's slang for different kinds of snow. I was thinking "mogel field" but I like corn snow better. (And I learned it was a myth the Inuit have the most words for snow.)

This idea thanks to Karen Donde and her bubblecloth workshop: 

Queezle

We commonly get "popcorn" snow in Utah.  This does look like a mound of it!  Very cool.

Thor (not verified)

I just wanted to bop in & say "Hi!"...

It has been almost a year since moving to Michigan and, quite honestly, we are still not "settled in". While I know that I am a very fortunate person and wanted this move very much, this transition has been difficult.  However, almost all of the full basement is now my studio! Seven looms all set up in one room...overwhelming & indulgent. So, two are going to new homes after I spruce them up. Long term plan is to decrease the number of looms while saving up for a new Drawloom. I can dream!

I was asked to do a 30-45 min presentation about weaving for an interfaith Women's Guild in the area. I was told to bring plenty of items to sell... but I really wasn't as productive as I would have liked. So, I asked a couple weavers in the region if I could show their wares, as well. I was thrilled that they agreed. Each of them do such beautiful work & I respect them so much! Looking forward to an entertaining evening of turning loose my Inner Weaving Geek!

Took a great class in "Echo-Iris" at Fine Line in St.Charles, IL. I am in love with the designs and colors! The plan is to weave up sets of 6 napkins in Echo-Iris to be given as wedding presents...the yarn is bought and is just waiting. In the meantime, I have the pictured blanket in a Echo-Iris currently on my Glimäkra and twill towels on the Mighty Wolf.

I love reading your posts...I get such inspiration from each of you.

ShawnC

Queezle, love that purple warp! The 'corn snow' is quite lovely!

Look forward to a peak at the new warp, Tien!

Ah, I will be happy to be up and weaving again. I moved the other looms to a space in the basement, but they aren't all together. I do need to sell 2. Sigh.  Still plugging away at the drawloom set up. Truthfully, it's all a pleasure!

Yes, Cathie, this loom is already legendary ;-)

Thor, congrats on the move! I just purchased my drawloom used from a post on Weavolution. And while it's been a bit stressful, with missing parts, found parts, burned parts, it is the only way I would have been able to afford one. And I have to say, the Oxaback is my new favorite loom. Even without the draw extension and attachment this loom is equisitely designed.

Eventually I will have unmarred parts on the way here from Sara von Tresko (easier than it was when Sandra, the seller, ordered from Sweden!) and should be able to use the damaged parts until they arrive.

Everything is slow for me as usual, but I have been plugging away every minute I am comfortable, at this drawloom! I may come back and whine about how I should have listened and begun with 10 shafts, but I've been admiring a 40 shaft lotus pattern for years. The worse that can happen is that I move all the pattern shafts back to the heddling bar and start over.

I love this process so much.

 

Shawn

 

Queezle

In my earlier life as a weaver, I made all the relatives scarves, but none for me (I took a hiatus from weaving for ~ 15 yrs).  In my new weaverly life, I am slow to make projects, but have decided to prioritize myself.  So - this will be two scarves - one long one and one that I will sew into a cowl scarf.  This morning before running into work to get ready for the week ahead, I wove off a small sample, washed, and ironed it.  I was skeptical that 20 epi would work, but its hand is quite nice. 

Thor  - wow - I would love to see that studio - SEVEN sounds like a lucky number to me.  And Shawn, I love hearing your drawloom journey.  I look at >8 harness looms with lust in my heart.... 

purple & black sample for scarf.

Erica J

Wow indeed so much great weaving on display the last few days!!! Amazing!!!! You all are fantastic!!

Although I have been keeping track of how many pieces I've woven for the pouches/coin purses, I also feel like I've lost track, haha! My mind is reeling with A,B,C,D and Dark, Light, Dark, Light, Light, Dark, Light, Dark! The end of the warp is near and I have my warp face warp wound, so here we go! :)

I look forward to seeing more great weaving here through the rest of the month. 

ShawnC, welcome to the drawloom fold! :)

Thor great to see you again!!!!

Joanne Hall

Hi Thor,

That will be a great blanket.  Thanks for the photo.

I will not forget how you proved that a Glimakra Standard loom can be a workshop loom, when you brought it for a workshop at John Campbell. 

Joanne

Artistry

Thank you Tien for your info about your heating sources! It's guiding me in the right direction :)

gorgeous weaving everyone !

tapestry again for me today :)

theresasc

I was at my mom's early this afternoon and she was using the autumn colored rag placemats that I made for her last year and thought she needed something spring/summer.  I had intended to give her the placemats that I use for my avatar but I liked them so much that I kept them - whoops!

So I came home, went through the stash and found some fabric and carpet warp that I liked, designed a warp and put it on my loom.  This is why I just love my Kessenich looms so much - less than 3 hours from deciding to weave something to having it weaving.  Kessenich's are just fast and easy to dress.

spring rag placemats

Thor (not verified)

I was able to get 5 towels done! 23" in the reed, wove each 30" using 5/2 cotton. (The stripes, set off center, I believe are 8/2).  I should have gotten 8 towels from this warp but I tried to rush the process early on and ended up with a snarled mess while loading the loom...had to "cut my losses" quite literally. Lesson learned. And then there is that glaring threading error! Still & all, I'm happy with how they are turning out. Finishing work tomorrow.

Erica J

Thor, I've always said a Glimakra is portable! I'm glad you have proved that!,I thinknyou also just inspired me to weave a rosepath scarbfor an upcoming charity auction!

Theresa, I love both sets of placemats! What makes your loom so easy to dress? Youlve peaked my  curiousity!

Happy weaving,

Erica

 

Artistry

Thereaasc, Well, you have to keep some things :) nice of you to weave her some! I wove on a kessenich at a friends house, it IS a nice loom. 

Thor, your weaving is just terrific! I love the purple echo piece, a subject , I too have been wanting to delve into since I got the beautiful book Echo and Iris , which I keep drooling over! I also like your towels, particularly the color and pattern of the stripes. What mistake? I had to look for a minute before I saw it, you may get away with it :)

my guildmate is coming over again today and will be working on colors for her combo satin and plain weave shawl. I have been teaching her about color and it's so exciting to see her come up with her own creations through wrappings! She's getting ready for a sample warp. Today she'll experiment with plugging colors into the structural design. She'll learn how to dress the AVL ( the beast ) soon , it's exciting days . All this while I do tapestry, we sit side by side:) she's great !

our guild is having the best exhibit! It's UFO's ! Unfinished Objects! You find an unfinished project of yours, take a picture of it, date it if you can, then finish it for the exhibit . It can go back as far as you want, anything fiber. The problem is which one, lol!

ShawnC

Thor, your projects are gorgeous! Hard to believe you had a tangled mess at any point! I now have an image of the Glimakra in the back of a van going for a workshop! Love it!

Cathie, how fun is that? Turning a (usually) solitary activity into a lovely community buidling experience. Love it. Also love the idea for the exhibit. Will you let me know when it is? I will try to make it. I don't travel well, but sounds like it would be worth it.

Yes, Theresasc, funny how we feel guilty sometimes keeping things for ourselves. I went through a scarf explosion years ago and don't have even one. One of my sisters still has hers, so at least I get to see it occasionally ;-) All of that weaving was pre-digital, so I don't even have many pictures. At least now I have documentation. Enjoy!

 

Shawn

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