May snuck up on me. I hope everyone in our group is safe after the severe weather this past few days here in the States. Summer is quickly approaching her ein the northern hemispere and outdoor activities will start to overtake the indoor variety. But as temps rise here in the south I will soon retreat back indoors to the air conditioning and I have projects I need to get on my loom. My knees are feeling better so standing at the warping board is a bit easier. Still not sure if I can get down low enought to thread my Mighty Wolf but we will deal with that when the time comes! Weave on every one. I love seeing your projects and progress. And keep posting all the images from your various travels. We can all enjoy your experiences.

Comments

laurafry

I've been on a warp winding binge, trying to use up stash. Which means I don't have the colours I want to work with so - of course! - I ordered more yarn today. What can I say? I'm a fibre-aholic!!!

Missus T.

Yesterday the mailman delivered a piece of weaving fun to my mailbox from Stoorstalka:  a rigid heddle kit, pre-warped, with instructions!  I've never tried backstrap weaving, and so after many cups of tea to wake up, I have made lots of progress as well as a new friend in this tool.  This heddle is made of acrylic and has five pattern slots to carry the pattern threads, so the weaving goes very fast indeed.  Weaving with a Stoorstalka backstrap kit

Missus T.

Laura,

My mother has been trying to reduce her quilt fabric stash for 20 years.  The prognosis is not good!  Enjoy.....

Susan

Missus T.

I spent eleven hours beaming a nearly 60 inch wide warp of 20/6 cotton rug warp, 12.5 meters long, to make more curtains.  I was able to do this by myself thanks to the trapeze, but I have not worked out the mysteries of a smooth wind on.  I warp btf and I used a raddle cross with lease sticks and spread my warp in a suspended, capped raddle.   I used plenty of choke ties, but somehow, in "spanking" the warp as recommended by Meeks in her book on trapeze warping, lots of loose ends appeared as if out of nowhere, and much time was spent shaking and working this looseness toward the front of the loom.  More practice or insight needed for sure.  I ran out of warp sticks and corrugated paper, and was reduced to my daughter's roll of craft paper for packing the warp! 

I was very pleased to finish and have a nice, evenly beamed warp.  This method beats the pants off of drafting grumpy family members to hold the bouts! 

G'nite.

SusanBeaming with a trapeze on the Toika Liisa

Erica J

A trapeze or warping valet is definitely the way to go!

I am back warping my drawloom!

Missus T.

EricaJ, you inspire me.  Someday I will venture into the drawloom territory!  Happy loom dressing to you.  I've been taking advantage of damp weather to avoid yardwork, stay indoors, and thread my curtain warp --  or to hang out on the patio with my backstrap set-up.  I wouldn't want to "cut ruts" in my squishy yard with a mower....

Susan

Erica J

Susan,

I'm glad to hear I've inspired you! In my medieval group, I'm participating in a 100 days of Arts and Sciences Challenge. It's the same concept as Daily Weaverliness group, but you track the days you do 10 minutes or more of any art/science. So far I'm on Day 3 and have been weaving every day!

I got some more ground heddle threaded today. I figure I just need 2 more days of progress and the ground heddles will be threaded. I also nailed down my pattern block arrangment!

Finally, even more Egyptian Diagonals! I'm keeping really good notes this time and I'll post those in my project!

Missus T.

EricaJ.,

I'm crazy about your diagonals!  I finally broke down and made a warp weighted card loom arrangement, and just today made a warp.  Tomorrow I'll try my hand at threading  up the cards.... I also have an ambitious Friday planned with threading up the band loom with some cottolin trim to put on my hand-woven net curtains.  I will use the band to cover the raw lower edge of the fabric.  So, a big pot of tea for tomorrow!

Erica J

Fabulous Missus T!!

I did a bit more design sampling today on the digaonals, but only one new design. Try all forward for a given number of turns (more than 4 and an even number), then turn them all backward. Then I tried variations of splitting the pack in half utrning one pack forward and one backward. I've moved on to adding putting the full pack together in between. There is much more. Unfortunately I left my notes at work today. I'll try to type them into my project on Monday!

I got the ground heddles on my drawloom all threaded. I have a good idea about how to arrange the pattern heddles, but need to get them threaded first! :)

Missus T.

EricaJ,

I can't wait so see more diagonals!  I got the card loom up and running and then launched into a perhaps too ambitious first project.  An antler pattern made on 20 cards with three separate packs of cards with different turnings.  I thought I was all set to go, but after a few rounds discovered that I had the cards facing the wrong way, so was weaving an inverse pattern -- not attractive.  So I rethreaded, and then relaunched.  After three repeats I noticed that the weaving was not looking like the draw down in terms of twist slant on 8 of the cards.  I rechecked the threading and discovered that the threading chart had 8 errors in it!  Cue: retie messed up cards.  Third try, I made it to antlers.  So I have got my knitting clicker for counting rows and am talking out loud to myself while turning.    After this got tiresome, I theaded the band loom, and futzed around with the tie up.  Am now weaving away on the band trim for the curtains....My "customer" is sitting in an armchair watching all this and shaking his head....

Missus T.

I have been weaving 22/2 cottonlin trim on my bandloom to be used to hem my net curtains.  The pattern is from The Art of Simple Band Weaving: Colour and Pattern, by Susan J. Foulkes, a lovely book!  The cardwoven band is from an SCA fan; her website is allyshia.westkingdom.org/antler-card-weaving-pattern.  The card woven band will be curtain tie-backs for the net curtains, and is in 22/2 cottolin to coordinate.band woven trim

Erica J

Nice progress and weaving! In future don't retreat the cards if the threading is the wrong direction. You just need to flip the card on it's axis and then it will the the other orientation!

I'm threading pattern needles on the drawloom!

 

Missus T.

EricaJ,

I love it when I have a "duh" moment -- about flipping the cards to reverse the twining on a warp group!  There is a lot to learn with cardweaving....  but your insight seriously advances the game!

Susan

Erica J

I first learned to tablet weave in 1995 and I'm still learning! I wish I had tackled Egyptian Diagonals earlier. I look forward to your discoveries!!!

Erica J

I am in the process of beaming the drawloom warp. I had the "great" idea to test warping front to back on the drawloom. I should have known this was not the best idea. In fairness if we were not living in the studio with the cats, it probably would not have made much of a difference. However the cats did have a bit of a play with the warp before now. So It is taking a bit of extra care to get it beamed. I hope I will be weaving on this by Sunday! Wish me luck!

Sue in VT

Has anyone woven with overspun yarn?

Erica J

Good question! I used some overspun yarn as weft for a small summer and winter piece. It was fine. It is my understanding that the Peruvians use slightly overspun yarn for their weaving.

sally orgren

Had a blast! I will post more later...

Missus T.

I love the view over the water and over the loom!  I've been sweating it out with some cardweaving, so am excited to see such a flowing and complicated looking inkle.  Enjoy!
Susan

sally orgren

You can find a little bit more about the Weaving History conference at this link:

https://weavolution.com/forum/chat/handweaving-museum-clayton-new-york-18317#comment-116427

The 2018 dates are May 17-18. Pencil them on your calendar now, so you won't miss it next spring!

Erica J

Susan, I look forward to seeing your card weaving!

Sally, your inkle weaving is beautiful as always.

I have the pattern heddles set up on my damask.  Hopefully I will get the shed adjusted tonight and weave a bit before I'm away this weekend!

Missus T.

I just this afternoon finished about 2 yards of cardweaving antlers in cottolin to match my curtain binding trim and also finished 21 yards of tape on the Swedish tape loom to bind the curtains!  My next cardweaving project will be with larger yarn!  I  have some 5/2 perle cotton on order and will post when I figure that out.... After I wet finish this I'll see how it looks on the net curtain which is hanging in DH's office.  Then it's back to the floor loom to weave additional net curtain!  I am planning some bright colors for the next project!

Missus T.

I found this cardweaving pattern on a video YouTube at Lucet.fi.  That author has the pattern picture.  This Finnish Pattern is threaded counterclockwise beginning shot 1 in the "A" position in the top hole that is nearest the weaver -- with the cards facing to the right.   This crucial fact was not explicit in the video but discernible through observation.  One of the comments on the pattern said it didn't work, but with these starting provisos, I had no trouble.  The 5/2 perle cotton is so smooth and slick that the beat has to be done lightly, with a finger, and I find that I have to check the width every shot to control draw in.  Truly a light touch!  Still, this project is quick and fast, and will make a cool hat band.  It is non-reversible.  The YouTube video with thanks to Lucet.fi is very instructive on how to do the twist on six of the 12 cards between rows 4 and 5 and then back again between rows 8 and 1 to get the pattern.  I found that the use of marking thread on the "A" position with one color for the non-twisting tablets another color for the twisting tablets was terrific to create an intuitive way to not get lost in the pattern.  Every four shots the yarn on the non-twisting tablets presents at the top hole nearest the weaver and marks the row when a twist of the six pattern tablets is indicated.  The contrast thread used to mark the twisted tablets makes it easy to identify the tablets needing attention.  In all a satisfying project and way easier than I thought!

This cardweaving "bug" has a serious bite!!!!

Erica J

I've just about got my drawloom set up. I just spent the last few days in Sweden at a Medieval event. I got to talk to several weavers there. Yesterday, I went back to the house one of my friends was staying at, the propietor was a lovely Swedish lady who dyes her own cloth to be used in her rag rug weaving. She uses rosepath threading and half basket treadling to produce some really great pieces!

Hopefully I will start testing my damask pattern today!

Erica J

That is a great pattern. Your weaving looks awesome! I look forward to seeing more card weaving from you! The portability of card weaving can't be beat!

Erica J

Last update for May! The drawloom is very nearly set up! I have to say if I had concentrated amounts of time to work on this all at once it could be set up in a day. Once I weave a few more pieces on it, I think it will go more quickly, as I own't have to refer to the DVD at each stage of the adjustment process. As this is still only my third warp on the drawloom I'm rather pleased with how things are going. :)

Missus T.

EricaJ,

It's awesome to learn such an advanced skill with a drawloom set up.  Can't wait to see the pics, and surely repetition is the mother of all learning!

We're getting ready for my ds's high school graduation --it's one long slide into summer!

jennybellairs

The next time you wind a warp, here are a few things to try if you didn't do them with this warp. 1. Make a warp by warp cross at both ends. 2. Chain a string around groups of warps at the end for counting for placement in the raddle. 3. Choke tie extremely tight so the group of threads cannot move out of the choke ties. 4. Install warp on the back rod, add trapeze, raddle, and lease sticks in whatever order works on your particular loom. 5. Weight the warp bouts before removing any remaining choke ties between the weights and the back. 6. If I am having issues with crossed warp threads, at least remove the overlaps between each group in the raddle. I separate each small group on the top bar of the trapeze. 7. The lease sticks should straighten out any other crossed threads. Just make sure you STOP winding at the slightest resistance. More than likely, a couple threads will be crossed at the lease sticks. 8. If you put your lease sticks between the top bar of the trapeze and your loom, you can slide them up and down. If a couple threads catch, then use your stick to spank the warp. Doing it this way, your warp should be very even before it goes into the raddle and over the backbeam. Your warp looks nice and even in your photo.
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