A new month - if the rest of the year is as productive as January has been for everyone, I predict 2014 to be a very weaverly year. Weave-on all!

Comments

Sat, 02/22/2014 - 22:18

sally orgren

it contains a reproduction of the painting, clipped to the reed of the loom above the first fabric sample for comparison. Hope that helps!

I appreciate the input throughout this process. Thanks to you guys, I feel like I have two winners, whereas without the input at the beginning of my project post, I may never have developed sample 1.

Sun, 02/23/2014 - 03:56

ReedGuy

Everyone is busy as usuall. :)

I had some towel warp left and added some more 16/2 cotton ends to it for about 500 ends at 48 epi and needed more 8/2 cotton pile warp to finish out the sampler. The take-up sure does eat up pile warp quckly. :) The cloth is 13" in the loom. I'm already excited about making a supplemental beam for towels and curtains. But I have to get my chair completed first, so the next warp will be the 'black and white' linen herringbone followed by a courser more airy linen scrim in plain weave. On my chair, I glued up the back the other day, and now need to glue up the seat frame and legs, reinforce the leg corners with blocks and cut the arms. Then the detailing. I'm not going to get too fancy with my first build, just want a comfy chair. The fancy details can come with a later build. ;) Then of course, the upholstery needs weaving, fine 44/2 linen and fine 26/2 wool. :)

Sun, 02/23/2014 - 07:49

Erica J

I got back to my damask sampling yesterday. I hace a variety of designs to try out for a few projects that have been requested.

I still meed to investigate how to solve the problwm I'm having with treadle 3. Hope to fix the issue this morning, so I can really tuck in to my sampling!!! :)

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 07:57

Erica J

Here is my drawloom sample! I also sat a student down at the loom and taught her damask! What fun passing on new knowledge!

 

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 09:14

loomyladi (not verified)

Everyone has been so productive, but I know we are all looking forward to the awakening of the warm season!  Snow again tonight - brrrr....  My studio was just starting to warm up and now it has taken the plunge again.  I've been productive, getting lots done.  I finally, finally finished all my photos and have submitted an application to a state artists coop.  Now it is time for the waiting, waiting, waiting.  Tomorrow (or later today rather) I'll be rewinding the warp that came on my Glimakra, there were some inconsistencies in the colorful warp and I just need to be comfortable with the tension (it was a mess).  Looking forward to weaving some rugs.

 

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 09:51

ReedGuy

loomylady is your space there heated some. I find if your shop or studio is not heated and it dips below the dewpoint you have moisture on wood and metal, hard on both over a long time. A building insulated but not heated will not stand as long as one not insulated and no heat. The wood gets dry rot with the insulation being a sponge for water and a mouldy smell.

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 09:58

Artistry

ReedGuy, You are cruisin'! Erica, I like your sample! Success! Loomyladi, Good luck on the states artist is co-op! Back from Michigan, no weaving done, got sick as a dog:( but now I'm home with the contractors who are fixing up the house, yes where my studio is. So I 've moved into my daughter's room. Georgia's chair continues to grow, very slow going tapestry though. At least there's a sense of humor about it:)
Mon, 02/24/2014 - 10:27

ReedGuy

:D

Just for that you get just a peek of my chair build. Not much, but a peek of the back leg joint to the back I'm working on lately. You know what they say, no photos, didn't happen. :D

There's not enough man to go around, and I work slow. LOL :D But there is a method to being slow, as I like to see how the wood behaves as it is dried in a heated room. Some times a piece will open up with a nasty check, even with select grade lumber. Enough to drive you to madness. ;) Yes the lumber was kilned, but when it's stored in an unheated barn, it is no longer 6%, but now 16% moisture. Dang hydroscopic stuff. ;)

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 10:30

Artistry

Beautiful wood and gorgeous curves, thanks for the peek, right didn't happen;)
Mon, 02/24/2014 - 10:51

ReedGuy

I just need to duplicate it for the other leg. :D
Mon, 02/24/2014 - 13:19

Queezle

Erika - nice drawloom sample, and reedguy - I love that chair leg.  I've almost got my warp measured for my dishtowels, but the 60F weather pulled me outside.  Despite it being february, in a burst of foolhardy optimism, I planted a couple rows of peas into my garden. 

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 13:45

tien (not verified)

Reedguy, that is a lovely joint you've got there, and I bet the chair will be fantastic!

Erica, that sample is really gorgeous. How many pattern shafts are you using? I have been curious about drawlooms for quite some time.

Here is what I've been up to this week.

First, I got the Fireside rolling temples onto the loom:

Rolling temple on loom

Then, I wove a sample using silk warp and brushed mohair/silk weft (very similar to Kidsilk Haze). I overdyed it with yellow, gold, and red acid dyes. This is my favorite sample of the four I wove:

Mohair sample in fiery colors

I like it a lot - the silk took the dye differently from the mohair, so the pattern is quite visible and provides nice visual texture that looks (to me, anyway) like sparks in a fire.

And here is a very small sample woven with handspun yarn gifted to me by a friend:

handspun yarn sample

I've decided to weave it up in a pattern similar to a tabby cat's stripes, and name it after my torbie cat, Tigress. The marling really reminds me of the tabby coat on a cat.

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 14:45

Erica J

Thanks everyone, my damask journey has been a long time coming. I mentally blocked myself from doing this for a long time for some reason. Now that I have done it and understand it, I'm so excited and looking at many resources in new interesting ways. Especially Nancy Spies Here be Dragons and Drolleries!

Tien, I am working with just 10 pattern shafts right now. I am very excited about all the possiblities open to me even with just 10 pattern shafts! I look forward to moving on to true satin for my next project.

My brushed mohair warp has 2 samples done already. Due to tension issues, I think I'm going to have to cut them off a tie on again. As long as I can get 1-2 samples woven before cutting off and tieng back on I'm good! I think I'll use this as an appoprtunity to wet finish them and see what the actual shrinkage is.

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 16:22

ReedGuy

I see there is a mixed fibre mohair at Halcyon Yarns, it has silk with the mohair. Maybe 20 % silk if not mistaken.

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 16:30

ReedGuy

Well, I've got firefox so it does not have to fetch images that have once been loaded every time I read or post to a thread. That's a lot of loading in these long threads. Some off site photos I block because they are too huge.

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 19:31

ReedGuy

Tien your photo of the flames looks as close to real as you can come on a  loom I would say. That is very artistic. :)

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 20:31

endorph

Everyone is doing such great work -

Nice leg Reedguy! Great sample Erica. Love the silk and silk / mohair Tien  - Cathie - looking forward to seeing how Georgia is coming along - loving the tree Theresasc

Next week I am taking a 5 day workshop with Joanne Hall - it will be a round robin affair with I think up to 8 projects for us to work on - including the draw loom if we so desire - I will make sure and get photos to share!

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 20:51

sally orgren

I get busy for a day or two — and the thread explodes!

We had a "February Freebie" one-day workshop at one of my guilds on Saturday, and I got immediately addicted to making Dorset buttons. Ironic, as I was watching Downtown Abbey last night and I think it was one of the kitchen maid's aprons (Ivy or Daisy) that was sporting a set.

Gee, I better run to the Weaveatorium and catch up with everyone else!

Mon, 02/24/2014 - 21:19

ReedGuy

I recieved my order from Webs today, however when we made a substitution for a discontinued color, they confirmed in mail that it was subsituted, they never included the 4 sub'ed cones. I should have 16 cones of cotton, but only have 12.   :/

I sent them a message. Maybe they can't count. :)

Tue, 02/25/2014 - 15:50

tien (not verified)

Here's what I'm working on:

Scarf in "tabby" stripes

The warp is the same white silk I've been working with, but the weft is a very special handspun yarn made by my friend (and fellow Weavolution co-founder) Alison. It's one ply of 60/2 silk, one ply of handspun alpaca/buffalo/yak/angelina/etc., overdyed with pomegranate peels). The marled yarn reminded me of my torbie (tabby + tortie) kitten's stripes, so I decided to weave a tabby-striped pattern.

And I have been winding weft bobbins for the color study (a process that will take about six hours - I'm about halfway through). Here's what I've done so far:

Weft bobbins for the color study

The last thing I've been doing is writing up handouts for the design workshop I'm teaching at Fiber Celebration 2014 in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Less picturesque but also quite valuable, I hope! I have a lot of handouts, which I am hoping to make into a little book to give to the students.

Busy busy!

Tue, 02/25/2014 - 16:39

ReedGuy

6 hrs is a lot of winding. But I have done it, except it was on spools all by hand. So I know what your up against. :)

Your special weft there is looking like tiger stripe pattern. :)

Now that you mention buffulo, I knew they made yarns from buffalo because I seen a business shown on TV in Prince Edward Island that was making buffalo yarn. I knew I was not dreaming. :)

Tue, 02/25/2014 - 23:11

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

How are your rotary temples working for you? I finished the baby wrap, selvedges are awesome so I am pleased. If I do another one I will put additional warp on the 2nd beam and make a baby blanket as well. Tried out the single box fly on my 60". It feels quite different compared to the double box on my 40". Not sure what to think but I can see it will be tough on the wrist. Not sure I can master the flicking motion with my left hand but it would be a good idea to learn. No flying shuttles leaving the race so that's good. I did make my cat Cheeto move out of the arm chair just in case! He wasn't pleased and I couldn't explain what would happen to him if a 2lb metal tipped "miss-guided" missile should come his way.
Tue, 02/25/2014 - 23:24

ReedGuy

Mom calls it the 'bullet'. I keep a sheet of plywood in front of a window just in case.

I'm the weaver, she has never woven in her life and said she isn't going to start. :) :D :D

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 00:37

tien (not verified)

Reedguy, 6 hours BY HAND?? I take my hat off to you. I have a double-ended electric bobbin winder to make the load easier. I can't imagine cranking a hand powered bobbin winder for six hours! That takes real fortitude.

MMs-and-OOs - the rotary temples seem to be working well. The only problem is that they are so close to the sandpaper beam that the sandpaper beam is actually sanding off a bit of the wood when I advance the warp. But that's a problem that should fix itself - and I really don't think it will take much sanding before the fit improves. It's just barely touching the sandpaper beam, so my DH and I decided to leave it to work itself out.

However, the shed is still quite large, so the temples aren't a problem. And they seem to be doing their job. Yay!

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 01:13

ReedGuy

Yes, I figured you had graduated beyond a manual winder long ago. :) But I really don't mind. Some day I will probably wire up a motor with a foot feed. Then maybe not. Not a priority for now. I don't work production based, I'm expensive. ;)

I'm still sanding and detailing my chair. I have just the arms to cut and shape toward the end of things.

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 05:44

Cadenza

Still spinning on my drop spindle! Part of me wants to knock out the last 12 inches of warp I have left on my towels, but my stepson has been begging for loom time. I think I will spin this week, but if he doesn't use it this weekend, I am taking my loom back.

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 09:01

Erica J

You all inspire me and this group really helps me get out of my weaving ruts, when I happen to fall into them! I was a bit unwell a few weeks ago and when I get out of the habit, sometimes it's hard to "drag" myself out of the studio. Seeing all your great progess and weavings has reenergized me. Here is what I wove last night:

The purple "drops" were woven by my first damask student! I threw her into the deep end a bit as I didn't have any easier warps on the loom and we only had about an hour. For her first weaving ever, I think she did a great job! The other two samples are my weaving. I'm really enjoying the Leaf Damask. I got the pattern from Complex Weaver's Medieval Textile Study Group Samples from 2003.

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 18:00

Artistry

Erica, Beautiful!

Alright here is how far I've gotten on Georgia's Chair! It is very slow going, really hard for me, weaving wise. All those wefts have someplace to go, all at the same time right now!  I have gotten off center on my cartoon so I have to eyeball it and push the chair off to the left. The red random threads are holding my cartoon to the weaving, so are the white ones early on. some of the tapestry is rolled underneath. I have about 2/3rds done. Whether you think it's chair or skull ( hence the name) it's a great excercise ! I like it!


 

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 22:05

ReedGuy

Cathie your coming right along. It is more complex than one might think trying to achieve the 3D look. You'll soon conquer it. ;)

Erica I'll bet your drawloom is a nice addition to your weaving experience. Wish I had one to sit onto of my countermarche. If I do, I'll have to build it. ;)

Thu, 02/27/2014 - 02:36

Artistry

Thanks ReedGuy! You're right about the 3D, it's like I have everything in reverse here, what should be dark is light, and what is dark should be a little lighter:)
Thu, 02/27/2014 - 04:54

tien (not verified)

Wow, that leaf damask is beautiful! It almost makes me want a drawloom. :-)

I have made progress today, although not the progress I had intended. Shaft #17 started floating on me again yesterday, so I sent a desperate "Help!" message to AVL to see if they could provide any insight. I exchanged two rounds of email with Bob today, and this evening Mike and I took off the Compu-Dobby unit and poked around. We think we've got it  figured out - one of the wooden "fingers" that the dobby cables fit in was a little loose and twisty, and could have caused the problem. I've ordered a new finger from AVL and am hoping they get it in the mail tomorrow - if they do, it should arrive on Saturday, just in time to salvage some weekend weaving time.

Meanwhile, I'm working on the handouts and lesson plan for the two-day workshop I'm teaching on the design process in mid-March, at Fiber Celebration 2014 in Ft. Collins, Colorado. It will be my third time teaching this workshop, and I'm making quite a few changes, so hopefully this will be the best one yet!

Thu, 02/27/2014 - 05:23

Queezle

Work life is very busy right now, but I manage to do a bit each day preparing for my next project.  I spent an hour counting and re-distributing heddles this evening.  I must say that this loom (purchased used) has some mixed up heddles.  So far they've not been a problem, but I am thinking I should take them all off and get them lined up the right way.  But then, I think, I don't usually have broken warp threads, so they seem to work OK, and really, I just want to get weaving.

Thu, 02/27/2014 - 23:34

sally orgren

Queezle, I empathize. 

I absolute DREAD having to mess with heddles, so my solution is to put enough on each shaft so I (hopefully) don't have to move any.

ALAS, my best laid plans don't always work out. Last night I had to move 34 heddles to shaft 5, and take them from shaft 1 + 2. The worse part was cleaning off the huge pile of books stacked on top of the castle to be able to lift the shafts out of the castle for the relatively easy switch. (I still hurrumphed about it the whole time.)

I am threading about 800 warps, and I believe I have about 1,500 heddles on there. How could I possibly come up 34 short on shaft 5?!!! 

Thu, 02/27/2014 - 23:51

ReedGuy

Book shelves are for books, looms are for shafts. :D ;)

Thu, 02/27/2014 - 23:54

tien (not verified)

I got good news and bad news from AVL today. The bad news is that they can't get my replacement part out today, which means I won't have it this weekend. Which means, foo! no weaving until early next week. This is bad since I'm under a deadline and have lots to get done before the end of March. On the other hand, they *did* have the part in stock, which is kind of amazing since I have an obscure breed of AVL that was only made for a year or two, back around 2000. If they hadn't had the part in stock, it would have been a special order, with a three week turnaround time! So by and large, I am feeling pretty lucky.

That does leave me with very little I can do this weekend, weaving-wise. So I plan to finish winding my pirns, then finish revising my lesson plan for the two-day workshop I'm teaching at Fiber Celebration 2014 in Ft. Collins, CO. (It's on the creative process.) I also plan to work some more on my book, for the first time in months, and write an article for Complex Weavers Journal. Plus dye some yarns for an embroidery project I'm working on. So I will stay busy on things related to weaving and fiber, even though I won't be making any cloth!

And Sally, heddles move when you're not looking. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :-)

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 02:37

sally orgren

with the software gremlins that change my presets when I am not looking.

No comment on the books. Keeping yarn up there would definitely be easier to move. Maybe.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 02:54

Queezle

So is this where the term "shafted" comes from?

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 10:10

Artistry

LOL Queezle, my coffee is extra good this a.m.you guys!
Fri, 02/28/2014 - 10:52

ReedGuy

Must be the cold, 7F this morning on the hard frozen north. :D Coffee here is so so, better than Tim's. LOL :D

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 11:36

endorph

here this morning (or any morning since I don't drink it! :) ) A lovely 41 degrees this morning but it sounds like the wind is going to blow a gale all day :( but should be in the 60s - they are predicting the 80s for tomorrow - I am not ready for hot weather yet!

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 13:08

Artistry

Oh endorph, can I come over? It's 9 degreesF here, supposed to warm up abit though :)
Fri, 02/28/2014 - 13:43

tien (not verified)

Here the weather has reverted to our usual '60s and low '70s, but it has been raining the last few days. Which is WONDERFUL! We badly need some serious downpours, as the entire state of California is in a state of extreme drought. I hope we get lots of rain this month!

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 14:47

ReedGuy

It's amazing that a state the hugs the pacific coast line can be so dry. To the north a fare ways and the the south it never stops raining. ;)

Just got word about by chair stuffing being shipped (horse hair, cotton batting). Anyone of you that have horses, there is gold in mane and tail hair. ;)

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:44

theresasc

not as bad as last night, -4F when I got out of work.  Very ready for spring.

"shafted" - made me laugh, not a good thing to do while drinking coffee!

Cathie, I like where you are going with your tapestry, I can see why it is slow weaving, but it looks so interesting.

 

 

 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:59

Artistry

Thanks theresasc! Interesting it is, it has taken on a life of its own and I just follow along , totally absorbed, of course:)
Fri, 02/28/2014 - 16:01

endorph

Cathie - I miss colder weather and have been enjoying our prolonged spring here this year (okay folks from around ehre call it winter but really. . . ) I've actually been able to wear my gloves and scarves for a change! and even a sweater or two.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 16:02

endorph

I am hoping your much needed rain does not trigger landslides and that the water can be captured for use later!

Only three more days until my 5 day workshop with Joanne Hall - yippee!

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 00:41

ReedGuy

I'm going to begin my linen chair webbing tomorrow I beleive. :)

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 15:28

loomyladi (not verified)

Yes there is heat, but the building is very old and has no insulation.  These repeated "polar vortexes" are really doing a number.  We keep the building at about 55F around the clock, but its a slow process to heat it up.  In some ways it is inefficient to turn the heat up only to turn it back down, but it is a coop and the consensus is that it is still cheaper to play with the themostat every day.  I keep thinking spring is coming.

 

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