Happy New Year! Its hard to believe another year is gone - looking forward to a weaverly year ahead. Everyone has been so productive over the last few months - actually all year - good job! Looking forward to all the projects to come in the weeks to come.  Weave on everyone!

Tina

Comments

Fri, 01/03/2014 - 22:14

sally orgren

Tien, I had to laugh when I saw that loom crate photo! I remember when my crated loom was deposited at the top of my driveway by the shipper, and I gulped — it looked the size of VW bug!!! How was I ever going to get it into the house!? (And I still have the disassembled crate in the garage for the next move!)

Erica — brushed mohair via front-to-back — you are a far braver woman than I.

Since the Shadow Box 2 towels are hemmed and have their loops attached, it's back to project planning for echo for me. I can choose a 10/2 or 5/2 warp with a 20/2 or 10/2 weft for our guild program. And I am also looking at my tencel, soy silk, and bamboo stash. It will all come down to color combinations for me...

Fri, 01/03/2014 - 22:26

ReedGuy

Erica, I have an old mohair throw here that has been around the house for ever I think. Someone obviously wove it. So what I'm saying is press onward. :)

Someone asked how I'm going to move my loom. I said where am I moving to? :D LOL I don't plan on going anywhere. I've moved enough for my lifetime, to heck with that. ;)

Sat, 01/04/2014 - 16:57

Erica J

Thanks for the encouragement! I have the mohair sleyed through the reed now to transfer to the loom tie the choke ties to the front beam and thread the heddles. This warp is solely for sampling. My gut says with everything else going on with the thread plain weave will be best, but I want to play with it. Feel free to make suggestions!

On the drawloom front, I lowered the pattern heddles and started threading the ground shafts. This warp is feeling epic! Though I should be actually weaving it before the Winter Olympics start! :P

Sat, 01/04/2014 - 15:21

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

Warps await, to finish what I have on my 40" FDL and to do a small sample on the big loom. I have a new project for the big one and am not sure if I can do it. I detailed the project on my blog, mmsooshandweaving.blogspot.com. Seriously looking for a repeatable source of wool, 2/20's. I have looked all over the place. Any ideas?
Sat, 01/04/2014 - 16:54

Erica J

Nearly half the ground shafts threaded on the Drawloom!!!!

Sat, 01/04/2014 - 18:26

theresasc

Tied back onto the tapestry loom, the first time went over the tool shelf, the second time behind the breast beam, and the third time was just right.  I took the old adage of try, try again a little to literal.  Drew up the new cartoon this morning as well.  I have the warp spread and just finishing up the twining.  This will be a good weekend for tapestry - below zreo temps, NFL playoffs starting, and the loom ready for weaving.  The loom is still on the main floor so I can listen to the games and just peak around the corner to see the replays.  I am also using yarns out of my stash.  I am going to do that as much as possible this year, with tapestry and on my floor looms.

Sat, 01/04/2014 - 19:01

tommye scanlin

Have a grand time with the new tapestry warp.

Tommye

Sat, 01/04/2014 - 21:13

Erica J

Theresac,

I feel like I keep doing the same thing over and over even though I'm not. I've threaded 240 threads through 2 sets of heddles, pattern heddles and now ground heddles. I finally finished tonight. I burned the midnight oil, for me, and finished the ground heddles at 9pm! I still have to sley the reed, then tie up the jacks, trealdles, put the pattern heddles onto correct shafts and make final adjustments before I get weaving. I'm so glad I preped my tapestry loom last month! Otherwise I'd be having weaving withdrawls and would probably lose momentum!

On the tapestry diary front, I wove with spots and vertical lines today, pretty pleased with my first attempt at these techniques.

Sun, 01/05/2014 - 16:23

Erica J

Well I sleyed the reed, tied on and tied up most of the loom. I need to double check how I put the counter weights on, do my exact pattern draft and a few other thungs. In the midst of evrything I double checked my reed to discover I used a 12 dpi reed 2/ dent instead of 15 dpi. Obviouslh this means 24 epi instaed of 30. I'll proceed wit thus until I figure out whuch reed to switch to. I don't have a 15 dpi reed for this loom, but do have 5, 8, and 10. Unfortunately the movers managed to mess up the tape on my 10 dpi reed. Thoughts on 3/dent in 10 dpi vs 6/dent in 5 dpi with 10/2 cotton?

Thanks!

Sun, 01/05/2014 - 20:44

Cadenza

Oops...

Miscalculated how much yarn was left on my natural cotton spool. I had enough for the warp, but had to order more for the towels I want to do. Also threw in a second color and some fiber so I can play with the drop spindle my husband made when he replaced the missing piece of my warp board.

For now though,  the warp is measured for the three towels I finally decided on and I sleyed the reed last night. 

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 11:56

Artistry

Bummer, I can't get it to load:( Still working on the " Chair" , ain't looking any prettier, oh well, I'm learning a lot :)
Mon, 01/06/2014 - 12:55

endorph

its not a "chair" its a cow skull! :)

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 14:18

pammersw

Erica, how about resleying to 2-3-2-3? I think that would give you the right number (rough mental math with a couple hours of insomnia in the middle of the night).

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 14:28

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

A New Year begins new projects. I have to finish winding a sample warp for a project on my 60" AVL, Civil War horse blankets. The finished blanket is about 80" x 80" before wet finishing. On my loom they will either have to woven double width or in panels and sewn together. I have learned a lot about Civil War provisioning for the cavalry. It is pretty well documented. I have a possible commission to make lots of them. However my biggest problem is finding a repeatable source of wool of the correct weight. I am sampling a 2/26s from Webs but It is a mill end. You can see a very worn blanket that I am using as a model on my blog, mmsooshandweaving.blogspot.com. Anybody have a source? Each blanket would use 3-4 lbs of wool.
Mon, 01/06/2014 - 14:55

ReedGuy

Cathie, post #7 in the project page linked to. I tried the link and it loads here.

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 15:00

ReedGuy

Today I'm setting up a sampling for a wool upholstery design. I may end up with thinner 2-ply weft, so I have some leftover harrisville to go with some thicker Briggs and little warp. I'm going to use a sett of 12 to start, but may need 16 for density and patterning. I usually weave 8 epi with this heavy wool for blankets. The mill website says this is used in upholstery, but they don't give any setts.

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 15:13

theresasc

working on the next tapestry.  It is much more challenging then I expected.  I am so used to weaving on a floor loom where the design is from how the loom is set up and used.  With tapestry, I am deciding the pattern and where the yarn goes, and that decision changes when you walk away.  I wove some Saturday and when I came back to the loom yesterday I did not like what I saw, so out it came.  I am getting good mileage out of the yarn:  weave, unweave, weave.  Doing and then undoing seems to be the theme for this project, LOL.  Stay warm out there, it is -11°F this morning, good time to wewave.

 

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 16:09

sally orgren

because that is the most mindless to follow when sleying. Pammersw's suggestion also works, but you'll probably need to recheck more carefully to make sure you got it right.

The echo is planned, now I just need to begin winding. I am working on the Crimp and Create workshop warp next. Special materials are needed, so it's taking some time and research.

Meanwhile, the studio is a mess! I pulled down a lot of my tencel, bamboo, soy silk and pearl cottons, plus a lot of sample cards. I hope- hope-hope vendors will bring sample cards to sell at Convergence as I am missing some. I don't want to buy yarn and carry it home from Convergence unless it is something rare or unusual. But if I can get a sample card to see the quality and color range of the yarn in person, I am highly likely to order from that vendor (using their sample card) in the future.

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 18:01

Artistry

Ha!Ha! Tina you win! It will never be a chair, a skull it is. LOL, it's truly one of a kind! ReedGuy, I think I'll have to pull it up on the computer instead of iPad . I can get my hands on the comp. tonight and see if that works better.
Mon, 01/06/2014 - 18:13

Artistry

Theresasc , It's so fun seeing other people doing tapestry here ! I totally relate to making choices as you go eventhough you have a cartoon etc. there's a lot to think about constantly! The other day I spent 2 hours on 1 inch, it drove me crazy. I do what you do and stand back and look in the morning, actually sometimes several times during the day. What I like so much is that total immersion, always thinking about the next step. Yes I have to rip out lots but ultimately it's utter enchantment :)
Mon, 01/06/2014 - 20:02

ReedGuy

Cathie the video is not a huge file, as I compressed it down to a 1/3 it's original size using Clone2go for Windows mobile devices. It is Mpeg-II format.

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 00:24

DebS

Thank you to everyone who chimed in on my waffle towel question, I went through Anne Dixons book ( I know, finally) :) This forum is definitely a great place to come for newbies like me that have a thousand questions running through their brains ;)

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 03:39

Cadenza

I'm still here! I decided to try some natural colored dish towels for my second project.  Unfortunately I grossly miscalculated the yarn I had left. More is on the way along with a little spinning fiber and another color of the 8/2 cotton I've been using. I had enough for the warp, but no weft! So I figured if the weft is slightly different than the warp it won't matter much... I ordered from a different shop. 

The warp is measured and I sleyed the reed over the weekend. Starting on the heddles tonight. Then I might sample with the little yarn I have left.

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 03:45

Cadenza

Reed guy! When I tried to access the video it said the permissions were set to block mobile devices.  (My computer is threatening imminent demise,  so I usually use a tablet except for resumes.  It needs to last until the next Windows is a year old or I can afford a Mac.)

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 07:40

ReedGuy

Cadenza, I will see if I can make an edit in Youtube without reuploading. I'm on dial-up, so a 5 minute video can take 8 hrs to load to Youtube.

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 10:57

Erica J

The holidays have come to an end, thus my weaving progress is slowing down a bit. Fundraising for the redevelopment effort has really picked up, so I've been fairly busy updating the GoFundMe page and sending out Thank You Notes!

The Weavolution Community's generosity extends very far indeed. Thank you to everyone in this group who has already donated. If you've missed our blasts, see the News item on the front page for more info! I don't want to plug here as well! :)

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 11:19

Artistry

Thanks Erica and Oli for all you do for us! Asbestos in the tile. Good to know so we can take care of it BUT it sets back everything else when the studio will be ready. Two words, Grrrrr and Brrrrr.
Tue, 01/07/2014 - 17:06

Tom in NC

Hi Erica,
I have a single unit draw loom with the that I have not yet set-up.  It has the Damask extension which makes the loom about 10 feet long which is a bit cramped for the room I have it in.  I am wanting to take the extension off and move the beam closer to the back.  My question is what are you using to attach the pattern heddles to the strings that you will use to draw the pattern heddles up?

Tom

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 17:34

tien (not verified)

The good news: Emmy the 40-shaft loom is working! I got the Compudobby and the e-Lift talking to the computer a few days ago:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnookvcGAg

 

The bad news: as you can see in the video, the shafts are hanging up on each other. I checked with AVL and they recommended adding spacers between the pulleys and the lamms. So I ordered those and am waiting for them to arrive.

 

Meanwhile, I'm doing something mind-numbingly boring: counting heddles. I have (probably) about 4000 heddles, and I want to distribute them evenly across the shafts. I also want to mark every 10th heddle to make counting heddles easier in the future. And, I want to color the heddles to make threading easier. So I have to count them, take them off the loom, swish them around in paint to color them, and then put them back on. Can you tell I'm not looking forward to this? Painful, but necessary (I think).

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 18:29

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

That is so exciting to get your new loom working, especially having it talk to the computer. I thought of you while I was on the Amtrak Surfliner a few days ago. I pulled one of the window curtains over to block the light and then started noticing the pattern. Drafting and pattern analysis is not my strength but I could it was some sort of satin, neat pattern of waves or whatever. Then I started looking at the upholstery ... all beyond the capabilities of my 16 shaft dobbies, but a 40 harness Compudobby, now you're cooking! Now I must be losing my mind because I find textile patterns everywhere now. Hah!
Tue, 01/07/2014 - 18:41

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

I am continuing on with my 35 yards of rayon chenille scarves. I finally got the auto pick advance working properly and the rotary temples are doing their job. I can weave a lot faster. Meanwhile I am prepping the 60" Compudobby for a sample warp. I have some 2/26s wool, a mill end, that I got from Webs. I have a possible commission to weave Civil War horse blankets. The blankets will be something like 80" X 80" off the loom before wet finshing. There is very good domentation from the Civil War but apparently very few blankets survived. I have a choice of weaving them double-wide or in panels. The original blankets were probably done on wide power looms. You can see an example on my blog, mmsooshandweaving.blogspot.com. Now here's the big problem: Where can I get a repeatable quantity of 2/20's wool, no mill ends?? Each blanket will take 3-4lbs of wool. I have looked everywhere I know to look.
Tue, 01/07/2014 - 19:11

tien (not verified)

Which count are you referring to? Webs' 2/26 wool is measured in nm and is 7260 ypp. 2/20 nm wool would be about 8400 yards per pound; 2/20 wool in wool count is 5600 ypp, and you can buy that repeatably as Jaggerspun Maine Line 2/20 - a list of colors available here: http://www.jaggeryarn.com/wholesale-yarn-lines/the-maine-line.php

There is a slightly thinner version available here: http://www.sarahsyarns.com/JSSuperLamb.html which is about 6000 ypp.

But I think you are looking for 8400 ypp? I have no idea where to find that, unfortunately, except as mill ends.

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 19:35

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

I am sampling with the 2/26s but in the end I think I 'll have to go with the 2/20's because as you say at least Jaggerspun has it. The finished dimensions are more important as the blanket has to fit just so under the saddle. I have not wanted to get a tax # for my business because then I'll get on the quarterly reporting train but might have to in order to buy wholesale. My other problem is the wet-finishing. Fortunately I have a low tech top loader but 3-4lbs wool + H2O is going to task the motor, Then there is "tentering it" and drying it. All of these "problems" are fun. Get's the grey matter working.
Tue, 01/07/2014 - 20:24

ReedGuy

I had to build a drying wrack for my wool blankets. I have nothing to drape it on. A line sags, not what you want with your first washing.

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 20:43

theresasc

Reedguy,  I have thought to make one too.  My thought is to use 3" or 4" PVC, preferably the kind with holes for drainage.  The holes would allow air to flow through and the girth of the pipe would not leave clothes line marks.  My game plan is to find a place in my garage to suspend it.  That way I can take it down when I don't need it.  Just some thoughts on the subject:-)

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 00:39

ReedGuy

Mine is made from wooden dowels and square framing pieces to attach the dowels. I cut the dowels myself. I'd never buy them because the length of dowel I used they'd want about $12 bucks dowel rod and I have probably 20 dowels over 5 feet long. DOH!! :)

Smaller versions were very much in style here when everyone had an old wood kitchen stove. :)

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 13:56

tien (not verified)

Ah yes, the "weaver's handshake" - weavers don't shake hands, they grab a fold of the handwoven fabric the other weaver is wearing, fondle it, and then say, "Is that a twill?"

 

I find I pay more attention to the textiles I see since I started weaving. Most of them are prints or jacquard weaves, but every once in awhile I see one that is weavable on a shaft loom!

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 14:11

tommye scanlin

I just posted to my blog about this year's approach to the daily practice I do that I started calling "Tapestry Diary" a few years back--

http://tapestry13.blogspot.com/2014/01/tapestry-diary-for-2014-begins.html

My other tapestry weaving moves ahead, pass by pass, as well.  I'm in the process of finshing details on one piece and weaving daily as much as I can on another.  And trying to stay warm here in the chilly southern Appalachians!

Tommye

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 14:16

tien (not verified)

I spent yesterday doing tedious-but-necessary things to get Emmy working. The shafts were hanging up on each other, in part because the spacing between pulleys and lamms was wonky. So I bought narrow shims from McMaster-Carr and put them in between the pulleys and lamms. Here's what it looked like before and after:

photo of lamms before adding shims

Lamms, after inserting spacers

See how much more neatly spaced they are now? The empty space is gone. I did the same thing with the pulleys.

 

The spacers came from McMaster-Carr and are machined to pretty precise widths. This is what they look like from the side:

round metal shims

Unfortunately I had only ordered half the shims I needed (I forgot there were two sets of pulleys and two sets of lamms)! So I ordered some more and they should be here tomorrow. Then I can finish the job.

 

After that, I want to color the heddles. So I will have to remove all the heddles, counting them to make sure I have the correct number on each shaft. Then I'll dip them into each of four colors (red, yellow, green, and blue). Then I'll mark one out of every ten heddles with black on the ends, and use them for "counting heddles" when I put the heddles back on. That will make it much easier to count heddles per shaft in the future.

 

Not looking forward to doing this as I imagine it will take several hours of mind-numbing, fiddly boredom (there are 4000 heddles on the loom!) - but it will make life much easier later on, so I'm exercising iron discipline and doing it anyway. I may see if I can con a friend into helping.

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 17:47

MMs-and-OOs-Ha…

Doesn't it make you wonder how they thread up a commercial jacquard loom? or how they did it with some of the mechanized dobbies, like the big patterns in the Oelsner book? Even if they continually tied on warps, somebody, somewhere had to sley all of those heddles? Right? My 60" came with this neat heddle organizer, nothing all that special, just a board with pegs spaced at heddle length. Sure beats them hanging out in bundles and when you move heddles around (not recommended) you can slip them on the pegs. Easy to count and "color". The heddles on the 60" came "colored" with textile paint, not a dye for polyester, so they are ugly. Oh well, at least you can see who is who. If I could ever figure how to upload a photo from my IPad to this comment section, I would upload a photo of the "heddle organizer".
Wed, 01/08/2014 - 16:29

Erica J

Tom,

I have a shaft drawloom, so I have pattern bars rather than strings. Becky Ashden's video, askibg loads of questions on the drawloom group here, and visiting Sara at The Woolgatherers gave me the cobfidence to finally set mine up!

Good luck,

Erica

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 16:54

theresasc

I am still weaving away on the tapestry.  When I have the need to just throw shuttles and not worry too much about yarn placement I go and work on the twill block towels.  The two projects are just pulling me along.

I am trying to recreate the picture of water and ice - sometimes it works, sometimes I am just not sure.  Just the bottom of the image is woven, I now have to work on the shoreline and the solid ground, which I would like to be snow covered, but I am not quite sure how to approach that yet.

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 16:56

theresasc

Reedguy, that is a monster rack!  I still have a couple of standard sized racks like that.  Since I live in a condo, I cannot hang a clothes line so I use the racks on one of my porches to dry stuff in decent weather.

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 18:02

sally orgren

as you weave toward the shore, I think the "going" is going to get interesting!

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 18:51

endorph

I am loving your tapestry.

Everyone else - WOW - what a productive group you are and so good about keeping us updated on all of the varied projects. Its very inspiring.

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 21:26

Artistry

Theresasc , Tapestry looks lovely!
Wed, 01/08/2014 - 22:03

ReedGuy

Keep at it theresa, practice and experimenting will reward with dividends some day. :)

Thu, 01/09/2014 - 02:13

Cadenza

Beautiful tapestry so far! 

I am still threading heddles after work. The pattern I'm trying this time is a Swedish lace and is more complicated threading than the diamond twill I did for my first project. 

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