A PROPOSAL FOR NOVICE BACKSTRAP LOOM WEAVERS-By Laverne Waddington

This is where I will post the beginner project notes-yarn recommendations, warping instructions, heddle making instructions etc...so look forward to lots of diagrams and photos soon...................

THESE ARE WARP-FACED WEAVES.

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A WORD ON YARN.

You'll have to forgive me with the yarn recommendations here as I am in Bolivia and we are not exactly spoiled for choice. I generally demo with a very heavy weight cotton which you can see on the left on the ruler-it wraps only 12 times around to the inch. For my own projects, I use 8/2 weight cotton which you can see on the right.

Your yarns need to be FIRM and smooth-nothing loosely twisted or fluffy in any way. Something between the 2 weights would be good for a beginner project. The heavy weight is good for sample bands  and for getting used to handling the loom but for most projects it really is a bit too chunky. It would make a very nice belt though.

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A WORD ON WARPING.

Whatever you choose to warp around needs to be VERY FIRMLY grounded. The stakes must not move or bend in towards each other as your warping progresses. If you choose to clamp stakes to a table, clamp them VERY TIGHTLY!!!!!.

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And just to whet your appetites....here is one of the first finished pieces by one of our weave-alongers. Esmecat decided to warp up for all three proposals-combs, vertical stripes and horizontal bars with stunning results. You can read more about her piece on this page www.weavolution.com/node/4768.

Comments

Fri, 08/14/2009 - 22:56

esmecat (not verified)

Laverne, you are awesome!

many many thanks for all you are doing to make this happen!

Wed, 11/04/2009 - 19:22

bolivian warmi

OPTION 1-the easiest.......vertical stripes. You set up everything in the warping and no further adjustments of the warps are necessary later. This is the only example I have handy with several vertical stripes. Ignore the pick-up pattern in the middle!!-that will be for another weave-along in the future! This is a plain warp-faced weave.

 

WARPING-basic figure-of-eight path,tying on new colors at the start stake/post. At least two revolutions recommended for a stripe.

Short videos showing the basic warping procedure can be seen on my Flikr page here.................

www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/sets/72157620403266756/

 

This is a simple figure-of-eight warp-cut the warp and tie on new colors at the start stake. I recommend a minimum of two warp revolutions for each stripe. Finish at the start stake, tying the warp around the stake with a big loop-so that there is room to easily pass your loom bar through. If you are uing clamps to secure the stakes MAKE SURE THEY ARE CLAMPED VERY FIRMLY AND ARE NOT ABLE TO LEAN IN AS THE WARPING PROGRESSES.

MAKE SURE YOU SECURE THE CROSS BEFORE REMOVING THE WARP FROM THE STAKES.

The far/back loom bar will replace the start warp stake.All the knots will be at the far/back loom bar. Your front loom bar replaces the other stake.

The warps that pass over the cross stick on the right in the diagram will be placed in string heddles. The warps passing over the cross stick on the left in the diagram will be controlled by a shed stick or shed loop. 

Mon, 09/21/2009 - 03:59

bolivian warmi

OPTION 2-''comb'' pattern. An additional arrangement of the warps needs to be made either on the warping pegs, or once on the loom. Once the warps have been arranged it's all plain weave with no extra manipulations required. Some options below with ''combs''- ignore the pick-up pattern in the second pic...that's for later!

Laverne

WARPING............

Step 1-wind 4 revolutions of black warp.

Step 2- cut the black warp at the start stake and tie on the black and orange. Wind two revolutions of black and orange together.

Step 3-cut the black and orange warps and tie on the orange-wind 2 revolutions with the orange.

Step 4-repeat step 2 (except that you will be tying the black and orange onto the ORANGE warp)

Step 5-repeat step 1

These are the instructions for the sample above made with thick yarn. You will probably want to use more revolutions for thinner yarn.

Once the warp is off the warping stakes and onto your loom, the warps need to be rearranged into a new cross. Only the orange and black warps that are together to form the comb pattern need to have their positions changed .

    

 

    

Place one orange warp on your index finger, one

black on the middle one and so on.

You will make your string heddles on the warps that are passing over the lower stick. The warps passing over the upper stick will be controlled by a shed stick or shed loop.

Note....If you are feeling adventurous you can warp up for this using 4 stakes-separating out the colors as you go- and thus eliminate the need to rearrange the warp order once the warp is off the warping board. I have a video showing this procedure on  my Flikr page here.............

www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/3938364050/in/set-72157622418517902/

 

 

Sun, 08/16/2009 - 12:50

bolivian warmi

OPTION 3......horizontal stripes. There is a handy way to warp for this using 4 stakes instead of two but if you don't have a way to set this up, the warps can be re arranged on the loom. Once arranged, it's all plain weave......This first photo will give you a good view of the cotton yarn that I am using-super thick-good for demos and samples-only thing they only bring it here from Brazil in 5 colors-hence the monotony in these posted samples! I warped this up quickly this morning. In the second pic you see that I don't even need a shed stick or heddle rod. I am using a loop of cotton in place of the shed stick and the same thick cotton for my heddle string.

Laverne

WARPING........

      

                                                                                                           OR VICE VERSA......red warps on the top stick and tan on                                                                                                             the bottom. 

     

The border warps do not need to be rearranged.

Place one red warp on your forefinger, then one tan warp

on your middle finger and so on across the width of the warp.

 

You will make your string heddles to control the tan warps and the borders on the lower stick. The red warps and borders on the upper stick will be controlled by a shed stick or shed loop.

Sun, 08/16/2009 - 02:17

Virag (not verified)

Thank you for these pics and diagrams.

Sun, 08/16/2009 - 14:56

Tiia (not verified)

 Lovely step by step instructions Laverne!!!  

Sun, 08/16/2009 - 15:52

seaphish (not verified)

Laverne,

Thank you so much for these clear instructions!

Carolyn

Mon, 08/17/2009 - 21:51

bolivian warmi

Hit this link and scroll down to just past half way on this page and you will see a beautiful band woven with the ''comb'' design I have proposed here.

www.turkotek.com/salon_00090/s90t2.htm

This link courtesy of Virag. Thanks Lisa-I am going to weave this!

Laverne

Tue, 08/18/2009 - 00:03

jj50 (not verified)

Thanks for the incredible instructions Laverne! I'll be getting back to my project tomorrow or Thursday. I put stripes in the warp and have been experimenting with color change stipes in the weft. It sounds better than it looks!

 

Jan

Tue, 08/18/2009 - 18:21

bolivian warmi

MAKING CONTINUOUS STRING HEDDLES........................

Here is a link to my Flikr page which shows how to make continuous string heddles across a wide warp on a heddle stick.

www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/sets/72157621462362178/

 I am using 8/2 cotton to make the heddles.

A lot of people like to use NYLON THREAD as it is slippery and less abrasive on the warps-therefore causing less pilling. I am not a big fan of nylon thread as it doesn't hold knots well. The crochet cotton I use has always worked fine for me-there is minimal pilling.

Below are a few pics showing how to make string heddles across a narrow warp.

Pass your heddle string throught the shed. You will be making heddles around the warps that are pasiing over the lower cross stick.

   

Anchor the string with your left thumb        Pass the string up and around your hand

and pull the heddle string up from    

between the first and second warp.     

   

Anchor the string with your left hand      Continue in the same way for all the heddles.

and pull up the string from between      Pass a string through the loops and make an overhand knot

the second and third warps.                    Add the two heddle string tails to the red string and tie another ovehand knot.

Tue, 08/18/2009 - 16:08

francorios (not verified)

Using Option 3 Horiz Stripe, I started my weavealong last night. I'll post pictures later

Using pencils for loom bars. I made a warping bar with  yardstick (36 inch/91.4cm) and pencils lashed on for warping sticks.

Warped a 30 inch long piece.  Red and white cotton crochet thread.

8 thread red border, 16red/16white, 8 red border

I arranged it just like showan above and it's working just like described.

Have a good day!

Tue, 08/18/2009 - 16:52

bolivian warmi

Great Franco!! I knew I could rely on you to get the ball rolling. Let me know if you would like to learn the 4-strand braid I told you about.

Happy weaving!

Laverne

Wed, 08/19/2009 - 09:09

esmecat (not verified)

than you so much for all of this Laverne! i'm having a blast and learning a lot!

i got ambitious and planned out a 3 color pattern with some old stash crochet cotton... red pink and green. not the colors i would have picked if i wasn't stash diving. (and these were even free from a friend when they came into the stash)

i'm combining all 3 options into my sampler piece... vertical stripes, combs, and a center section of horizontal stripes. i've warped it all up and done the rearranging and it's all working out great! now to make my first ever set of string heddles....

thank you again! 

Wed, 08/19/2009 - 10:22

esmecat (not verified)

string heddles made! yea!! 

(very proud of myself at the moment... why isn't anyone else in the house up to come look and ohh and ahh with me??) 

i used your flickr instructions, laverne, to make the heddles onto a stick(pencil) with the hitches to secure them. worked like a charm.

Wed, 08/19/2009 - 20:42

bolivian warmi

A WORD ABOUT WIDTH.............

This is a warp-faced weave so you need to push your warps together so that they are just touching each other before you pass the first weft. Judging the width of your piece-especially if you are using a yarn which you are not familiar with-is very hard.

The weaving will settle into the width IT wants to be once you have woven a few inches so you chances are you will have a start that is either too narrow or too wide.

You have two options....take note of the width once it has settled, pick it all undone and start again!!

OR....................take note of the width for your next project and consider this one a sample. You may find some clever way to use this piece so that the width variation is not noticeable-sew it into a small coin purse or something like that.

Consider yourself lucky if you get the width correct right from the start.

I started this too narrow-didn't want to unpick it!!

Wed, 08/19/2009 - 17:29

francorios (not verified)

4-strand braid sounds good.

I'm still weaving along, no pictures.

I am using a shuttle made from a wooden ruler. The sides of the ruler are slightly beveled and makes it usable for a beater as well as a shuttle. I was using a credit card as a beater, but found that the ruler/shuttle works just as well as a beater. So stopped using the credit card beater. Once less thing to keep track of while weaving.

I'm using a string for the upper shed. I will replace with a shed stick (pencil) tonight. The string tends to bunch the warp together, making it difficult to pop the string heddle shed down. So I lift up the string, push my finger under, spread the warp, pop the string heddle shed down.

When I use a shed stick, the warp is already spread out. That may save some time.

Other thing I'm noticing is time. I'm used to weaving with worsted yarn. This crochet thread takes a long time to weave six inches.

Have a good day!

Wed, 08/19/2009 - 20:39

bolivian warmi

I am the opposite to you, Franco. I am weaving the double weave with a very heavy cotton-13 wraps per inch which I am not used to and it is weaving up super fast. Being DOUBLE weave it is a super thick and chunky piece. If it were wider it would make a great backstrap.

Tue, 09/01/2009 - 17:54

bolivian warmi

Here are a couple of more variations on the basic stripes. If you have tried the warp rearrangements on the above proposals,you should be able to see how these are done.

Have fun with these!

Laverne

Tue, 09/01/2009 - 18:08

bolivian warmi

A WORD ON EDGES...............

Once of the hardest things as a novice weaver is keeping the edges straight and even. The weaver either pulls the weft through the shed too hard or too loosely. This photo shows how your weft should look up against the edges. I used a different color weft to the edge warps so you can see clearly how each weft is positioned. I got this idea fromTiia who is using a contrast color weft in the double weave weave-along.

To stop yourself from pulling the weft in too hard and bending the edge warps out of shape, you should pinch the edge hard with one hand as you draw the warp through with the other. This pinching will not let the warps bend out of shape. When you feel the weft just bump up against the edge warp you can let go and the weft should be ideally positioned.

it also helps a lot to give the weft a tug at the edge BEFORE you pass the shuttle through.

Mon, 09/21/2009 - 04:02

bolivian warmi

Note....If you are feeling adventurous you can warp up for the above horizontal stripes option using 4 stakes-separating out the colors as you go- and thus eliminating the need to rearrange the warp order once the warp is off the warping board. I have a video showing this procedure on  my Flikr page here.........

www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/3938364050/in/set-72157622418517902/

 

Thu, 09/24/2009 - 21:24

LoomMonkey (not verified)

This is awesome :)

And quite funny actually. Last year I was staying with a friend in Scotland, no crafting supplies with me, I lasted a whole week and a half before I cracked. Bought some embroidery thread, a cheap picture frame and some clamps and proceeded to make a loom to weave a strap. The frame ultimately cracked (in my bag when visiting another friend) which was somewhat disappointing, but I had made string heddles very similar to these used in backstrap weaving (actually, more like sewing-thread heddles!), and soooo wish I had thought about using person-tensioned sticks instead of the frame-and-clamps arrangement.

Time now for me to grab some pencils and, er, warp up the Bolivian way :)

Thu, 09/24/2009 - 22:01

bolivian warmi

Does this mean you are going to join our weave along? Come on!!

Laverne

Sat, 09/26/2009 - 08:32

LoomMonkey (not verified)

Heh. Well my first project, a pretty blue-and-white band, is off the sticks and has for some reason been tied around my husband's head! Does that count as me joining the weave-along?

I'm trying to mentally set up a striped bag, using my handspun wool. I should be able to start tonight if I can find something to use as a heddle stick. Pencils are too short :(

I'm ACHING to know about pick-up techniques too!

Sat, 09/26/2009 - 12:02

bolivian warmi

Where's the camera? Can we see it?-with or without husband's head. What yarn did you use? You were FAST!

Using your handspun-remember that you will probably need to overspin it-it needs to be very firm and have a good hard twist so that it kinks back on itself when at rest. Opening sheds with wool is a different experience! The fibers tend to mesh and the sheds open with a weird tearing sound. Don't expect the sheds to just pop open-you wil need to help things along. when you go to open the heddles you will need to push down the warps behind the heddles with your other hand and check carefully that the shed has completely cleared. When you want to open the shed rod shed, you will probabaly have to get your hand in there and lift the warps and help ease them through the heddles down to the weaving line. This is all normal and worth the effort to have  alovely piece made form your own handspun.

As for pick-up tehniques. There are instructions on the ''back to school'' page for warp float patterns-they look basic but the designs can be as simple or as complex as you like. I have a picture in Tidball's monograph of a large piece with peacocks and other birds and animals made with this technique-wish I could post it here.

Also we did an intermediate weave along a while back for double weave................

www.weavolution.com/node/4611

But take it easy ok? Just get acquainted with your loom first. Work on getting good selvedges and opening the sheds smoothly and efficiently.

Laverne

Sat, 09/26/2009 - 12:42

Caroline (not verified)

The peacock photo is still in copyright, but if you check this article out by Mary Meigs Atwater there are some pretty cool animal motifs, and the charts to go with them, and they make a nice challenge:

www.handweaving.net/DAItemDetail.aspx

and an amazing Peruvian wedding belt here:

essellesbabble.blogspot.com/2006/12/peruvian-wedding-belt.html

which demonstrates what you can learn to do with the info Laverne has given us already.

The Spanish word for loom is "telar" so if you add Peru, or Bolivia or Guatemala etc after it, you  can find some great images of woven cloth and patterns. However a "telar maya" is a knitting loom.

Most of the best images and photos are in the older books that you can find at handweaving.net, and many of the books and articles there discuss the techniques used in the WALs, and have patterns that we can use.

Sat, 09/26/2009 - 12:55

bolivian warmi

I am pretty sure that wedding belt is from Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca and is WAY more intricate than the belts they sell to the tourists-the designs are done in double weave-and there's a rabbit there-did you see? Have to try and copy that for Franco! Nice find Caroline.

Moh Fini in his book ''The Weavers of Ancient Peru'' gives an explanation of a lot of the Taquile Island motifs.

Wed, 09/30/2009 - 17:58

Aquinnah (not verified)

 Wow!!!! all thisn is just fabulous! I am reluctant to give it a start right now, as I would (again) side track and not get on with what I nedd to get on with. however, I am back in Sweden again in November and I think I have made a promise to myself to bring a back strap weaving loom along. I like the quiver idea someone mentioned. And before then I must study all the above very closely and LEARN!!!!!

Wed, 09/30/2009 - 18:08

bolivian warmi

Glad you found this and find it motivating. Well if you are back in Sweden in November you have the whole month of October to try this out. Are there weavers you will be seeing in Sweden who can teach you things if you take a backstrap loom?

Laverne

Wed, 09/30/2009 - 18:31

Aquinnah (not verified)

 No, don't think so at all. There are weavers (comparatively pretty common in Sweden), but I won't see more than one or two at most, and they are into proper big floor looms. I think it is a matter of me getting on with it myself.

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 18:34

Aquinnah (not verified)

  Well, slowly I am getting there: I have cut up lots of dowel, but not strung it up yet. Tried to do a good job, so made suitable grooves to stop things slipping and sanded. It is all looking rather good! Have also made a piece of wood to put up on a specific wall to attach hooks to, but haven't done that yet,a s it involves drills, drilling, mess and noise. Have done it many times before, but remains a non-favoured activity. In the meantime I am re-eyeing up our main, small, sitting- and -TV room to see if I can spot a good tying on spot that I haven't so far noticed. The thought of sitting on the floor with legs outstreched still make my eyes water! If that were an option it would be easier.

 I

 

 

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 18:37

Aquinnah (not verified)

 More update! since above a few hours ago, I have now attached a couple of hooks under a fixed shelf (above the books on the shelf below), and my next step is to closely study Laverne's instructions above so I get the warping right. 

In the meantime, there is this website which show some nice Swedish bands. Sätergläntan is a craft/course centre with a shop. Never been. One day.........

n the meantime I have found a rather nice pic of some Swedish bands  here: http://www.saterglantan.se/butiken_en.php

 

 

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 20:18

bolivian warmi

I hope this tie up place works for you. Are you going to sit on a chair? My brother has very kindly put hooks into the side of a large chest in his guest room so that I can drop a dowel rod in there and weave when I am visiting him in Australia. There I sit on his nice plush carpet. My mum is not quite so happy about having hooks driven into her furniture so I tend to braid at her place when we are sitting about in the evening.

That link leads to a lovely place! How I would love to go and do some courses there!! And the books!!

You are going to Sweden some time soon aren't you? Will you be visiting that place?

Laverne

 

 

 

 

Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:25

Aquinnah (not verified)

 I 'got started' properly last night.............

Warped up..........forgetting about the all important cross over bit. I have previously warped for tablet weaving, where the cross doesn't matter (of no use at all in fact) so only when I had finished did I realise I had no cross. Laverne shows it so carefully, but that bit just hadn't sunk in. Anyway, I persevered. The result is that my warps at the beginning and the end look a terrible mess (NO, I am NOT submitting a photo! Let is suffice that I hang my head about this!). I used some nobs we have on our sitting room table for warping, rather than digging out my warping pegs (no problem) and my clamps (big problem - may well have disappeared into our general tool mess) and that is why I did it the 'easy' (or so I thought) way. 

Next probem: I made the string heddles far too short, with the result that I find it hard to separate the stick heddle as the strings stop the warp from moving. I will be re-doing my string heddles, probably this morning. 

What do I learn from this? Well, a lot! Nothing compares to making crucial mistakes to make you remember why doing it in a certain way is a good idea. And also I am quickly discovering my own preferences, what I need to adjust and change or do differently altogether. 

So lots of unnecessary hard work, but also lots of learning.

 

Fri, 10/23/2009 - 10:07

Aquinnah (not verified)

 I have now remade my heddles and they work well. Have started weaving - my hooks under a shelf fairly high up work well - I sit sideways on our sofa, on a cushion. Not so different I suppose from sitting on the floor, but it feels OK. I find I put the strap virtually under my bottom, as otherwise I tend to pull my shoulders up to manage the weave, which hurts after a while. That was particularly when I was making my string heddles. 

Now I have woven a few inches and it looks good! There is a mistake or two in the warping - see above about the usefulness of a good cross over! - but it doesn't distract much, so I can live with that (or as they say in Islam - never make it totally perfect, as only god is perfect). 

Next problem: I now need to wind the weave on a bit to make it more comfortable, eg closer to my body. Are there instructions anywhere. I could just slide it off my dowel and re-attach a bit further on using a safety pin, but are there better methods? For now I have taken a second dowel and rolled them up together, but how do I make that firm? Wind strings round it? I am sure I can find a way, but if there are good tried and tested methods I would like to hear about them. Or get directions to where on this site I would find my asnwer (I do find it a bit hard finding my way around it - it seems to involve a heck of a lot of scrolling!)

When I got on a bit more a may post a photo.

Fri, 10/23/2009 - 14:43

bolivian warmi

Hi Aquinnah,

Hang in there! I am so excited that you are weaving!

You are certainly learning a lot and it sounds like you are enjoying it all. Yes, as you say, ther's is nothing like making those mistakes yourself (and suffering a little!) to make yourself realize why things are done a certain way. You seem to have the required tenacity to learn this!

I am putting photos here to show you how to roll up the waeving as you progress. This was shown on the videos in the WeaveZine article but I am thinking that maybe you are not able to access the videos. In any case, I shall put photos here and strat a new thread just for this too so it will easier for others to find. Thanks for the feedback on that.

                                                           

Place a second dowel under the weaving.                                                    Roll the two dowels up together. Place the

                                                                                                                               backstrap cords OVER the first dowel and then

                                                                                                                               around the second one as shown. It doesn't matter

                                                                                                                               which dowel ends up first or second.

 

You are now set to continue weaving. (Sorry about this photo-I will remember to sit in a more lady-like position next time!!)

Are you able to see the videos in the WeaveZine article?   weavezine.com/content/backstrap-basics

Carry on Aquinnah-a few oopsies but you are up and weaving-that's great!

Laverne

Fri, 10/23/2009 - 15:49

Aquinnah (not verified)

 That looks easy! I have managed it so far, but more clumsily - I shall now go and 'explore' with my own. I ended up with two dowels, but didn't cotton on to the 'self lock' effect of using the strap, so in the end I added a third dowel to tie to the second. One issue that I can see at present is that my strap dowel is rather longer than my pairing dowel, but I am sure I can do something with it. 

As for the rest I am getting on fine now and getting into that nice rhythm. Need to watch my self edges though - making them neither too loose not too tight. I do feel it in back and shoulders, but I think that's amatter of sorting my sitting position better, eg sitting higher, so that I can keep the weaving lower. Two cushions under me on the sofa might just be a good idea. 

As for the strap I am making, the idea is to make one broad and long enough to be a back strap for the loom I plan to make for our daughter for a Christmas present. As for taking it with me to Sweden when I go shortly - not sure: My mother isn't given to letting me concentrate on things in peace. I'll see, but if I do I need to make another smaller one. The current one is a bit too wide - the dowels tend to flop about a bit, and certainly too wide for travelling with. 

Fri, 10/23/2009 - 16:55

bolivian warmi

You will probably feel a bit sore after a session of backstrap weaving-this is normal after sitting in a postion you are not used to and using muscles in ways you wouldn't normally. My students here have sore legs, abdomens and upper arms after their first session with me!

Good for you for being resourceful and sorting out the roll up problem yourself.

Laverne

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 09:42

Aquinnah (not verified)

 Hi!

I have now successfully completed my first band. I will post a photo, but not just now as there are other inescapable priorities.

It is about 70 or 80 cm long and about 6 cm wide and will make a good strap for the back strap loom I will be making our daughter for christmas. 

I am away after next Monday and won't have access to this site for about 10 days, so will be off line, but plan to come back again. 

Aquinnah

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 13:08

bolivian warmi

Not fair!! Taking off and not showing us your strap! Anyway congratulations on turning out your first backstap woven piece. I hope you will be plannng your next project while you are away. Hurry back! :-)

Laverne

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 15:25

Aquinnah (not verified)

 I will do it, maybe this week if I get a chance (have a visitor staying, from abroad, thus getting it off the loom fast in a ginormous effort to tidy the place up a bit and make it at least a bit presentable before she arrives later today). And I want to do more bands! My husband has put in a request for a band to be turned into a belt for him. I am not good at making things that have no purpose - tend to lose interest fast - and not too many bookmarks. I feel inundated with them, always lose them and never use them properly. When  I need a book mark an old envelope or similar does very well and no tears if lost. So ideas other than bookmarks are good for me. And a belt will be fun! Must just go to a shop to get the doodah bits, the buckle I think I mean, before starting so I have the right width. 

Also will need to expand my repertoire of yarns: there's a brilliant sedonhand/charity shop in the small town in north Sweden where I am heading. they often have loads of useful bits of equipment and materials all sold for a song. 

 

Again, I will see if I can get a photo up sooner rather than later - maybe even today if/when I stop panicking about state of house!

Aquinnah

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 15:55

bolivian warmi

Great! Off to Sweden! I take it you have seen the page I started with belt making tips. Just in case.............

www.weavolution.com/node/6167

Yes, It IS nice to have a purpose. Do you have any guitar playing friends or family? A guitar strap is a great project too.

I have hand sewn some of my belts onto webbing if I found they weren't quite stiff enough.

Have a great trip, good luck with the cleaning and hopefully we'll see a photo before you go!

Laverne

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 16:30

Aquinnah (not verified)

 Well, sense of responsibility or guilt or fedupness with tidying or just excitement at having completed my strap led me to my camera, so here's a photo. I haven't finished it yet, thus the brown bits of still-hanging-loose weft. It will come. 

 

As for bringing the weaving with me, well, it could still havppen, but I did learn from my first project that shorter dowels for bands are a good idea, so I would need to make a travelling one. it could happen.......but then I am also trying to squeeze in some spinning for my naalbinding project and some more spinning for my shawlt to knit 0 all of which is hopefuly coming with me. So we'll see. 

Here's my photo (unless  I have forgotten how to do it and give up in frustration)

There we go!

Tanya

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 16:48

bolivian warmi

Aha-we get a beautiful band picture AND your real name. :-)

Excellent job. I don't even see any beginner bumpiness in the edges. Very well done-thank you for posting that!! Back to tidying then!

Laverne

Mon, 10/26/2009 - 18:02

Aquinnah (not verified)

 Yes, I gave myself away - tend not to worry in 'closed 'groups, like the UKOnlineWSD group, but really open ones I tend to be more careful. Oh, well. 

Thanks for your kind comments, Laverne. There are bumpinesses at the edge, but it could have been a lot worse! I think my battling with tablet weaving has had some good results. 

and, yes, back to tidying.....over now, thank goodness. 

Aquinnah aka Tanya

Wed, 10/28/2009 - 16:27

Aunt Janet (not verified)

Aquinnah,

  Lovely band!  It looks straight edged to me.  I know what you mean, though.  Don't we want perfect edges.  I do think mine are improving, but not as straight as I want them to be, yet.  I will get there.

I'm warping my 7th piece on backstrap now.  I'm trying a heavier yarn that I found in my lys.  I would also like to try a finer yarn one of these days.  I've been making one yard warps so far.  This next one is two yards long, and not very wide, maybe two inches.  It should weave up quickly.  I will put a bit of the warp float patterning in this one.  I found it was really difficult to change sheds at the end of my last piece.  I'm just going to leave a lot of end on this one.  I love really long fringe, anyway.

Aunt Janet

Sun, 11/01/2009 - 19:18

Aquinnah (not verified)

 Thanks for nice comments!

Yes, I'm back here briefly, mid packing to leave. This last week I have had a Swedish friend visiting (lovely days), she left today and now I'm off too. 

One thing I did find, bizarrely, was that my edges were far less lumpy on my left, when weaving, than on my right - even without thinking about it! When I did think about it they got far better on the right. My left edge 'behaved' and stayed quite reasonably throughout. Any suggestions why? I may be back here briefly tomorrow before leaving, but otherwise I am definitely back within two weeks. 

Sun, 11/01/2009 - 20:15

bolivian warmi

This is one of those great unsolved  mysteries ,Aquinnah-at least it is for me. Perhaps someone else has solved it and will come along and enlighten us!

 My edges are pretty much always better on one side than the other too! My right side seems to come out better-that's when I am sailing along and not thinking about it. If I really concentrate on it, both sides come out reasonably well. I am a bit obsessive about edges and tend to spend a bit of time fiddling about and trying to get them both looking good.

If we don't hear from you tomorrow, have a wonderful trip.

Mon, 11/02/2009 - 00:08

Aquinnah (not verified)

 I think edges are a reasonably good thing to be obsessive about - as long as that isn't too obsessive! Inn other words, life is too short, too much just to enjoy - including the weaving!

Mon, 11/02/2009 - 09:41

Aunt Janet (not verified)

I've noticed that my right side is the one that is less straight.  I'm right handed.  I saw a conversation about this on a tablet weaving list recently.  I think the theory was that it has to do with hand dominance.  I wondered though, if it had to do with the way the threads close easier on one shed over the other.  So, if you relax your shuttle hand, or your hand holding the edge while changing sheds, you will have a different result depending on how much the warp holds the weft in place.  Concentration and obsessing help a lot.