Marking Progress

 

Progress happens slowly enough in weaving that sometimes I post things just to remind myself that I actually have been getting stuff done.

Truth to tell, these shawls came off the loom fairly quickly.  It was the fringe twisting that has taken so much time.  Usually I allow the same amount of shuttle throwing time for fringe twisting, but shawls are a lot wider than scarves, so the fringe twisting actually takes longer than the weaving.

However, here are the first three shawls.

They are a nice quality (I think) and I'm pleased enough with them.  

The next warp is beamed, threaded, sleyed and tied on.  Today I will weave the samples for the first article I'm working on.  Once I have the samples woven and the 'experiments' done, I can begin writing the text.

It's been fun digging through my resources, then the internet, (figured out how to access Google internet searches by turning AI references off - yay!) and then thinking about the topic.  Rather than weave all of the samples, I'm going to dig through my teaching samples and use some of those as more examples.

The next warp is 2/8 and it should go fairly quickly once I've finished the required samples.  And then I will put another 2/16 cotton warp into the loom and start using the bleached white linen for weft.  I still have to do an inventory and bring my ko-fi shop into some kind of order for my birthday bash sale the beginning of July, plus deal with the rest of the guild books.  

Some of the guild books just aren't all that saleable, I guess, so I may dump them into the 'sale by donation' pile in the guild room.  But some of them are quite 'rare' and I'm sure someone, somewhere, would like them and I hate to just toss them.  So, I'll try once more.

When I've got the updated list I will post here, and then start listing them on sales groups (in Canada only), or I might see if I can post the really 'rare' ones to other sites like ANWG, or maybe Complex Weavers, if they allow sales.  TBD.

We are approaching the solstice and soon the days will begin to shorten their daylight hours and we'll be back to winter.

And so the cycle repeats as we go round the sun one more time.

A Different Tack

 

Over the weekend I got the next warp into the loom and started weaving this morning.  

Shawls are similar to tea towels in that I'm using 2/16 bamboo for warp and a similar sized rayon for weft.  But, shawls are larger - wider and much longer - so it looks like it is going to take about 4 hours to weave one shawl.

The weave structure is twill, and ratio is 7:9 so the cloth has more warp showing on one side, more weft on the other.  That is a little hard to see in this shot, in part because it is an awkward angle, in part because of the light (which isn't great) and partly because it hasn't been wet finished yet since it is still in the loom.

My next warp was going to be tea towels again, using that fine singles linen that just arrived, but instead I've agreed to write an article and will have to do some samples to illustrate.  OTOH, I can piggy back that experimentation onto a warp I had been planning some months in the future to use up some of my 2/8 cotton and that mystery yarn I posted about a few days ago.  Instead it will go on 'next' and I'll start to use up that mystery yarn at long last - once the article samples have been woven.

One of the things about the articles I've been writing over the past month is that they have required some digging, some thought experiments, some examination of my assumptions, forcing me to think about things in a deeper way.  And then, of course, how to design the experiments to prove - or disprove - my assumptions.  

To have the previous warp, and now this one, go smoothly (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself) is leaving me with some time to sit and ponder.  Since I only need surface attention to weave, other parts of my brain can wander hither and yon, looking at the craft, or my approach to the craft, in different ways.

Wednesday I get the next injections for my back and as such I will need a few days 'rest'.  Part of that 'rest' time will be looking at the Brassard colour cards and choosing the yarns to go with the fine white singles linen.  Part of it will be spent reading about the topics I'm exploring for the articles.  I also have a bin full of hemmed towels that need their final finishing press.  I think I have plenty to keep me occupied for a few days until I feel able to try weaving again.

And who knows what ideas will float to the surface?  In the meantime, I'm enjoying these nice 'easy', co-operative warps.  

Recalculating, Recalculating

 

Latest 'doodlings'...

I'm still on a mission to use up my 2/16 cotton stash.  As part of that stash I had (I thought) a box of black.  Nearly 10 pounds.  A significant amount of black!  

So, I had been weaving away using up some of the other colours left, trying to decide how to use the black.  What colour warp?  Which design(s)?  Because it was going to take a lot more than one warp to use up that much weft yarn.

Yesterday I was about to finish using one of the dark navy yarns, so I started preparing the next weft, and I pulled that box of black down from the top shelf where it had been residing for, oh, 2 years?  3?

The first thing I noticed was that the yarn was very shiny.  Hmm.  Was it mercerized?  No, I had used all the mercerized black a few warps ago.  Must be cotton.

I set up to begin winding bobbins and looked at the yarn more closely.  

Oh.

Not cotton.  Brassard bamboo.

Definitely not wanting to use a 'rayon' in tea towels.  Not that it won't dry dishes, rayons are very absorbent.  They also take a lot longer to release the moisture once saturated.

All my planning of the previous few weeks had to be tossed out the window and I had to re-think my plans.

Now, instead of doing the next warp, which has what looks sort of like reptile skin, with the black weft, I will be using up more of the other colours I have.

There is a large 2 pound cone of a green which will do more than one warp all by itself.  So that will get used for the 'chameleon' design.

I have a greyed green cone that is nearly 3 pounds.  That greyed green is going to 'sadden' the brighter peacock and blue of the warp, so I need something a lot more subtle.  I will have to page through some of my other designs, see if I've got something already in the queue.  

And I have a bunch of natural to use up, which I think I will use on the above 'tile' design.  I took the draft I'm currently weaving and messed around with it, and I think the white weft on the brighter blues will look quite nice.

I'm not sure if there will be enough yarn left for another warp, so now I have to begin thinking about something other than tea towels.

With nearly 10 pounds of black bamboo, it seems I will be making shawls later this summer, after all.

Next Test Warp

The Megado is definitely a different loom from the AVL.  There were many things about the AVL that worked for me very well and beaming sectionally was one of them.  The beam of preference was up high which meant I could stand and turn the crank, cut off and tape the section, then easily attach the leader string to the next.  And all the while, the sections were visible and I could ensure that the 'ribbon' of warp was going into the section flat, not bunched up against one or other of the dividers.

The Megado is a much smaller loom with a lower profile.  The beam is down low and the first couple of warps I struggled with the new location and how best to address filling each section.  Part of the problem is that the sections are below the back beam and the box 'race'.  I'm using the AVL tension box because I prefer it over the Louet that was supplied.  For one thing it has a 10 dent reed to guide the threads, and the reed mount swivels, so I can make the ribbon narrower if necessary.  Or do a compound sleying to keep the ribbon about the correct width.  The AVL beam was also a full yard, while the Megado is just 14".  So lots more turns to get the same warp length.

I didn't like working in the shadow, needing to bend over to be able to see if the ribbon was laying flat so this time I added a light to illuminate my actual work area.  Especially with this very dark warp which is mostly a very dark navy, 4 fairly dark green and the rest black.  Hard to see in the first place, then even more so on another gloomy day, in the shadow of the loom.

The stool is the exact height that makes the job do-able, but it means leaning over to crank, especially on this wider warp, so I'm taking more frequent rest breaks to make sure my back doesn't get too...cranky...in doing the job.

I am also having to tweak my hand motions - how and where I tape the bouts, then tie off the ribbon for the next section, then attach the leader string.  After 20 sections, it's becoming smoother and I'm not having to stop and think about it every single time.  But it still isn't my new default, and may not be even for the next few warps.

My goal is to get this warp beamed today and begin threading.  There are 1080 ends in the warp and it is going to take a while.  I'm hoping to get it threaded before we leave, but if not it will get finished when we get home.

The threading is a re-run of the last tea towel warp I did on the AVL, adjusted for this wider warp.  The tie up and treadlings will be changed.  It is a 'fancy' twill over 16 shafts, with the motif repeated across the width and straight draw borders.

As a test warp, it will do.

The warp should be long enough for four shawls.  I will use the same red, blue and purple for three of them, then finish with a slightly finer grey rayon slub.  For that I will most likely add extra interlacements to increase stability.  The scarves have a lot of drape so the shawls should as well.  I may beat a little harder because wider warps generally have more resistance than narrower ones.  And a slightly denser (more ppi) cloth will also have more stability than one with less.  I think that might be A Good Thing in a shawl.

Change one thing...everything can change...

Special Handling

Yesterday I posted about yarns that are 'tender' and need special handling. 

This yarn is not tender but it still needs special handling.

Even though it was stored in a plastic bag, the bag was loose and during transportation, the coils of yarn around the cone loosened to the point where it was pretty much impossible to find the end of the yarn, and trying to unwind it would have turned into a nightmare of snarls and tangles.

In the end when I gently grabbed the snarl of loose coils and gently pulled them off the cone and onto the table, there really wasn't all that much in terms of yardage - certainly well under an ounce of this 16 ounce cone.

Stripping the loose yarns off the cone took less than a minute, the value of the yarn was very low and many minutes of my time (not to mention the frustration of trying to salvedge it) were saved.

I used to work with this quality of yarn all the time when I wove for the fashion designer.  In point of fact I bought this yarn from her when she decided to retire and close down her business.  So I knew what I was getting in terms of quality - and behaviour.

In order to keep the yarn well behaved I got a bunch of net scrubbies and kept them to put onto the base of the cone.  I cut them long enough to pull up over the cone for storage, but they need to be pulled down to the base or else there is too much friction and the yarn won't feed off without a lot of tension being applied to the yarn.

The scrubbies prevent the yarn from slithering down the cone and wrapping around the base so that as you are winding it catches and snags.  They are also quite elastic and as the diameter of the cone reduces, they simply shrink to accommodate the smaller size.

I finished winding the warp with this yarn with no problems. 

There are other things that can be used in similar fashion - old pantyhose, for example.

Currently reading More Bitter Than Death - remembered to look up the title of the Dana Cameron book I'm nearly finished.

Getting My Groove On

 

Not quite right for colours but as close as I could come - side facing me as I weave

 

Back of the cloth - less of the brick red weft showing

 

Decided to ease back into the weaving since I'd been away from the AVL for so long, so I only did two sessions at the loom today.  They were, however, long sessions because it takes about 65 minutes to weave one shawl.  And since the upgrade to Fiberworks has changed how it behaves in comparison to how it used to behave, and I keep forgetting and wind up losing my place causing a treadling 'error', I decided I'd just weave a whole shawl in one go. 

 

Normally I only weave 45 minutes before taking a break, so weaving for 65 minutes before taking a break was tiring my poor muscles, which are out of training so to speak.  Instead of doing my usual three sessions at the loom, I decided it would be kinder to my body to just do two, and hope that tomorrow I might be able to do three.  I'd really like to finish this warp on Thursday so that I can deliver them to the fringe twisting elf that night.  But we will see how it goes.

 

Currently reading A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear

Day Two

overall look at the booth

close up of painted rayon warp scarf

close up of bamboo warp, Tencel weft shawl

close up of bamboo warp, rayon weft shawl

Since today was Hallowe'en, I figured it would be pretty slow after around 4 pm.  And so it was.  So I took some photos.  

I rarely remember to get 'beauty' shots of my textiles.  Mostly my blogging is just sharing what I'm doing with people.  But I also need photos for media and promotion.  I think the last one shows the iridescence of the plum shawl rather well.

Nearly Done

There is about one yard to go to finish this shawl.   There will be warp left but I am mentally done with this warp.  Deadlines are going critical and 12 shawls will be a nice addition to inventory.  If I have made a mistake and there are only 11?  Oh well.  Time to move on.  

Next!

Currently reading Weave of Absence by Carol Ann Martin

Twins

Maybe even triplets.

Although I have been trying to make each shawl on this warp in some way different (different tie-up, treadling or weft colour), in the case of this teal weft, I'm really pleased with how it is turning out and since I'm trying very hard to use up 'stale' stash, plus I think I have enough of this teal to do three shawls, and because it looks even better in real life than the photo, I'm on #2, planning on making three just like this.

The other side of the cloth has more of the warp showing because the tie up is a 1:3:1:3:1:3:3:1 tie up which makes this side of the cloth mostly weft.

I think it's going to look even better after wet finishing which will include a good hard press.  

Halfway

Or nearly.  I'm half way through shawl six out of an estimated 12. 

I wasn't sure this greyed rose colour was going to play well with the dark blue warp but it seems to be fine.  It is even showing a tendency to iridescence but I will have to wait until it is wet finished to be sure.  

Today I started looking for my double bobbin shuttle and once again failed to find it.  I'm pretty sure I used it during the DVD taping but where it got to after that?   However, I did empty a plastic bin of textiles, some of which I had set aside for the DVD and which never got used.  So they are now in the to be wet finished pile.  I know there is at least one more bin with more, so I will try to find it, too, and get everything done in time for the fall sales.  

My goal is to go through all of the bins and boxes by the end of the year and clear some floor space so that I can bring more yarns over from the annex.  We will see if I'm successful!

Unsure

With the goal of using up as much of my stash as I have, I'm having to push beyond my comfort zone in terms of my weft colour choices.  (I also don't have time to wait around for a yarn order to come in, so...)

Normally I prefer my weft to be closer in value to the warp and the difference in value between the warp and weft is leaving me a little unsure that it really 'works'.  On the other hand, it doesn't look 'bad', just different from my usual.  So I'm carrying on weaving shawl #5 on this warp with the green weft, hoping someone will fall in love with it.

The next weft colour is even more 'daring' - it's a greyed pink, about the same value.  Really unsure about whether that one is going to work or not!

Stacked

Having done an inventory of what I've got ready for the fall shows, I was able to tell what colours I needed to make in order to have a good selection for sale.  While Mary was here, I wound warps and here are five ready to go.  I also noticed I was low on natural 2/8 cotton, so I'm waiting for another yarn order to arrive.

Mary helped by beaming a place mat warp before she left so I spent the morning (when I finally got myself to the loom) threading that.  Now I have a dental appointment so it will have to wait until I get home before I finish sleying and tieing it on.

In addition to these warps, I need more all white and more neutral.  These warps will get interspersed between weaving on the AVL.  There are still about 6 yards (towels) left to weave on the blue/green warp.  After that is done, I will do another 40 yard warp of white/natural/beige in snails trails and cats paws (twill blocks) and then a shawl warp is scheduled.

But I also have other deadlines, the most pressing being the webinar on Craft U in just one week.  Working on making the butterflies fly in formation.  And I need to test my microphone on the new computer.  Eeps...

Piling Up

Four bins of shawls (55) tagged and ready to go into storage for the fall sales.  Well, actually, some of them will come out again next week for the Spring Arts Fair (aka Chilli Cook Off).

But the 'recovery' shawls are now officially done.   They were a nice gentle re-introduction into weaving and served their purpose well.  Not to mention I desperately needed more, anyway!

All the same, I am relieved to have finally gotten them complete to point of sale so I can concentrate on all the other things that need doing.

Thank you to everyone who contacted me about the Olds weaving program.  I'm not sure I can get something organized for this year but I'm going to suggest the week of September 21-25 and see what administration says.  It might just be too soon.  On the other hand, nothing ventured, nothing gained?

Distracting Deadlines

My goal for today was to finish weaving the last shawl on this warp.  I'm pretty sure there won't be enough warp left for anything more and I was looking forward to the end of this one and the beginning of the next.

But...deadlines.  While my goals are a form of deadline setting, there are other, outside, forces at work.  For one thing I'm trying to live a more balanced life, not hide in the studio being a, well, introvert.  So I have been attending knitting drop in Wednesday mornings for a while now and I've gotten quite enamoured of sitting in public, drinking a nice (decaf) Americano and knitting.

Then my library book was nearing the end so instead of heading down the stairs to the studio after lunch I finished that book.  There were also a stack of emails (do emails 'stack' or is that just snail mail?) that needed to be dealt with, one series of which is the much anticipated visit from a friend.

Finally I could not procrastinate any longer and forced myself to go deal with some admistrivia.  That is mostly done - just need to file some papers but that can actually wait until morning when I will - hopefully - be a little more alert.

Tonight is our monthly guild meeting.  We will have a short business meeting, then show and tell from the weaving workshop.  It should not be a very long meeting but I have a feeling that by the time I get home I will be done for the day.

Over the Hump

Again, colours not 'true' to real life.  The red is darker and redder, not so orange.

I have completely lost count of how many shawls I've woven.  I think this might be number eight.  With an expected 12 shawls for this warp, that means I'm very nearly 2/3's of the way through this warp.  It won't be done before we leave, but it will come off fairly quickly after we get back.

In the meantime I've ordered more of the 2/16 bamboo in order to do another warp but this time all blues and greens with no black in the warp.

I was starting to panic a wee bit wondering if I had enough yarn for weft when I suddenly remembered a special order of hand dyed 2/16 rayon.  Some of it will get used on this warp but I will save most of it for the next.  It's mostly blues, a teal green and black.

There is also the fine Bambu 12 that is currently packed up ready to go to the Alberta Conference - whatever doesn't sell there will be assigned to the next warp.  I'm getting quite low in terms of colour options but over all I've been pleased with the results so far.

Quite often this is when I make things that are more exciting than my usual - I choose things I wouldn't ordinarily consider, just because I have fewer choices.  And I'm almost always pleased.  Not to mention I learn more about colour interactions.  I wasn't entirely sure the above burgundy red was going to work (and I wish the photo was closer to the actual colour) because it is turning out quite well.  By the time it's wet finished and given a good hard press to bring up the shine, I think it's going to look really good.

It has finally stopped raining - for now - the van is loaded and other than packing our clothes and personal items we are about ready.  It's going to be a whirlwind trip and very tiring.  I'm glad I don't have much in the way of appointments next week.  I may need some quality time with my stack of library books.  

Moving Right Along

The cloth is actually darker than this but this photo shows the weave structure quite well.  It might actually be iridescent once wet finished although the weft is more blue than purple in real life.

This is the end of the second shawl on this warp.  I'm really feeling how weak I've gotten over the past few months so I'm pacing myself slowly allowing my body to build strength again.  Most people don't realize how much physical effort it takes to weave the way I do, and how fit I used to be.  I may be an old lady but I have done physical labour in one form or another all of my life.

Today I've done two sessions at the loom.  I'm going to do one more and then work at extending those sessions from about 20 minutes upwards until I'm back to my usual 45.  That is going to take a while, but that's ok.  I'm back to weaving and that is A Very Good Thing!

It Isn't Finished...

All together now...

...until it's wet finished.

But before that can happen, a whole lot of knot tying needs to be done.  By my calculations I believe there are 28 shawls in these three bins to be tied.  Doug has already done some sessions pressing what I've managed to get ready.  Of course, once they are wet finished, they still have to be trimmed and tagged.

However, the weaving part is now officially done.  I cut the last warp off the loom a few minutes ago but before I begin on the AVL...it's lunch time.  Or will be in a few minutes.  Because when you are self-employed, you get to choose when to take breaks, right?

End of the Line

This is it, the End of the Line.  The Last of the Shawl Warps.  #18 of 18.  Just two more shawls to weave and put a period at the end of it.

The rapid rate of recovery after surgery has slowed and, indeed, feels like it has come to a full stop, although I know that isn't really so.  It is just that now, recovery will be measured over weeks and months, not days.  I have been told by many that recovery from this surgery takes one to three years, depending on the person.  I know that after 13 weeks I'm only at the beginning of the journey.  Does that make me any less impatient?  Of course not.  Intellectually I know there is a ways to go.  Emotionally?  Not so much...

With the plateau I feel that it must surely be time to push the boundary a little bit harder.  Having so many of these 'easy' warps to do meant that I stayed the course, did not start pushing too soon but stuck with the promise to myself that I would weave all of these 'gentle' warps before I tried weaving more normally, i.e. with the same degree of physical effort I'm used to using.

As each warp came off the loom I found I could do a little bit more before I felt tired or achy, until with this one I didn't really feel any aches or pains at all.

These warps fulfilled several functions:  a) they allowed me to ease back into weaving, reminding my body very gently of the movements and effort I need it to perform; b)  I was able to clear three boxes of yarn out of storage - about 150 four ounce skeins; c) build badly needing inventory - about 50+ shawls.  All that needs to happen now is fringe tying, pressing, trimming and tagging.  They will be ready in plenty of time for the fall sales beginning in October.

This warp will come off tomorrow and then I will take a deep breath, turn the computer for the loom on and see just how far along in my recovery I really am.

Currently reading Murder 101 by Faye Kellerman

Odd Ball

Again, not quite true to life.  The woven cloth looks very 'pink' on my monitor when it's actually an orange/coral, more like the yarn in the shuttle.  The cone on the left is about the same colour but a lighter value, while the cone on the right is pretty close although it looks a bit on the lavender end of the colour chart.

In using up this yarn I had an assortment of 'odd' colours left over.  It's been a bit of a challenge at times to find appropriate combinations but since they were all dyed with the same brand of dyes, they are going together much better than I'd hoped.  The pale cone is nearly the same as the lighter bits in the warp so it should just be a pastel version.  Or at least, that's what I'm hoping.

The good news is that the physio was delighted with my progress and told me to just keep on, keeping on.  That what I was doing was working and that I just needed to keep doing the exercises/stretches and let my body take the time it needs to heal

More good news - there are now seven people who want to take the Lace Workshop.  I could possibly take one more, but with two brand new weavers in the class and several who haven't woven for a while and need a refresher, I think that seven will be plenty.  The Beginning Weaving workshop already has one person who is interested but needs to check her work schedule before she signs up.  After so many years of not being able to run a beginning class because no one was interested, it is very heartening to see interest in weaving picking up again.

Everything old is new again?

Currently reading Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison

Orange!

The colours in this photo are pretty true to life on my monitor.  The warp is a coral and kind of brick red, the weft a sort of pumpkin orange with a fairly bright yellow.  Not too much yellow because a little yellow goes a long way.

Let me be perfectly clear.  Orange appears in my personal colour palette...no where.  It's not my choice of colours.  It doesn't sing to me.  At all.

But that doesn't stop me from weaving with it.  Why?  Because although I only weave stuff I want to, I'm not weaving textiles exclusively for my use.

So I weave with orange and yellow and brown and all sorts of shades of beige, not because I want those textiles for myself but because I enjoy weaving and I enjoy making things that other people like and want in their lives.

So I weave with these colours and do my level best to make them as beautiful...and as beautifully...as I possibly can.  By selling my textiles I can afford to buy more yarn.  More yarn means I can weave more stuff.

And every time I push myself to work with those colours that don't sing to me?  I learn.  I learn more about how colours go together, which ones will play nicely, and which ones don't.

I had about 4 cones of this textured yarn in various colours that got put with different warps several times as I mulled over which of these 'odd' colours were going to be able to be used with the warps I had wound.  I think this single orange skein/cone got moved to four different warps before I finally decided that this warp was the one it would play nicely with.

In the end I'm satisfied I made the correct choice.  Now if the other dubious cones play as nicely with their assigned warps, I will be truly happy.