Shuttle Pilot

Wow! It’s been awhile. Life in the 1600s has held me captive(ated), as well as getting out the first issue of our Guild’s newsletter for our new year, designing and quilting a block for the national Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue project annual fundraising quilt, and continued work on the Coverlet onine gallery project. I’m so excited about getting the coverlet collection from the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum online, complete with the modern interpretions done by members of the Pikes Peak Weavers Guild. Stay tuned!

However. . . it was driving me batty to see my looms sitting naked and forlorn. When lamenting this fact to my mentor, Dottie, the other day over lunch, she ordered me to get something on at least one. Now, let me tell you, when Dottie orders someone, even *I* sit up straight and hop to! There are rumors that occassionally one of her students will run crying into the night. . . imagine if you will, E. Mode from “The Incredibles.”  All kidding aside, she is an exceptionally fine weaver and an outstanding teacher, and a wonderful friend.

So, I hopped to. Yesterday I took the lovely Fern Gully handpainted yarns that I had picked up on vacation, and had just enough of the wool to throw a warp on the Baby Wolf for a scarf.  For the weft, I’m using the matching mohair with lurex and Mineral Green handpainted mohair and wool blend from Brownsheep.  It appears that they no longer carry this particular colorway. I had picked it up several years ago at their factory in Mitchell, Nebraska.  Having grown up only 30 miles from Browsheep, they warm the cockles of my fiber loving heart, as to me, Brownsheep means “home.”

Right now, I’m so busy with non-loom projects that demand my attention, that I wanted something just easy and relaxing to work on hence, the wool, the mohair, and a simple plainweave sett at 8 epi. This gives me a weft faced fabric that shows off the lurex in wonderful vertical stripes. I’m using a soft beat so that it will maintain a good feel after it comes off of the loom and will add beads to the fringe. The photo doesn’t do the subtle color variations justice. I’ll have to do another one later in natural light.

I’ve forgotten how great it feels to just pass the shuttle back and forth and become lost in the simple rhythm of plainweave. No counting in my head, no scribbling on paper, no sticking stickies to my beater, no unweaving. The simplicity of the weave allows the shimmer of the gold to shine (pun intended) rather than getting lost in something more complex. The handpainteds carry the day.

When fall is in the air, my creative engine revs up and I want autumn colors, warm fibers, and hot coffee. All of which I’m reveling in at this moment. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked with fat threads. It’s rewarding to see so much progress on the loom in the blink of an eye. It was great to have the warp wound and the loom dressed in no time flat. It’s comforting to lose myself in the rhythm.

My personality type is one that loves to be immersed in the complex, whether it is language (I’m teaching myself to read and write Mandarin, and am waiting for a book to arrive so that I can begin to learn Kaszubian), complex weaving and knitting, etc. If there is an easy solution to a problem, I’ll generally find the most complex first and have to work myself down to the more simple one.  Perhaps this is why for most of my life I pursued a simpler life style, and as mentioned in earlier posts wanted to become Tasha Tudor (may she rest in peace as she lived in peace) when I grew up.

The rhythm of plainweave is predictable, steady, soothing, and hypnotic .  . . exactly what I need right now.  That and another cup of coffee, while I go catch up on much missed favorite blogs.

Weave like an Egyptian,

Jane

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Off the Loom 

It’s Friday, and this week’s finished object is off the loom. This year it has been so nice to have my time back, my health back, and to be able to just immerse myself in threads and color.

The end result: Doubleweave; 48 epi (each layer 24 epi); tencel 10/2; commercially dyed; pattern – original on the loom; colors – cream & violet sage.

Am pleased with how this little sample turned out and will certainly make up some full sized scarves and/or runners styled after this prototype. What I would do differently in the future is — yes, once again, double the selvedge threads for about the first 3 threads — since for some reason when working with Tencel, the 3rd to 4th thread in on each side eventually winds up breaking on me. I didn’t double this time, and ping ping — it happened just like clockwork. The repercussion of this is, that my edge tension was just a wee bit off for the remainder of the scarf after having fixed the broken threads — and while it’s not super noticeable, I can see a bit of an arc in the far end boxes at the first solid horizontal line. All in all, it is lovely, though — and it’s the perfect size to throw over the shafts on my Baby Wolf when it’s not in use — a little dust runner.

Off the Grid 

Was reading Peg’s blog this morning, where she was brainstorming about surface design on handowovens other than woven shibori. In replying to her post, I thought I’d share the information here also. It’s so nice to get “off the grid” at times and especially for weavers who are using a rigid heddle loom or are working with fewer shafts.

One way to have fun is to paint directly on the warp while it is on the loom. Dharma Trading Co carries some great fabric paints (I like Jacquard brand) and paint on dyes. Personally, I use Jacquard fabric paints. Edit: Caution should always be taken when using dyes of any kind, and studio safety procedures need to be followed and direction thoroughly read prior to using any pigment (thanks for the reminder, Peg).

The weaver can paint designs directly onto the warp or onto the woven fabric at any point in the weaving — free form designs and flowing colors, easy.  Just take a piece of cardboard, cover it with plastic wrap or reuse a grocery store bag — place it under your warp in front of the beater and paint away. Then go read blogs and let it dry, return to the loom and weave weave weave. Before wet finishing, just press with an iron to heatset the colors. You can get some wonderful things happening and what I like — is that I’m not stuck on the grid, nor do I have to use a warp that has been completely painted priror to putting it on the loom. I can also highlight specific stitch patterns if I want to. Very cool. I am indebted to my friend and mentor, Dottie Weir, for showing me this technique. She doesn’t have a website, but you can see one of her pieces in the current issue of Handwoven.

Weaving Without Guilt

I have spent most of this week Granny cleaning my house. No — not cleaning while wearing sensible shoes, an apron, and simultaneously baking cookies from scratch. You know, cleaning every little nook and cranny — wiping things down, polishing, vaccuuming dustbunnies that have been lurking all winter. Somewhere in the back of my brain, it is hard for me to relax into my studio when home-chores are looming (pun intended) over me. Perhaps it is because weaving is such a joy for me, that it feels like a reward every time I sit at my loom. Hence, the voices of both my ancestral sides (Irish on one, and Polish on the other) haunt me about duties first – playing later. I’ve finished about 3/4 of the main floor, and still have the lower floor to go. However comma I am taking a break today to plan my next project. I refuse to have a naked loom for longer than a couple days (my 2008 resolution).

Am off to plan, catch up on blogs, and then to

Weave like an Egyptian,
Jane

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It’s Friday, people! Today I am free to weavity weave all day. Could it get any better than that?

The photo book for Living With Beauty: Handwoven Textiles for the Home is done and I am taking a break today before I must put together and edit our guild’s newsletter.

What’s on my loom? A 10/2 tencel scarf (I’m going through a scarf phase — I’m a firm believer in samples that I can use) in a doubleweave window style. I’m at the designing juncture where I have to decide if I want to continue with a reverse fibonocci series of placement for the windows (3 large, 2 medium, 1 small) or if I shall go forward with the medium squares for a ways, then move on to small ones for the long center of the scarf, and then do a mirror image for the other end. That way the ends will have interest and the middle will be — well, at this point, who knows. . . I could do vertical stripes for that matter.

Odd, that I can be such a pill when it comes to planning and organization, etc. (My husband always teases me and says, “OCD is a terrible thing to waste.”) yet, I love the spontaneity of designing on the loom. Just allowing a piece to take shape and to let the fabric speak to me as it is being woven.

This one is a subtle, complementary color scheme — violet sage, and cream. Very soft and pretty. My need for something that feels like Spring is now in overdrive since we have had snow and cold weather this week. So soft and springlike it is. It is chilly again today and damp — a perfect day to be at the loom.

This is a perfect example of my loving to go slow, take my time, and enjoy each throw of the shuttle. Peg has a post on Talking About Weaving, that speaks to that process also. Every moment that I can be at my loom and entranced with the threads, is a perfect moment for me. It is not in my nature to become a production weaver — I am way too process oriented as opposed to product oriented. It’s lovely to be able to look up and out of my windows at the pine trees, the occasional deer, fox, and my favorites: the ravens (hmm. . . a feel a raven inspired piece coming on . . . perhaps a doubleweave pick-up).

Weave like an Egyptian,
Jane

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Finished up the satin scarf yesterday and just now completed giving it the final hard press. Am so pleased with it (photos later, am waiting for camera battery to recharge). Dealt with a total of only 2 broken warp threads, and am so glad that I had double threaded and sleyed several ends near the selvedges. However, that being said, as mentioned in an early post — doing that caused me to catch some of the pattern threads on shot 6 and shot 1 into those doubled threads and made throwing those shots a pain and the selvedges a bit bumpy — next time I will thread a teensy plainweave selvedge. I’m also going to give an end feed shuttle a try (for the first time ever!) on my next project. I do love, however, how the stripes only show on the one side (warp-faced) and the back side is a solid color (weft-faced).

The tencel is always soooo stiff when it comes off of the loom and then out of the water — it always feels like magic after drying and pressing how soft and silky it gets. I expected a bit more of a sheen given that this was a satin weave structure. It may be that I sett it a bit too closely (36 epi) or beat it a little too hard. Or it could be that it is just fine   Both the drape and hand are very nice, and I’m pleased with my color choices and the size and placement of my stripes. I’m still deciding what to do with the fringe. I cut it shorter, and will let it sit for a couple of days while I mull over options.

How fitting that on Mother’s Day I finished the first piece that I’ve woven on “Baby.” 

Wishing you all a creative and happy Mother’s Day,
Jane

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