Weaverly

Leap Year Sale

Lulu.com has just sent me a message about a one-day sale. They are offering a 29% discount on any order (up to $250) through 11:59 pm February 29, 2012. If you have been thinking about purchasing Network Drafting or Liftplan Connection (or both!) this would be a really good time to do it. Just enter the code LEAPYEAR305 at checkout.

Zig Zag

The set of building logs in our spare room gets dragged out whenever the kids come over. Even though the children are a bit old for this toy, they still enjoy constructing things, and I must admit that I like putting together a cabin or two even though getting up and down from the floor is not as easy as it used to be. Karl builds forts and towers and other guy stuff, but when Catalina is here by herself, as she was yesterday, it's all about horses. 

I love the zig zag fence and the perfect horse barn, complete with stalls and aisle. I did notice that the gate is open…

This all got me thinking about networked fancy twills. Here's one based on a 6x4 rosepath-type initial. Plenty of zigs and zags here. And doesn't it look like a corral? Couple of horses thrown in for good luck. 24 shafts. Maximum float 5.

The WIF file if you'd care to try it:  Download Horses24  Please give appropriate credit. And send me a picture!

A Sale and Some More Books

Lulu has just notified me of a special 30% off sale. If you've been thinking of purchasing Network Drafting or The Liftplan Connection, you can get it for the sale price with this coupon code: WINTERSAVE305. Just enter the code at checkout. Sale ends Wednesday.

When tearing down paper for signatures, there are sometimes scraps of odd sizes left over. Such is the case with my recent book projects. I've folded the scraps to make some small books; these tiny works are so much fun to sew, and they go quickly. They are also a good way to try out new techniques without a big investment in supplies.

Here are some covers pasted up.

I've also been experimenting with other ways of finishing the edges of wraparound covers. I've been coating the backs of handwoven fabrics with acrylic matte medium, cutting the covers to size and then machine stitching the edges to prevent raveling. This last step is tedious, and I decided to try painting a bead of PVA along the cut edges instead. It works! The edges look good, they are ravel-proof, and the time saved is considerable. Here's a new snake book with the new technique (yes, it's tiny -- the signatures were made from leftover paper scraps):

The longstitch spine:

Back view (the fabric is lampas with handspun pattern weft):

A peek inside:

Network Drafting Online Class Offered at a New Time

Newsbreak! The online class in Network Drafting will be offered in January at a new time: 2 pm EST. This will make it possible for weavers in western Europe to take the class in the evening hours. I encourage any English speaking weavers to take this class if you'd like to learn about Network Drafting or brush up on your skills. The class is offered courtesy of Weavolution.

The three consecutive one hour sessions will be offered on January 10, 17, and 24, 2012. Fee for the course is $75 USD. All you need is a computer with a microphone for this class - no video camera required. Optional textbook: Network Drafting: an Introduction by Alice Schlein, now available from Lulu.com.

Autumn Stripes

The dark is really coming in early these days! I meant to take a picture of this afternoon's stripes while I had some daylight, then got distracted by something else, and by the time I got back to it, daylight was gone. Floor lamp to the rescue. But it looks awfully Halloweenish.

I know, I know, Photoshop. This is a little better.

Tonight: the first of three sessions of my Cyber-Fiber online Network Drafting Class. I must remember to set up the lights so they don't hit my face from below—that would make me look like the bride of Frankenstein. Speaking of Halloween…

Reentry

Home again. The laundry's done, the mail is sorted. Now a pause to say hello again. What's next? I'm preparing for my online Network Drafting class on Weavolution. There are only two places left, so if you want to participate, now's the time to register. 

This will be a pencil-and-paper class, with real cutting and pasting. You don't have to have any particular weaving software to take this class, only an interest in dobby design for 8 or more shafts. We'll be doing stuff like this:

Hope you can join us!

Math and Art: Some Ramblings

I am interested in the mathematical underpinnings of the things I make and do, even though I don't understand most of the principles. I don't have an academic math background. But I know genius when I see it! Here is an example: the mathematical beadwork structures of Kazunori Horibe. 

I also loved the (now defunct) TV series Numb3rs. I rented every single episode from Netflix and watched them in one wonderful week of pizza nights. The Craftsman-style house used as the setting of most of the series is as lovable as the characters, and those guys & gals really made math exciting.

The mathematical basis of Masson & Roussel's Tissage à Lames et Graphisme and its English translation Shaft Weaving and Graph Design, and the much earlier work of Brandon Guiget, led me to explore network drafting even though the actual math was beyond my comprehension. The illustrations of weaving drafts based on their work communicated something to me, and I was off and running. The book Network Drafting: an Introduction was the result.

If you're interested in learning more about network drafting, check out the online class on Weavolution, listed in the sidebar. 

 

A Dispersal

When I was cleaning out my studio last month, I filled two huge garbage bags with scraps of handwoven dobby and jacquard fabric, samples, and other no-longer-loved handwovens, and was getting ready to throw them out. I really needed more storage room, and some of these fabrics had been languishing for over 30 years. Out they must go.

Upon rethinking, I decided to throw the bags in the car and bring them along with me to Fiber Forum. Perhaps someone might be able to use cloth that I no longer loved.

Daryl Lancaster was teaching her class on constructing vests from collaged fabrics, and I asked her if her class would like to have my scraps. She graciously agreed to let me dispose of my "garbage" in her classroom. I told her that the students could have anything they liked from the stash, and that scraps left over must be disposed of; I didn't want anything back. 

What happened next can only be described as what my fishing friends call a feeding frenzy. Daryl's class added my scraps to the ones they had brought from home, and incorporated all into their beautiful vests. The following pictures show vests in progress, and I'll let you guess which fabrics are mine. I was incredibly moved by this experience. Knowing that bits and pieces of my work are now dispersed all over the Southeast in clothing that will be worn, displayed, and enjoyed is a high like no other! Thank you, Daryl. Thank you, Fiber Forum.

Final Day of Network Drafting

They worked hard today. These are some very serious people!

Thinking.

Janet seems pleased with the result.

Tomorrow is a day of R&R. Woven Pixel begins on Friday.

Network Drafting Day Two

Cut and paste was the name of the game today. Literally.

And the weaving continued.

Janet Phillips, a member of the class, presented me with a copy of her latest book. What a treasure! It's a storehouse of information on drafting 4-shaft weaves. These drafts would be so useful for dobby weaving on more shafts, or for jacquard work as well. The photography is beautiful. You need this book!

After class, Sue and I walked along the coast for a bit of fresh air.