Weaverly

Comfort

The 16-shaft loom is now rewarped with an old pal, network drafting: a dependable draft, balanced lifts, single shuttle. I wanted something on the loom that was interesting to look at and easy to demo in front of a crowd for Open Studios. It's a month away, but now I can concentrate on other projects. Comfort.

Force Eject

I absolutely couldn't stand weaving on this warp. The concentration required for beating loosely was more than I could tolerate, so I abandoned the warp! Life is too short for weaving on unfriendly warps. Now I'm rewarping that loom with a happier arrangement. 

The picture above shows the sample after washing. It's networked doubleweave. the read areas are wool, and the yellow-green areas are silk. 

I have a stack of thrums and other abandoned warps. Occasionally I stuff a pillow with some of this stuff. It makes a really rock-hard pillow, good for tucking into the lumbar area or for supporting an iPad during an evening's reading.

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Peekaboo

You never know who's going to drop in.

This is part of a trial to determine aspect ratio. Graded 11-end satin; black cotton warp & natural hemp/cotton weft. 

It's That Time of Year Again...

Relearning my tablet weaving routines. The head sometimes forgets, but the hands hardly ever.

Prep Work

This isn't the most glamorous part of book making, but it must be done.

After I cut the fabric from the loom, and before I cut the panels apart and apply the acrylic goo to the backs, I like to twist the bands for the closures. It's helpful to do this while the cones of yarn are still standing around next to the bobbin winder; that way I'm sure to use the exact weft yarns & get the color matching right.

It's also necessary to tear down the paper and fold it into signatures. I have very limited worktable space, so I tend to do the paper work in batches of six or eight. It's my least favorite job, but with good music it goes quickly.

Happy Equinox, y'all.

Back to the Loom

Variations of the same lampas files I've been working on for the best couple of months. A little tweaking of aspect ratio, weft mixtures, selvedge weaves, etc.

I did have a marvelous time on my vacation, but it feels so good to be back at the loom—like slipping on a pair of favorite old shoes.

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Preventive Maintenance

When I returned from my travels, did all the laundry, sorted through all the mail (real & virtual), I sat down with my knitting. In a large basket with a partially finished knitted afghan and 27 skeins of Noro Kureyon, I spied something that looked suspiciously like a clothes moth. Time for action! I spread everything out in the sun and fresh air for the rest of the day, turning blanket & skeins frequently. No signs of damage. I will keep a close eye on things for a while. Most of my yarn stash is non-wool, but you never know.

This very clever knitting pattern, Ten Stitch Zigzag, is the creation of Frankie Brown, and is available as a free download on Ravelry. 

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Near Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

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Finally accustomed to the altitude.

Stripes

On top of Old Smokey...