Weaverly

An Anniversary

This year marks an anniversary for me: twenty-five years since the initial publication of Network Drafting: An Introduction. There were four printings of the physical book: 1994, 1995, 1997, and 2001, and in 2008 the book entered its second life as print-on-demand at Lulu.com. It's still going strong! See sidebar for ordering information.

To celebrate this anniversary, I'll be teaching a workshop in Network Drafting this spring at LoftyFiber in Easley, SC. It seems appropriate to share the topic with a new generation of weavers! Dates are  May 9 - 11, 2019.

And from high tech to low tech, here are a few snapshots of my rigid heddle class at OLLI, Furman University. These ten weavers, some new to weaving and some old hands, are enjoying pushing this unassuming tool to new levels. I'm learning a lot from them, too, which is one of the great joys of teaching.

Meanwhile, back at the studio, a new warp is underway for my 16 shaft loom. It will be for another group of studies in the amalgamation series.

 

Emerging

The third amalgamation warp is a wrap. Samples hemmed, washed, ironed, and laid out on my cutting board for a quick photo. These are from a 16-shaft draft. Click to enlarge.

I think the next amalgamation warp will be for my 8-shaft lobby loom, but I need a few more heddles for that loom. They're on order. At least I can wind a new warp in preparation. Now here's a picture of something that can't wait:

My daffodils are emerging! Even if we have a couple of frosts, I think most of them will make it. These gals are tough.

Ketchup

Getting close to the end of this warp, I began foraging for one more weft color. I found a cone of forgotten 16/2 cotton tucked at the back of a shelf at the tippy top of my cotton stash. It looked like a an ordinary coral color on the cone, but after weaving it on the lavender warp, it took on the appearance of ketchup!

And that does it for now. I cut off the cloth, and will work on hemming this evening. Ten amalgamation samples! 

Still reading: Barbara Tuchman's "Stilwell and the American Experience in China." An oldie but goodie.

Blueberry

Blueberry is what it says on the faded and curling label inside the cone of this 20-year-old weft yarn. So here is Blueberry, the last amalgamation sample of 2018 and going on to be the first sample of 2019. It's been a whirlwind of a December and I'm looking forward to clearer skies and smoother sailing in the New Year. I wish the same for all of you.

And you know the drill: click to embiggen.

Dark and Light

I wanted this versus of the amalgamation series to really stand out, so I chose a black weft for max contrast on the lavender warp. 

Mission accomplished. Then I spotted a bobbin wound with gray linen singles in the bottom of my bobbin box, and decided to give that a try. It's looking really good, but you can't really see the pattern unless you cock your head at a certain angle:

Here it is a little closer. You can see the holes from the temple along the selvedge. I'm expecting those will mostly come out in the wash. So will the reed marks. 

Now I must check my new stock of yeast for viability, as I'm responsible for the dinner rolls at Tuesday's dinner at friends'. Details, details.

The Blues

On this kind of day you get the blues. Rain, more rain, then gray skies and rain again.

Nothing for it but to weave. Even my weft is blue.

Eventually I get in the zone and forget everything but my shuttle.

As long as I don't make the mistake of listening to the news.

Into Purple

More amalgamation, another treadling variation. I'm seeing reindeer. I think it's time to take a break.

High and Low Tech

First a word about our friend Ingrid Boesel, who died this week. Ingrid was one of the great weavers and a teacher to scores of fiber enthusiasts. She and her husband Bob Keates were the team who created Fiberworks. Ingrid's creative spirit and joyous sense of humor will be remembered by many of us. 

One more sample on the lavender warp today. Sixteen shafts.

And on the low tech side, a small sample of honeycomb weave on the rigid heddle loom, turned into a pillow. There's just enough warp left on the RH loom for a second pillow.

Cotton warp in a 12-dent rigid heddle. Handspun wool wefts from the stash.

 

Silly Names

In the heat of designing, I tend to give silly names to new threadings, just to get that part of the job over quickly. This particular warp is named "Triple Mountains," because there are three little peaks in the design line. You don't really see any mountains in the cloth; little dumbbells maybe. So be it.

It's the third warp in my amalgamation studies. To say I'm having fun is a gross understatement. 

 

As usual, click to embiggen.

Twenties Two

In the jargon of weaving, "twenties two" is written as 20/2. Yarnies will recognize it as a specific grist of cotton yarn, and it runs about 8400 yards per pound. I used a lot of it when I was doing jacquard weaving. I'm trying to do some destashing here and have used a goodly amount of 20/2 this week.  

First of all, I made a new warp for my dobby loom. It's lavender cotton at 40 epi.

Here are the first few inches, to do some error-checking. Happy to report: no threading errors. 

I'm also using a bit of 20/2 in my rigid heddle teaching samples. Here it is as warp and weft, four strands of 20/2 held together as one, in a 12-dent rigid heddle. It requires a bit of finesse in the warping, but is very doable.

It's excellent weather for weaving. Look what's been going on outside:

Fortunately, we haven't lost any power.