Weaverly

A Dilemma and Two Birds

The samples have been washed and ironed, and a dilemma arises. The samples are both from the same threading but the warp yarns are different. The one on the left is more pleasing to my eye and the one on the right feels better in my hand. Must think about this some more. Ground rules: I want to make this decision without buying more yarn. Hm-m-m. What Would Mary Atwater Do?

Heading out on my walk. Wear a jacket? Not? A peep of blue.

Took off the jacket half way. Sun came out. The blue heron is standing on the log usually covered with turtles. Is that a good sentence? You know that the heron is not covered with turtles. 

The black swan came out of the lake and waddled toward me. It makes a sound like a kitten! 

A surprise. I've been hanging some old weavings. I found this one, based on a photo of the Savage River in Alaska, in a storage box. It's dated 2005. I hung it on the wall over my bobbin winder. Surprise! It gets good light from a nearby window, and suddenly I saw it "in a new light." It has a depth I never noticed before. I enjoy seeing it first thing in the morning when I go into the studio.

I wove it on my TC-1. The structure is "warp tapestry." Warp tapestry is a term used in industry to describe a form of double weave jacquard with a many-colored warp. It is not weft-faced tapestry as handweavers use the term. I no longer have the TC-1. Sometimes I miss it.

Tying On a New Warp

Some of you have asked me about my process of tying a new warp to an old one. Tying on is quick and easy if you are maintaining the same threading. The following snapshots are presented in chronological order. If you pay attention to position (front of loom, back of loom) you won't have any trouble figuring this out. Notice particularly where the knots are. Ease the knots gently through reed and heddles. It's more of a massaging action, not a yanking!

 

These are samples for a larger project. There are three colors in the warp. In the second sample warp I substituted an orange yarn for the turquoise bouclé. I loved the bouclé, but the color wasn't right. I think the substitution of the orange was a good move. There is some iridescence going on, which was my goal.

Eight shafts.

Unearthed

While dismantling a tapestry loom for temporary storage during my move, I unearthed a tapestry I wove a year ago but never cut off. I had left the warp on the loom because there was still enough for a second tapestry, which, as sometimes happens, I never got around to weaving. The tapestry was hidden inside the continuous warp loop, so really hadn't been viewed by human eyes for a whole year. Actually, its very existence had been forgotten.

So-o-o, cut off day arrived and this nice surprise emerged. To tell you the truth, I don't even remember having woven it. But it is my loom, and those are my handspun yarns, so I'll claim it as mine. Lassie come home, and all that.

Pattern, Pattern, and More Pattern

Last month I saw this beauty online and was intrigued by the technique of burning designs on wood by passing an electrical current through the wood. Long story short: I ordered this band loom from Chuck Jones on Etsy, and have been experimenting with warping and weaving methods since then. Ideally, using a rigid heddle for band looms should be done with a backstop setup, to give the warp some room to adjust from the wide sett at the heddle to the narrow width of the woven band. But I knew that good locations for backstop weaving were not in my future, so off I went on another tangent. So glad I did. I've been totally absorbed. Here's my second band. 

A closer look at the band in progress. It's a Baltic style band, in cotton and wool, and I'm indebted to Susan Foulkes for her excellent publications and videos for my instruction. The pattern in this band is based on one of Susan's, but I have tweaked it a bit. I like the idea of weaving what looks like A's, which is my initial.

The heddle is a Sámi style heddle with long and short slots. This one is from Stoorstålka, and has seven pattern slots.

The Sámi heddle or "gehpa", also from Stoorstålka, has an interesting shape. It is used as yarn storage, beater, and pattern picker all in one.

 

Dallas

We've just returned from a trip to Dallas to visit old friends. Here are just a few of the interesting venues we took in, in between some of the best restaurants we have ever dined at.

The Bishop Arts District, great place for strolling, where I spotted this succinct statement on diversity:

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, where Nathan Sawaya's mind boggling exhibit of sculptural works executed al in Lego blocks, "The Art of the Brick," had us (and hundreds of school kids) enthralled. Here is the Bayeux Tapestry, Lego style.

At the Nasher Sculpture Center we enjoyed seeing  Sheila Hicks's "Seize, Weave Space."

What the Inside of My Head Looks Like at the Moment

Click to enlarge (if you dare). I'm getting ready for a studio sale, which will be held on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. If you're within driving distance of Upstate SC, please stop by! Lots of fantastic bargains. Yarn, hundreds of knitting & weaving books, small looms, sewing machines, sewing supplies, patterns, finished weaving & yardage, and did I say books? If you'd like location details, please email me (click on link in sidebar).

 

December Miscellany

Yesterday at the North Carolina Arboretum with good friends to see the Blue Ridge Fiber Show one more time. Definitely worth it!

In the rain soaked gardens, these fine chairs:

At the Baker Exhibit Center, Reclaimed Creations by artist Sayaka Ganz, using recycled utensils. 

Back at home, some spinning wheel action. Here's a bobbinful of merino.

And of course a little weaving time. Another sample on the amalgamation warp:

A little closer up:

A Gallery Talk and a Tapestry Decision

This past Tuesday I gave a short gallery talk about some of my work at GCCA. I started out with my usual 30-second definition of weaving and went on from there. Here's a picture Bruce took while I was talking about the Lampas diaries. Why was I dragging my purse around? Only the queen and I know for sure.

A little tapestry study I did last summer in a class taught by the wonderful Tommye Scanlin at Arrowmont has been languishing on my worktable. Yesterday I decided to finally mount and hang it. After I got it stitched to the background, I had to decide which way to orient it when putting the hanging hook on the back. I wove it in orientation #1, but as I turned it around and around, it was apparent that it might be better in another mode. Here are all four, in order from 1 to 4. I'm now thinking I like #4 the best. What do you think?

More Interleaving

A few more inches on the interleaved warp. The colors are startlingly different depending on the point of view of the photographer and the time of day.

Here is a view from the left, photographed in morning daylight.

And here's a view from the right, in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, I've thrown - almost literally - a new handspun warp onto the rigid heddle loom, and I'm weaving it with a simple pick-up pattern. It's great late afternoon weaving, just at the time of day when my energy level is lowest. In fact, I think I'll go make a cup of tea.

Recently finished reading Simon Winchester's "The Man Who Loved China." Highly recommended! Thanks, Teena, for the tip.

A Wednesday Miscellany

I've been meaning to show you this beautiful item I saw at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe a few weeks ago. It's a 19th century undergarment from People's Republic of China. This finely crafted garment is made of hundreds of tiny bamboo beads and cotton.

The description reads as follows: Male members of the Chinese emperor's court wore these bamboo mesh undershirts to create an absorbent layer between the courtier's skin and his many layers of silk under-robes during long ceremonies, especially during the heat of the summer.

I would have taken the opposite tack: I'd have worn it proudly as an outer garment, over a silk camisole. It's really an incredible piece of craftsmanship. Click to enlarge.

And now let me tell you about the newest piece of equipment in my studio: my electric shears! How did I ever get along without them? They are a boon for arthritic fingers. 

We now turn to the book department. Recently read: Canada, by Richard Ford (highly recommended); Lila: A Novel, by Marylynne Robinson (recommended, especially if you like Marylynne Robinson, which I do - it's the third piece of the Gilead trilogy); The Game Player, by Rafael Yglesias (didn't much care for this); and I Remember Nothing, by Nora Ephron (wonderful). It's amazing how much reading you can get done if the Internet and TV are out, as they were here for several days.