Weaverly

Cat

Another type of brocade, this one with the brocading yarn, or supplementary weft, going selvedge to selvedge. The instructions, and the cat with attitude, are from Erica de Ruiter's fascinating Tejido Huave and Beyond.

The warp is sett more densely than for balanced plain weave. There are two wefts. The secondary weft runs in the same sheds as the ground weft, except in the pattern areas. A pickup stick does the selections. Once you get the hang of it, the weaving goes quickly. 

Warp: 8/4 cotton, used double in a 12 dent heddle; ground weft, same cotton, used singly; secondary weft, my own 2-ply handspun variegated merino. Click to enlarge.

 

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).

 

Ugh.

Downsizing is hell. Especially if you've been in the same place for 48 years. And have accumulated your parents' stuff as well. 

But every once in a while a gem pops up, and that makes it all worthwhile.

A Puddle of Cloth, and Some Other Pleasures

A cone of hemp yarn was almost—almost—enough to weave off the end of a cotton & linen warp. To eke out the little bit of warp left, I started using up partially filled bobbins of this and that. Cotton, cotton blends:

—and some fine yarns used double in this very useful (but heavy) shuttle:

The entire warp has been cut off, the colored parts separated from the natural parts, all raw ends secured before washing. There is a nice 4-yard length of the part with hemp weft. I threw it on the floor in a puddle to catch some of the shadows. It still has a lot of body and stiffness, which will change after it's washed.If you click to enlarge, you might see the amalgamated weave pattern, subtle but definitely there.

The absolute highlight of the week was the final rigid heddle class at OLLI, with much hilarity and celebration. This intrepid group of new and not-so-new weavers honed their skills and forged new links of friendship. 

In the book department, I have a recommendation for you: The Library Book by Susan Orlean. It is a fascinating read on many levels: part mystery, part social commentary, part bibliophily. I truly couldn't put this one down. About the Los Angeles library fire of 1986 and much more.

Two Rigid Heddles, and a Sun Break

As promised, here is a picture of the Cricket loom with two rigid heddles in play. Not an ideal situation, but it can be made to work. Two 12-dent heddles, 10/2 cotton @ 24 epi.

Today the sun came out and we escaped from our lairs and drove to Lockhart, South Carolina, home of a defunct mill and a millrace over the Broad River. Good photo ops for Bruce and an opportunity for me to dust off my sketchbook.

 

Another Option

I think I"ll be able to eke out another few samples on the turquoise warp before the loom goes in for minor surgery.

This weft is deep wine-colored cottolin, and the lift plan repeat is quite short.

Feathers, maybe?

Just finished a book I'd like to recommend: Rachel Cusk's Outline. A novel in conversations about life, relationships, and the art of writing. 

An Inauspicious Beginning

A brand new warp, and I immediately broke three warp threads.

Repairs made. Moving on. Another weft. Now, that's better!

Oops.

Life is better in the Department of Books. I recently finished Barbara Tuchman's Stilwell and the American Experience in China. Quite a slog in places, but ultimately a very rewarding read. Highly recommended. Add that to Simon Winchester's The Man Who Loved China and Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, and you will know more about China than you did before. 

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.

 

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.

The Lazy Woman's Photography Studio

The samples from my second amalgamation warp are hemmed, washed, and ironed, and before I put them away to join their sisters, I set up a quick photo shoot on my ironing board. Enjoy.

Yesterday while grocery shopping I saw this astonishing sight. Bright blue orchids. My fellow shoppers suspected they'd been dyed. I don't know about such things, but they did stop me in my tracks (the orchids, not the shoppers). 

Department of books:

I just finished reading At Paradise Gate by Jane Smiley. Enjoyed it. Actually, I've never read anything by Jane Smiley I didn't like. And The Greenlanders is one of my favorite books ever. I've read it twice.