Weaverly

Tieing It All Together

If you've been following along on this crazy system I'm fiddling with (nicknamed "Trio"), here's a photo of three samples (top row front, bottom row back of the same samples):

All three were woven on the exact same warp, same threading & color repeats, with the exact same treadling, one shuttle. The only difference between the samples is the tieup:

I am quite astonished at the results. I really can't explain what's going on, but I'm writing it all up and will say more when I have more to say.

Meanwhile here's another thing that astonished me a couple of days ago, at that mysterious couple of minutes just before sunset: the rosy, golden light from the sun as it plunges to earth (or so it seems).

I think life is going to improve as soon as our covid quarantine is over. Stay warm out there. Happy weaving.

Sunrise and Sunset and In Between

A surprise sunrise a few days ago. That glorious peach color lasted only a few minutes, but it was worth the price of admission. 

That same day there was an equally wonderful sunset. I was a bit late snapping the shutter on this one, but trust me, it was beautiful. In the foreground is my new Norwegian cradle loom, and the horn rigid heddle is from Wizard's Cave. 

Here's an experiment with networked satin on 16 shafts created entirely in TempoWeave. The satin has a counter of 5, and the width of the liftplan template is 4. Max float is 7, which is what you'd expect with a satin on 8 shafts. The extreme spikiness of the design is a result of the relatively large size of the initial (8x8). 

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Department of Books:

Finished reading The Priory by Dorothy Whipple and Lesser Ruins by Mark Haber.

Big and Little Sister

I have been having the best time practicing with the Section Assembly tools in TempoWeave. The program has just had an update and some very nice Network Drafting features are implemented, too.

This draft is from a group of circle motifs I call "Big and Little Sister." I don't have any sisters, and I have no daughters, either. So where does this come from? Who knows.

Another version:

Both for 8 shafts. The warp is running horizontally in these pictures.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Happy weaving.

Green

Playing with some variations of tieup on current threading. Eight shafts, cotton & tercel. Amalgamation. 

And now here's some fun for a 16-shaft loom. Amalgamation of a networked threading. The amalgamation base is a 16-end satin with a counter of 7. I haven't given it a name yet.

Little Bitty Circles

Short and sweet. Some little circles I spotted this morning in the mulch.

And for some reason they remind me of this fabric you've seen before on my loom. But now the fabric has been wet finished and looks much more relaxed. Amalgamation, tencel, red & yellow warp, pale blue and dark blue weft.


Another one of this morning's mushrooms.

A new amalgamated draft, hot off the computer, dark warp and light weft. There are all kinds of secondary patterns showing up here, which I find very exciting. Eight shafts.

Department of Books:

Just finished reading Half a Life by Jill Ciment.

What? July Already?

The web I showed you in previous post is inching slowing forward. The warp is so slippery that the shuttles frequently dive to the floor, and that does impede progress. It also taxes my patience.

But as long as I remember to get out early for a walk, I find this particular vista very calming. 

This one, too.

I have a daily practice of designing one 8-shaft amalgamated draft. Here's today's effort. It get pretty exciting when color is added, but for now here is the B&W version. Maxfloat 5. Click on it to enlarge.

Staycation Day

The Night-blooming Cereus hasn't bloomed yet. Or maybe it has, but we've been going to bed too early to catch the event. It is, however, enjoying its summer on the porch and putting out many new leaves. Thank you, Sam, for this gift.

In the studio, it's sewing week. The 6 yards of narrow fabric is morphing into a pullover. This involves joining the strips together in various ways, partly by machine and partly by hand. 

Which of these is not like the other?

The edges of handwoven cloth received special treatment to keep them from unraveling.

I occasionally look up from my worktable and see this totally unplanned color scheme on a nearby shelf. Who did that???!

There's some weaving happening, too. The draft from my last post is finally on the loom. Always expect the unexpected. After 2 1/2 inches, a broken warp.

In the Department of Books, I just finished reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. 

Happy Fourth, everyone. It's time to defend our democracy.

 

Learning Curve

I am practicing amalgamation in TempoWeave. Learning a new program is like learning a new language, but doing one draft a day is helpful. This one is for 8 shafts.

 

I love viewing the cloth this way. 

My 4-shaft project (seen in the background) sits idle. I did take time out to bake a loaf. I am practicing scoring. 

Waiting for the Moon

Yes, here we are, not in the path of totality, but around 80%. I think the back yard will be the best place to view it this afternoon. Report to follow.

Meanwhile, here's yesterday's azalea report.

And on the 16-shaft dobby loom, the one I was trying to sell, I've gone back to work. For some reason I'm back in love with it again. The endless warp is still endless, but perhaps approaching partial totality. It's certainly calming to just sit down and throw the shuttle mindlessly back and forth. 

Did you know that if you keep your phone in your pocket while you weave, the pedometer will count your weft picks as actual steps walked in your daily health report? True fact.

The draft is a faux huck on 16 shafts. Here's a little explanation. Straight threading. You can figure out the rest.

Odds and ends in the warp. Why the yellow selvedge on one side? Frankly, I don't remember. I wound that warp a long time ago. It had something to do with stash reduction, no doubt.

Tempting Fate

My dear 16 shaft dobby loom, which I am trying to sell to make more room for other pursuits, does not seem to be attracting any buyers. I am now tempting fate by putting a new warp on it, the theory being that as soon as I start a new project, someone will snatch the loom out from under me. It has happened in the past, so why not again?

I'm tying on to an existing straight threading. I've developed a wonky version of huck that can be woven on this threading and I'm eager to try it out. The warp and weft spots are sort of offset from each other vertically and horizontally and separated by a bit of plain weave. If you happen to use a two-color warp and two other colors for weft, there will be four different and distinct float colors. 

Stash reduction is the goal here. I was able to empty seven or eight partial cones of 10/2 cotton on this chain. The color order in the warp is random and I will be using a single shuttle for weft, so my colors will be hit or miss for this adventure.

The warp is 10 yards long, and I was very happy to have the use of these weights to make the beaming go smoothly.

The bitter end.

And now the weaving has begun. My weft is pink cotton thick & thin yarn, and perhaps I have enough of it to weave off the entire warp. I think by assembling multiple panels of stripes in interesting ways, I can get a garment out of this. The fabric should wash up nicely in an interesting bumpy texture. Stay tuned.

In the Department of Books, I have just finished reading Shirley Hazzard: A Writing Life by Brigitta Olubas. It's a biography of one of my favorite writers.

The Winds of Change

 

Bhakti and I published The Woven Pixel in 2006 after two years of in-person meetings and intensive solitary weaving and writing sessions, in South Carolina and New Mexico, and via the Internet (pre-Zoom). We were overwhelmed at the positive response this work has received, from individual weavers and educational institutions. After the first two physical printings sold out, we decided to make the work available for download with the gracious cooperation of Kris Bruland at handweaving.net. It is still available for download there, after payment of a very reasonable registration fee.

Up until now, we have also been making the contents of the accompanying CD, with all 1400 Pattern Presets, available for a download fee of $100 USD. This has been a popular option for many of you. But things change, and Bhakti and I have decided that as of Dec., 31, 2023, we will no longer be providing the download option. If you are thinking of purchasing the Pattern Presets, now is the time!

The information will not be lost, however. We believe that with a careful reading of the text any weaver will be able to reconstruct the presets on their own, following the principles we outline in the book. So until Dec. 31, if you are still interested in purchasing the CD contents for $100 USD, please email aschlein at att dot net for payment instructions.

A big weaverly thank you to everyone who has supported us in spreading the joy of designing for jacquard and dobby looms with ©Photoshop.