Weaverly

Mornings

Morning light is always welcome here. I like to pause and admire the clarity and gentleness before I make the coffee.

In the studio, the morning light is also kind to whatever is on the loom. Today it is a continuation of the design I call "Grandprix". This is an 8-shaft draft with lots of hills and valleys and changes of direction and network drafting. And amalgamation;. 

I think the black & white color scheme adds some clarity.

In the Department of Books: I have just finished reading The Difference Engine by Gibson & Sterling. 

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. 

Conestoga Time Again

First of all -- thanks, Jane & Val, for the reading suggestions. Always fun to se what other weavers are reading. You never know! 

Hereabouts they are having an exhibition of my work in the long hallway adjacent to the concierge desk. Most of it is jacquard work, from the years when I had the TC-1, roughly 2000 - 2019. There are a couple of dobby pieces, woven during covid. It's fun seeing everything out of storage bins and on the wall. 

I finally finished the first overshot panel on the new Conestoga threading. I wove until the handspun Icelandic wool was used up and then cut off. There's still plenty of warp left. Here's the piece temporarily hanging between two patio doors in the living room, just enough space for a snapshot. It's about 19.5 inches wide. I think I will wash it this weekend, and give the wool a chance to bloom.

And a closer look. Click to enlarge.

I wondered what this would look like with a totally different pattern weft. I also wanted to try this pattern with rounder wheels (less oval). So here it is with 5/2 cotton for pattern weft, and a blue tabby, probably 10/2, both from my stash. 

It's such a good feeling to use up stash yarn! Of course more than likely I will buy twice as much to take its place. Game on.

Play It Again

After the silk adventures with four-shaft weaves, I put on another, similar, warp in linen this time. This is 30/2 linen at 28 epi and 28(?) ppi. Color plays a role now, and these high-texture weaves will change radically in the wet finishing. Probably too early to compare.

I am using four of the eight treadles on my Louet Jane loom. There are two different threadings, crossed by two treadlings, making a total of four weave structures. This takes some close attention in the setup, and also in the treadling. I don't think I would have attempted this without TempoTreadle. Click to get a closer view of the weaves.

Here's a structure only drawdown of the draft. Selvedges are included. Click to enlarge.

Now just for fun - a snapshot of my weaving studio in its current state of organization/disorganization. On the wall are some old jacquard pieces. On the shelves: some WIPs, some UFOs, and a few GOKs

New Perspective

Yesterday on the Swamp Rabbit Trail I started to see all the creeping vines. I know they have been there all along, but perhaps I was not as alert to them before. This makes me think it's time for a new warp.

It is very unusual to see the trail this deserted. The cyclists won't be out until later in the day.

The crinkle scarf is cut off, washed, and hung out to dry. The narrow sections of handspun wool singles shrunk nicely. The rest of the scarf is linen.

Another linen scarf, this time without crinkles. This one's 100% linen, with an amalgamated twill draft.

And a little something extra today. A jacquard sighting in a waiting room. I can't really see the structure, but I can envision it being woven in doubleweave.

Finished reading The New Land by David Stewart.

My Peachy Adventures

First Jacquard sighting in a long time. This is waiting room upholstery. A nice collection of twills.

Back at home I'm rethreading the eight shaft loom. 

It will be a continuation of the studies I did from Pyysalo & Merisalo. Remember this one?

Except that I decided to make the floats in a contrasting color, and as single threads rather than double, and heavier than the background threads. Click to enlarge.

By now you know that this will be vastly different when cut off and washed. But it is fun to see the colors pop out on the loom.

The lighter yarn is labeled "banana" by the manufacturer, and I'm assuming that the background is peach. Peach and banana. Yum.

Here and Now

A little design in shaded satins:

...and in blue, an original overshot draft entitled "Election Day."

 

Yarnies Prevail

What do you do when your loom needs repairs and you are in quarantine? Spin, of course! There's never a shortage of wool around here. I found an unidentified undyed roving, grabbed my current favorite spindle, and watched an episode of The Great British Baking Show while spinning & plying a few ounces of yarn. Very satisfying.

The tablecloth, BTW, is a gorgeous linen jacquard from fabrics-store.com. It's been washed a few times and is softening up nicely. I've made several garments from the linens I purchased from these folks this year, and I highly recommend their products and service.

Thanks to Bruce for the photo. 

I See the Moon

I see the moon; the moon sees me
Under the shade of the old oak tree.
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love.

That's the version we used to sing around the campfire at Girl Scout camp, and I'm sticking to it.

I look at the sky a lot these days. It's the one vista I have here that is limitless. 

Here is yesterday's morning sky, just before I set out for a walk. It did not rain on me, I'm happy to report.

Also yesterday, for some reason there were more than the usual number of fungi around the trees. This was the most humongous one I saw - it was about two feet across. 

For some reason it was the same colorway as the Covid Diary VIII just finished. That was purely accidental. Or was it?

I'm now up to the eleventh in the diary series. Here is the beginning of Covid Diary XI on the loom. It's more somber in tone than its precedents.

I attended a virtual watercolor workshop this week and brought in some flowers to draw. They lightened the mood. Bruce and I enjoyed photographing them, and then I did a few (unremarkable) watercolors. 

I had much more fun messing with Photoshop. My days of designing for the TC-1 (jacquard) came into play here.



In the department of books, current reading includes John Barry's The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. On the same topic, Katherine Anne Porter's Pale Horse Pale Rider. Also La Peste by Albert Camus in English translation as The Plague. That concludes my pandemic-themed reading for a while. I'm now reading some historical fiction about the American Revolution, which I'll report on later.

Now back to the loom, as soon as we deal with a smoke alarm which went off in the middle of last night. False alarm. But lost some z's. 

On Lockdown

My activities while we're on lockdown are the same as usual, only more so. That translates to increased weaving time. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

You may recall that the fabric being woven here will eventually become a bias-cut pullover. I will be using this pattern by Sarah. I've used her patterns before, and find her to be a very dependable guide to sewing garments from narrow handwoven fabrics.

But first I had to make a muslin, to check the fit. I had no muslin on hand and a trip to the fabric store is a no-no right now. I did, however, have an old bedsheet. It's an incredible cotton/linen jacquard, too good to get rid of after its useful life was done. Over the last couple of days I made my dummy garment out of this, and it fits perfectly. In fact, it's so nice that I will be wearing the muslin, even after the handwoven version is done.

I've also been finishing up the teaching warp on my rigid heddle loom. I may want to put another warp on this loom soon, and have to be ready for action when the mood strikes.

Then there is always the daily walk. As you can see, I am maintaining social distancing.

So are they.

Be careful out there, y'all. Be mindful, be kind, and be grateful for the work of your hands.