Weaverly

Jin

The eight shaft table loom has been sitting naked for too long. After lunch I said "enough is enough" and wound a short warp of two colors of silk noil. The yarn was hiding in my stash because I had always thought it was too fragile for warp. But today was a day for seizing opportunity. It seems to be working out OK.

The structure is called Jin, another name for turned taqueté. The warp is 2 colors alternated. The weft is a handspun wool/silk blend.

Here is this morning's sky with a view toward Paris Mountain from my front porch. I'd like to say it was my color inspiration, but such is not the case. Mere coincidence.

Choices

In all, I wove seven samples on the hemp/linen warp. They differed only in the tie--ups used. After washing & ironing, I picked the three I liked the best and scanned them (samples # 2, 4, and 7). Here they are shown alongside their drafts. The center column shows the face of the cloth and the right column shows the reverse. Click to enlarge.

As the warp drawdowns presuppose a black warp and white weft, and the actual cloth has a light warp and dark weft, the reverse of the cloth more closely resembles the draft. The face of the cloth is what was uppermost as the cloth was on the loom. There is no right or wrong side.

The jury is still out, but I'm thinking I prefer sample #7 the best. It has the most contrast and clarity of design. 

Book Sale, and Two More Samples

Lulu's having a 15% off sale today. The code is FIFTEEN and it expires at 11:59 PM today (I assume that means EST), June 19th. So if you've been thinking of ordering a copy of Network Drafting or The Liftplan Connection (see BOOKS in sidebar), this might be a good day to do it. Just sayin'. 

Two more samples are completed on the hemp & linen warp. The differences are subtle, but interesting. It's all about tonal values, which come about with changes in the tie-up. The natural warp and red weft are constant, but the structural changes shift the tonal balance.

Where lighter areas bump up against darker, the design outlines are crisp, but where they shade gradually from dark to light, the lines are less distinct. 

Minute changes in the tie-up change the patterns dramatically because of this dark/light push/pull. These are visible in the computer drafts, but come to life so much more in the woven cloth. 

Jeans Twill: Warp Cut-Off Day

The warp was only four yards long, but is seems like it took forever to weave. 

Today I got to the end. 

The light was really good in the studio this morning, so I wanted to show you this bird's-eye view of the shed before I cut the whole warp off. You can see here the really wide shed, with the risers going way up, the sinkers going way down, and the floating selvedge (there's one on the other side, too) staying right smack in the middle, in neutral position. Enter the shuttle over the floating selvedge, exit under. I love it when things behave the way they ought. It makes weaving so pleasurable!

OK, no more dilly-dallying. Here's all 3 1/2 yards of cut-off finished cloth in a cloth puddle on the floor. If you click to enlarge, you can see both sides of the cloth, orange circles on gold, and gold circles on orange. The structure is jeans twill on 16 shafts: 1/2 twill on the face and 2/1 twill on the reverse, designed with network drafting.

Here's another picture after washing, drying, and steam pressing. The colors are a little different, as the lighting conditions vary widely.

And yet another pic, this time near my desk lamp. Same cloth.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë. You have given me so much pleasure over the years. I wish you had had an easier life.

This morning's walk was another of those springtime gifts.

Goats and sheep, oh my.

A brief glimpse into another world.

Back at home I am scanning woven samples. Now I hope I can match up the correct drafts with these. I am a woeful record keeper.

A little less taxing: making bias tape.

 

Amalgamation, Again

Trying not to watch too much news, by daylight I finished the red & green striped warp with this little sample...

...then cut it off and washed all the little bitty samples, then ironed them and photographed them by artificial light (so yellow!).

Front...

...and back.

Then made a new warp...

...and tied it on to the last one...

...and here it is almost ready to go.

A few inches woven before I turn to my evening reading:

And I leave you with this creature. Enjoy.

A Little History

The last thing we talked about at the network drafting workshop at LoftyFiber (see previous post) was jeans twill on eight shafts. I went digging through my archives last night and found a couple of drafts with that very characteristic: a network based on a 3-end initial, with patterns of 2/1 twill on a ground of 1/2 twill. Eight shafts. After I whip my studio back into shape, I think these will be next in the queue.

Every few years Erik posts this picture on FB. I never get tired of it. Sweet memory.

He says it's from 2009 at Garcia's on the Miami River. Sounds about right.

Network Drafting Workshop at LoftyFiber

After a lovely Mother's Day breakfast (thank you, Willy & Catalina), I am relaxing and reviewing some of the wonderful memories of the network drafting workshop at LoftyFiber over the past three days. Patti, bestest documentarian, has provided the pictures.  

Ten serious weavers and hosts Dawne & Barry got together for three days of real-world cut & paste, computer explorations, and a generous helping of loom time. Here's a sampling of how much fun we had. Great group, great weave-talk. Let's do it again!

A Departure and a New Beginning

The hemp/linen towels were washed, dried, and hemmed. Click to enlarge & see the pattern a little more clearly.

A few days later, the loom they were woven on found a new owner. 

The Octado is carried out to the waiting truck.

This dear loom has served me well over many years, and now is going to a good home with a new weaver. Happy weaving, Linda!

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.