The last few days around the lake have been almost too much to absorb. The dredging provides its own brand of color.
At the farm -- how many shades of green?
There are poppies...
...and magnolias...
How can a person concentrate?
There are shadows to distract us.
Back home, we have our own shadows too.
And finally I settle down for some design time. I'm wanting something that looks random. Not so easy!
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.
The little blanket is finished at last. The dyeing was done randomly on three closely chained warps. The weave structure is a satin derivative, with more warp showing on the face. I cut the long narrow strip into three shorter strips, attached them with a zig-zag stitch on the machine (invisibly, I hope), then herringbone stitched over the join by hand with one of the warp yarns. I then crocheted around the edges to neaten everything up. The finished blanket is 43" square. I think it resembles the pelt of a wild animal. A blue giraffe, perhaps. Click to enlarge.
Meanwhile, on another loom, the striped dishtowels are coming along. I have such fun weaving random stripes, using up bits of yarn left on the bobbins. My double shuttle is a big help here, as I can make up odd color pairings as the mood strikes me.
The structure is straight 2/2 twill.
This is one of the very first books in my weaving library. Publication date is 1960, and I bought it for $1.00 at a used book store in New York! It's absolutely lovely and would probably fetch a fair sum today on the used market. My copy is now well used.
This draft, on page 8, for drapery material, is one I've admired for a long time, but I have finally gotten around to weaving it.
First I modified the original slightly, to eliminate the doubled long floats. The following picture shows the sample on the loom, in 10/2 mercerized cotton at 24 epi and ppi. The mercerized yarn does a good job of reflecting light from the weft floats.
I thought the original version, in the book, was actually better, so I rethreaded and wove it with the doubled threads.
I thought it was still too open, and resleyed it closer, and liked this third version the best. The plain weave sections are 2/dent in a 12 dent reed, and the doubled floats are now 4/dent.
Here are all three samples off the loom, before washing (click any of these to enlarge):
And here they are after washing and a light steam pressing:
...and a close-up of the most closely sett version:
Draw-in and shrinkage is about 15%, not surprising. It's a really nice fabric, and would be good drapery material, as suggested by the authors. I think it would also make fine place mats or runners.
The next step is to weave it with a heavier, contrasting colored thread as substitute for the doubled ends.
After 14 months of lockdown, we're finally permitted access to the Furman campus again. Hallelujah! I have really missed my almost-daily walks around Swan Lake. This morning I savored every step.
In the studio, I've been taking a hard look at this draft from Pyysalo & Merisalo. I wish there were a way to achieve a plain weave selvedge without additional shafts, but I think it's not possible. If I weave this, I'll have to use the dreaded floating selvedge.
You saw the beginnings of this project on Dye Day. The multicolored warp chains, ikat-dyed, were beamed and woven, then cut off and tossed in the bathtub for a good washing and fulling.
Then put through the spin cycle of my washing machine and hung up to dry. There are about four yards of this stuff, and I will be cutting it apart & reassembling into a blanket. The question is: a square blanket of three panels, or a long and skinny blanket of two panels? Hm-m-m. I'll have to sleep on that.
And now for some really good news. Yesterday we watched the graduation ceremonies of CUNY School of Law, Class of 2021.
Well done, Erik! We are so proud of you.
Warping with four ends held together in the hand, separated by the fingers, is a favorite routine of mine. I put a raddle cross at one end and a 4x4 threading cross at the other. After the warp is beamed, I thread the heddles by picking the ends randomly from each bunch of four. This makes for some unusual stripe arrangements. It works best if you keep the values similar within each bunch.
In this warp, I've held four reds together for 3", then 4 blues together for 2", and repeat. Click to enlarge.
It looks like this warp is telling me it wants to be dishtowels. So be it. I'll be using up bits of leftovers on bobbins for a totally random weft arrangement. I predict a very satisfying week of stash-busting ahead.
Two parts of my life converged this morning in harmony. At the loom I am finishing up the end of a warp with odds & ends left on bobbins, always a happy and non-demanding task. The surprises are many, the stresses are few.
At the other end of the room the Spanish Grand Prix is running. Golly, that Hamilton. What a marvel.
And after the race, a bit of random drafting for eight shafts. This draft appears at first to be orderly, but as the eye follows it around, it drifts in and out of regularity, and then back again. It is always reined in at the last minute, never going over max float 5. My, this is fun.
Almost time for lunch! I hope your Sunday is going well too.
Yesterday we took a ride to Asheville to attend Fiber Farmers Day. The vendors were safely ensconced outdoors in horse stalls at the WNC Ag Center, and we felt quite comfortable among the browsers. It was such a treat to be among fiber folk again, and I did go home with a few ounces of lovely gray shetland roving.
Closer to home, we dropped in to see Willy, who is building a boat. He has just applied the paint, and it looks lovely. There will eventually be a stripe between the two colors, he tells us.
Back in the studio, the overshot experiment has been cut off, hemmed, and washed, and here it is laid out in the back yard.
A closer look. The draft is based on Conestoga, from Davison, with a few of my own tweaks. Click to enlarge.
Temples: I'm not a fan, as I've gotten stabbed by the little teeth way too often. Nevertheless, I recognize their value in preventing draw-in while weaving, and I've used them for years.
However, on my new loom, there's not enough clearance between the bottom of the shed and the shuttle race, so I've decided to try weights instead. It was just a matter of assembling the hardware. First, some plastic tarp clips. Some folks refer to them as alligators. Then screw eyes inserted into the loom frame. Yes, I drilled holes in my new loom. Then some strong cord.
And finally, the weights. I started small, with little pouches filled with rice. Four ounces on each side for starters. Not enough. Went bigger. Larger pouches filled with dried beans. Total around 10 ounces each side. Works like a dream! Easy to add or subtract weight depending on the project.
Afternoon light yesterday was too brilliant and I pulled the shades. Here's the bonus—a light show.