Weaving Wednesday – Round Robin 6

October 30, 2013October 30, 2013 / handmadebyjo / Leave a comment

This week I decided to tackle the False Satin Blocks in 10/2 mercerized cotton. I chose a buttery yellow for the weft. I sat down at this loom last week and simply could not do this. I was over thinking to the point where I just had to walk away. I didn’t understand what the selvages were doing, the sheds weren’t opening the way they were supposed to, ugh! (Of course if I had just waited and asked a question or two that might have helped). I spent the entire week fretting about this whole set up. 8 shafts intimidate me, I’m not sure why. I think it was just out of my comfort zone right then. I was looking for meditation last week, this week I was up for the challenge.

I sat down and wove this without a single issue this week. I think having my head in a different place made all of the difference. I wasn’t distracted.

Pam had to unweave a Navajo rug she was working on because there was a problem with how it was warped. She was trying to fix and then re-warp the frame. Her cat, Fred decided he would help her out.

Fred loves the studio. He is always there, waiting for a pat or cuddle (or food). He helped Pam read her measurements – we all know tempting any owner reading a paper of any kind is. I think he was just in tune to her frustration and was working on a little comic relief.

He did a very good job.

Calling My Name

October 11, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 9 Comments

Weaving has become an obsession with me. I warped my loom in Rowe last week. I was proud to say after 430 ends only one was threaded wrong and I was able to fix it with a string heddle. I love having an instructor who knows the craft so well she can teach you the tricks that get you out of a jam.

I wound an extra long warp so I could weave three of these throws in succession with different colors. This is the traditional blue and white. The next will be with a variegated green/brown combination and the last will be anyone’s guess. Christmas is coming. I figure I can have these off of the loom by Halloween and move on to other gifts.

Although I weave during the week at the studio in Brimfield we are weaving cotton. Cotton is what I started with when I began learning to weave, it gives a beautiful definition to the structure. For that reason I like weaving with it, especially when I am doing something new. My last project for the class this past spring was the red and white wool throw and it was revelation.

I love the feel of wool. I love the way it feels going through my hands. Winding the warp seemed effortless, it had a calming effect. That’s really the reason I love having something in wool always going somewhere. It’s not just the counting and meditative repetition of the act of weaving, it is also the feel. This throw is warped in Jaggerspun Maineline 2/8 yarn, it is soft and wonderful to work with. The weft on this section is Bartlettyarn Maine Wool which is a beautiful worsted weight yarn.

The other aspect of weaving with wool is the smell – I’m thinking it’s only fiber people that will understand that statement. It smells like it came from an animal, it’s wonderful. Don’t get me wrong – it doesn’t smell while you’re weaving but you can take a hank of wool and breathe it in, ahhhh. It’s in the finishing that some of these remaining oils are washed out and that’s what makes the fiber “bloom”. There are so many times when I look at the weaving on the loom and think it doesn’t look as good as it should. Once it is washed and dried a miracle happens and it often looks better than anticipated.

That’s the thing I’ve found with weaving – every aspect of it is equally important to the finished project. People tell me they love to weave but hate to warp. To me that is the most important part, otherwise nothing else works. It is time consuming, yes, but I take it as a challenge. I try to beam my warp so the tension is even, thread my heddles so there are no mistakes, slay the reed without skipping a space all the first time. It becomes tedious when I don’t pay attention and have to take it all out and start over. Throwing the shuttle is the easy part most of the time. Finishing can be tedious as well but when you do it it’s magic. What looked just okay on the loom becomes a masterpiece once it is washed. All aspects of the process come together.

Weaving Wednesday 14

September 11, 2013September 11, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 2 Comments

I went to the studio last night to thread the warp on one of the towels we are doing for our round robin. This warp is cotton in alternating colors – 4 threads blue, 4 threads white. Pam had wound the warp and beamed it (she did on all 11 looms, crazy woman). The threading, slaying and tie off was up to each student participating. She asked me to do this one.

The warp was wound with the blue and white threads together so when I was threading I has to separate it into groups of 4 as I went along. I posted a pic to FB as I was doing it because the beginning seemed like a tangled mess to me and it was difficult for me to get a rhythm going that would carry me through.

Just as an FYI this is the sort of thing that makes me just a little crazy. I love order and symmetry and this seemed anything but. The threads would tangle together – blue and white as I threaded them through the heddles. I threaded them in groups of eight. When the blues were threaded the whites were tangled but once I finished the whites it seemed to straighten out. For a person with an OCD in order and symmetry this was pretty stressful.

It gets better. Being the novice that I am I counted the heddles on the first shaft to make sure there were enough before I started – I figured I was good to go. You guessed it – I was short on two shafts at the end. DAMN IT! I had to move heddles from one side of the harness to the other which was a struggle (that, my friends, is a wild understatement).

I had been looking forward to a quiet evening meditation with fiber. I got a hot, frustrating 3 hours.

There are lessons learned here. The most obvious to me is count your heddles – all of them, don’t assume anything. The next is that I can fix my mistakes for the most part. The most important one for me is learning to work through that OCD. Yeah, yeah, it made me short of breath with an extreme headache but once it was done I relaxed and thought “that wasn’t THAT bad”.

Years ago, in my quilting days, I had a lot of trouble letting go of control of my projects. The colors had to be just so, set in the right spots, the seams perfect, the points exact. I met a woman whose work I greatly admired. I worked with her on the CT Quilt Search Project for over 3 years where I saw scrap quilts that were stunning. I couldn’t figure out how they decided what went where to have these textiles of scraps come together with such beauty. We talked about it at one point and she said “Put all of your light pieces in one bag and your darks in another – as you’re sewing them together just pick random ones alternating from one bag to another”. That was way, way out of my comfort zone. I had no control but I forced myself to do it.

I ended up with a beautiful top, exactly what I was looking for made in probably half of the time because I forced myself to let go. I need to remember those lessons every time I do something that I’m frantically trying to maintain control of – you just have to let it go.

Family Stories

September 2, 2013September 2, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 3 Comments

Lena and Elmer Alix – June 29, 1930 – both were working in mills at the time.

Every Wednesday I eat lunch with my Dad at the assisted living facility he lives in now. It’s always interesting for one reason or another. This week we talked weaving, which is one of my favorite subjects. My father is one of the few people left that can tell me the stories of the woolen mills where almost his entire family worked for his childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.

He’s been telling me these stories for my entire life, they are part of my being. It wasn’t until this past year that I had a much greater understanding of what he was talking about. He always tells me about the mechanics of the mill, how the looms worked, how the fiber was carded and spun, the kinds of fiber they were using.

When I began my weaving class my goals were twofold – I wanted to learn the process but I also wanted to better understand the stories – my family history. I knew if I didn’t do this a good part of these stories would be lost.

Wednesday Dad talked about winding warps for the looms. The looms they were using were 72 inches in width (that’s pretty big). Each warp thread came off of its own spool. He didn’t know how long the warps were but he often has told me about my grandfather knotting the warp threads as they ran out while beaming the warp. He could tie the knots with one hand. This must have been pretty amazing because Dad never looks more delighted than when he tells me that.

We talked about my grandfather’s weave books. Dad told me this was the book he was using at Charlton Woolen in the early 1930’s. Today I took it out and realized that the length of the warp was decided by whatever the job was. This book never ceases to amaze me. He saw this in his head, he designed on paper and knew what it was going to do – wow. I understand it but at this point I’m not able to visualized what the warp and weft are going to do without doing a draw down (and I struggle with that at times – it makes my head hurt from thinking too hard).

The heddles were all threaded by hand – look at this page – 6 harnesses with 1800 ends. It would take me a month. Yikes! Often there over a dozen harnesses, talk about making your head hurt.

Today I will finish weaving my scarf for the Eastern States Exposition (Big E). I will take it off of the loom, fringe it, weave in any loose threads, then wash and block. I think one of the reasons I enjoy weaving so much is it has helped me to understand the kind of thinking my ancestors did while doing what they did for a living. This has been a great journey.

And Now for Something Completely Different

August 29, 2013August 29, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 4 Comments

Last week my weaving instructor put out an APB to her students that she needed help winding warps for the upcoming session. Up until now most of the students were at different points in their weaving journey. Each of us would work on samplers or projects that would teach us something in particular about weave structure and be something we wanted to make. This session we are doing a round-robin of twills. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this.

There will be eleven of us participating. Pam is in the process of beaming the warps on eleven looms, some 4 shafts, some 8. Each one of us has to go into the studio before the beginning of the fall session and thread and tie off one loom in the pattern that has been set up for that particular loom. Once the session starts each we will be weaving a different twill pattern on a different loom each week. By the end we will each have eleven different dish towels. How fun is that?

I picked up a cone of 8/2 cotton at the studio and brought in home to wind. I was a few yards short so I just brought my board to Brimfield to finish it. Pam was beaming the warps when I got there. She wanted the tension to be the same on all of the looms. What a project (for her). I will be going over sometime before the 17th of September to thread and will be waiting anxiously to get started.

Meanwhile I have four weaving days to finish that scarf for the Big E. I’m almost there but am at a point where I’m wondering what was I thinking?

Weaving Wednesday 13

August 14, 2013September 11, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 13 Comments

I managed to warp the loom this past Saturday and wove some on Sunday and a little on Monday. After splitting wood I was less than enthusiastic, I really just wanted a nap.

This has a tencel warp with a verigated wool sock yarn for the weft. It is really quite lovely – the tabby warp in tencel looks like little glass beads when the light hits it just right. Speaking of warping and weaving I made another mistake threading – can you see it? I didn’t until I’d woven about 6″ – and that was my point of no return. It is what it is. I don’t find it glaring and it wouldn’t stop me from wearing it. Another exercise.

I have 10 days to finish this. Barring any unforeseen crisis I shouldn’t have a problem doing it. It’s nice to be weaving a more complicated draft. I really love doing overshot. It reminds me of knitting an Aran pattern in a way. You have to knit many rows before the pattern appears, then it keeps you interested. Once you’ve repeated the pattern 5 or 6 times the piece you’re knitting is done. This does much the same thing, by the time you are in a rhythm with the treddling the piece is nearing completion.

When this is done I will probably weave another wool overshot throw, then I have a striped twill throw in mind. Christmas is coming.

Gamp Progress

July 26, 2013July 26, 2013 / handmadebyjo / Leave a comment

I thought I’d post a couple of photos of the progression of the gamp I’m weaving. This is in Harrisville wool. The weather finally broke and we are back to tolerable temperatures. I did a lot of weaving this past Sunday and a little on Wednesday.

I have to say that this project has taught me a lot more about weaving than color interaction. I’ve had a couple of issues with the tension on my warp (which I’ve corrected) and I also broke a warp thread the other night. That was a bit more of a challenge figuring out what would work and what wouldn’t. It broke between the heddle and the reed. I thought I could knot a new thread in – not. So I just put a new thread from the back to the front and weighted it like I’ve done with a broken floating selvage. It worked I’m happy to say. The best part was the lack of panic on my part, I just figured out how I could make it work. Six months ago that might have been a problem, I would have had a more difficult time figuring it out.

I hope to have this off of the loom this weekend. As beautiful as it is I’d much rather be doing overshot, plain weave is just so boring.

Weaving Wednesday 12

July 17, 2013September 11, 2013 / handmadebyjo / Leave a comment

Half the yarn on the warping board.

Although it’s been very hot and humid I decided that I had to get another project on the loom – I needed the meditation. This will be a color study in Harrisville Shetland wool. There are 18 stripes of 18 colors. Each color intersects every other color, answering that question of how the colors work together. It’s also the first time I’ve done a multi colored warp.

My weaving instructor kept telling me to do this with the materials that I have but since I really didn’t have any I got this little kit from the Yarn Barn of Kansas. I love, love, love the Harrisville wool so I figured this was the safest way to go.

Warp on the lease sticks.

I wound 24 ends of each color then proceeded to the loom. I love how bright these colors are but with the heathered overtones that Harrisville is known for. This was very easy to thread into a standard twill -1,2,3,4 over and over with all of the numbers coming out even (my OCD loves this kind of project).

Heddles threaded.

I love the way this looks as it progresses. A friend recently asked me how I could work with wool in this heat but you really don’t handle the fiber a lot while you are doing this – well, you do but it’s not like wrapping yourself in a wool blanket. Once the loom is warped and you start weaving you aren’t really handling the fiber that much. I also have a fan blowing on me from the back of the loom, that helps. I truly think weaving is much more of a summer craft than knitting or rug hooking because you don’t have to hold anything in your lap.

Next up slaying the reed. I should be able to do that tomorrow night and start weaving.

Weaving Wednesday 11

July 10, 2013September 11, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 6 Comments

I was a mad weaver last week. This piece started out as an experiment in sett really. I had a draft but wanted to use something other than what it called for, because I didn’t have access to the required materials and I just HAD to weave SOMETHING.

The warp is a Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca Fine which is a wool/alpaca/nylon blend, the color – Potting Soil Mix. The weft is Berroco’s alpaca in red. The pattern is an overshot called Orange Peel. The name alone made me want to weave it in orange.

I am proud to say that this project went off without a hitch – from warping to finishing. It also happened in 5 days.

We were going to a nephew’s 30th birthday party on the 6th (yes, I am that old) and I needed a gift. After asking Bill if he would wear it (no, he can’t put anything around his neck), I decided to give myself that deadline. The biggest problem I ran into was finishing. Living in a house with no air conditioning in the middle of a humid heat wave is not conducive to air drying a 72″ wool scarf. I confess to putting it in the dryer on air for a half an hour without adverse results. I also didn’t realize how hot I would be twisting fringe. The results were worth it.

This piece is yummy – so soft and warm. I’m sure it will get used in San Francisco. I was a little sad to see it go but had woven it with the recipient in mind, those are always the best projects.

Now I have to admit that I’m just a little on edge because there is nothing on my loom right at the moment. I have a number of choices right now but I think I will weave a gamp of Harrisville wool that I just purchased. I figured Harrisville was the way for me to go because I love the way their wool is spun and dyed. So 18 colors, 72 inches – I can’t wait to get it started! On the other hand if this heat keeps up maybe I should consider making something in cotton.

Weaving Wednesday 10

June 19, 2013September 11, 2013 / handmadebyjo / 2 Comments

I finished the cotton towels I was weaving in Rowe on Saturday and was desperate to warp a new project. I decided on an overshot scarf in the Orange Peel pattern. The warp is fairly short and only has 146 ends. I was not ready to do a huge warp for another throw just yet so I made a little trip to Metaphor Yarns in Shelburne. They have some really beautiful yarn – really beautiful. I was looking at a draft before I left that used tencel as the warp with sock yarn as the weft. After poking around the store I found some fingering weight alpaca blend and figured I would change the sett if I had to (pretending I actually understand what I’m doing well enough to do that). The warp color is called potting soil and it’s lovely. I chose a red alpaca worsted for the weft.

Sunday morning I was on fire – I warped that loom in record time and am proud to say not one mistake – woohoo! I like the way this overshot pattern is going. The scarf will be 70″ in length with a twisted fringe on either end (since I know how to do that now). The fabric is fine and will have a nice drape. Best of all , it will be warm!

This is when I truly am thankful for the lessons learned this past year in my weaving class at Firewatch Weavers. I am able to plan out my project. I know how much fiber and of what weight I will need to create what I have envisioned in my head. I know how to read the draft no matter how it’s written because truth be told not all drafts are created equal.

It is amazing to me that I can follow these steps – by myself – and have results like this. The problem I have now is this is what I spend my days dreaming about – sitting at that loom and throwing a shuttle (or two).

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