Steady as She Goes

September is here now and it shows in the gardens and a change in the weather.   I like it... fall is one of my favourite seasons.

The studio is still busy but there is a slower pace now.  I would love to get  into weaving for Christmas but my knee says "not so fast there !"   So I back off and take breaks. If I take it easy, then I get to weave longer over all. That's better than no weaving at all.   You don't need to tell me twice!

So I multi task in the studio. Wind a warp for a spell, sit and do some paper work and project planning, weave for a time and so it goes. Right now there are several things under way.  I have three warps wound for future projects and two more to go. I'm an optimist!  There's a second scarf being woven off (on a warp for two) on  the big loom and they are coming along nicely (more on them another time...).

On the Louet Spring there is a start of an Etsy commission  for two runners. Naturally, I didn't have the colours they requested and so had to place a yarn order with Brassards.  So what you see there is the two shades of gray 16/2 mercerized cotton,  two cones of a new shade of steel gray 8/2 cotton, and some lovely deep, deep red 9/2 linen from France called "cerise"  (cherry).  The linen has already been wound into a warp and waiting its turn in the line up.  Well, I thought I might as well make the  best of the shipment. My sample book was dated 2008 and out of date so I treated myself to a new one:

Can you see the tangle of sample yarns hanging out? Its an amazing collection of samples. Best. Deal. Ever.  I use mine a lot just to compare colours and even yarn sizes. I write setts into mine and make notes. Its a work book.

My client, Jeff,  will be following the progress of his runners here so I'll be showing the stages in more detail.

Here the loom is viewed from the front and the warp yarn is ready to be wound onto the loom. Its loaded onto the back beam in a series of simple steps.

The yarn is spread on the lease sticks that support the warp and its kept at a given width by a built in raddle on the top of the loom. Once all is in place, you wind with brown paper to separate the layers. Tension is applied as you go to prevent any soft spots!

Here you can see the warp being wound on with the paper in place. My weaving readers: notice the cord through the paper roll. If you leave this in place, it can also serve to roll the paper up neatly as you weave!  No more rolling on the floor and getting in the way of the treadles...

This is the view from the front of the loom. The warp has been wound on, the warp ends released from the raddle and the ends left supported by the lease sticks. Time to thread the loom. The pattern of the cloth is shaped by the way in which you thread the heddles (or the white stringy bits) to the left. It can be simple (1,2,3,4 etc) or it can be more complex. In this case, it was a bit more involved. I'm using eight of the twelve shafts available so not too involved.

In this picture the threading is half way and you can see my threading guide where I leap frog with my post it notes to keep my place. I listen to podcasts while I work or some nice music.

Once done then the beater bar assembly is place back on the front of the loom and its time to sley the reed:

The reed does two jobs in weaving. First it determines how dense the cloth will be. This reed is a twelve dent reed which means there are twelve bars or vanes in every inch. I'm placing three warps ends through every one so my cloth will be 36 ends per inch (or epi)  Weavers keep different reeds of varying ends per inch so they can produce cloth of varying density. The reed  also becomes the beater to compact the weft yarns as we weave.

I found that I had done a double entry in one dent and so had to go back and move everything over one slot.  Tedious? you bet!  I normally take the threading and sleying slowly  and double check as I go to avoid mistakes. I'd rather catch them here then later....

Then I tie onto the front rod of the loom and weave in some scarp yarn to test for mistakes and provide my base for the weaving to come.  Here you can see my temple in place to reduce draw in already as this is rather fine yarn.

Hem allowance woven and hemstitching under way!

Once that is done, then the main pattern is under way.... I got about seven inches woven and called it a day. I uploaded these pictures and noticed something that I could not see on the loom!   Do you see it? Just to the right of the centre of the picture?  There is one slot or dent that has four threads and not three like the rest, and it shows as being more dense in that spot. While it demonstrates my earlier comment about the reed determining the cloth density nicely, it presents me with a problem. It will show as a stripe through the entire runner.

So I sat and cut out all the weft yarn and took it right back to the the start again. I'll be resleying the reed today all over again and being very careful with my counting as I go!

Tip for Weavers: taking a picture of the cloth and having the flash hit it can show you any errors you might not see. Good to know! I normally take one to show me how I started a project, so I can reverse it at the end. I also write notes on what I do but sometimes I can't read my own writing.

So, Jeff.... how did you like your gray Gothic Diamonds for the short time they were there?

Eye Candy: The Yarns We Use

Edit: June 2010

Yarns Plus has closed down their business. To get the same colours and quality, take a look at Webs for tencel.  Also, no one seems to be supplying 10/2 dyed tencel any longer. This is my preferred size and so if anyone learns of a supplier, please email me!
Consider doing up joint orders with other weavers to reduce shipping costs.  

Susan

There! That should get your attention... a nice cone of yarn. It's 2/8 tencel in a colour called eggplant. This picture gives you some idea of how rich this is but the photo doesn't quite measure up to the real colour! Tencel has such a sheen that it's difficult to take a picture without the shine getting in the way.

I have received two yarn orders recently. I *had* to order some as the shawl commission will be using some shades I don't have in stock (darn). The shawl will be two shades of red, alternating end for end across the warp to give a more dimensional colour than a single shade and the weft will be black.
You'll be seeing more about this commission in posts to come...

So I naturally took advantage of the order to pick up some colours I don't have in my stash and here are the bonus cones:

Ming blue, red purple and the eggplant. These are in 2/8 tencel. My preferred yarn size is 2/10 but Yarns Plus can't get a consistent and regular supply of dyed tencel in that size so they had to drop it. The only colours available in 2/10 is undyed off white and a black, which they get dyed locally in Ontario. But Don did have one colour left and on sale and I jumped on it! This is 2/10 in a gold shade. I have used it before to good effect! Orders from Don at Yarns Plus are a real treat. It's like Christmas opening those boxes up!

Okay, want some more?

As you know I have been weaving up a lot of towels lately and Brassard has new colours out in all cotton sizes. The LYS has some of these in stock and look what followed me home!

The colours don't show as well as I hoped but there 2 of plain white ( your basic, good for everything white), 2 cones of a colour called clay which is more than a beige or ecru, 1 each of a deep plum and a olive green. No project in particular but merely an attempt to update colours on hand. Works for me!

More? Okay.....

This is 2/12 authentic tartan yarns from Locharron, Scotland that were on sale at The Yarn Source. I had read about the sale quite late after the initial sale announcement due to my computer being at the repair depot and so a bit 'late to the party' as I told Lise who runs this business. Most of the colours I wanted had already gone home with other weavers. So I used my colour card and we went through what was left of the modern, ancient and weathered shades left. These are a basic white, red, maroon, and a charcoal black, plus a medium green.

I chose all of these purchases by using colours cards I have on hand here at home....

We seem to talk a lot about looms, equipment, books, magazines but very little about something we use every time we sit down to weave.... our yarns. Only that we got some new... but what and from where? And colours? Sizes?

Mail ordering yarns: how to have a happy experience! Well, it means investing in sample cards and keeping them current. If your local yarn store doesn't carry weaving supplies, you should invest in a least one set. Most companies have them and over time you can build up a nice collection. Be sure to ask them for their return policy just in case you get something you weren't expecting.

I would like to recommend that you check out this 'Master Yarn' chart at the bottom of this page at Interweave Press/ Handwoven web site. I have these sheets in plastic sleeves and refer to them quite often. They also show the yarns used and where to purchase them in each magazine issue. This chart is just very convenient to use as they also include recommended setts.

My colour samples on hand.... and I use them!

Here's Treenway's. I usually buy my silk undyed in either 2/20 or 2/30 as my basic sizes for weaving and doing painted silk warps. I do have other silks and blends of course....

Here's Brassard's sample BOOK! ( great investment and one I recommend for Canadian weavers at the least). It's an amazing resource!



Look at all the sheets and dozens and dozens of samples! Well worth the $13.00 ( in Canadian $ too)

Jane Stafford's selection featuring Louet yarns. These have a lovely colour range and beautiful quality too.

The Silk Tree ( situated at Diane Sanderson's Silk Weaving Studio at Granville Island, in Vancouver, BC. and also Maple Ridge, BC) They seem to feature silks from Europe. I bought some lovely tussah silks in a natural gold and blacks and did some houndstooth check scarves... lovely to weave with and from Italy...

Yarns Plus, in Mississauga Ontario.

Don and Marie also feature a full range of colours in rayon chenille as well as a full range of undyed tencel in varying sizes and 2/8 in astounding colours!

Another card from Aurelia Wool and Weaving. They feature wools and spinning fleece from New Zealand. (If I can find their web site address, I will edit this in later)

I like to use (synthetic) orlec from time to time for wash and wear table linens. I ordered some from an Ontarian business called 'What's Weft" and they sent me the colour cards. At that time there was 63 colours to choose from.... and now there are 90! Brassard carry it and they call it orlon. Its nice to have the colours on hand for planning.

Check the project notes in Handwoven for the yarns used in their project and the companies selling them. Names such as Webs, Halcyon, and Habu , to name just a few of the many, are featured. Also check the back advertising section closely too for smaller operations that can provide you with yarns, tools and supplies.

Most weavers (spinners and dyers too) normally try to support local businesses first, regional next and then national. I would shop across the border much more often if our exchange rate was at par or close to it. (If that happens, I would get the Halcyon yarn store in a box! I love their catalogues) I must admit here to my international visitors that my knowledge is focused on Canada and the USA. I have no information about European yarn suppliers or 'down under' from Australia and New Zealand. Please share in the comment section if you like... and thank you!

Going together with other weavers to place an order is a good idea as well so the shipping expenses are shared. Ask if they have a magic order size where you can get a discounted rate. For example, Treenway gives a discount on order sizes of $150.00 or more. Not hard to do given the prices of that yummy silk! Most companies have email newsletters and sales once or twice a year. Give those a close look and shop sales. Brassard has regular sales on basic cottons and speciality yarns. When ordering, be sure to ask if they have new, updated colours to add to your sample cards.

Then there's the all popular 'ugly yarn swap and shop' at guild meetings. I have brought home some lovely items from sale tables. Maybe the size is right but the colour not so much? Plan a day over dyeing it. You don't have much to lose by trying and a fun day what ever the result. I have some magenta 2/6 wool on cones that I plan to skein up and over dye navy blue. It's perfect weft for doing a balanced overshot using 2/10 cottons. I got the cone for $2.00 so it's worth a try.

Then every now and then a weaver hangs up their shuttle for the last time and we have estate sales. The first few sort of creeped me out, but eventually I adjusted to the fact that the weaver would have wanted her stash to be used and shared (including me someday.) I have some lovely yarns in my stash that belonged to special friends and they are with me in spirit when I use them. It really is one big continuous warp on the universal loom!

On a personal note: Thanks for hanging in there while I wrestled with my lack of smarts with regards to blogging. (Granted Blogger didn't help much...) I appreciated your collective help. I will be looking at that alternative you suggested Peg!

I have a weaving exchange runner warp going onto the Louet Spring... still have the place mats to weave off on the big CM (next!) and I'll be winding the shawl commission warp shortly now the cones have arrived. The trouble is time.

Time is being pulled in many directions now the grass is growing, along with weeds and 2 1/2 acres to share looking after, .....and the renovations will be starting again. We will be replacing the outer decks (upper and lower) and including reworking the entry way to our home. Most of the work is outside ( thankfully) and will be done in stages.

So, there will be pictures of that from time to time as it will be what's current and happening in our lives. Don't worry... there will be weaving too!