Signs of Life

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth....  I'm still here and hobbling around. Its a bit troublesome coming up with some weaving for you when I'm so slow now and this is a weaving focused blog!  Mind you in time, you will be learning all about knee replacements and the road to recovery later this year  :)

With longer days, more sunshine and things starting to grow again (well, here at least!) our attention has been diverted by annual events such as taxes,  and some early spring clean up around the house. With my wonky knee, I'm close to useless outside and so have to learn to 'not see' stuff outside that needs doing.  (Hard for my personality type to do!)

All in our garden at present. (including the weeds :)

Last fall we debated what to do with our car and its elderly age. We decided to leave it till spring. Its a 2001 Toyota Sienna and has over 260,000 km's on the engine. It's been a totally reliable car, no major issues, good on gas and room for the stuff and dog kennel we  travel with.

The car started making noises late fall and earlier this month it started a front end wobble so we suspected the wheel bearings. The trouble is, the repair would cost more than the vehicle is worth and we'd still have an older car with other expensive issues starting. We were grateful it lasted the winter months at the least!   So Bruce started looking around at our options. We had to have a similar seat height arrangement due to my joint issues (my hips can not be lower than the knees so many sedans are out). We need room for Calli and that means a kennel.  She is not a "just jump in the back" kind of dog. She gets all silly and wants to climb around, bark at other cars and stuff going by.  No, she goes in a kennel and it also keeps all the associated dog mess in one spot too.

Here she is with her fresh new spring hair cut. Don't let that innocent look fool you!

On  March 18th, Bruce found this beauty here locally:

A 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe LE, with low mileage, just brought in as a trade in the day before.   On the 19th, it was ours!  That's our old Sienna in behind the new vehicle. The Santa Fe is higher and although narrower than the Sienna, its roomier inside.   Its very nice to drive too.  So no more over heated me when we drive to the Okanagan. We have AC again now.   So pardon my excitement at a new car. It doesn't happen around here very often and the last time was fourteen years ago. We literally wore the last one out. She was destined to be recycled for parts as there was no value to selling her again.  Sad huh? 

I must admit that it feels good to have a new ride.  We signed the papers on my birthday and Bruce tried to say it was my birthday present, but I straightened him out on that point!

I have been able to spend some time in the studio but once again I have been setting things aside for more downsizing. I will be setting up a separate sale page and advertising items for sale on it. Watch for it very soon just under the Thrums banner and along with the other page tabs.  There will be books, various magazines, some yarn, and small equipment as I photograph and set them up.   Its now clear that living in a two storey house with a flight of stairs to the main floor is not going to work all that well (plus the acreage) and so we are voluntarily downsizing and getting ready to put the house on the market next year in 2015. Its just too much to sell and move now with an operation coming at any time.  So we will be having garage sales this summer and paring down.  (That's the plan....)

After wading through all this personal stuff, if you are still with me, you deserve some weaving content now!   In my last post you read all about the slow start to this current silk shawl project. The beaming was an education in patience for both myself and my helper Bruce.

I'm using a fine 30/2 Italian tussah silk that I bought from the Silk Tree at Diana Sanderson's Silk Weaving Studio at Granville Island. (Yes, those are three separate links for three locations. Check them out if you have time to browse. )  The sett is 36 ends per inch and I used a 12 dent reed, with three ends per dent. No problems with the threading, none either with the sleying. So nice when it all works out like that!  Its a twelve shaft, twelve treadle twill pattern that I received from my friend Gudrun. She found the draft at Handweaving.net from an old German manuscript.  Gudrun modified it and so did I a bit to suit my needs.  I had the information, even a copy of the draft she sent me but in the transfer and set up of Fiberworks between three computers being set up and decommissioned, its gone missing!  All I have is the single sheet hardcopy paper variety sitting on my desk. It will have to be re-entered all over again when time allows.  Its a combination of point twill and network twill in both the threading *and* the treadling.   Where you have point twill and treadle point twill, you get stars and diamonds, and where there is network threading you get this interesting design. Network on network is another look altogether...   Sounds confusing huh?   You can see the point twill with network sections in the draft below:  

 

 

The warp was planned for two shawls and to economize on warp, I laced it on and got under way using the two stick method. I used a fine 55% silk / 45% yak blend that I purchased from Treenway Silks when they were still on Saltspring Island.  Its a lovely soft grey beige and works so nicely with other colours. The tussah is a mellow gold tone and the two looked great together. This project cleaned me out so I did place an order for more silk yak blend from the new Treenway.  Great service and quick delivery.

I wove a border using a half run of one through to twelve for a few repeats, then I moved into some point twill runs of one to twelve and back down to one again.  Then I shifted into the network twill treadling which is a series of twill progressions. The border and network section measured roughly twenty eight inches. I wove  point twill runs again for roughly thirty two inches, back into the network twill again and shifted into a short run of point twill for the border and finally with  half runs of one through to twelve to complete  the eighty five inches for the shawl.  The shawl design is in three sections with a slightly larger centre section. I pictured that on the wearer's back and the two other reversed sections draped in front.   Clear as mud?   Here's a picture (please click on it to enlarge and see better):

Here the shawl is folded in half on the ironing board. At the fringe end you can see the border section and then the network twill portion and then near the iron, half of the centre section of stars and diamonds.  I was experimenting when I wove it this way. A concept project.  A calculated risk I know but if it works out, it will be great!.  At the very least, it would make an amazing table runner for a large dining room table. (Sorry the picture is so yellow... not sure what happened with that!)

It looked a bit 'blah' so I added some sparkle:

I had a box of beads in a tricolour arrangement that picked up the grey beige, cream and the centre bead is more amber in tone. Just small groupings between the fringe. Adds a little something but doesn't over power. Due to fine silks being used, its not a heavy shawl at all and somehow the beading needed to reflect that.  (If it does end up being a table runner, they can be easily removed.) 

Gentle hand wash in warm sudsy water, with a steady squeezing to help threads to shift about. Three ends per dent can give you some reed marks for the first wash or two.   Two rinse water changes and much  squeezing. I hung it over a rod to dry overnight.  Then my gut told me to go back and give it a pressing while still damp to remove crease lines!  I'm glad I did as the next day, I gave it a hard pressing and it was smooth, smooth, smooth! Any lines or creases can seem to sett if left to dry first.

It measures nineteen inches by eighty inches plus a six inch fringe. I lost an inch in width and four inches in length *more* than I had planned on for shrinkage! The tussah silk wasn't finished being annoying it seems. I have made notes in my records to allow greater shrinkage than 10%, and also about the cling problem!  I still have some left for future projects, so forewarned is best!

So, hopefully my grand experiment works out okay? What do you think.....

The network section on the left hand shoulder

The center section

The border and beads.

Bruce says that from a distance it looks a bit like snake skin.  There are shifting patterns all over it so it plays with the eye! Its light and neutral in tone, but the pattern is definitely there but not overpowering.   Its going into the Etsy store and so we'll see what happens from there.

The second shawl is underway....and it will be a slow time of it again.  Made some changes to my treadling plan and also my weft yarn. I'm using hand dyed silk / cotton blend in a plum tone, also from Treenway Silks from my stash. 

I hope you are all enjoying the extra daylight  and looking forward to more spring-like weather.... and for those of you with snowbanks and blizzards,  want to buy our property on Vancouver Island?

Trifecta

Fall is definitely here!  The moment I have been waiting for has arrived....

We have a Japanese maple tree near our carport and this is its time to really shine... literally.  When seen in person, the tree's canopy looks like a luminescent glowing red cloud. Set against the darker green background, this is the way that Mother Nature intended red and green to be together.

Then we have the annual Dancing Ladies...

Its a nearby avenue of trees that turn later than most but what a display!  Their branches seem to stick out all over like arms. I'm not sure what type they are, but they are real eye candy this time of year as we drive in and out for shopping and errands.

My days have been busy and quite full but not with weaving much of late. Bruce continues to heal and is doing quite well after his knee surgery.  He had a lot of bruising come out and a painful upper thigh from where they crank down a tourniquet apparently. Some days are good, some are a step back but he's on the mend.  Our best wishes go out to Lynnette's hubby Michael who just had the same thing done and on the same knee!  He's about two weeks behind and doing  surprisingly well from what I hear.

It seems surgery will be in my future as well. I have a bothersome right foot that needs some surgical 'TLC'. No worries, it won't be any time soon. Its a twenty (20) month wait just to meet the surgeon, then there's the surgical wait list. I'm told by my rheumatologist that this guy is the best at what he does, and so it shouldn't surprise me that others have heard the same report.  I'll hobble on and wait my turn.

So what's going on in my studio?  Well, all three looms have seen some action...

Weaving is ongoing on the Louet Spring 'Lisbeth' for turned twill towels in muted colours. The plan is for roughly nine towels and I'm on number four,

I've woven one each in plum and sage in the planned pattern repeat, then another two in what I'm calling 'drall style'. Its where I'm weaving the repeats in blocks of three before changing. It doesn't look like the classic Drall but in the same spirit of Drall.  I'll do some plaids as well and try to change things up a bit.
I did discover a nifty new trick. I normally like to pop a thread into the selvedge every time I measure what I have woven to date and keep track. Well, I couldn't find my large eye needle in the bench seat box and so resorted to using my small hair barrett.... and it works!

I've been measuring from the centre bar in the clip....its snaps opens and slides up the cloth nicely.

On the Woolhouse "Emmatrude' I have beamed a warp of silk and bleached camel blend. Its soft like a cloud! Its long enough to weave off three scarves in snowflake twill. First up  weft wise is silk and yak blend. A sort of international melding of critters!

and a close up.....

One scarf will be white on white but with a shinier silk and I'm still mulling my options for number three. It will be a 'spendier' weft as I want some luxury scarves in my Etsy store.  Full details at another post....

Now, there was a decision made about the Megado 'Margaret' and scissors played a prominent role. I made a mistake using the softly spun silk as my first warp. My intentions were good but it caused me nothing but difficulty.  One edge was beautiful.... and the left side was lumpy. I was learning the program and so would make mistakes and had to click 'unweave'. Going backwards meant the silk was being abraded and thinning. It also was fuzzy looking and so didn't look nice anymore.

So after just looking at it occasionally and avoiding the loom, I walked in yesterday morning and simply CUT it off and threw it away.  Its just yarn.  I do have some great samples.... and here's a close up of the pattern:

I have another narrow warp wound and being beamed today. Its for more of my book marks but with another 12 shaft/ 12 treadle draft I created. I can experiment with learning the program and create something useful at the same time. I'll be getting a little extra help on Oct. 29th when Ingrid Boesel stops by for a visit as she dashes off and back to Saltspring Island.  We live on the road to and from their ferry so a convenient diversion.  Knowing that Ingrid is coming also helped with the scissor choice. I have to get something more agreeable on! (Its like cleaning your place before the Molly Maid comes  ;-)

Margaret's Debut

There you have the first bit of weaving done on the Megado! It even has a mistake. Not overly exciting but it sure felt good to me. Its been a bit of a journey to get to this point (besides the trip to go and get the loom).

I had ordered the update to my Fiberworks-PCW program before we left and it was in the mailbox when we got home. I like a physical disc over a internet download. Been through too many computer crashes in my time I guess.

Bruce helped me with assembling the loom as its not quite like any loom I've had before.  He also had taken the loom apart so he was the natural choice for help. There were some parts we got wrong, or used the wrong hardware. Correcting the assembly meant we now had nuts and bolts for other parts again.  Oops!
We did have some missing bits that Jane Stafford sent me replacements for. Some new parts, like bumper pads, are still on order from Louet in Holland.  Its fair to warn you that nothing with regards to this loom has happened fast. Jane was in the middle of teaching back to back full time workshops so getting information and the parts took time understandably.

Finally it was as together as we could do for now, so we turned our attention to the loom's module and computer. The module worked when plugged in as the solenoids all fired nicely in sequence. Okay, that's good. Now we are getting into foreign territory  and I was learning as I went.  I had to find either a small used laptop (which I couldn't find here locally) or find a small  newer alternative.  New computers have USB ports that you can simply plug in a cord and work with the external camera or other devise you want to use.
The loom's module has an older style serial port and the plug used for that looks like the old nine pin printer cords. I had to find something that would 'marry' them together. I wanted to talk with Louet Canada for their best advice and caught them away at Convergence, then closely followed by their annual inventory on their return! More waiting but I wanted to get this done right.

 I went to a local technology store, Future Shop, and found a young lady in their computer department who was simply great. I brought the module in with me so they could see the unit and what it needed. She carefully listened to me and what the goals were and then we set out to find all that was needed.  We got a (short) serial to USB cord and then found an extension 'USB to USB' cord so I can move the computer closer next to me while working. So far, so good!

We found a small Acer netbook computer with a ten inch screen in stock, last model and so on sale!  No choice on the colour but they did add in for free loading up the weaving program onto the new computer and clearing off all the factory preset programs as it doesn't have a disc drive.  I dashed home and brought in the Fiberworks disc! (see how a real disc  helped out nicely?)

I think I've shown this picture to you before but it really does fit in nicely at this point of the story.

The computer is all set up with the software and I'm mostly familiar with the majority of it....up to the part that governs the weaving process.  Before we get to that part I had to learn all about COMM ports (that's how they write that word... I'm not shouting :)   The COMM port is the door way through which your computer allows data in and out. Some doors work better and luckily for my little computer, there is only one ( and only one available) and its COMM port 3 and it works!  I like the way the computer proudly tells me the door is open.

Okay, so far, so good... next up is learning the steps for using the portion of the Fiberworks program for weaving.  It meant reading, and rereading the manual and sort of doing 'fake' weaving. There is no warp on the loom but you treadle along and the computer doesn't know you don't throw a shuttle.  This went okay but there's nothing like the real thing. So planned a warp for two scarves and decided on a simple point twill pattern that uses ten shafts. I thought for the first project I should keep the draft simple so I can concentrate on the methods and not get too complicated.

The first mistake I made was the silk yarn I chose. I don't know where my mind was at.  Its a cone of 20/2 silk I got somewhere along the way and its not as tightly twisted as my usual from Treenway silks.  I wound the warp in two large bouts, 6.5 yards long (two scarves both 72" long, 12 inches either ends for fringe allowance, take up, loom waste and some samples). I counted carefully and then  decided to wind a couple extra warp ends just in case.

Not having warped a Megado before, I decided to look at it like a larger Spring loom and I followed the same procedures, and it all worked nicely.

Here the two warp bouts are waiting to be spread in the built in raddle.

At the back of the loom now and I'm starting to wind on. I used a brand new roll of crisp brown paper for the inaugural warp. This is where the first mistake came home to roost. The yarn halo'd and grabbed its mate next door.  Crap.  I fought with it until I realized an easier fix. Separate the lease sticks!  Since they could slide on the support strings .....easy peasy!

The rest of the warp beamed on just fine and no more clingy issues.

Next up, threading. Its a simple ten shaft point twill.  Well, maybe the process will become simple in time as I get used to the shaft arrangements but for now, not so much!  The shafts are set *very* close together and so when it comes to reaching for heddles, its very hard to see where you are reaching to and what you actually come out with. I had to double check and count every one before and after threading and caught a mistake or three along the way. Oh by the way, mistake number 2 was, despite winding two extra ends, I was still one short.

Threading was finally done and sleying was up next. I used a 23 inch , 15 dent reed for my 30 epi.

That went much better except for the missed dent in the middle. Mistake number 3.    Fixed that up and then laced on. Then, I held my breath and turned on the computer and module and using 8/2 cotton, wove the header you saw in the picture at the top of the post.   Then I took out my weft yarn  and wove the border.  I didn't know how to shift from border to repeats so I deleted the border portion and then clicked on 'repeating loop' and got to work! It was going well!  So I called Bruce to come and see the loom in action. 

Mistake number 4:  showing off.  Closely followed by, I don't know why there is suddenly a mistake and then quickly learning the function 'unweaving'.   Well, it had to happen sooner or later right? 

This is where mistake number 1 came back to haunt me. The silk fused at the edges and so won't unweave.

So I let it sit for a day or two. Show it who's boss...

Next time I sat down on the bench I rolled the warp ahead and simply started over again.  I got quite a bit done until I saw a double weft shot in one shed. It seems the program suddenly decided to remove a tie up square. Why I have no idea!  Mistake number 5.

This is where I quit yesterday and went and wove on the Spring loom for a time. It likes me and behaves itself. Needless to say the learning curve has been steep, and complete with speed bumps that I placed there myself. I'll keep at  the warp and if it all ends up as samples, then its not wasted.

Before I close I want to show you a special loom bench pillow.   Margaret wove this overshot piece some years ago and made a bench pillow wrap of it using velcro and some foam. I clipped the velcro portions off and washed it. Then I took another pillow I had and sewed it over the top. Its very comfy and I added a small square of non skid matting to the bottom and so it doesn't slide on the bench. At least I got this right!  :)

Well its nice to know that if I need a time out, there are other options to play with in the studio. This has been a lot like going back to school!

Late for the Party

My big loom 'Emmatrude' has been very patient this year. (She is a Woolhouse Tools floating parallel countermarche, model name Gertrude) Not much happened on her while I dealt with life issues such as my cranky lower back. I found my loom bench aggravated my sciatica and my 'fix', the big black chair has been working  very well and I find I can weave longer sessions which is fantastic! I'm under no illusions and I listen to my back and rest when it tells me to.

My Louet is busy right now... but more on that next time!  :)  I am keeping the other loom busy with a series of three scarves. The warp is 10/2 tencel and the weft is 30/2 silk; sett is 28 epi and it's approx 7" in width. I was given a dusty rose pink skein of tencel some years ago and I was challenging myself to team it up with other colours and put it to work (stash busting?) Perhaps I saw too much dusty rose and sea foam green back in the 1980's and so the rose skein has sat a long time waiting its turn. I found a mineral green, violet and black that seem to work nicely. The colours are all medium hues and so of similar values.
The threading is a fancy 8 shaft point twill and here's the draft for scarf number one (which I'm still weaving on the moment, but in the home stretch!)

The scarf in the picture at the top of the post shows it being woven 'as drawn in' or the old fashioned 'tromp as writ'. Since its boring to do the same thing over and over, the second scarf will look like this:

Same threading but now the treadling will be network. Changes everything doesn't it?  I love to be able to play with the treadling possibilities on a screen. I can even view the back of the work and then check for  overlong floats in warp and weft!  The colours are much brighter than the ones actually used but I was okay with 'close enough!'

I have been playing around with variations for the third scarf and thought this one is a good contender and may happen. We'll see. I'll continue to play with choices while I work through the first two!

This treadling is is a twill progression such as you would find in a snowflake twill. I'll have to try a sample to see how it works with the real cloth and colours to see if its a go.  Its too bad that these weren't ready in time for the coming sales, so they are officially late for the party!

So if you have a long warp on and want to change the project, try changing your treadling sequence! Its amazing what appears when you dance the treadles!

I have also been busy preparing for sales like many of you are doing as well. I spent time going through my hand wovens, tagging and making up inventory sheets.  Happily, they are all coming at easily to handle intervals this year! I divided my items into two groups with newer items going to be set up on display with other guild member's contributions at a month long sale in Mill Bay, BC. It runs Oct 30th and closes Dec 1st. I'm on the list to sit a couple of shifts at the sale, but not until the 17th and 30th of November. I'll have to go in much sooner than that to photograph the entries before they all sell!

The balance will be mailed off to a one day sale in Salmon Arm which is in the south central interior of BC, held by a guild that I'm still a member of despite having moved away. They are such a great bunch of ladies !

Last, but not least... one of the benefits of my recent stash collection clean up was the rediscovery of an antique! I bought this from a friend some years ago and the general consensus is that it was new in the late 1950's or early 1960's. I'm the third owner of this little machine since then. It still has the original cloth wrapped cord which makes me a bit nervous! I did replace the rotting cotton cloth on the roller with some new cotton ticking.

When plugged in, the roller turns and I believe (if my memory serves me right) you pull the lever on the right to to snug up the curved metal plate  at the back. It holds the cloth between the metal plate and the roller and presses it in a continuous rotation, with the cloth being slipped in the top and rolled out the bottom. No steam but I can recall that two or three pressings gave good results.  I guess you could mist the cloth before slipping into the roller!

 Hubby watched me trying to hard press towels this week on a conventional ironing board and hinted that a steam press might be in my future. That sure would be sweet but with a new well and plumbing, I think it might have to wait a spell.

As a parting shot, one of the items being pressed up and prettied for the sales is the 12 shaft snowflake twill shawl. Rather than fold it up, I thought it might be nice to look at it for a short while until it ends up around someones shoulders for Christmas!

10/2 undyed tencel, sett 28 epi, silk seaweed blend is the weft so its buttery soft. There's hundreds of twinkly crystal beads along the edges. Madge Manikin looks like she's ready to party now   :)

Making Choices

I haven't fallen off the planet! I had a week where I nursed a twitchy low back back to something less painful. After spending three months healing from the last bad back episode, I listen when it tells me to slow down or stop!

My sister came for a visit and so not much else was done during that time also. Just a whole lot of talking! Its always memorable when my sister comes to stay.   :)  Since she left, I have been trying to catch up on chores and  life.

Let's talking some weaving !  I have woven three scarves in the Gebrochene / Hind und Under pattern and you can get the details here and on the blue runners here. I had left the loom tied up and planned a second project. It is a 12 shaft / 12 treadle tie up and quite time consuming on a countermarche loom, especially so when you have back issues. So I'm trying to get more out of the time spent on my tie up's by planning at least a second project.  The second project is a set of three table runners with the sales this fall in mind.  I left you last time weaving my second runner using navy blue orlec and one last runner to do. *Insert bad back week here*  When I finally sat back at the loom, I decided to go with another blue on blue and used 10/2 mercerised cotton for a finer cloth. It took longer to weave up due to the dark colours, complicated treadling and my sister's arrival.  *Insert chaos here*  :)

The good news? the runners are done and off the loom. The bad news? they are waiting for hand sewing the hems.  I'll be starting them after I post  and show them next time.

I did get another warp wound and onto the Louet Spring right away. I'm participating in a weaving exchange with the Guild of Canadian Weavers and the deadline to hostess Lynnette is October 1st. I thought it might be nice to be early this year and start on them now.  Its not a big deal: four book marks. That's it.   Somehow I have made it a big deal! 12 shafts, 12 treadles, 47 epi with a fine linen and 20/2 cotton.  Oh, and I put on three yards to make extra. Its a point twill designed by my friend Gudrun Weisinger and is treadled "network style". No distractions while working on this one!

This is one repeat and its only three inches long. Like I said, I made it into a big deal! But I love fancy twills....

Well, it will keep me busy for some time! I also want to do a second project off this tie up so now mulling over ideas in my head. So there should be some show and tell in the next post for you.  Hope your summer is going well!

PS We took our house off the market and staying put for now. That means I can plan a warp for my big loom now that it won't be dismantled. Life is getting back to normal.

Humming Along

So what is exactly on the new countermarche loom, Lilibet? It's a 10 shaft point twill and basically all the pattern is in the tie up. It makes for easy weaving and this is what I wanted so I could get used to the loom and it's 'feel'. Here's a close up where I have done some more complex runs through the treadles and the main pattern that appears is a small row of hearts.

The warp is 8/2 cotton and right now sett at 20 epi ( due to my mathmatical error... see previous entry for the sad, silly details). The warp is a blending of colours that repeat every 18 ends: 5 beige, 3 bright pink, 2 salmon pink, 3 melon, 2 salmon pink, 3 bright pink..... and back to the 5 beige. It's fun and fast and I can get a good rhythm going.

I found the draft on Complex Weavers compilation CD and it is credited to Laurie Autio. I like the way it makes such perfect shaped hearts!

I hope you can see the blue version below as it is the treadling I have shown in the towel above. I have another 9 yards to go!

Meanwhile on my other countermarche "Emmatrude", I pulled off the finished warp of the guest towels. Six had been mailed away for the GCW weaving exchange. The four left will be going along with a shawl to a sale in the Shuswap. I am filling the warp beam again. Eleven yards of 10/2 black tencel, 30 epi.

Then wound onto the sectional, one inch at a time:

Here's the draft I created with Fiberworks-PCW :

I was playing around with an advancing 12 shaft twill and with a black tencel warp and then the sheen of , oh, let's say... this for weft. A rich red 10/2 tencel, for starters! I've put enough warp on for 4 scarves so I'll be able to try different options such as silks. Should be interesting!

So I'll be completing the beaming and threading on one loom and weaving away on the other. See you again in a few days....