Moving Ahead Again

Well, look who's back.... this is year two of a three year cycle...

They are feasting on the bear berry flowers. Its like a drug to them!  They munch away and then seem to go into a catatonic state. You can pick them off and they don't wriggle or scrap with you!

There are a lot less of the little beggars this time round, but its still gross finding them on your house, decks and crawling on window screens and all through the grass as they make their way up hill.  It all lasts about two to three weeks and then they make cocoons and become moths. The wave of their infestation is moving northward towards Nanaimo. The bushes and trees were covered there last week! Next year they will be back again but less again and hopefully we can get back to normal around here again. { There is a small wasp that takes advantage of the increase of caterpillars and lays small egg on their backs. We look for ones with small white dots on their backs and leave those. Nature is going to do a better job then we ever could! Nothing else eats them.}

The weather has warmed up here finally. We've had a cool, wet spring. Poor Calli, our Airedale was gasping from the heat with her long coat so she went to a new dog spa and had a double bath, cut and mani /pedi.  They did a real nice job on her cut and she looks like an Airedale once again (don't ask about the last time!)

She turned three years old in April and is well settled in with us and has us firmly wrapped around her paw.  She was ten months old when she moved in. She even 'talks' to us by using grunty noises and she can throw a lot of attitude into a grunt!  Just forget a cookie at bedtime and see what you get! What else can I tell you? Well, she's very gentle and this afternoon, she backed away from a butterfly.  She checked over her shoulder to see where 'mum' was and slowly inched her way forward to check it out.... with back legs stretched way back in case she needed a fast getaway!

Calli spends most afternoons napping either on her bed in my studio near the patio door with a view of outside.... or the bed beside Bruce's desk. Toys and balls litter the hallway between the two rooms.

There is even a toy in my loom bench... you just never know when there might be a chance to throw a ball. This was my 'loom d' jour' today and just as I left it. The Louet Spring is a real little workhorse. I have a 10/2 mercerised cotton warp on to weave off a dozen guest towels. They make nice gifts and are a nice touch to place beside the hand basin for visitors to dry their hands on.  The hemstitching slows things down but its the one detail that makes them look well put together later on. I'm on towel number six now and using a softly twisted bamboo as weft: soft teal, cream, white and a bronze. I'm very low on weft yarn and so you know what that means! Yup, yarn store visit coming up quick on Monday. I've called ahead and they have lots to choose from (phew!)
Here are some views of the work under way:

There is also a cream on cream towel, plus another with a cream hem allowance and white weft on another towel on the cloth beam roll. The sett is 28 epi and its a 12 shaft twill that I have used before. Does it look familiar?   Think book marks and then runners  :)  I'll give you more details and data on the current project when they are off loom, hemmed and done okay?

Towels on the big loom are waiting for my knee to feel a bit better. That loom requires a deep leg push and its too difficult for my left knee right now. Its frustrating as I would really like to get them finished. {Surgeon appointment on Tuesday!}  That's a second warping board hanging on the side of the loom so I can have two warps being wound at one time. Bruce added extra dowels across the bottom so I can have fractions of a yard wound, over just whole yard increments. You can see a couple of warps already done and waiting their turn (eventually!)

My next design challenge is to use the existing tie up on the Louet and mix it with various drafts in Fiberworks and see how the tie up changes the draft. It will be fun to see what I can come up with!  It will become the next project on the Spring.

There's going to be a fair amount of running around town, appointments and such in the coming days ahead. Its a busy time of year for everyone as the great outdoors calls and there are herds of tourists and relatives on the move to greener pastures around the province and country! Hopefully you are all looking forward to some time with friends and enjoying  summer events. While I can't get my floor looms out the door to the deck, I'm going to take my spinning wheel out there and enjoy the breeze. When I don't have to throw a ball that is!

Girl needs her beauty sleep.

The Quest for the Illusive Selvedge

So have you ever had a sore toe and then you seem to hit it on everything? The dog even stands on it?  Well, my sore knee is much like that toe... just begging to be hit.  I rapped it hard against the beam on the loom, cracked it on the coffee table and then the final straw,  I pushed it sideways trying to reach up and turn off a bed side light.   ~*ouch*~  is the only word I can write here in polite company.

So its been well iced, anti inflammatory gel rubbed and generally babied. I even resorted to a cane to help me up out of chair and on stairs. Its paid off and I'm back to my normal cranky knee and stepping on a treadle again didn't seem to bother it today.  yeah!

The side issue from this recent little episode is that there's been no weaving. I've been working on some drafts and playing with the Fiberworks program while I had my leg up. I had planned to get one more blog post in for May but that didn't happen. Then I was wondering what the heck to write about when a friend asked me to share how I get my edges when weaving. I can do that!   So I've been thinking about the things I do, the tools I use to get my selvedges.  Its been a learning curve much like anything else we learn and do in the weaving world!

My dear friend and mentor Margaret gave me some tips and advise when I was still a newbie weaver back in 1997, but the one pearl that stuck with me was to "simply weave a mile". Turns out her weaving teacher had told her that way back when in 1947 when she started weaving. Margaret used to be an occupational therapist before she retired and used weaving to help recovering veterans from World War 2 with their therapy.

"Weave a Mile" sounds funny at first, then silly.....but when you stop to think about it, it makes sense.  When you are new, you fuss over every shot, every pic. By the end of a mile, its about simply getting the job done and the edges just disappear from your overall view. A mile means you have perfected your throw and catch, when to apply the thumb to brake the yarn, how much to angle the yarn so it draws in what it needs before the shed closes. You also develop a good rhythm and synchronize your movements.

Margaret had me sitting properly at the loom and mindful of my posture right from the start of my weaving career. When I got my big Woolhouse loom in July 1998, she was there on the doorstep right away before I ever threw a shuttle to make sure my new bench was the right height and how to use it properly so not to abuse my body.

She also told me that once you have the basics maneuvers under control (more of that mile again), then use whatever tools you have to hand to assist you in a successful project.  Temples (or stretchers) and end delivery shuttles (also known as end feed shuttles).

I requested one for Christmas as it was a bit spendy. Not sure about this new shuttle as I had no experience with one, other than a hearty recommendation from Margaret. Santa brought me a twelve inch Schacht end delivery shuttle and a bag of five red plastic pirns. Winding the pirns took some practice but I managed to get the knack. By the end of my scarf project, I had requested a second one for my birthday in March!  I was sold, sold, sold!  My edges were respectable before and looked great now!

Lay the yarn between the two plates and gently pull down and slide the tail of the yarn into the slot.

Then slide the tail up and over that little post and that's it.

If you are changing yarns and need more or less tension, then you make small adjustments at this point with the allen key that comes with the shuttle. The screw tightens or loosens the compression plates. Make the adjustments small as the little screw could fall out if tightened too much. Happily, that hasn't happened for me and I've used some fine yarns. If there are little loops at the selvedge, then tighten and if there is a bit of draw in, then loosen the plates off.  The nice benefit of this type of compression plate is that you set the tension and then if using the same yarn pirn after pirn, you seldom need to touch it again.

The pirn slides on to the aluminum shaft and after time of lifting and dropping the shaft again, it may need to be raised a bit. An adjustment at this point under the shuttle will raise the pirn shaft.  The pirn needs to be level so the yarn feeding off the tip travels straight through the compression plates. I'd like to add that I have only adjusted the shuttles for this only once each since I got them so its not a step you do very often.

I had eventually bought the larger fifteen inch Schacht shuttles that use the longer black pirns. Perfect for wider projects such as towels, shawls and baby blankets. The black pirns hold so much more weft yarn than regular shuttle bobbins. That means less joins in your work.  Who doesn't like that?

This is the best spot to mention that a tightly wound pirn also means smooth and easy weft being pulled off the tip of the pirn and laid into the pic. If  the weft digs down into the lower layer on the pirn, or is loose and an entire section comes off as a lump, you can guess the result.  I find when this happens you usually have to cut the weft lump and then that yarn is wasted. The answer is to apply tension to the thread as its being wound onto the pirn.  

You can hold the yarn between a small piece of leather, wear a glove or use a tensioner.  I went on a search for a new electric winder a couple of years ago and finally decided on the AVL model. I want to point out that Leclerc has one and so does Schacht and no doubt there are others too. The AVL model had what I was looking for, and was on sale at the time too! So I'm going to focus on the tensioner part as they do sell that part individually. It can be adapted and added to an existing winder set up if you are handy with tools or have a crafty husband.

The yarn goes through the pink ring on the far right, then between the tension plates and through the small pink hole, then through the pigtails. The "U" notch is where you can add a yardage counter if you like.  This whole apparatus slides to and fro in a notch on the stand. 

You control the tension on the plates by tightening the little white nob on the end of the spring. It adjusts for varying grists of yarns

Here you can see that I can't get the point of the scissors down into the yarn on the pirn. Its as hard as can be.  It pulls off the end smoothly and with no drag at all!

Weaving towels, particularly twill towels, sometimes had more draw in than I liked even with the end delivery shuttles. The weft travels over every second, third or even fifth thread and so the warp threads snuggle into their position closer together. Even with good technique and an end feed shuttle, you can still get draw in. Hard to stop it.... but you can reduce it.  Anything over half an inch to an inch is a lot so reduction is a good thing.

Temples or stretchers are in common use in European  weaving. They don't think twice about using them. Its a tool to accomplish their project. I liken it to a woodworker using what ever he has in his shop to make a beautiful wooden work of art. Hand tools, power tools.  Who sees the tools used later when the piece is done and presented?    With a handwoven, there's no indication that says "this was woven with a temple"   :)

It seems there is an idea in some North American weaving circles that using a temples is a crutch. That you should somehow get nice edges or less draw in on your own merit.  I strongly disagree .  Yes, new weavers should learn how to 'weave their mile' but after that, use the tools available. It all still requires proper technique and a good warp, and the temple doesn't replace that.

I stick the teeth into the edge about  two eighths of an inch in from the edge....

The temple sits about a quarter of an inch below the fell or leading edge of the work.

I repeat on the left hand side and then press the parts together and down, sliding the brass ring over to hold them in place. Then I force the wood bits apart and slide in the holding pin.

As you can see, I really spread them! It allows extra weft to be laid into each pic . I also beat on a closed shed. The twill will still draw in as that's the nature of the beast. It will also shrink in width as well. If I want twenty three inch wide towels, I usually plan for twenty five + /- in the reed. It all depends on the warp yarn and sett density. Lots of variables! Some of these details are hard to explain as you simply pick things up along the way and absorb them like osmosis and then simply do what you need, and adjust as you go.  (You are making me really think Martha!)

So see for yourself below.... temples seems to work. This edge result is a combination of end delivery shuttle and a temple. There are no holes from the temple as they disappear. Yes, you may stick yourself on the teeth but only a couple of times and you learn to be careful. Moving it is a pain say some..... I think the results show its worth the effort. I moved this temple every one pattern repeat which is 24 shots for my 12 shaft pattern. Any longer and the draw in starts to show again.

(... I'll share this project details in full another time okay? Its still under way right now...)

Here are some other end delivery shuttles:

Both sizes of the Schacht. The red pirns will fit the larger model but not the reverse.

The mini Bluster Bay end delivery shuttle and the shaped card board pirn it uses. You thread the yarn around the hooks to produce drag on the yarn.  Works nicely but must be rethreaded every pirn change. Here is one threaded at the top of this post. Its also uses the opposite side to the Schacht! Took my head a while to get around that.  :)

This is the mini AVL and its stubby little pirn. It uses compression plates.

This is the large model of the AVL end delivery shuttle. It uses the large black pirns. Its *heavy* in the hand. I would think wide warps and a good heft. You'll have amazing biceps in no time. Watch your feet if you drop it though!

I hear wonderful reports about Crossley end delivery shuttles. The link also show further comparisons of EDS as well as a Crossley model. Not many are around for sale since they went out of business in 2006. Weavers who have them, hang onto them!  I hope to try one some day if I can find one for sale.

So what else do I do to get a good edge? Well, you must have an even, well tensioned warp. No one can weave well on a bad one, although you can weave badly on a good one!  Get comfortable with your warping skills and if you haven't tried the back to front method, then consider switching. I use this method on all my looms.  

Hate beaming warps?  Then get a friend or hubby to help you. The company is always nice and showing someone how you do it actually reinforces your knowledge and ability to do it! I always try to ensure the warp is properly centered on the back beam to avoid it being skewed.  If the warp is to be fourteen inches in the reed, I like to spread the warp to fourteen and a quarter inches on the back beam. That way the warp angles in towards the heddles and reed ever so slightly. It aids in minimizing abrasion of the edge threads. Things just seem to behave better when I do, and I don't seem to be able to give you a very technical explanation I'm afraid.

This is the new warp on the Louet Spring that I finished setting up yesterday. You can see that I threw three shots and beat, then another three.... then wove  for an inch in a high contrast yarn. I'm looking for errors. So far it looks good! There is a floating selvedge on either side and I tied on this time as the yarn (10/2 cotton, 28 epi) has some 'bite' to it... some 'tooth' and so tying overhand knots hold nicely. I'm able to get good tension with yarns  like this. Slippery yarns such as tencel, bamboo and some silks, I will lace on to get better tension and reduce loom waste. (I always make small bouts.) Take a look at the warp again and notice that there is little to no draw in. I'm only using the Schacht end delivery shuttle. No temple.

I don't expect to need a temple for this project, but if it did draw in more than I like, then I would use one. I have slowly added to my Glimakra temple line up and have some for narrow scarves right through to a wide blanket.  They are as important as your shuttle is.

Like Forrest Gump said "like peas and carrots"

Well, if you are still with me at this point, well done! For someone who didn't know what to write, I have surpassed myself!

Wild Orchid

I love Orchids. Did you know there are over 5900 catalogued varieties? That they are the most sophisticated, specialized plant on the Earth? The blossoms, the colours...they look so delicate and so complex! Did you know that real vanilla extract comes from an orchid ? Many are green house varieties needing special humid conditions but phalaenopsis or Moth orchid can be grown in most homes on a window sill.

So imagine my curiosity when I saw that there is a tencel colour called orchid! 

 I *had to* order it.  When it arrived I could see that its a delicate lilac. Super, uber pale!    I have used it as weft in one of my shawls and while it looked good, it didn't really bring the true colour out. The other colours in the warp and weft took centre stage.

The cone sat on my yarn shelf for a time and I mulled over what would be the best way to express this delicate colour to its best advantage.  Eventually, I decided on huck lace and the orchid would be warp and weft, because as we all know, that lace weaves look best when you use the same colour and yarn.

So I went through my pattern books and then my sample binders. I found an 8 shaft lace draft I used some years ago and woven a white shawl. All I have is a picture of it as the warp was too short for samples and it sold right away. (That was before I added extra inches as a dedicated sample length!) This tencel is 8/2 and I used a sett of 20 epi for a slightly firmer lace (over the recommended 18 epi).

I wanted to use the bottom section again, which I like to call 'trellis'. The top section is a lot more lace than I really wanted but I went through the various lace blocks and took some from the top and what I liked from the trellis. The basic rules are a block that has a 1 for the plain weave must be followed by a block with a 2. This way you can select which ones you want to create the image you'd like. Well, that's what I did  with this draft.  It was fun actually and I came up with several patterns that I'll use in the future. They are all based on the threading shown above and all I've done is play with the blocks and in what order they are treadled.

The picture above shows the start of the first scarf using the trellis style.... and my new Bluster Bay curly walnut end delivery shuttle. The yarn feed is opposite to what I'm used to and I had to get used to the tensioning hooks. Due to tencel being slippery, I ended up using pretty much all of them. It didn't take too long to get used to it and as you'll see later on, it did a nice job with my selvedges. The only difficulty I had was re-learning how to wind the cardboard pirns correctly, but even that went okay after a couple of tries. 

The plain weave treadles, nine and ten, are on the far right.... and all the pattern treadles are sequentially across from treadles one to eight. Your feet are jumping around quite a bit! After a repeat or two, I decided to place numbers on the treadles to give me my placement at a glance.  If you give the draft above a try, then you might want to do this too.

Scarf number two I wove blocks that went across the scarf and made small rosettes, then an abbreviated blocks to make them appear rounder, followed by the rosettes again. This was repeated on the other end of the scarf. In between, I wove the rounder 'flowers' with six pics of plain weave in between to give some separation. Its pretty but I like the first scarf better. Its seems that simple designs are more effective. 

Then it was time for the fringes to be twisted...

You can see the shine already!

Beads were a interesting experience! I pulled out all my suitable colours and then put most of the away again.  I had some that almost matched perfectly but they did absolutely nothing and completely disappeared. I found that some that looked the right shade, turned a different colour against the orchid colour! Finally I found the ones shown above for the trellis scarf. They are darker than I really wanted but trust me, in person, they really work!

Photographing it on white simply did NOT work....it turned gray and looked dreadful! My dark charcoal counter top worked best. If it didn't, then I wasn't sure what to do next! As you can see from the picture below, the areas of plain weave produced a very stable cloth.

The second scarf, which I'm calling 'flowers' turned out quite nice too. You can see the softer shade I used for this one's beads and crystals. Both scarves have lovely edges and I must credit the Bluster Bay. I ordered a second one, this time curly maple, so I have a set. I'll use them on narrow widths such as scarves.

They both came in at 7.5 inches in width and 71 inches in length, plus the fringe. They are definitely a lady's scarf.

I took it easy weaving these scarves due to my cranky knee. X-rays were done and I had a visit with our family Doctor. Seems I need a knee replacement! Actually, half of one but its up in the air if a 'demi' version would work. Many orthopedic surgeons gave up on the half version and went back to the full. We'll see what my surgeon feels about this when I get to see him sometime this late spring or early summer.

I'm going to keep on weaving, as it is exercise after all,  but use more (lighter) 8 shaft drafts and go slower.  My Doctor says I'll be back weaving again once I'm all healed. The trick is how long will the wait for surgery be?    I'll keep on playing with yarns while I wait...

Forever Hellebore

This blog is primarily for my weaving adventures with just a dash of  personal. Its time to share that while I'm never a fast weaver, things have slowed even more around here. There's the normal spring time call of the house and yard, it seems my joints have decided to complain about their situation.

I've been  waiting to see a specialized surgeon for foot surgery, but now my left knee is singing a sad song. I've had it x-rayed and so will start the process with doctors and possibly a surgeon for the knee. Its OA or osteo-arthritis (same as my right foot) and all part and parcel of my SLE or Arthritis Lupus .

I've discovered that everyone in and around my age group has something to complain about so this isn't to illicit sympathy but to simply say,  that sometimes it hurts to weave, so I can't.... and as a result,  posting a weaving story can be slow.

I have been weaving but just for short periods with rest breaks in between! I should have some new for you next time...

So lets take a look at some other items that I've had tucked away waiting to share with you:

This is a pink hellebore that grows in our front garden. I took this picture at least three, maybe four springs ago and posted it here at my blog as part of a spring garden  camera walkabout.  Sandra Rude spotted it and asked if she could 'weave' it at some time. I said an enthusiastic "YES" and then waited.  It took a long time before it came up in the queue. Sandra's new AVL jacq 3g loom needed several tune up's and tweaking until it runs just right. Here is a link to the AVL web site with all of the looms specs  I did receive this computer adaptation of my image from Sandra where the color values are established:

The warp would be black and the other colours are all potentials for the weft. I must confess that I'm not clear on how the color selection works or even how many Sandra can use at one time, but the whole concept is just fascinating!

Here is a link to a blog post where Sandra attended a workshop and explains the method of using Adobe Photoshop and assigning colours.

Just before this past October 2012, Sandra emailed me that the weaving would be under way very soon and the weaving ready to ship before Christmas. It was fun to keep a close eye on the daily progress!

I was hoping to show you the weaving bit by bit as it was revealed to me but it seems that Sandra has had a photographic loss at her blog so there's text but no pictures.  Here's the only one I could find:

This one was taken by Sandra underneath the loom as the cloth is slowly being wound onto the cloth roll while she weaves away above!   Before too long, it was on the way to us and I picked it up at the post office.

Hellebore, woven by Sandra Rude, from original photograph by Susan Harvey

Sandra uses a stabilizer on the back of the cloth and so it can now be stretched over a frame. Sandra just recently sent me directions on that process and the special outer  frame the stretched image will 'float' in.  We may just get it stretched professionally! Until then its carefully rolled up and waiting....

This is one fleeting spring flower that will last a life time!

Then by way of a bonus for you, my brother was in England this past September and one of his stops was at the British Museum. He took these pictures thinking of my interest in textile history.

Ancient Minoan stone loom weights circa 2100-1450 BCE

Stone loom weights and spinning whorls...all found at the city of Troy 2600-2300 BCE

Kind of makes you glad we have the beautiful modern tools we have now huh?  If you love historical stuff like the loom weights above, then, if you haven't already, then you gotta read this book!

Caribbean Twilight

I have been spring cleaning. Every nook and cranny has been swept clean,  inside windows sparkle and now I'm pressing and re-installing the draperies after cleaning.  I must say it feels darn good!! I'm going to keep on whittling things down further by diving into drawers and closets in the coming days.

I'm continuing to downsize in the studio also and have vintage and even two antique books listed at my Etsy page.    The antique books are 99 and 101 years old!

So no new weaving has been under way but I have managed to finish off the last project from the Louet.   The loom is currently naked but I hope to beam a warp on her either today or tomorrow.

I had given you a sneak peek of the second color gradation scarf.  I used the eggplant (or aubergine) and magenta again but this time I teamed it up with azure and dark teal. I also changed the blending area in the centre to shorten up the sequence.  You have to love weaving programs as you play around and try different things long before you get to the loom or waste expensive yarns. Well, actually .. you can still get a pleasing draft on the computer and still have a disappointment at the loom. The mixing of colours and the play of light all have a hand in what counts as a success or failure, not to mention what you like or don't like personally!

I love the concentration of colour on the warp beam!

I had the scarves finished before we went to the birthday party and they only needed to be beaded and washed and pressed once we got home. Once again, I had no purple aubergine beads so had to go for the teal and turquoise.  Not too many of those to choose from either. I end up emptying my entire bead collection out on the desk and then spent much time reorganizing them that so I can actually find things!

I accidentally dumped an entire container of turquoise beads on the Berber carpet. I was down on the floor for about thirty minutes picking them up when Bruce found me and got down to help me.  I must have knocked them far and wide over six square feet. Now he's a real pal! They were the right color that I needed to use so I had to save each and every bead. I'm grateful I had vacuumed just the day before so not bring up too many surprises along with the beads!

I made a list of the gaps in my colour range and so will carry that list in my purse for future shopping trips. I had only one spool of thread that came close in colour too so there's another gap to fill as well.

I took pictures of the beading process and unfortunately I didn't check them on the camera as I went and it seems that none of them turned out. My camera settings had been changed and I didn't see that. Oh, well.... I basically followed my usual routine and that is found here .

So  the project basics are: 8/2 tencel, sett 24 epi, two scarves and samples from 6.5 yard warp. The finished dimensions were 7 inches in width and 71 inches in length, plus generous length of twisted fringe.
So here they are...

There is a beautiful sheen to the cloth that doesn't seem to come through in the pictures. Also, it seems to be hard for the camera to accurately get the colour mix and they are richer in person. The colours remind of what I imagine an evening twilight time by the Caribbean might be like.

Not sure what the next project on the Spring will be but if its scarves,  it will be a two scarf warp again. That way I get my mileage from the loom waste and not get bored with the same treadling or variation. 

To be truthful after doing my planning, colour choices and playing with it in PCW Fiberworks....then I see the first repeat on the loom and I'm ready to move on!  Crazy huh?  Newbie weavers can't wait to get to the "real weaving part" and later on down the road, somehow the picture can flip. The fun part is the creating and design. 

If you are still following written drafts, then make a safe, slow start to taking your weaving forward.  Start by taking a pretty draft you have used and familiar with and add in borders, or isolate one portion of the treadling and try that as your treadling plan. Try weaving as drawn in...   what ever takes your fancy, but try something different. 

That was my goal in the first few years of learning to weave. Each and every (short) warp had to include something I hadn't done before, either fibre, colour or draft. We can get stale when we don't push ourselves out of our comfort zone. The weaving takes on a sameness and next thing you know, you're avoiding the loom and you don't know why. That can be a good time to start an in depth study of a weave structure that you've always admired but have yet to do more than flirt with.   All food for thought....

Edit: Now I originally had an article written by Laurie Autio here but Ms Autio said the article was close on 20 years old and she wants to rewrite it to make it more current for today's situation.

I hope to be able to repost it at that time.... or link to another copy. Thanks for your understanding.