I'm in love

I know, I know, I usually love whatever just came off the loom, but this time I think it’s a long-lasting love, not just a passing crush.

In the last post you saw my work hand painting two bouts of yarn – a terra cotta and an intended teal that was actually turquoise Neither was exactly what I’d had in mind, but I was hoping they’d play nicely together for my weaving plan. I was happy with the colors while beaming.

This is a deflected doubleweave structure, so it meant twice as many threads (480) as usual for a scarf, and 2 shuttles to weave I picked 2 colors of yarn and started weaving. I really like this cool on-the-loom shot.

As always, although I liked the look on the loom, I couldn’t be positive about the pieces till they were off the loom, fringed, and wet finished. Especially since this was a structure I hadn’t woven before, and the number of threads involved in a narrow piece, had my fingers crossed that it would work as planned, that the ‘hand’ or drape and feel, would be pleasing, as well as the color choices.

You just have to trust me when I tell you that none of the photos I took show these scarves to their best advantage. I couldn’t ge the colors just right. But I know I will be using this scarf for one of my jury photos...I think it’s a show stopper! Sometimes I think looks like a fish, sometimes like jewelry, sometimes like a watercolor painting with metals in the paint.

I used the same light teal for the green-ish/blue-ish weft throughout, but changed the terra cotta warp with each piece. The differences are subtle, and not noticeable unless you see them side by side.

I will absolutely use this weaving draft again, even though as a 2-shuttle weave it’s slow. So where did I get the draft from? A woman in my Guild bought a scarf and brought it into a weaving class, where she and the teacher analyzed it and wrote out the draft. A third woman wove it up, brought the finished scarf to a Guild meeting where I drooled over it, and later shared the draft with me. Thanks, Toni, Joyce, & Eleanor!!

In other weaving news, I did finish weaving the black and white shawls. Had to get them off the loom to do the terra cotta & turquoise. Just like the scarves, I much prefer the look of the shawl with the white weft. Don’t know how others will feel. I wanted a contrast with the creamy white of the warp yarn and a weft. This isn’t as noticeable as I’d desired, but was the best I could do... mercerized cotton white weft.

So I’ll finish January with 9 completed pieces. Feeling good about that.

I’ve reconnected with a friend from years ago, and since she’s moved I want to bring her a few towels for her new home. My towel stock was woefully low, so I put a quick warp for just 8 towels on the loom and am weaving them. Towels won’t count in meeting my monthly goals, so I’m mentally planning for February’s weaving while I’m weaving those towels.

January 31st, 2018 | 

Not like me

My regular readers will know I am not a sampler. I don’t put extra warp on the loom, weave a piece, cut it off, and wet finish it to learn things. I just go for it.

Why, then, did I feel a need to do some sample dyeing? I can’t really say. But I did it with the black and white to learn what strengths and techniques would work for my concept. And learn I did. So I did it again, with 6 mini-bouts of yarn. It was sort of a pain, measuring out those bouts, carefully marking them with threads so I’d know which was which later on, preparing them for hand painting, mixing the dyes, doing the work, and then waiting. But I did it. AND wrote everything down! What a crazy concept!

The reality is that I was using such tiny amounts of dye for these mini-bouts that I likely can’t match those color results exactly, but I can get closer to achieving an actual outcome of what’s in my head. I’m sure that I’ll often choose to go with serendipity, bu I had a concept I wanted to try out, in hopes that it’d be a great jury piece, and it would require actual planning.

After those dye samples I prepared two fairly large bouts – 248 threads each, 8+ yards long. I dyed one in terra cotta (remember my terra notta experiment of months ago?) and one in teal. The terra cotta is lighter than I wanted teal is actually turquoise and brighter than intended, but both will work for my purpose. I think.

I’ll be warping my loom with these yarns today. Keep your fingers crossed that I can achieve my vision.

So in addition to actually sampling, here are two other things that aren’t like me. A bit of politics on my blog. Although I have strong opinions, I won’t share them here. I will tell you that I think voting is a critical thing to do, and that there is a unique

opportunity in 2018. If you’re not already registered to vote, do it now! And then vote in November. And if you’re so inclined, run for office yourself. Stand up for what you believe in in whatever way(s) you can.

My last not-like-me is actually sort-of-like-me. My participation in the soul line dance group has reminded me just how much I always liked dancing, and how happy I am to re-introduce it in my life. I distinctly remember having a sweatshirt with this image and words when I was a kid. Not sure if it was black or navy blue, but I loved wearing it.

So when a friend told me about a silent disco being held here in Rochester, I was all over it. Sign me up! We went on Friday nig and met a few other friends there. I. HAD. A. BLAST!! Can’t wait for the next one, likely months away. (The photo is lame, as people were just starting to arrive, and none of the photos I took later in the evening turned out well.)

Parting shot: I was down with a cold/flu for 2 days this week. Jack was very patient with me, but was clearly extremely bored – even more than usual with my activity – or lack thereof. I always find it humorous when he uses this little bed as a pillow.

January 22nd, 2018 |

Black and white and more

I’ve completed four pieces so far this month: three scarves and a shawl.

You saw the beginning of the new-to-me-Tara-Oftenorth weaving draft here. I wove off all three scarves, fringed, and wet finished them.

My favorite is still the first one, with the marine silk weft.

Although it works fine in closeup, I’m still not sure how well it will look when the whole piece is photographed at once, as is required for jury images.

For the second scarf I used sax, which is a pale silvery blue color. I like it better off the loom than I did on, but I the contrast of the colors doesn’t move me.

Because I really liked how close the marine and pansy were, and wasn’t excited by the sax and pansy, I decided to use a color that was closer for the third. I didn’t have what I wanted in silk, so chose a periwinkle tencel. It’s a tint of the pansy – the same color but with some white added; at least to my eye it is. The tencel is a bit thicker than the silk so the weave pattern is slightly elongated, but that’s okay with me.

Meanwhile I was working on the black and white shawl I’d started in the last post. I wove off the first one, cut it off the loom, fringed and wet finished it so I could decide if I needed to re-sley the reed closer for this undulating twill structure.

I like the hand of the piece and believe it to be stable, so I won’t be setting the warp closer for the next two shawls.

I am fine with the way the black dye ‘broke’ – separated into some of its component colors, with red coming out in some places and blue in others. It doesn’t detract to me.

January 11th, 2018 | 

A good beginning

Although all of my looms (2 floor looms, 1 table loom, 1 rigid heddle loom, 1 inkle loom) were naked on New Year’s Day, I’m off t a good start on my weaving goal for 2018. The afternoon of 1/1 I measured out a warp of Pansy 20/2 silk for that great draft I showed in my last post (thanks again to Tara Oftenorth).

I started by auditioning several weft possibilities I could immediately identify.

From the bottom, they are pale silvery blue (sax), chartreuse-y green (felt green), marine, black, yellow, golden, and magenta. I was surprised by what I did and didn’t like.

For a really classy look, I started with that marine. I love the draft, the look, and this shot.

I’ll choose a weft with much more contrast for the 2nd scarf, as I need to make a few pieces for this year’s jurying. Much as I lov the look with that marine, I’m not sure it will photograph well, even with the great professional photographer I use. Best to give him a few options. (In case you’re wondering why it might not photograph well, jury photos can’t be a closeup of a section of a piece, they must show the entire piece. Not sure how this one would work.)

On the sewing front, I cut out and began sewing another tunic, from the first pattern, using some 100% cotton ‘quilters cotton’ I’d purchased at Joann Fabrics. It was very problemmatic in ways I can’t even explain. After getting everything but the sleeves don I tried it on and hated it. It was clear it wasn’t going to drape, and the print, which I’d liked on the bolt and while cutting and sewing, just made me look like a weird, fat, old lady. “Walk away,” I said. Then I went online and sought out what made

something a quilters flannel versus one made for clothing. I quickly got to a place with lots of users saying what a problem Joann’s quilters flannel was, including how quickly it pilled. That did it for me. I will most definitely NOT finish that top, AND will find somewhere else to buy fabric for clothes.

Yesterday I went to a small, privately-owned store fabric store nearby. I got an absolutely gorgeous 100% cotton corduroy with some stretch and a great drape. Never even seen such a thing before. It’s been through the washer and dryer, and I’m looking forward to working with it.

But I’ve gotta get some weaving done today. Plus, I’ve decided that for my jury photos, I really need to have a handpainted piec whether it’s a shawl (preferably) or a scarf, to reflect what I’m currently doing. Which means I need to think about color and do some more dyeing. There’s no end to things to be done. Thankfully I enjoy them all!

January 4th, 2018 | 

What the heck???

Yesterday I took Jack out for his regular afternoon walk. It’s been very cold, so he usually chooses to walk only as long as absolutely necessary to accomplish his mission. The afternoon walk was once around the block, which was what this walk often is any time of the year. Fine.

We got back home and I sat down to do some computer work. Jack was sitting near me in the room, just like always. He was, I thought, chewing on his bone. Swell.

When I was done on the computer, about an hour, I stood up and saw this.

WHAT THE HECK?!?! Jack hadn’t been chewing on his bone, but pulling things out of the rug!

In 2 years he has pulled out a total of maybe 2 dozen, and I always thought they were done in error when he was grabbing for a toy. But this?!?! This is BAD!

To make it as bad as possible, this spot is dead center in the middle of the rug. It’s not like I can put a chair over it or something have no clue if I can put those parts back into the rug; I will try, but I’m betting it will either be near impossible or will look like he when I’m done, and that I’ll be looking for a new rug. I’ve thought about weaving one, but wasn’t really ready to do that. Especially since this rug is a 5′ x 8′. Quite a large rug for handwoven indeed. Your suggestions will be appreciated.

In another what-the-heck is a new problem with my Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor. I have used this program for years, ever since I’ve had a blog, for sure. It’s how I edit my photos and size them for the web. When I got my new laptop, I’m thinking abou 18 months ago, I had to change the version of the software and get used to it, but it works very similarly, so fine.

Except starting a few days ago, not fine. I open an image. Crop and adjust as needed. Go to Save for Web and resize. Hit Save I consistently get an error message: “Could not complete this operation. The specified volume could not be found.” It matters no what file location I choose.

I’ve figured out a work around, but come on – what the heck happened?!?! My work around is more steps: Go to Image Resize. In a few clicks I’ve gotten it to the size I want. Then go to Save as and rename the file so I now it’s the modified one. Then click Save, and it easily goes to exactly the same location as it couldn’t find a minute ago. Again – what the heck? I can’t find anythin in Preferences that would seem to have any impact. Again, your suggestions will be welcomed.

Ok, so here we are on December 31. A few days ago I had a minor freak out when I realized that I had only 4 days left in the month and had completed NOT A SINGLE THING for my inventory. YIKES!

So I put the black and white 8/2 tencel scarf warp on my counterbalance loom. I figured I could weave it off relatively quickly. An I did. I’m not in love with the huck weave structure I chose, but it’s okay.

This was an experiment, to see what I might like best for weft for the shawl warp I’d painted at the same time. First I did a gradient weft: 16.5′′ of a solid color, my standard 64-thread gradient to the next solid color, repeat. I had 4 solids I used: black, dark gray, silver gray, and white. It’s okay, but not my favorite. I do like those spots of black on one end of the fringe – reminds me of porcupine quills.

Next I used solid white for the weft. I like this one better. You can see that one of the fringes in the middle of the white end sort o came undone in the wet finishing. No idea why, but I’ll have to fix that.

I had enough warp left for one more scarf. What color would I choose? As I thought about it, I had a light bulb moment. My cowl have been selling pretty well, so instead of making one more long, fringed scarf, I’d weave two short cowls – it’ll be summer time and people like short cowls in the summer.

So I wove one with the dark gray weft and one with the silver weft. This got me 4 finished pieces instead of 3.

I don’t think either of these photos show the cowls to their best advantage, but frankly didn’t want to go through the challenge of the Adobe process again with the other shots I’d taken.

Then I realized I’d finished weaving another scarf on my rigid heddle loom a few weeks ago but never did the finishing. This is the counterpart to the one shown here, this time with a dark purple chenille weft.

This rayon boucle warp doesn’t look good when double twisted, so I tried to put some beads on it to dress up an otherwise plain fringe. Geez, it was one problem after another, until I finally gave up, cut the fringe short-ish and called it good. So I ended December with 5 pieces. But absolutely nothing is on the loom now to start January. I saw a scarf woven from this to-die-for dra on Facebook and grabbed the draft from Handweaving.net – this is why I stay a member!

Thank you to Tara Oftenorth for creating this modification. I think I’ll warp my Macomber for this next.

UPDATES:

Jack had dental surgery last month – 14 teeth removed! Yikes! I suddenly realized that since his mouth has healed he has been doing a lot of chewing, much more than previously. Those teeth must have hurt, poor baby. So yesterday I went to Petco and bought 3 different kinds of chew toys. He loves them all. Hopefully this will protect future problems.

I googled the problem with Photoshop Elements, and was far from the only person with this issue. I followed directions for fixing it, and it worked like a charm.

12 comments to What the heck???

December 31st, 2017 | 

Dyeing, knitting, weaving

 Like most people’s lives in December, mine has been busy. Here are a few highlights.

I helped out at the Weaving Center, providing an extra pair of hands for a talented felter and teacher who taught 8 teenagers to felt a little bag. So creative!

I knit 2 hats for my grandson. He requested the one on the right, identical to one I’d made for his little brother last year. I made the one on the left in his school colors, which he’s definitely into. I don’t know if that one will fit or if I’ll need to remake it in a larger size. I found the pattern on the internet, but didn’t mark it and can’t find it now.

I decided at the last minute to dye some socks for my 2 grandnephews. I had 3 pair that I thought would fit them, so used 1 method I knew would work and tried 2 others. First up is the known method – tying in marbles with little rubber bands.

Then the pair that didn’t work as well – but I know how to make it work next time.

One side of these socks look cool, but the ‘inside’ didn’t get any dye. Next time the rubber should be clamped onto both sides of the socks.

The 3rd pair was also successful. First I mildly scrunched them on a length of PVC pipe. I knew from experience that too much scrunching on the PVC would leave too much white on the socks.

After the mild scrunching I wrapped them in rubberized shelf liner, then tied it on with some rubber bands.

I like the results of this experiment.

Those socks got mailed out yesterday.

Now I’m working on a modified circle shawl. I used an online random stripe generator, going through at least a dozen variations produced, and warped with 8 colors of 8/2 unmercerized cotton. I’m using an interesting flecked wool for the weft. We see how it all works.

I also hand painted a bunch of 8/2 tencel, preparing for a series I’ve mentally planned in black and white. This dyeing has also been a learning experience...the black hasn’t always behaved well, even though I actually did dye samples (regular readers will know I almost never sample).

I’ve also added more time learning dances with the ROC City Line Dance Express group. Those women are GOOD! And make me feel good, even though it takes me LOTS of practice with YouTube videos to learn the steps.

For the next few days I’ll be cleaning, wrapping gifts, and otherwise preparing for the holiday. I may be able to fit in some more time at the loom on that striped warp...or maybe not.

December 20th, 2017 | 

November work

I don’t know how so much time goes by between my posts.

Wait, yes I do. I’m busy weaving, volunteering, babysitting, dancing, playing fetch with Jack, and making Christmas presents. Bu who isn’t busy? And when was I not busy? I’d like to promise I’ll do better in the future, but I learned a hundred years ago when taught preschool not to make either promises or threats that I’m not prepared to keep. So anyway, here’s a post.

I started with the cotton & vintage synthetic warp.

I couldn’t find the same ‘bumpy’ yarn I used the first time, so used Queen Anne’s Lace yarn from Henry’s Attic. Although not as pleasing to me, it’s fine. After I wound that warp I didn’t have enough of the synthetic yarn left to weave both shawls, so I used shell Tencel with the Queen Anne’s Lace yarn, measuring how much I used in grams.

Then I knew that I did, in fact, have enough of the vintage synthetic yarn to weave the second shawl. I paired it with the same 8/ cotton I’d used for the warp, just like I had the first time around. Beautiful and lovely, if I do say so myself.

Using two shuttles, these shawls are slow weaving. I was alternately frustrated and in the mode, so decided I’d weave 2 more o the piano scarves I’d woven a few years ago, also slow weaving since they are clasped weft. Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to Ngaire at Dust Bunnies Under My Loom for the concept several years ago, long before I’d even heard of clasped weft. She puts hers on Etsy, so I won’t do that; since it is basically her design I will only sell them at local shows.

Note: Finishing these piano scarves will only bring me to 4 pieces for the month. And I’d like to weave 2 more rayon chenille shawls, since I sold a few and want at least one more each for the Copper Shop gallery and my winter show. IF I can do them before the end of the month, what with Thanksgiving and all, I MIGHT get to my goal of 6 this month. See how it goes?

I’ve also been doing a lot of dyeing – both hand painting and immersion dyeing, but not yarn. Instead, I’m making Christmas presents, so don’t want to share too much here, but I’ll give you a taste of the fun I’ve had.

For those who asked, I did fine at this year’s Guild Holiday Sale, selling 1 scarf, 1 shawl, 8 of my packages of buttons, and all 10 towels. That will inform me for next year, too.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m taking a class on fitting a standard pattern to my body. This is much needed, and will encourage/allow me to use my handwoven for clothing. And to sew a few things from commercial fabric, too.

November 14th, 2017 |