Thursday 12 December 2013

Back to Weaving

It's time I showed a few photos of weaving again.  These are the projects I have been enjoying lately.
This is now off the loom but will be a work in progress for some time as I have to cut three panels to join together for a tablecloth.  I've started a narrow tatted lace insertion which I intend to use between the panels. That will take a little while as well.  As always, this sort of work takes hours of wishing/planning/warping - then getting more yarn as the project grows! Then there's threading sleying and re-sleying to fix errors. When it all comes together on the loom the weaving is so quick and easy it seems to be all over in a flash.  Watch this space for the finished cloth . . . but not too soon.

Another quick and easy project was a table runner, the colours inspired by the aqua colours in a glass fruit bowl.  Surprise, surprise, I just happened to have some yarns the right colour.  I used huck spots within squares outlined with a textured yarn. I tried to add in some blue as a supplementary warp but gave up after about four attempts as they all appeared to turn purple in the weave.   Here is the warp

The small mat has the blue but it was replaced with the ground colour for the runner.
Here is a photo of the fruit bowl superimposed on the small mat.  In due course I will get a proper photo when the recipient gets over her surprise.  This is an interim runner while waiting for yarns for a 'proper' one for a brand new table.

Friday 22 November 2013

Diverging into Book Making

Finally worked this one out of my system . . . temporarily anyway.  It's a fabric book pinning down not only various bits of fabric significant to me (handwoven jacket, shower curtain, favourite old t-shirt . . . ) but also giving a home to various mementos from Festivals and other gatherings. Here are a few of the pages.
I invented the binding to allow for the bulk of some of the items. The little book at the end is a cute 8 page model folded from one sheet of A4. It contains the information about the book and its contents, stored in a shirt pocket I will never have to iron again!  I had such fun doing this. Now I will go back to the loom.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

And something different again!

Today I made a book . . . 96 pages, exposed spine with three different types of stitching, handwoven fabric covers.
It is ages since I have done anything like this but I thoroughly enjoyed a whole day with other people also enjoying themselves. It reminds me of several ideas I've had for a while but never get time to work on.
Here is a view of most of the 14 books produced in today's course. Covers ranged from felt and handwoven fabric to velvet and paper. 


Thursday 31 October 2013

Now for something different

I haven't made anything like this for years . . . but it worked out to be just the right size and shape to use up the last of the turquoise mohair.  Also a serendipitous find of the belt clinched the decision.  Will just have to watch that anyone wearing this doesn't sit on the turquoise throw !
I'll post another photo when I find someone nice and slim and elegant to model it.  This was one of two pieces cut off the looms during Labour Weekend.  The other is a work in progress so I won't post a photo yet.  I thought I had enough length for three panels to join as a tablecloth but my calculations were not brilliant and I decided the proportions were wrong . . . so it will be two panels only (but longer) and I have sent for more yarn to warp up again for the third.  Sounds easy, but I managed to ask for the wrong yarn!  (Agnes is probably still rolling around the floor laughing.) The silver lining is that I now have a good supply of cottolin for teatowels to make when the tablecloth is done.  In the meantime I have put a warp on the jack loom for white napkins to go with the blue cloth . . . so plenty to be going on with. Can't have two empty looms sitting around!

Monday 14 October 2013

Navy Wrap Finished

As last - ends finished, fringes twisted and at last a photo that shows much nearer its correct colour.  The light must have been just right. (It was taken with the same camera).  Esther's "bodies" make superb props for showing it off.  I'm pleased with the way the alpaca/silk and cotton behave together and the almost-but-not-quite-identical colours give just a little kick to avoid the whole thing being too sombre.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.



Saturday 5 October 2013

Stash Busters

 I think this time I am really getting to the end of one or two bags of stash.  The turquiose mohair (weft)has been looking at me for a long time and now it is merged with some multi-coloured boucle it is not quite so blinding.  It's not quite all used up but by the time a piece I have on the jack loom is finished it should be.  It is woven in an 8 shaft twill variation.



This piece has a warp of descaled merino boucle and is woven in plain weave with with a (dare I say it) Australian wool weft.  In due time it will become two baby blankets.

Saturday 28 September 2013

So hard to photograph!

Weaving is easy. Taking a decent photo of the finished article can be so hard.  Here are some before and after pics of a wrap I took off the loom a week or so ago.  It has plain weave panels with an alpaca and silk warp in a very dark navy at 18 epi and lace weave panels in 16/2 mercerised cotton at 24 epi  which, in some lights looks exectly the same colour and at other times seems several shades lighter. The weft is the mercerised cotton. None of the photos shows the colour accurately.
Here's one before washing . . .
It's definitely not this blue - and increasing the saturation turns it purple - but you get the idea.  That's a couple of fine silver threads added as supplementaries outlining the lace stripes. There is a heavier silver yarn down each selvedge.
This is after washing and pressing . . . and yes, that's the ironing board you can see through the fabric.



I tried all sorts of light levels but couldn't do any better than this. The end hanging down behind the ironing board in the shadow is the best bit for colour but of course it doesn't show the pattern.  I'm pleased to have done this because it seems that the blue one in a similar style that I sent to the CF exhibition in Hamilton has been sold. At least I'm trusting that it has because it hasn't come back.  I wasn't really ready to say goodbye to that one; I like to have things around for a while before they disappear and get forgotten. 

As you can see, this wrap is not finished. I'm saving the fringes for school holidays so I will have something to do while sitting in Esther's new house enjoying the sunshine.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

I have always wanted to . . .

One of the projects in the back of my mind for years has finally come to fruition.  I wanted to weave a really fine piece suitable for a handkerchief and put a border of tatted lace on it.  Finally I have done it and it is one of the pieces I will be sending to the Creative Fibre Area Exhibition in Westport in October.

I'm not entirely satisfied with it as the lace doesn't sit as flat as I would like it to . . . but I have plenty more opportunities to try!  The white warp and weft are both size 50 mercerised Egyptian sewing cotton at 40 epi.  Unfortunately the reed marks have not washed out (4 ends per dent in a 10 dent reed) so it looks a bit streaky but quite acceptable I think.  The red is woven with a finer red unmercerised cotton which gives a distinct shimmer.  I must experiment more with this.

Monday 9 September 2013

Moving right along . . .

The Weavers' Group workshop was a lot of fun and deemed to be a success.  Since then I have had a warping weekend of my own, taking advantage of having my warping board wheeled out into the lounge for more space and light.  I now have a fine navy wrap on the loom, looking good, and warps waiting in the wings for tablecloth, napkins, teatowels and hot-plate mats.  No photos yet but I hope to get a fair bit of weaving done during September as I intend to stay home for the whole month.  Yes, I know, I should be in the garden . . . but . . .  I also must remember to send my entries for the Area Exhibition in Westport. 

Monday 5 August 2013

Warping Week!

The past week has been spent preparing for a weavers' workshop next weekend.  Each warp is a gamp of some sort . . . twill and colour-and-weave predominate.  Drafts are sorted and warps are wound. All I need to do now is prepare the paperwork and get copies made.  Who knows what will emerge from this lot but I am looking forward to it.  Here are the 'surprise packages' waiting for the weavers.

This one is a colour blending exercise . . . it took the longest!


Monday 15 July 2013

Last of the Blues

A couple of small blankets or knee rugs have emerged from pretty much the last of the thicker blue yarns I had accumulated. 

I am not greatly enamoured of the space dyed yarns used in the weft, especially the one that goes so dark in places it is almost black.  It gives dark horizontal lines that detract from the twill line.  In use they are not so noticeable. I suppose if I did my own dyeing I could avoid these problems.

Now I have worked off all the fluffy stuff I am ready for something finer.  This is no.50 Egyptian sewing cotton set at 40epi.

Threading the heddles was a bit of a mission but I used a straight draw on 8 shafts and tied each 8 ends together in a slip knot. That made it easy to sley it 4 ends per dent in a 10 dent reed.  It was only if the slip knot came undone I had do do some sorting out.  It was a dream to wind the warp with one reel of cotton and fit another one directly on to the shuttle to weave.  No knots, no joins, no breaks .  Why did I think it might be difficult?  it wove up really fast in plain weave.  What am I going to do with it?  Watch this space.

Monday 8 July 2013

Transformation

Weaving has taken a back seat for a few days while I have been finishing a project which is to be part of an exhibition at the Marlborough Museum later in the year.  Several Creative Fibre members were given an opportunity to inspect items from the Museum's textile collection and choose one to use as a subject to 'transform;'  not to reproduce it but use it for inspiration to create something using either colour, shape, texture or motif from the original.  Because I thought I could happily use tatting for this project I chose a purple pillbox shaped hat with bold gold decoration and here is my transformation with a photo of the original alongside.  I reversed the colours and toned down the gold somewhat and turned the shape into a covered box.

I had experimented a bit first and here is my first attempt. At least it was started first but finished last.
I have some weaving though and taken a couple of knee rugs off the loom. I will post photos of them when the finishing is done.  I'm now looking forward to weaving something much finer.


Friday 28 June 2013

His 'n' Hers

Here is the finished blanket that I had trouble seeing in the winter gloom. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.  The photos make it look a lot brighter blue than the reality which is a dark navy, especially the thick yarn which is almost black.

It is to be a companion to another one in a similar weave but a more feminine colour which I wove a little while ago.
On with the work . . . more blues on the loom now.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Light in the Darkness


What sort of idiot would choose winter time to weave a dark navy blanket?  Yours truly, that's who.  My weaving room is on the south-west corner of the house and in winter I can really only weave in the mid to late afternoons when the sun comes round.  Well, there hasn't been any sun for the last couple of days and I really did want to get this off the loom.
So here's the solution . . .

One light on my head and a couple of little ones underneath.  I don't know who invented LED lights but whoever it is deserves a medal.  Will post a pic of the blanket when the finishing is finished.


Sunday 2 June 2013

Lightweight Sofa Throw

Another blue creation, another merry mix of fibres.  This has two different wool yarns in the warp; a slub in multi-blues from the Little Wool Company for the thin thread and a bulky unspun also multi-hue from Turkey for one of the thick ones.  The other thick yarn is a pale blue boucle from Italy which says it is 35% polamide (nylon), 30% wool, 20% acrylic and 15% alpaca.  As if that is not enough the  slub weft yarn is a shiny acrylic with the thin being the same as the thin warp.  It all makes for a very light throw. It used a total of 581 grams of yarn including the waste. . . finished weight 533g.

I sometimes think I make my throws too long but I do like them when they go the full lenth of my sofa.

Saturday 25 May 2013

Blue Wrap

My latest creation is this wrap in bamboo with panels of dark blue Bronson lace in slub cotton.
The main warp is bamboo and it took quite a while to decide what to add to it to make it interesting.  On its own it was not quite wide enough for a wrap and also I felt it looked quite flat and bland even though it is multi-hued.  At Festival I found some nice dark blue slubby cotton on the DEA stall. I intend it for another use but stole a bit off the cone to make the lace stripes and even used it for the weft. I'm very satisfied with the look of the result.  It is quite light and drapes well.  I'm not too sure about the bamboo though.  It seems to crease quite readily and I suspect it might pill.  Time will tell.

Sunday 12 May 2013

The Long and Short of It

This is one result of a short investigation into shrinkage and wrinkleage.  A new book 'Magic Materials to Weave' by Lotte Dalgaard covers cruel and unusual punishments to make perfectly beautiful fabric into wrinkled and distorted caricatures of itself. Some methods use yarns with differential shrinkage and others, as here, include 'kinky' yarns that behave differently when washed.  I think I am over it now.  I really love perfectly smooth merino fabric.

Today I would have had a wrap off the loom if it wasn't for phone calls, visitors and a visit to the opera . . . Rigoletta from the New York Met, set in Las Vegas in 1960. A perfect setting for the story but I would really like to see it set 400 years earlier. Some fabulous singing from people I've never heard of. The music will still be going round in my head when I'm weaving tomorrow.

Friday 3 May 2013

Festival 2013

Just back from having a great time at Festival. Stayed in a house with 10 other people where we were very comfortable. 
Here are the three pieces I had accepted for the exhibition.

 I was pleased with the way my fabric was hung - in fact all the fabrics were well displayed.

The long linen runner earned me a Merit certificate from the Linen Trust.


This one is shorter and is a mixture of linen and cotton. Both were displayed flat, which was nice as several table pieces, of necessity, had to be hung on a wall . . . one of the problems of exhibiting in a gallery.  On the whole the exhibition was great - only one or two things I would have displayed differently.