Weaving

I have some lovely ski shuttles but they never seem to work for me. I thought this might be the time for them . . . but no, not for this job. They catch on the warp too much . . . probably because of the way I hold them. I think my arms are not long enough.

Tried and true . . . out comes the stick shuttle. 

The first half metre is done!

Tying Up

Finally . . . sleyed the reed correctly

and lashed the warp on to the front stick. . . my preferred way to tie the warp on with minimum waste

Last task is to re-tie the pedals according to the pattern I have chosen. Yes, I can still get in there but I fear the day may be coming when I can no longer get out!

Sleying

Precision required for this job, though this time it needs just one double thread through each dent in the reed - easy (or is it?)

My trusty hook is the best tool for this job. If I drop it I can't find it easily because it is the same colour as the vinyl on the floor..

I had to back-track a few times because I did make a couple of mistakes. Hopefully I have it right now so will soon be throwing the shuttle.

Threading the Heddles

The cross, decently and in order

This is where I sit. There is just enough room.

I use my fingers to thread the heddle eyes. With a bit of practice it is much quicker and less cumbersome than using a hook.

I can't take a photo with both hands in the shot but I'm sure you get the picture

As always, keeping a bit of tension on keeps everything in order.

All done.

If any new weavers are following this you may be surprised that I thread the heddles first and then sley the reed separately as you may have been taught to use a long hook and do it in one operation. My loom is longer from front to back than most, with more space both in front of and behind the heddles. I work on my own and I just can't reach to thread the heddle and reed in one operation. I also find it less confusing to do one task at a time.

Beaming the warp

End of the warp spread across the raddle on the back beam.

And the rest spread across the floor

These handy fishing weights are like a spare pair of hands for me at this stage.

They hold the warp under tension while I wind it on

Rolling on with protection between layers. I love big posters, especially laminated ones.

Bit by bit the choke ties are discarded and the warp is wound on. Finally it reaches the cross at the other end of the warp.

The Warp

Four warps ready to beam. I don't chain them when I am going to use them straight away. Note the choke ties; they are fabric strips sold for use in the garden, easy to tie and untie.

I wish you could feel this lovely stuff. Note the shoe lace tie - perfect for the job. In the 1970s in Auckland we could buy a big bag of shoelaces from the factory for 50c. I still have a lot of them. 

Home Detention

Oh dear, I should remember to call it self isolation . . . though for me it is no hardship. It is more like retreating to the back of my cave and shutting the world out . . . suits me fine. Thank you so much to the several under-70s who have offered to fetch and carry for me if required. So far I'm fine and quite content.

This enforced staying home is working for me as I have just launched into a major weaving project and I am looking forward to being able to concentrate on it.  I am making a LARGE "Dream Blanket" for my favourite (and only) grand-daughter. Usually I don't post about my projects until they are finished but this time I thought I would post a blow-by-blow commentary as I go. That way, Natasha, who lives in Perth, can check up on progress if she wants to. It might make a long boring series of posts of no interest to anyone but a weaver, but I will start it and see how it goes.

For once I started by making some samples . . . something I encourage others to do but seldom take my own advice, but I really wasn't sure where to start. Natasha had picked the silvery grey colours and I had accumulated what I hoped were plenty of gorgeous yarns.

Decisions made, calculations and paper-work done, here is the beginning of the first warp. The blanket will be in three panels and this warp is for the two outside ones. The third panel will be in the middle, a bit wider and in a different pattern. More of that later.  The warp is a beautiful soft alpaca, very fine so I am using it double. Over the first two days I made four warps of 148 ends each, so 592 ends in total, each 7 yards long. You can do the maths if you want to; I am just happy to report that I did not find one knot or break in the whole process. Thank you Adobe!

I will leave this now and post regular reports as things happen.

Classic apparel for the man-about-town (or the motorcyclist on his way to work)

After the chunky stuff I like to do something fine and a son-in-law's 50th birthday was the perfect excuse. The warp is black baby alpaca set at 24 epi and woven in 2/2 twill. As usual I made two scarves. the first with white silk stripes and the second with a couple of jade silk ends either side of the white . . . so they are "the same but different."

Lace Plus

The lace project I mentioned a post or two back has been finished for some time. The "plus" is that after the lace is done there needs to be a massive amount of thread dangling off it which I needed to manipulate and stitch into the branches, trunk and roots of a tree. I really enjoyed making this and was pleased to find a ready-made handwoven table mat to use to mount it on. (That's an owl in the branches.)

I did another version of this for a "paint chart challenge" for a Creative Fibre event that was to be held in Nelson in May. For that reason it was kept under wraps waiting for the big occasion. It is wrapped and packed and waiting to be posted. That was before Convid19 struck and the event was postponed, so I may as well post a photo of it now.

The strips of paint chart on the right determined the colours. Beads, stars and silver birds found their way into the mix before I made myself leave it alone.