New Woven Projects

Last two Ikat Samples, now to plan my rug….

 

These are my latest runners. The one to the right is a project from Alice Schlein’s book     “LIftplan Connection” If you tilt your head to the left you can read Linens, Towels and Napkins. I created it with Photoshop. These should be off the loom then I’ll post pictures of the finished items. Now that the AVL is working well it seems to be the one I want to weave on the most! Two naked looms right now! better get busy!

Computer woes and new to me loom

Finally felt up to weaving on the AVL. Bought the correct part so the Fly shuttle should work. Went to flip the old computer dedicated to that loom and Nada. It was unplugged from the end of Nov. until now, so it wasn't a power surge. 

Off center for the fly shuttle

Plan B get it working with my notebook. Right. Computer not talking to my loom, turned out there was something wrong with the cable. Go to set it up again, no luck. Note enough USB ports. Tried everything got it working but then my regular computer was acting weird, probably some fix I tried and failed. Had to put the computer back to the time when it worked correctly. Tried the Weaving Program again nope too many USB connections not talking again. Pulling hair out again!!

Went through the process again and it failed again. Emailed the Weaving program people they had another suggestion. nothing.  Shut it off in disgust. I needed Downtime.

Turned it on this morning and low and behold there is a port available for the loom that wasn't there when I shut it off. Bizarre but ok!  So today I'll try the AVL again and see what happens. Unless the port disappears again. Computers Love them but sometimes I don't want to live with them!!!

40" 8 Shaft Norwood.

Got the new to me Norwood 8 shaft all warped and am weaving a simple scarf in Dimity a structure I have never woven before. Looks good now that I took the blue off the edges! Semi followed a pattern in Handwoven that had a darker edge, ok when you are using that color as weft but I'm not. She is now all oiled up and a real beauty! I love the Cherry on the older Norwoods. It was looked brand new, my husband started taking it apart to get it in the van before I even said anything about buying it. He knew!

This is the Dimity it looks like plain weave but the darker colored stripes are twill. You can see the blue I cut off at the edges. I'll probably use that the hem area. I wanted to do something relatively simple for it's first warp on all 8 shafts. Ha, best laid plans. Had to tie it up about three times. It only uses four treadles so duh they needed to be centered in a bigger loom like this one. 

Busy, warping, planning and de-cluttering

Been busy organizing the studio. Brought back a bin of yarn and had to de-clutter in there. Dh thinks all stuff can go there, lol, Not.

Winding a warp for the new to me 8 shaft Norwood. Dimity, a weave I've never explored.

 Found a beautiful lace hearts draft for the Megado. The Megado is sitting naked in it's lonely room. I took a dog off that loom. The warp just became too frustrating to weave. I used this extremely fine variegated yarn and it seemed to stretch the further I went with it! I'm not sure if I'll dye that one or weave with color. I think it is going to be white and then dyed/ surface designed.

The Blue Ridge Fiber Show is going to open at the beginning of October I have two scarves in it for the first time in four years. With back surgery etc I am surprised I even got that done! I entered these two. The blue  scarf picture isn't hemmed but it is now! It is a lace weave and then Pole dyed. The blue one was woven with a more random treadling but the logwood one is done exactly as drawn in. The lace with honeycomb and  is called Treasure lace.

Finished with wheeling and dealing. now it's Dave's turn

Well. sold the Baby wolf and Norwood all with in a few months. The new to me Norwood 8 shaft is waiting naked in NC. Now I have no loom up here, only bad part of all of this.The # of looms have decreased to a manageable number anyway. I got about a yard and a half of thrums woven so that is good. There is so much more to be woven off.
     It has been such a warm summer here in MI. Air conditioner has run more than I can remember  for Michigan. No bites or even showings of the house. Which is kind of nice cause I don't have to clean like a maniac but the catch up is going to be painful. No motivation to do crafts or anything much. Dh is busy doing funerals and such with the Honor Guard.
     He still has these items to sell:

I use one of his warping mills all the time, love it! I can't stand that long to use a warping board anymore. Plus it stores so easily.

Good bye Norwood loom and Misc.

                                                              Luckily this bluster bay shuttle didn’t  fit when I was taking things down south. It works great for placing too short a weft in while I use up all these scraps. This is sure some old yarns from the thrum bin. Thrums are the left over parts of a warp that can’t be woven at the end of a warp.
  I will miss this Norwood, It is such a beauty. It was made in Baldwin where I learned to weave eons ago. They had week long classes, all day, in the summer. I only learned to put on a warp using the sectional method which this loom loves. But it can be a real pain to do  as 10-20 spools need to be wound then they go through the tensioner and it gets wound on the back beam. I ended up hiring someone from Bowling Green College in Ohio to teach me how to put a warp on using a warping board. Back then I had one lone 20 inch workshop  Norwood as my 50’ had to be sold for space for our son.
That is one of the great things about weaving you can never run out of things to learn or different things to try. Got a great book the other day on Miniature Overshot, Bertha Gray Hayes’ patterns. They mention the first Weaving conferences at Hartland Michigan in 1934. John R Crouse and his uncle H. Tremaine sold their carbon works to start this Hartland project. The company later became Union Carbide which Dave, his Dad and Uncle worked at in Ohio. Cromaine Crafts built looms and had weaving classes at Waldenwoods.( instructor there was Osama Gallinger This is just west of Lansing, I feel the need for a road trip! Love to see their museum.

Weaving Weft (Chenille)

This is one of the strangest projects! I am weaving chenille, weft for a rug. It should use up some of my thrums or waste from old warps. Some of this stuff is really old! When I got my new to me Norwood she gave me a box of old Magazines.   Handwoven's Jan//Feb 1990  was the article on weaving chenille for rugs or pillows. I have a huge  bag here in MI and another in NC. Unfortunately I don't know if this five yard warp will use up as much as I have!

           They suggest dyeing it afterwards, yeah right I have cotton wool and acrylic. Guess I will have to resort to good old union dye or Rit dye.  The warp is spaced and when it is all finished you cut between the warp groups. Plain weave and a real no brainer for summer weaving up here. Also using up some old rug warp. Basically a large recycling project. 

Warping Paddles

      Leclerc warping paddle. I've had this one for years, read every article I could find on using one and could not figure it out. The Norcraft weavers guild got together to learn how with Mary Luluic teaching us how she does it.  I just put a warp on in no time. 8 strands at a time! It can hold more but that was good for a start. Really happy about this it will speed up my warping skills by about 10x!

     The  Norcraft weaving guild  is hopefully starting up again in mid west lower Michigan they have a new website here:     http://norcraftweavers.org/ 

Norwood 40 inch 4 shaft loom / SOLD

 I have for sale a 4 shaft beauty:  dark  Cherry 40 inch Norwood loom, It was built in Baldwin MI by the McGarr's and is just a gorgeous piece of furniture even  if it isn't warped. It has a bench that goes with it for $700. Located in Midwest Michigan. I used this loom all last summer and it is terrific condition for the age of the loom. The finish is so beautiful on this loom! It has the standard 1 yard round sectional beam. The Bench has tons of room. It has the one reed a 12 dpi. Contact me if you are interested

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Yes, some news. Decided to take the plunge and sold my Baby wolf. Have purchased a used 8 shaft Norwood from a lady in Ann Arbor MI. It is brand new but 30 years old, LOL. Like the car the little old lady only drove to church on Sundays. She had it priced kind of high but when my husband saw the condition he started taking it apart before I even started talking with the Lady. He really knows me well. She threw in,  a box of books mostly tapestry weaving, A box of yarns, a box of Handwoven Magazines most that I haven't got so this was so kewl!  Also an inkle loom and warping board. It was a real pain for Dave and fellow to load into the van so he is taking it to Toledo then NC.

2nd and 3rd lace/ pole dyed scarves

Here are the other two scarves that I've finished using the lace pattern from Weaver's Magazine summer of 1996 (Oh how I miss weaver's)  Issue 32 Found Treasure. Once they were woven separated and zigzagged, I attached them to a pole (with tape) then wrapped carpet warp( it turned out to be kite string lol), Scrunched them down, then poured dye over them. The yellow and green and blue scarves I poured the sabracet dye and batched them over night.  The purple logwood (Natural extract) one was set with heat.  I tried using rubber bands but they didn't really work very well I think due to the bulk of the material. The yellow and green was dyed and pole wrapped twice because the first time it was all yellow. I love how the blue turned into green but left patches of blue on the scarf. With the left over yellow dye I dyed one of my husbands old shirts that had some spots on it. It was made with polyester and cotton, the figures dyed darker than it originally was and my husband really likes it!

These two were dyed using Logwood extract. I didn't leave these in as long as recommended because I like the color where it was!  I also dyed some wool some with the shorter dye bath and some overnight. The overnight turned very dark purple. I've used the same heavy duty blue gloves for four years the logwood became permanent where all the other dyes didn't.  Even when the wool was rinsed till clear it left purple halos on my drying  frames. Really different than I expected.

Lace Pole dyeing project

Oddball one on the loom it is now blue!

Finished weaving the lace project on to dyeing. The first one I dyed using the traditional method with string wrapped around the pole then slid down. Dyed the first one Blue with Fiber Reactive dyes no heat used at all. 2nd one is batching it is very yellow. I may end up over dyeing it with a darker color. Used Rubber bands for the resist for the second one, a lot easier on my hands!

It turned out just the way I had envisioned it! Nice when that happens.

A Weaving Studio At Last!

This is the right side facing the door. Sewing machine, baby wolf loom, Drum Carder and microwave for dyeing.

Right side facing back of studio. Three windows across the back room for my Glimakra Ideal and the AVL. Yarn storage at the end.

Yarn is almost all put away, have some up north still that will move in later. The Shower curtains are the blue and white over top of the storage cubes. They were all hot pink like in the first picture. We plan on enclosing the door and back of the room after DH has run electricity to his workshop, next door to me.
   We went to a small town near us and found a pretty gift store going out of business. I found a rack for my mug rugs and went back a couple of days later and bought a bracelet rack. All made of wire, dh had a point: me and plastic don't mix to well. It was nice looking but would have broken in a minute with me...
    I've been working on the Baby Wolf loom lately weaving lace for scarves. Less energy and stress on the old bod, getting very close to being recovered from the back surgery.

The other kind of Sheds

In this case it is a storage shed, now my studio. Finished painting, putting lower white peg board, and trim. Looking good. Now to some way cover over the hot pink insulation. I don't want to paint it, to high and I want it only to have a thin cover over the insulation. Went to Lowe's a couple of times trying to figure out what I could do, Talked with one of their workers whose mother was a weaver!
We priced out carpet too expensive, then she had the suggestion plastic which I already had thought about but black or clear? no.  I had wanted foam but I can't find it anywhere that thin.  Then it dawned on me Cheap shower curtains in different colors! cut to size and stapled. The $ store only had white, off white and blue. So I got blue and white. I will post pictures when all moved in. Can't wait!  All my books are moved, soon cones and other misc. I have three looms, a sewing area and a dyeing area! Exciting.

Chain of Command

Has the concept of Chain of command died? I Trained in many hospitals and was always taught to go to my supervisor with anything unusual first, then it traveled up the Chain of Command. I've been thinking a lot about Penn State's problems. The person who witnessed went up the chain of command and so did the Coach. Are they responsible for what the higher ups did or didn't do? Isn't the guilty one the one who abused the children?
In institutions, military, education this concept was followed, Is it wrong?

 When I was an LPN witnessed someone shooting up a med in the women's locker room. Reported it to my supervisor who informed me that the person had a medical condition. Now if instead I had called the police, What would have happened to the person with the illness, me and my higher ups? This was an innocent example but could have turned much worse if I hadn't gone to the supervisor.

If I reported something or had something reported to me, Might I lose my job if the higher ups didn't take care of the problem? Just bouncing something around here. What do you think?

Good news, bad news and weird news.

good news, bad news and weird news! Bad news:  ah well. Surgery was postponed on Friday, abnormal EKG and a lab result. It has to be cleared by a Cardiologist.  Darn I was all psyched up to get this done and over with! I can pretty much predict when the pain is going to come in my lower back and legs. 3:30 or 4 pm. I feel ok in the morning so tend to overdo or do what I can early in the day.

Now on to the good news: bought an AVL, 24 Shafts, 60 inches,computerized, with a fly shuttle and auto advance. I've been wanting one since school finished in 2008  and have been watching adds. Had about given up when one popped up on the boards. It was in PA 500 plus miles but we went Friday and picked it up early Saturday morning. Such nice people!!  It was way cheaper than I expected or dreamed. She had been trying to sell it for awhile, needed her attic back and even tried to get AVL to sell it.  AVL  must have too many in that size or something. My gain!  I'm thrilled if you can't tell!   

   Saturday morning we went two hours early and the winter storm came early too. Snow and freezing rain Awful driving weather. Rained almost all the way on Friday. My poor sweetie the things I drag him into. I wanted to do it before my back surgery( which was cancelled on Friday). The other date was Thanksgiving break but I thought that would be too wintery , boy was I wrong on that score! This storm broke a lot of records, so early in October.

    Now for the weird news:  Dave went to the dermatologist and has what they call a Halo around a pink spot. They took it off and it isn't even basal cell. Guess these come to warn us that there is something going on.  So he has to go back to the oncologist. Probably a PET scan again. I hope this is nothing again, like his last PET scan 2 yr ago.

Oct wool Project / back surgery

To the left is two white fleeces, one is a suffolk and the other??That are ready for the Drum Carder.

To the right is this lovely  chocolate brown fleece. The Pictures below show the locks after they were cleaned. I didn't realize how much wool I had on hand to card and spin

I don't know if I'll be able to finish the brown. That is the last one that still  needs to be washed, picked and got ready for the drum carder. I am unable to stand to do the washing and drum carding right now. My back got really bad back in August of 2011. Had MRI and Xrays done and I need surgery, Decompression L4-5. Now that is involving the nerve, my feet are numb, Time for surgery. It has been a problem  off and on  for Ten years. I've taken my sisters advice and have lots of books to read and if I get desperate there is knitting, Cotton spinning on a takli or something I can do while healing. Dave knows a fellow (80 yr old) who had the same surgeon and he was doing real well four days after the surgery!

Golden Rod Dyeing

When we got back to NC I noticed a lot of Golden rod in bloom. So I gathered enough to do a skein of hand spun wool with alum and cream of Tartar as the mordant. I read up on the subject a bit more and collected just the flowers and used both of the mordants and the color turned out almost the same as this color. Sent my husband out as he was getting the mail with a bowl and scissors and he came back with an empty bowl! A hunter not a gatherer!  I think the reason it is green ish is because the yarn was an off white grey  color.the ties are more yellow they are of a white commercial yarn.

Found an old Spin off magazine with a Danish Tie-shawl pattern.( Spring 2008) I'm going to use this and a variegated yarn for accent.

New One of a Kind Items in my Studio

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/Warpology

Large Variety of Mug Rugs or coaster's now in my studio

You can buy one bear or all three Polar Bears.

New Bracelets, above and below. I can make any of my bracelets custom order too!

 Click on the picture for more pictures of the items. Photographing took a bit especially with a broken tripod. I used older ones in school and didn't know there was a lock on the crank and broke the crank! ah well sounds like me a bit  of a Klutz.
    Danced two slow dances with my sweetie and now my left foot is numb. Guess that is all it takes sometimes. I have spinal stenosis so I suppose it has something to do with that. Dr appointment on Friday:(

New photos, old finished Mohair shawl

Of course one cat had to get in the act. The one of him yawning with boredom was too fuzzy to use.lol He's my four year old studio assistant. For attention he does somersaults.

This is a hand spun mohair/ wool shawl that is woven in a V. One yard is woven with a yard of unwoven warp cut off. The warp is advanced another yard woven. Using the warp threads from the first yard as weft the two are woven together creating that V of fringe in the back! It is wonderfully cozy!

Loved spinning this mohair it was in a stash that a woman was getting rid of she had gone into basket weaving.Went there to get some fiber and ended up with a car Load! 

August 19, 2011

Summer Fun

This is my Summer Fun Challenge entry for the ArtFire Beadweaver's guild Challenge. I'm up here in the woods of Michigan away from my photography equipment but managed to get some nice shots with my sweeties help!. I was thinking what makes summer fun? I enjoy flowers and know that people enjoy gardening. If I had the health to have a garden, I would have a huge one. I do grow some orchids so I draped it over the one of the three orchids that are blooming and I like the picture. I usually shy away from props but I am trying! It's called Flower Garden beadwoven bracelet.

         This Bracelet was fun to work on. I used three common flower patterns that most beaders learn when they start beading, Daisy stitch two variations and Nepal chain stitch. Then I thought why not over a fence, then I found some findings that I had wanted to use for awhile now. Then  it all came together.

Studio of the month by default

I waited until the middle of the month for a volunteer so by default it is my studio. LOL.  Been busy beading.Can't see setting up the loom for two weeks and leaving the warp on all winter.

My left foot and part of my leg went numb the other day after 2 slow dances with my sweetie. That two step is a killer on my back I guess. It eased off for a bit but is back in full force today. Can't take my Arthritis meds cause it messes with my stomach. Ah well continuing saga of my crappy health. I know, play a violin in the background.

I'm kind of excited, bought a cheap ($50grand total) Apple computer a real oldie so that I can play with the JacqCad free program that is available. Won the ebay bid and got a great deal!  http://www.jacqcad.com/ is the site. I took a course in college from Catherine Ellis using this program but got bronchitis and was ill for four weeks of the class. I would love to finish something and go to the Oriole mill and weave it.