Book Review Part Two

The next two books I am going to tell you about are ones that I have borrowed. The title of the first on is "Weaver's Delight". It is just that, a delight for the eyes and my little brain cells. There are examples of double-face weave, twill, Drall (I know that isn't spelled right-I don't know where that "a" is on this computer-sorry), opphamta (again I need to find that "a")... tapestry, and more! This book alone could be worth studying for a couple of years or three. Very well written.

This next book "Swedish Swatches -yellow, blue, red, and green series in color photos" got me thinking about ordering some yarns. I want to make the curtain fabric, the drapery fabric, the evening jacket fabric. Doubleweave and twill! Rep weave and twill! Basket weave with warp floats! Broken twill in two blocks! The list goes on and on. Not a lot of mumbo-jumbo just right to the drafts and color photos.... An excellent book if you are a cookbook weaver, but enough information to follow along but add your own colors and yarns.

Book Review Part One

While being away from my shuttles and looms, I have had the pleasure of getting to read and devour some excellent weaving books. In the next few days I will give my humble opinion of some I have found interesting if not down right exciting. Some are mine and some I have been allowed to borrow. You may or may not have some of these books. The good thing about belonging to guilds is that most have a library of weaving books to borrow. I hope you have or can borrow some of these books.

Let me first talk about a 1985 swatch book by Virginia West. The very first sentence in the introduction truly touches my heart. "I like to think of a fabric as a painting, conceived through artistic vision, lively with depths of tonality and texture, the warp and weft the rush strokes across the surface, the yarns themselves the architectonic element that build the composition." As a young person, I always wanted to be an artist. But not being able to 'draw' put the skids to that idea. Weaving lets the artist in me come out.

This swatch book speaks to my creative side. What if I did this or how about.........

This swatch example is called "Scallop". She gives the drawn down along with fibers to use and sett. And of course a real sample to touch!

Alive and Well

Well, I might be alive and well, but still under the weather. Here is a photo to keep those fiber juices flowing!

My looms sit silent and whine as much as me as I pass them by. Hopefully soon I will be able to "sling" that shuttle.

Just for review, why not check out my post on repair heddles or see my woven shibori experiments. Thanks for sticking with me while I am under the weather. When life hands you lemons, make lemon colored napkins.!

Dear Fellow Fiber Peoples

Sorry, but I am away from my looms. But I continue to read and study weaving and most things fiber. I was in one waiting room and tried real hard to stay off the floor. The carpet was very interesting.

I hope to be back to share my explorations in weaving soon.

Still no weaving today

Still a long way from the loom room. But have a few books to keep those weaving brain cells working.
"Versatile Bronson" by Dorothy Burton, Monograph Five.  This looks like I will be reading on this a few days.

Another Day of Loom lonelyniss

Eye candy!

No weaving Today

I am out of town for a few days.
My best friend is keeping watch.

Baby Blanket One, Weaver Two

Finished the Red-Blue-Yellow blanket. It ended up being 39 1/2 inches long. I must have missed a repeat some where or "beat" it to hard... anyway, that one is done. I think I saw an error as it rolled around the front beam... maybe this will be my blanket. I get to keep all with errors. 

I have some warp left. So I will do some summer and winter dancing with this mint green pattern weft and a darker green as tabby.

Which Summer and Winter?

My title doesn't make any sense, since, or huh???  The weaving for this four blocks on four shafts of summer and winter is going fairly quickly. At least when I am home and can get to the loom. Looks like the 20 inch mark was half way.

 



This is how I am keeping track of which part of which block and which color to use. Which, I am sure you know, is very important! Which is why I am stopping today.

S&W Up Close

Here are the four blocks of summer and winter on four shafts up close and personal. They do look different, don't they? The two on the right are the "real" blocks. All are woven in 2-1-1-2 order with a-b-a-b tabby order.

The only problem is that two blocks will always weave together. Although that is not really a problem as much as a design element.

Not much time to weave today. Another nice "golf" day. Having a new set of golf clubs might cut down on my weaving this summer. Time will tell!!

Weaving Away On The Blanket

Had a little time at the loom today. Weaving might be fun, but you need time to weave for it to be fun too! Huh? I might be suffering from 'Spring Fever" with a sentence like that. Maybe it's the pollen in my little gray brain cells.

This is a very interesting kit I am working with. I can see doing lots of different color stripes and combinations. Instead of the red-yellow-blue that I am doing now, how about red-blue on white warp? How about yellow-purple-green? Why not put stripes in the warp and use a solid weft? The mind does wonder......

I am adding a gold metallic to the yellow weft.

Spring has Sprumg?

Spring has sprung! Or at least we hope so. I was going to tell you that I was looking for my golf ball here, but I am sure it is long and down the middle of the fairway! It was a good day for golf!!

While checking out the yellow flowers I happened to see that the tulip magnolia tree was in bloom.

I like to take nature pictures to use as color studies. Mother Nature sure knows how to paint!

Four Blocks of Summer and Winter

Four blocks of summer and winter on four shafts. It sounds silly, but it is working. My blocks are the usual 1-3-2-3 and 1-4-2-4 with the other two blocks as 4-2-3-2 and 4-1-3-1. Since this is "creative summer and winter" there are a few tid bits to remember. You will have to add or subtract an end in the threading in between certain blocks to maintain the odd-even sequence.

And of course, I am not doing this exactly like the kit has told me to do. I am using a yellow tabby and I have added some gold along with the yellow weft.

 

The next color will be blue. Maybe tomorrow. Looks like a good day to golf!!



Four by Four

Four by Four is not my new truck, it is what I am trying to do. I have threaded my loom to four blocks of summer and winter on four shafts. So I should have said Four on Four.

I have done four different treadling sequences. Here is the tie up I am using:

treadles read from left to right

My sequence will be 4-3-3-4, 6-5-5-6, 3-5-5-3, 6-4-4-6 (using tabby on treadles 1 and 2).
My sampling look OK, so I will now need to fill the bobbins and get busy!

Weaving Guild Tell and Show, part three!

Just didn't have room yesterday to post the other things our guild is doing. So more show and tell:

Marilynn, while snowed in, wove two tencel scarves. One is shadow weave the other a small twill.

Marilynn also hand dyed and wove the wool fabric for this awesome Kimono. The embellishments are awesome! 

Marty got to model the Kimono.

Marty hand dyed some silk fabric, cut it into one inch strips and then used a Rep weave to get this yardage. She hopes to get a vest if not a jacket out of it. The drape is both soft and stable. We all said "Yummy!!"

We are missing one of our Divas. She is far away, but not forgotten. She may be away from her looms, but we figure she has her knitting needing flying! Hi to Diane!!

Weaving Guild Show and Tell, part two!

Another great Diva guild meeting. Here are more of the exciting things that we are doing.

Janice is working in tapestry with curves and buttons! Janice will have some of her felted creations on display at an exhibition in Jefferson City, Missouri April 30th, at the state capital building. Way to go Janice!!!!!!

Kathy working with some wool she got from Scotland.

Kayla and her "Logan" tartan!!!!!!!!

Kayla with some twill gamp inspired kitchen towels.

Missy and a "new to her" book for her library. She says it is going to be very helpful.

Tomi in her huck lace top (with bling threads) and a thrumbs pillow.

Susan is published! She knitted the Camellia Dolma Cape for this new book by Brooke Nico and her knitted cape made the front cover shot! Susan said it was great fun to knit a garment designed by this artist. This should be a in stores now or in the very near future.

The Return of the Diva

Weaving Divas meet. We were all thrilled we didn't have to slide through snow to attend. Sunshine and doughnuts were all around.

Nothing like a great program to get the weaving brain cells working. Carols program was on Advancing Twill. And by the time she was through, I think we all had a good understanding of the concept. Thanks, Carol!

Tencel.

This sample has two different threading, note the line between the two threadings

Carols Advancing Twill tencel scarf.

Another one of Carol's Advancing Twill tencel scarf.

Just a few of the show and tell items. More tomorrow. As always, click on a photo to get a closer view.

Kumihimo bead work from Rossanna

Linda, her first 100% Tencel scarf. She dyed the warp herself.


 

Part Four - Beam

Now I have all the heddles threaded I need to wind the warp onto the back beam. (I don't think there are any errors, but will check that once I get beamed on and can weave plain weave.)

Remember my blocks are:

1-3-2-3

1-4-2-4

4-2-3-2

4-1-3-1

And just like traditional summer and winter, my tabbies are 1-2 vs. all the pattern treadles. (3-4 in this case.)

My pattern treadles will be:

1-4

2-4

1-3

2-3

I am going to use the tie down order of 2-1-1-2 and tabby order of a-b-a-b.

raddle rubber banded on back beam.

Working on weaving a baby blanket with four blocks on four shafts of summer and winter. For those of you in the "know" - summer and winter is called "Single Two-Tie!!