Rep Workshop Prep

Trying to set up my loom for an April Rep Weave Workshop. Kelly Marshall is going to come down to our neck of the woods to help us understand this weave structure.

I have a 12 dent reed and have 4 threads per dent. Of those 4 threads I will thread them through the heddles as two working ends.  Because I am using my Baby Wolf for the workshop, I can thread the reed and the heddles as I go. I hope this keeps me from making too many errors!

I am using my handy dandy cross holder. This lets me have both my hands free to thread  the reed and heddles. I found this tip in an old Handwoven. (Sorry- don't know what year- maybe 1980's.)

This is showing that I have two working ends (4 threads) in each reed slot.

I am threading the heddles as I go along. I have two  ends in each heddle. 

Another way to dress the loom: My friend, Becky, is going to wind all the background ends and sley the reed, then wind all the pattern ends and go back across the reed and sley the pattern ends. Then she will thread the heddles. Either way should work! 

Tying Onto The Old Warp

When I have a threading on my loom that you want to explore more of, I sometimes tie onto the existing warp. For me this is quicker than threading the reed and the heddles one-by-one again. I have a denting and threading that I know is without errors. Unless I have a broken thread somewhere, I should be good to go!!

I will pull each thread out, one-by-one.

I am using my 'cross holder' so I have both hand free to tie the knots!

I tie the knot.

Now I am ready to pull through the reed.

I have wiggled and giggled the knots through the reed and heddles and now have it ready to roll onto the back beam. See the old warp already on the beam? That is what I tied onto.

 

 Tooting My Horn:

** The Arrow Rock Guild will be having its annual "Weave In" on February 24, 25, 26 (Mon, Tues. Wed.) in Arrow Rock Missouri at Browns Chapel.  This year we have settled in on a theme or focus on "Summer & Winter" weave structure and having a guest instructor Ann Maxvill, who is a member of Complex Weavers and focused on a study of Tied Unit Weaves. She has numerous samples as her work and as curiosity often gets the best of her and she starts thinking.

Woven Crackle Shibori

Woven Crackle Shibori - Woven Crackle Shibori - Woven Crackle Shibori
(Say that real fast three times!)

Here is the 'normal' crackle draft with sample and the new draft with its 'tweeked' tie-up on right. (see arrow?)

Now that I have finished the Crackle scarf, I was thinking....... why not use the threading and treadling from the crackle draft and maybe work some slight of hand and do a woven shibori scarf?  Now you are wondering how I could do that if my longest float is only three threads long. Well, I am going to do some messing-around with the tie -up to get me some long floats.




I am tying onto the crackle threading. See how my cross-holder is a big help!! Hands free knotting!

 

Re-Post of Cross Holder

Here is a photo of the cross holder that I use instead of lease sticks or holding the cross in my hand. The cross just lays on the block of wood. I pick up one or two threads at a time and have both hands free to get the threads through the reed or tie onto an old warp. This is showing it on the Baby Wolf.

Get Ready, Get Set......

I think I have all my 'toys' ready to warp the loom.
1. scissors
2. reed hook
3. cross holder
4. paper ruler
5. draft + pencil
6. 450 ends of 10/2 cotton
7. red comb (to comb out tangles as I wind on!)

Getting Ready for S&W Workshop

OK, now it's time to put it in high gear and get ready for this workshop that I am giving on Oct 22-23, 2012!!!!!!

I went ahead and wove off my samples and now I need to put another warp back on. I am tying on using my cross holder. I am using 8/2 cotton.


Tying on using cross holder.



I need to get the paper work ready too. A couple of the students wanted to work on an eight shaft version of summer and winter, so I have prepared extra stuff for them. I came up with a seven shaft draft that should work.

Seven shaft single two-tie paperwork.

For the main workshop I will be showing them some of the different ways to treadle four shaft summer and winter (single two-tie). If they understand what is going on with the four shafts, then moving onto eight or more shafts will be easier.

Four shaft single-two tie samples.



Tying a New Warp To An Old One

Now that I have the scarves cut off the loom, I am going to attach a new warp to this same warp. I think that if I use this same draft it would make an interesting draft for doing some woven shibori.


Using the cross holder lets me have both hands free to tie the knots.



Because I have woven this waste yarn in plain weave and a different color, it's easy to see which thread is next.



I have tied the knot.









I am ready to get the next thread.



Keep going until you have all your threads tied on.









Cross Holder

I have started to sley the reed with my tied weave project. I am not sure which Handwoven this tip was in, but I use this cross holder all the time.