Loopers Bear repeating

Yes, I know it is isn't a bear.... I was attempting to be funny (sigh).

When using choke ties, remember that if you use the looper method they really must be nylon! The cotton ones will not work. They are reusable and come in lots of pretty colors. And if they don't work for you, you can always make a pot holder.

This tip comes from my good friend the "warpped weaver" (yes he spells it that way), Jeff. Thanks Jeff!

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! 

Choke ties

Choke Ties: tie choke ties to contain your warp as need to keep your 'cross' and the warp chain in order as you dress your loom. The choke ties I use are nylon (pot holder) loopers. The cotton loopers will not work very well, so be sure and use the nylon ones. 

Floating Selvedge

This shadow weave project will need a floating selvedge to help keep the edges tidy. Put one on each side. I am hanging them off the back beam with a weight. I am using the same threads as the warp, but some people use fishing line..... use what ever works for you.

These threads are sleyed through the reed but do not go through a heddle. As you weave, you will go over the floating thread as you enter the shed and go under the floating thread as you exit the shed.

I find my husbands clips from his garage are just the right weight! Thanks Hubby!!

Rug Weaving - Out Side my Box

Since I have been trying to weave with rug wool and rags I thought I might as well go way-way out side my box and comfort zone and do an edge treatment I have never done before. Here I am working on the edge treatment of the Midnight Bathroom Rug. I did a Damascus edge first and now I am doing a 3 strand braid with two ends in each strand.

After the fringe is taken care of, the rug will need to be washed and left to dry. That will tighten up that linen on the edge and keep it from falling apart.

Learning the Rag Dance

When I think about weaving with rags, I think of my friend Gayle. She had showed us during a program she gave my local guild how to join fabric strips without sewing. Simple and quick. My kind of weaving!

Overlap the ends of both strips, cut the slits, loop through and pull. Simple and neat.

Then when you have enough, roll into balls until you are ready to wind on your shuttle.

More Warp To Play With

One of my weaving guilds suggested we try weaving with rags. Since I have a little warp left, I will attempt to do just that! This is a summer and winter threading (single two-tie) woven on opposites without tabby.

What fun weaving with rags that have some glitter on them. Of course I did pay $5.98 a yard for these "rags". Now I know what the quilters feel like when someone says "You cut that up to just put it back together?" Creativity at work!

Blue-Gray Rug Edge Treatment

I am now working on doing a Damascus Edge to the blue/gray summer and winter woven on opposites rug. I know I practiced on the "dinner leftovers rug" but think I should have practiced more. It doesn't look very neat. But what you see is what you get!

Working right to left, hold the passive warp end in my left hand and the active warp end in my right hand. The know goes over, under and up. The warp will lay onto the rug.

Working the second half of the Damascus Edge, I start from right again and wrap the active warp around the passive end and the fringe will now be back in it's original position.

Since I do not want any kind of fringe or braid, I will needle weave the ends into the rug and clip. I will then put a little "elmers" glue to help secure the edge.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Weaving with large wool yarn has been an adventure. Let's see if I can remember some of the things I have learned.
1. Sample to make sure your yarn thickness is correct.
2. Use a temple.
3. Keep a watch on your edges.
4. Try not to have any KNOTS in the warp.
5. Maybe use a bigger reed!
6. While weaving on opposites, have your shuttles enter the shed from the opposites sides alternately.
7. Wind your stick shuttles in a figure eight on each edge. It will hold more.
8. Remember to allow enough warp at the beginning and the ending to work the Damascus Edge.
9. This is a leftover warp and threads rug!
10. Remember to have fun and learn something new.


See number 4. There is no crying in weaving! (or is that baseball?)

 

Hiding Your Tales

I am going to tell you a tale about hiding your tails! See, I do know the difference between the two tails! Anyway, I still can't find the excellent looper tool that my friend Diane Six ( Morning Moon Alpacas ) gave me at Christmas. I will keep looking!  But I did find one of the dental loopers. Another tip Diane told me to do was to weave in my tails as I go while it's under tension on the loom.

looper, needle, yarn

thread the looper through the eye of the needle and put the yarn through the looper

pull the looper and yarn through the eye of the needle

weave the needle through your web between the top and bottom layers of your web

pull through and clip close to the web.

Now my tale of the tail is all done!

Shuttle Maintenance

My good friend, Katie, reminded me how to correctly wrap the yarn on these stick shuttles. I am sure this is a tip she has told me many times, I just didn't listen since I didn't figure I would do much with stick shuttles. Well, just goes to show you. Just like you should have listened in grammar school when they told you that you would need math skills later in life.Well, I am later in life now and I need all kinds of math skills to weave!

 Yes, these go through the shed much better and holds more yarn. Yeah!

Checking For Errors

I have had a lot of trouble with this loom dropping a tie up hook. It's a Macomber 10 shaft loom and is usually a great work horse. But some times I get happy feet and things just jump off. So I have gotten a mirror to help me check the back side. I am still working on my Single Two-Tie Woven on Opposites Without Tabby scarf.  That is a very long title for a very pink scarf.

7 Pounds of Cotton

I had a questions about what I was going to do with all that 8/2 natural cotton I received the other day. It is my go-to size when I am in the mood to weave up a bunch of towels. I have found that "for me" if I dent it at 18 epi it makes a really nice hand to the towels. I know some who swear by 10/2 cotton, but this 8/2 works for me.

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.

Tying One On

Sampling is done and now it's time to weave that summer and winter on opposites without tabby SCARF.  

I have woven some plain weave before cutting off the existing warp, and now I will pull each thread out - in order - and attach the new one.

I Buy You Toys

I buy you toys and buy you toys and all you want is the cardboard box!

 Somewhere there are some really neat markers, but when don't want to take time to find where you "put it"..... improvise. Paper clip to the rescue!

I needed a hat to play golf with my new golf clubs. Thank you DH, they are great!

Tabby and Background - S2T

I didn't have time to sit at the loom today but did some weaving thinking. Here is what the difference is between weaving background and weaving tabby on summer and winter.

The black/green is showing how to weave background texture. The red/blue is what tabby looks like. Because of the way I have done my tie-up, I need to step on two treadles at the same times, sometimes.

Background Texture

Still playing around with the Single Two-Tie draft on eight shafts.  Another name is Summer and Winter on opposites without tabby.

With this draft I am not weaving tabby, but if I were, I would treadle 1 Vs. 2+3. All the pattern shafts Vs. the two tie-downs.

But since I am weaving 'on opposites' I do not want to weave tabby. If I want a solid row of background texture, I will weave these treadles:
2 =  tie-down one
1+2  =  tie-down one, and all pattern shafts
3 =  tie-down two
1+3 =  tie-down two, and all pattern shafts

I will repeat for a total of 8 picks. Yes, I am stepping on two treadles at the same time.

If you look real close it is different than tabby. Tabby is over one and under one. This is BACKGROUND texture.

More Crochet Hanging Tabs

Since some of these towels are 'creative summer and winter', why not do some 'creative colors' for the tabs?

The towel in the middle has been woven in 1-1-1-1, a-b-a-b order with red tabby and black pattern. This is the back side of all three towels.

Crochet Hanging Tab for Towels

Thistle Rose asked for directions on the crocheted hanging tab I put on my small towels. They are just something I 'do'. So I will try to write the directions with the help of some photos. I have used the same thread that was used as warp (8/2 cotton).  I have used a size 8 crochet hook. It is a hook I have had for over 40 years.

Chain 15, being careful not to twist, slip stitch to form ring.

Ch (chain) 2, then work 29 dc into ring (double crochet). For a total of 30 dc into ring.

Slip stitch to top of chain two to close.

 Chain two, turn work. 
2 dc in next stitch,
1 dc in next stitch
2 dc in next stitch
1 dc in each of next 2  stitch
2 dc in next stitch
1 dc in each of next 2  stitch
2 dc in next stitch
Chain one. Turn work. Work back across with a sc in each stitch. End off.

End off by leaving a long tail to sew tab onto corner.