Linen and Cotton

Working with linen as weft is a whole 'nother ballgame. Trying to keep the linen from flipping and wriggling off the bobbin is a contest in "me or it". Will "me" get into a nice rhythm, or will "it" do what it wants to?

I really like this fuchsia 10/2 linen. It's shinny. I hope it doesn't bleed when I wash it. Guess I should have thought of that before I started with it.

 

I think the back side is kind of cool. I am excited to see what this will really look like once I get it off the loom and washed. The warp is 8/2 cotton.

What ever happened to????

What ever happened to that fustian I was weaving? Well, I have 3 1/2 yards woven with natural 10/2 linen.

I used the three tubes of natural that I had, and now I have moved onto some fuchsia 10/2 linen. I must be a color person, I like weaving this color. But this won't last long as I only have one tube of it...  but lots more warp before I am done.

Weaving on the Computer

What better thing to do on a rainy day than play 'weaving' at the computer. I have some 12 shaft drafts (for my newest loom), some four shaft drafts that look fun, and some that were so bad, they didn't get saved or printed.

More Mug Rugs

The original draft and information comes from September/October 1985, Handwoven. Of course I did do some things different. For one, I added two plain weave treadles that they forgot to put there. And, of course I did two different treadlings instead of just the one they showed. But I do agree, that they will make a great addition to a birthday card for auntie or that father or mother who has everything.

Mug Rug Fun

Now that I have done some really deep thinking, how about a fun - no thinking - project?

Mug Rugs

Well, I did practice using my shoe laces to tie on with, and I had to practice winding two threads at once onto one bobbin. So I guess, maybe, just maybe... I was still thinking. And I have started treadling differently than the draft tells me to. Again, more thinking. Well, it's still a fun project!

Here is a plug for my friend and her new fiber store. Check it out if you get a chance.
Blackwater Fiber Arts Gallery  I will be her guest teacher for the Introduction to Weaving class. (a shameless plug for me!)

Thinking Out Loud

 

Here is a close-up of both scarves in the Crackle-Woven-Shibori-Experiment. As you can see, they are both really different even though both were on the same threading, denting, and treadling. Well, the same treadling - sort of.

I had some good questions yesterday.  "Is the end result what you expected? Would you do it again? What did you learn?" Let me try to explain:

I am always interested in what might happen if I do this or if I do that. What happens if I weave an overshot threading with an advancing twill treadling? What happens if I dye a project before I put it on the loom or would I get something completely different if I dyed it after it was woven and off the loom? It's the WHAT IF'S that keep me interested in weaving. So yes, I would and will try this kind of experiment again.

I think I learned that I can take a threading from one draft and by using the treadling - in the woven shibori way-  get a cloth that I couldn't get any other way. It's all a matter of what you like. The woven shibori scarf is now a plain weave scarf. But don't you wonder how the design got there? (I some times tell people that I have a very tiny paint brush that I use.) LOL

And of course, there is the subject of 'dying' your own cloth. Do you do it before? Do you do it after? Or do you just buy your thread already a certain color?  I find that when I dye my projects, either before weaving or after, it's always magic to see what I get. Oh, I can sort of predict what it will look like, but dye, as far as I am concerned, is magic. I don't keep formulas or keep track of what colors or what percentiles of what was used. I want a product that is a one-of. So is the end result what I expected? Yes and no!

I think that is what makes weaving so interesting to me. The field is wide open to experiment but there is also lots of information out there for those who like to be 'cookbook weavers'. Both work. But what works for me is the what if's........ I might start with a cookbook idea and then give it the "hummm, what if I did this instead" treatment.

Woven Shibori and Crackle Experiment

This is the end of the Crackle-Woven-Shibori-Experiment.

The same, but different! Dye it before or dye it after? Both ways are fun.

The scarf on the right was a scarf where I wound the warp, dyed the warp, threaded the loom and wove a crackle draft. It is 6/2 Bamboo, 24 epi. I should have gone with an 20 epi.

 

The scarf on the left is woven on that same threading, and the same treadling (a woven shibori treadling). After the weaving, I dyed it. This one is 10/2 Tencel, 24 epi. It has a nice drape.