Weaving A Gem Of A Life

Wonky Edge Resolved

You’d think after weaving a few hundred pieces, I’d know some things instantly. Not so.

A few days ago I talked about weaving on my new/old Macomber loom. I mentioned that I had a wobbly right selvedge on my cottolin napkins. On the first handwoven napkin, I was too focused on the functioning of the new loom and the new pattern to pay enough attention.

On the second napkin I was determined to correct the problem. I paid lots of attention to my weaving on the right selvedge. I could make it a bit better, but it wasn’t good. I paid attention to how I did the left selvedge, doing my best to replicate that – no real success. I was frustrated.

All of a sudden, the light bulb when off in my head. DUH! The problem wasn’t what I was or wasn’t doing with my hands and the shuttle, but rather that the edge threads weren’t the right tension. See those hanging warp threads I added at the edge of the warp? I didn’t have enough weight on them, so they weren’t the same tension as the rest of the warp. That’s why I couldn’t get my right selvedge smooth.

As soon as I figured that out and added the appropriate amount of weight, things went quite smoothly. You can see in the picture exactly where I figured it out, and would be able to find it even if I hadn’t put in the big blue arrow.

I’m betting I won’t make that particular mistake again in my handweaving. There are plenty of new ones to make, I’m sure! Like forgetting to throw the locking weft thread in the Atwater-Bronson lace in a few places on those same napkins, requiring off-loom repairs.

Ah, well. At least by the time I got to the runner, I was well into the pattern, and got that all right. Overall, I’m happy with my first attempt at handwoven table linens. When I get the napkins fixed and hemmed, I’ll share them with you.

Your turn — what was one of your light bulb moments in your chosen field of endeavor?

Happy WHOA! Year

It’s January 1, 1966 in Buffalo, NY. I’m a really geeky little kid with a highly developed sense of guilt. On New Year’s Day I decide to go to church. Alone, since the rest of the family is sleeping. I get dressed and walk down the stairs. The EXACT INSTANT I set my foot on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, the whole house shakes!! I can see the tree from there, and every ornament is shaking back & forth.

I am FREAKED OUT! I’m certain that God is speaking directly to me, sending me a message about just how bad I am. If I put that other foot on the floor, the whole house, with my family asleep upstairs, could just sink into the bowels of hell.

What do I do? I turn tail and go back upstairs as quick as I can. I get under the covers in bed (did I bother to put my pajamas back on?), shaking. I probably said about a million prayers, quaking in fear the whole time.

I don’t think I ever mentioned anything to my family; I didn’t want them to know just how bad I was, how close they’d come to a fiery death.

When I returned to school after Christmas break, the science teacher asked if anyone had felt the rare earthquake on New Year’s Day. WHAT?! Earthquake?! This is Buffalo! I had no knowledge at that point that Buffalo sat on a fault line — the ground had been completely stable all my life. No one else in class was apparently up & felt it, but I sure did. That earthquake is a documented fact – it was a class 6!

Much as I was hugely relieved that there was a scientific explanation for the jiggling tree, I think I was also just a tiny bit disappointed that I wasn’t powerful enough to shake the entire house with my behavior.

Your turn – did you feel that earthquake? Have any other weird, freaky childhood New Year’s memories?

Merry Macomber!

Remember that old Macomber loom I picked up in pieces? Well, with my son’s help it got the finishing touches on it over the holiday. After he left to head back home, I couldn’t wait to get a warp on it.

Having woven only scarves and other wearables to date, I decided to try my hand at some handwoven table linens. So I prepared a warp of 292 threads of unbleached cottolin (60% cotton and 40% linen), and wound it on the lovely 8-harness Mac.

You might think that the hanging threads in the pic mean I didn’t count right. WRONG! I did count correctly. It’s just that I wanted to have 2 extra threads on each end of the piece to make up for the draw-in, but forgot to thread for that at the beginning, so had 2 extra threads at the end. Not to worry – just hang a few where you need them; that’s my motto!

I must say, not having worked with cottolin before, I didn’t find it fun to wind on the back beam. All those little hairs made it stick together and clump up. But I’ve wound lots of rayon chenille warps, so knew if I just stuck with it, I’d get there.

This evening I finished my first piece on the Mac – a napkin. Despite the fact that my right selvedge is quite wiggly, I’m happy with the napkin. I think the triple rows of concentric Atwater-Bronson lace look swell. I’ve warped the loom for a set of four napkins and a table runner. As always, I’m both enjoying the process and eager to see how it’ll look and feel after it’s wet finished.

May all your warps be smooth, your sheds wide, and your treadling easy in 2010!

Your turn – what are you weaving now? What do you plan to weave in 2010?

The Year That Was, Part I

The holidays aren’t even over yet, and I can’t express how great they’ve already been. My family was all together for the first time in years, and we had a wonderful time. Friends gathering added to the pleasure. After all, is there anything more important than family & friends? I think not.

I like the way this photo turned out – a nice mix of reality and imagination, at least to my eye. It has the added benefit of reflecting family for me. Remember those old ceramic Christmas trees? Mom made this one probably 40 years ago, and it’s the centerpiece of my 2009 holiday decorations. Makes me think of her and smile every time I look at it.

This photo also seemed a fitting entry into Carmi’s challenge of the week. I plan to post more as the week passes. Play along — tell me what you want to remember about 2009.
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Christmas Weaving Revealed

Now that all the weaving gifts have been opened, I can share with you what I made this year for family and friends.

You already saw the handwoven rayon chenille throw that I made for my friends. This was the last gift finished and opened.

First opened (but not necessarily first finished) were the scarves I made for my niece and nephew. Both are handwoven from bamboo yarn. It seemed the perfect fiber for these two, since they both live in the south, so their scarves needed to be lightweight. Lynn’s scarf had 4 colors of 100% bamboo in the warp (bambu forest variegation, honey, acorn, and navy) with a solid acorn weft. John’s was mostly black with a gray border. I decided to weave with two strands of the bamboo yarn for the weft on his scarf, making it a little thicker. I wove both in a simple twill.

Next is the weaving I did for my children. Michael got a throw made from bulky organic cotton. Anything I made for him had to be machine washable and dryable, and should be mostly in a color that doesn’t show every speck of dirt. The majority pecan color, offset with white, seemed a perfect combo. I again woven this in a simple twill pattern.

Amanda got two handwoven scarves: rayon chenille for mostly outdoor wear and bamboo for mostly indoor wear. She had requested navy blue with gray accents in the bamboo, and I decided to weave with a bit more complicated twill pattern. With the majority of the scarf a dark navy, I used stripes of gray in both warp and weft for interest. I like the way those stripes look different on the two sides of the scarf. I had no idea what color to make the rayon chenille scarf. Although none are new, Amanda has winter outerwear in black, cream, brown, and herringbone. I ultimately decided to go with a variety of grays, using royal blue and pink for accents.

Now that the Christmas gift-making and -giving is over, it’s time to get busy with my applications for juried shows for 2010. The first will go out this week, to the Kenan Center’s 100 American Craftsmen. I’ve not applied before, and can just send them my best photos and keep my fingers crossed.

Weaving A Gem Of A Life

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Wonky Edge Resolved

Happy WHOA! Year

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The Year That Was, Part I

Christmas Weaving Revealed

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