My Handwoven Thoughts

Why on Friday?

vila — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:18:44 +0000

Does it happen to you? The last few times I have had an “issue” with one of my looms, it happens on Friday. I will be weaving away, trying to meet one deadline or another, and something goes wrong.

Last time a cable broke on my Folding Dobby AVL loom. A broken cable is not the end of the world. But why does it have to happen Friday afternoon? If I don’t get my order for a new one in that day, I have to wait till Monday. It sets the final repair back farther. Did I say “final” repair. Yes, I did. I can never wait for the cable to come before I start weaving again, so I end up jerry-rigging a cord to get the loom back in production. Not pretty, but is works. (more…)

Weaving Baby Blankets in July!!

vila — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:55:36 +0000

I’m going to be able to sneak a warp of baby blankets in between weaving for my Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving. I’m excited! It is not often I can do custom work. But in July I can weave baby blankets to order. Well, they will have to fit into the patterns I can do on this warp, but customers can pick the pattern and color combination they want.

These baby blankets will be handwoven from 100% cotton. They are soft, comfortable and safe for the baby, no fringe to get in the way. The size will be about 36″ x 45″ and that makes them useful wherever they go. Plenty of room to lay the baby on the floor with a few toys and large enough to wrap him up in for months. They are big enough to cover a toddler for a nap. (more…)

A Good First Book for Weaving

vila — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:49:41 +0000

The very first book I would recommend for a new weaver is “Learning to Weave” by Deborah Chandler. This book starts with and introduction into looms and weaving equipment. It gives enough information to help with the purchase of the first loom and the basic equipment needed to start weaving.

It quickly moves into the process of “warping” a loom. For those of you who are not familiar with this weaving term, it means setting the loom up with the threads attached to the loom and held under tension during weaving. The pictures are clear and the step-by-step instructions are easy to follow.

After the loom is warped, there are many important things to learn. This book will answer most of the questions that arise and assist a new weaver in understanding the weaving process. It describes the basics of thread interlacement in weaving, how to plan a project, and how to read a draft. A draft is the pattern a weaver follows to set up the loom and weave a specific pattern. Some basic weave structures are discussed and the back of the book has some great information charts. I have been weaving for more than ten years and this is still the reference book I use as I am researching a new project.

So if you have just started weaving or think weaving may interest you, this is the first book I would recommend. This is the book I use as a text book when I give weaving lessons.

Weaving Library

vila — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:01:34 +0000

Are you a book collector? I am! Every time I start a new hobby, I start collecting books on the
subject. It’s just another one of my addictions. Whether you are a serious book collector or not,
a few good books are a necessity for any weaving library.

I found my collection of weaving books to be very valuable as I worked on Level l of my
Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving. It was so nice to be able to find answers to my
questions and the techniques I needed to learn on my own shelves at home. I did not have to plan
what I needed to look for in the Guild library at the next meeting or count on finding the
information in the limited titles found at the local library.

There are a few weaving books I think every weaver should have on hand. I have a good sized
library, but it is not all inclusive. Some books will not be for everyone. A lot depends on your
loom and the type of weaving that interests you most. So stay tuned for recommendations to see
if any of these books will be a “must have” for your weaving library.

Crunch Time

vila — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:11:54 +0000

Oh My! I just received the final information for when entries for the COE (Certificate of Excellence) are due this year. I have four months to finish my work and get it in the mail. Needless to say I have been ignoring other things to be sure I am ready in time. I would be crushed to miss this judging since the next one will not be held until 2010.

When I take a break and look around I fantasize about taking time to really clean the house, reorganize storage areas, weave new things to sell, weed my flower beds, write regular blog entries, and work on my website. Instead I have lists of ideas for blog entries and lists of future warps to put on the loom.

I hope that all weavers reading this have wonderful projects on their looms or in the works. Or maybe this is the time of year you head outdoors and enjoy your garden while planning projects for the fall and winter. I’d love to hard what you are up to!

Warping without paper or slats.

vila — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:16:36 +0000

With the exception of warping a loom sectionally, we are taught a heavy paper or slats of some kind must be wound along with the warp to insure an even tension throughout the weaving process. Picture wrapping thread around a tube. No matter how careful you are, the thread forms a hump in the middle of your tube. The thread travels farther when it winds around the center, built up section than it does on the edges. If you wound your warp around the beam without heavy paper or slats, some threads would fall off the edge of the pile on each end and those threads would be shorter than the threads in the middle of the warp. You can imagine the problems the shorter threads would cause as you tried to weave. (more…)

Remodeling My Blog

vila — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:59:16 +0000

When I picked the theme for my blog, some time ago I really liked it. Yesterday it looked dull and drab to me so I am in the process of remodeling. Please bear with me as I look at new themes - I might go through a few changes before I really decide on the right color for my walls here. Your comments are welcome through out this process as always!

All my pictures disappeared - I’ll be tracking them down and putting them back where they belong.

UPDATE - Feb 18 I found the problem to my pictures was the fact I had found a setting to keep blogs from linking to pictures from my website. From the list of allowed sites I thought this one was good, but I was wrong. At least that was an easy fix, just had to add this url to the list and all the pictures came back.

My pretty theme with the sunset was causing problems, so I am now trying new ones. Remodeling takes a lot of time!!!

How Much Yarn . . .

vila — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:45:07 +0000

. . . do you need to start warping your loom? For each weaver (and project) answer is different. This fact was brought home to me dramatically this week.

I have always leaned toward long warps. I like putting on an all white warp and changing the tie-up and color as I go to create new patterns. I have taken the long warp to the extreme on the loom on which I weave the huck lace hand towels. The last warp I put on that loom was 125 yards long. This makes sense since the towels are production items for my website and Etsy shop. With that long of a warp I am always prepared to weave a towel to fill an order if my inventory is low on a particular color. (more…)

Tweaking the Loom

vila — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:29:07 +0000

Not too long ago my husband and I made a few adjustments to my loom. I have a 24shaft AVL. When I bought it used, it came with two one-yard warp beams even though it is not set up to handle two beams that size. Minor details like that do not slow down my creative husband. He modified the second beam to fit on the loom in the second position. We hooked up the break system for the second beam and I decided I needed to do a couple of test warps before tackling the project I had in mind that required both beams at the same time. (more…)

Trying to get started - again….

vila — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:07:51 +0000

Once again I am returning after a long silence. I keep hoping I will keep my blog updated but it is one of the first things that gets ignored when my time is limited. Since I lost posted, I made a trip to collect my daughterâ€™s things from her dorm when she decided to change colleges and move back home. She lived at home for most of the time she attended college here in town. However, she also met a very nice young man and decided to move closer to where he is. So I recently delivered her furniture 600 miles from here where she is now living. She also got married last month. So I have been a bit distracted as I try to make myself available to her as she has been making these major decisions in her life.

On the plus side of the changes here, there was a vacant room created in my house. As you can imagine, it didnâ€™t take me long to start filling it up. I am looking forward to having an organized (less cramped) studio and also an office area where I can be more productive.

My goal is to finish some of the blog entries I had started working on and I have ideas for even more. So check back to see what has been added. I love receiving comments and they help keep me motivated, so post your comments! I hope you find some tips that help you in your weaving projects.