Maiwa Supply

While checking different websites I will see references to links for other websites.

This time on Weavolution, Deb McClintock was answering a question about ikat tape. Ikat is a dye resist technique. She posted a link to Maiwa Supply and said to look for the instructions page for PDF instruction sheets. I looked and there was info on batik, blockprint, indigo, and more.

Here is the link to Maiwa Supply
http://www.maiwa.com/stores/supply/instructions.html

Have a good day!

Failed Towels

(click pics for larger image)

This is a failed warp. I started it in June. It was supposed to become some more dishtowels on the backstrap loom. See this link. I had problems with loose warps from the beginning. I tried to adjust the tension. That did not work. So I tried to work with it to see if I could "force" it to behave.



On this closer look you can how this bad warp could not be fixed. The floats. The uneven fell line. The crooked shape. The uneven tension. So I will unweave this warp and wind up the yarn and put it aside for a while. I can't fix this even though in my mind I thought I could. I'll start over again and this time warp it properly instead of just throwing it together. It was impatience that got me started off badly.

In the words of Harry Callahan "A man's got to know his limitations."

Have a good day!

Rancho Cordova Fiber Arts

Rancho Cordova Fiber Arts is starting!

Rancho Cordova Fiber Arts is a dedicated to the exploration of fiber arts
including, but not limited to, spinning, dying, weaving, knitting, crochet,
braiding, embroidery, sewing, fingerweaving, sprang, and other crafts.

Meetings are scheduled for the Rancho Cordova Library community room in Rancho
Cordova, on the third Monday of the month, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm


Meetings are open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to share fiber
arts for the people in Rancho Cordova, California and Sacramento County. The
goal is to introduce fiber arts and make it accessible to everyone.

Schedule
Sept 20, 2010 Fiber Arts discussions and demonstration
Oct 18, 2010 Spinning for Beginners, drop spindles, plying,
Nov 15, 2010 Weaving for Beginners on simple looms
Dec 2010 Holiday Break

The library is located at 9845 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova, Calif 95827

There is a yahoo group setup for discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ranchocordovafiberarts/

You are welcome to use this yahoo group to discuss fiber arts, and events
around the area. Anyone may join this yahoogroup, new members are subject to
message approval until determined to be on topic.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios
Rancho Cordova Fiber Arts organizer

Structo

(click on picture for larger image)

This is a Structo Artcraft Loom I bought tonight on Craigslist for $50.
I've heard about these and now I have one. Now I have to find out how to weave on it.

It has the number 600-15660 written on it.

Another adventure.

I think I am missing handles for the beams. It's about 20 inch wide inside the harnesses.

Edited to add:
There is a yahoo group for discussion of Structo looms
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/all_things_structo/

Have a good day!

Sprang Sweater

Sprang Sweater - crafted by Carol James
(click pictures for larger image)

The above sweater is not knitted, it is not crocheted, it is not woven. It is created with an ancient process called "Sprang", a form of oblique interlacing or plaiting.

Here is the message Carol posted on yahoogroups "Sprang_List" along with these pictures.

Carol writes: Inspired by images of Egyptian work on the site Den Blauwen Swaen, I decided to try my hand at a sprang sweater.

I selected a fiber that seemed smooth, promising easy shoving of the twists. My daughter came along to advise me on color selection. Together we chose an orange egyptian cotton. I added some sparkly Patons yarn that I had in my stash. In the end I used ten 50gm skeins of the cotton.

I calculated the distance from hem of the sweater, over the shoulder, and back down to the hem, plus some more for 'shrink'. This ended up being about six feet.

Spranging began, working from the hem up. For interest, and another challenge, I added a bit of a diamond design, working S and Z in the same row. At 'armpit' level, I added on more warp on each side for the sleeves. A few inches later, I began a slit for the neck hole.

I thought I'd go for a lacy design around the shoulders. Now that the garment is finished and I've been wearing it, next time I think I'd put the lacy bit lower on the garment, and use singles at the shoulders for a bit more stability, not so much sag at the shoulders.

I sewed up the side seams, a crochet chain uniting the loops along the edges of the sleeves. The side seams in the body of the sweater were joined with an 'invisible seam': I carefully un-spranged the end thread (start and stop of the original rectangle) to the armpit, and then re-spranged using a large eyed needle, uniting front and back.

A 'safety cord' prevents the garment from 'un-spranging', going from wrist to wrist, passing behind the neck. My daughter tells me that an attachment behind the neck in a deep-V neck is commonly seen in current fashion.

I wore the sweater to the Handweavers Guild of America Convergence in Albuquerque.

Just wanting you all to know that it can be done, as the frequent comment in Albuquerque was "I thought all you could do with sprang was bags."

Here are some more pictures from Carol's posting:



This is the initial rectangle on the sprang frame.


Adding warp for sleeves, creating shape of the garment, notice the slit for the neck hole.


Spranging in sections. The knitting needle is only used to pick up strands that are laced over each other, this is not knitted.

You can see Carol's blog at: http://sashweaver.wordpress.com/

You can see Carol's webpage at: http://www.sashweaver.ca/

Carol writes books and gives classes on fingerweaving. She needs to start teaching sprang.

Den Blauwen Swaen (english version) can be seen here: http://www.denblauwenswaen.nl/engels.htm

The Sprang_List on yahoogroups can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sprang_List/

Have a good day!