Sunday, August 18, 2013

Green Unknown Cone


Setting up the Cricket rigid heddle loom with this cone of yarn I found at the thrift shop for $3. The label says 3/13 Meadow Green, but does not show what kind of fiber. But let's just try it anyway. I found the yarn thickness is about 14 wraps to the inch so I am going to use the 12 epi heddle.



I am using a paper clip for threading through the heddle.  I can't find my little clamps but by warping from chair to chair through the heddle I can proceed. 


 Another view of the warp from chair to chair. I made the scarf 8 inches wide and about 7 ft long.




 Here is the ends at the warp beam. I tied the loops off the chair to the beam with string. I did groups of three loops.






I have one of the original design Cricket looms so the ratchet and pawl is on the inside of the frame. I want to be sure that I leave a few empty slots on the heddle at that side to avoid a lack of room to operate the heddle. Also be sure the warp beam stick is out of the way when winding.Notice the string wrapped around the bottom stick of the heddle. There is a string on each side to hold centered in frame to prevent the heddle from falling over during warping.



Here I use a book bag on the carpet as a deadweight while winding the warp onto the warp beam. Since the warp is 8 inch wide, I can use 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper as warp separators.  I write numbers on the papers so I know how many more sections I have to weave. I used 7 sheets for this piece, so about 77 inches.



I used some rope to tie the loom to the chair to stabilize it while I wind the warp onto the beam.  You can see the white paper warp separators.
 



I added some tape to my paper clip hook handle to make it more comfortable. I cut the loops on the cloth beam side. Each slot has two threads. I pulled one thread from the slot and put it through the adjacent hole. Then move to the next slot and across the heddle. I notice the stick shuttle does not have small slot on it. I cut a small slot to hold the thread when I get close the end of the supply on the shuttle.




I have to wrap this up. Here is the loom prepared. I have a couple of card strips and some white cotton yarn  to start the weaving. On the other side of the heddle is a couple of sticks to help the warp stay lined up as it goes through the heddle. The stick shuttle has been wound on the side with a figure eight pattern. This keeps a low profile on the yarn bundle to get through the low sheds on the heddle.

Next step is weaving!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

SWSG in Davis


Sacramento Weavers & Spinners Guild Saturday Group met on August 10 2013 at Mary L. Stephens Library (aka the Davis Branch of the Yolo County Library.Thanks Linda for finding a meeting place on short notice.



During our "show & tell" period Jude' showed off this roving and her Trindle spindle. She doesn't weave but uses the yarn in her knitting projects. She also passed around a sample of muskox she has been spinning. If you could just feel the softness.

You can view trindle at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/trindleman




Vonnie has a frame that she used to test some yarn for compatibility. Then she wove a narrow scarf with the yarn.



Linda showed a scarf she nuno felted at a workshop. It is beautiful. The log cabin placemat is a finished project.



Sara brought in a Weavette square loom. that has been in her family since the 1950s. It belonged to her grandfather who used it to make a blanket from the woven squares. Sara also visited with Cathy who is in physical rehab. Sara tells us Cathy is in good spirits and is making progress.



Lisa went to a dye class and brought a card with the dye results.





Susan brought the bag she wove on a rigid heddle loom with boucle yarn. She described the challenge of the bumpy yarn not going the easily through the heddle so she used a stick to beat the weft. The other piece she say is a fold scarf she created following a free pattern she found on the internet.





I couldn't help but notice the baskets people bring to meetings. From left to right: Jude', Linda, Vonnie

Our next Saturday Group meeting will be in Sacramento on Sept 21 2013 from 12-4 p.m.
Topic: Weaving 101, the public is invited as we give basic weaving lesson and show different styles of looms.

For more information see the Guild website
http://www.sacweavespin.org/saturday



It was a good day!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

SWSG Saturday Group May 18




On May 18 2013 it was the meeting of the Saturday Group of Sacramento Weavers and Spinners Guild at Arcade Library, Sacramento, CA  From left to right Vonnie, Sue, Kathy, Janelle, and new spinner Kelly.



From left to right Connie, Linda, Jan, Peggy, Stephanie, Ardith. Not pictured is Jane, our membership chair who was sweet enough to come out to help us with with new memberships and renewals! Thank you Jane! Those kindnesses make us feel like we really are part of the big Guild.

After a few announcements it is time for Show and Tell! What have you been up to?!



Connie shows off her watermelon socks that she knitted.


Since our topic is fingerweaving Jan brought a wall hanging that she made back in the 70s. Its been hanging on her wall all this time.


Stephanie attended the Guild workshop last month with Bobby Irwin on "Shimmering Colors - The Magic of Iridescence" She brought the sample pieces. These picture do not fully convey the subtle color effects of the piece.


Peggy brought a couple of shawls she made on a rigid heddle loom.



Ardith didn't like her yarn until she combined it with other yarn. The green face and eyes are part of the carpet at the library.

 

Kathy showed off the knitting she has been working on.



Kelly is a new spinner and she is just getting started on the obsession.


Janelle is working on upcycling materials. She is holding a basket she crocheted with medical tubing and plastic. It is sterile material that was stored past its shelf life and would end up in the landfill if she didn't do something with it. She also has a water bottle holder with strap that she made from video tape.



Our project was finger weaving using pencils and cardboard frames Here is some of our results.

Next meeting is June 29, 1-4 PM Arcade library
Visit our webpage for schedules
http://www.sacweavespin.org/saturday

It was a good day!

Other items of interest
Kathy said she loved the roving she got back from Morro Fleece Works
http://www.morrofleeceworks.com/Pages/About.htm

Books

A Manual Of Fingerweaving
by Robert J Austin
Published 2000, Crazy Crow Trading Post
ISBN 1-929572-00-X

Finger Weaving: Indian Braiding
by Alta R Turner
Published 1973 by Sterling Publishing
Reprinted 1989 by Cherokee Publications
ISBN 0-935741-13-5
previous ISB 0-8069-5264-4

The Basic Book Of Fingerweaving
by Esther Warner Dendel
Published 1974 by Simon & Schuster
ISBN 071-21697-X

Fingerweaving Untangled
by Carol James

I love Carol James book.  It's the perfect book for
beginners with enough advanced patterns to keep you
busy for a long time. You can't beat the color pictures
and diagrams showing the hand movements.

You can order at this site:
http://www.sashweaver.ca/


Monday, May 6, 2013

Czech Sprang

In Ravelry, Sylva-Res posted the following link. I checked it out, it is safe and the file is awesome research paper with pictures. Go to the link and download from there:

Hi, I´d like to share with you something about sprang in my country - The Czech Republic. Finally I finished a research PDF document about sprang. Because at the moment I have n´t got any personal blog or website, I placed it on my work website. Here is the link, where you can find it.

http://www.restaurovanikamen.cz/html/sprang.html

This is all I´ve gathered about sprang in Czech lands until now. But I´m still searching.
I know there are still some more old books and journal articles, but it is not easy to get to them. When I discover something else I´ll share it with you here.

Hope that these information and pictures will be interesting and useful for you.

Ravelry ref link
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/talk-about-sprang/1958909/1-25#21

Have a good day!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Navajo Weaver Clara Sherman Cards & Spins

NAVAJO WEAVER CLARA SHERMAN CARDING AND SPINNING 

Watch her on youtube

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D_p7OIghMVw 

 10 minutes with a master weaver.

 Have a good day! 

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Beka Rigid Heddle Loom



 From the archives: 20" Beka rigid heddle loom that I owned back in 2008-2009. I bought it on craigslist with the manual, and all the stuff above. Notice the little teeth on the front and back beam. The tension is held with nuts that are tightened to hold the beams. You have to loosen and tighten the nuts to move the warp beams as you weave. I think it was made in the 1970s.  
The upright device is a stand that one would use by sitting placing on a chair, then sitting on the flat square area with the upright portion in front of you to support the loom. The person who sold it to me told me that her husband built the stand following a set of plans they saw in a weaving magazine.



Here I am sitting on the stand with loom in approximate weaving position. I don't have any pictures of the loom being used. I sold the loom in 2009 when I was cleaning out the closet and needed to make room. I kept my Erica rigid heddle loom.





These towels were finished in January 2009.
(click on picture for larger view)
Woven on Beka 20 inch rigid heddle loom, 8 dent (threads per inch warp), wet finished (wash & dry), hand hemmed, finished size 14 x 24 inch.
This is woven with peaches and cream cotton yarn, the worsted yarn weight, not the heavier double worsted.

No. 1 white, I bought a 14 oz cone at Walmart about $7 No. 205 gumdrop, 2 oz ball, $1.75 ea, two balls

That should be enough for 4 towels altogether, I wove two at a time on the loom.

It takes most of one colored ball to warp for two towels.


Here is the pattern, 128 ends wide, 8 dent heddle


8 white, 8 color, 96 white, 8 color, 8 white

I warped with about 78 inch threads, allowing 15 inch for cutoff.
Your yardage may vary.

Wet finished means after weaving and cutting off the loom, I put it
through the washer and dryer.

Here is a video that showed me how to hemstitch with the fringe.

hemstitch video by Cherri Hankins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHBKqG2Do2I

My fringe is almost all three strand, but there is one two strand fringe because 128 is not divisible by 3.

The pattern should work with any variegated color yarn that you think would look good with white.

Have a good day!

Friday, April 26, 2013

The Hunt for Biil

Biil wool/biil dress/rug dress

A biil (beehl) dress is traditional Navajo womens' dress made from two woven panels sewn together with openings for neck and arms.

Here are some links I found




Juanita's dress is coming home
http://navajotimes.com/entertainment/culture/0810/082110dress.php

http://www.navajotimes.com/entertainment/culture/2011/1111/110711dress.php

see last picture bottom right


woven dress show

Native Treasures website - nice pictures


see mbm332 first picture
It evokes the old-style biil (Navajo dress) as well as the skies of Dine' Bike'yah.

the navajo - juvenile books

Navajo weaving spirit pathways or spiritlines

24 blankets come to Navajo Nation


Biil pictures

see manta blanket dress

rug dress

More pictures

A portrait

Online book Indian Blankets and their Makers

Bayeta blanket

look for biil dress

about churro wool

Have a good day!