Month: August 2014

Tools Day: Jury Rigging

Karen

Resourcefulness, make-do ability, outside-the-box thinking, solution-minded questions, and a little stubbornness. These are some of the best things to keep in the weaver’s toolbox. Jury rigging is an old nautical term having to do with sailors improvising the replacement of a damaged mast and sails, using only tools and materials that happen to be on hand. You could call it makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances. That describes what I did this week as I came near the end of the linen warp. And, like a sailor, I was working with wood, strings, and cloth.

Rya knots in linen cloth.
Warp ends on the sides have become looser than the warp that has the rya knots in it. That’s not good. Tension needs to be even across the warp.

I needed to even out the tension across the warp ends, because the outer edges were not taking up at the same rate as the warp in the center, because of the rya knots. The pictures show how I jury rigged a warping slat, empty thread tubes, S-hooks, and 2-pound walking weights to adjust the tension so I could continue weaving.

Jury rigged warp tensioning.
Adding weight to the loose sections of the warp.
Jury rigged warp tensioning
Two-pound walking weights are easy to hang from S-hooks. Using empty thread spools was a short-lived solution. That had to change when I advanced the warp.
Evening out warp tension with weights
Changing the slat so it is over the loose warp ends enables me to hang the weights directly on the slat with S-hooks.
Walking weights to tighten loose warp ends.
View from underneath, walking weights hang from warping slat to increase tension on the loose warp ends.

May you know when to make a temporary, but useful, contraption.

All the best,
Karen

(~My thank-you to you, my reader friends–a discount coupon good during August 2014 toward anything in my Etsy Shop. Find the coupon code on my About Page.~)

True Treasure

Karen

I already own a plentiful selection of handwoven towels. I am weaving the fifth towel on this warp, and there will be at least three more towels after that. So, you might think I am storing up towels. Even so, whatever I am weaving at the moment becomes my favorite thing, like a precious treasure. The intricacies of the goose-eye twill and the color interaction seem special, with fancy treadling footwork and several colors of 16/2 cotton to play with. It is a journey of discovery–of learning and being delighted with the visual and physical impact of it all. In the end, though, it’s just a towel–a thing. (I will keep one towel for my collection. The rest will go in Etsy and/or become gifts.)

Goose-eye twill towels on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Temple in place, weaving goose-eye towels progresses. Viewing the cloth as it comes over the breast beam.

The greatest treasures are intangible; and the most valuable ones are hidden, to be discovered by those who are seeking. Beware of false treasures. When we make things we hold in our hands more important than they should be, we risk overlooking the true treasures. Uncovering and collecting those timeless treasures becomes life’s most exciting adventure.

May your treasure hunt make you rich (on the inside).

Happy Discovering,
Karen

(~As a thank-you for coming here, I have a discount coupon for you on my About Page to use in my Etsy Shop during the month of August, 2014.~)

What a Colorful World!

Karen

I am ridiculously in favor of color. Bright or pastel, rich or muted, vibrant or subtle. Just give me hue, value, and intensity to work with and I’ll be happy. I dutifully wove the first four towels in nice neutrals (see one of them in this post, Goose Eyes); now, let’s see what other weft colors can do on the remainder of this ten-meter / eleven-yard warp. Look around in nature to see outrageous color combos, some of which would never pass standard color theory practices.

Cotton goose-eye towels on the loom.
Afternoon sunlight plays with the unwoven warp, while wide green-blue blocks of color and narrow royal blue stripes bring the brown and golden warp to life.

I cannot imagine a universe without color. What would we miss, for example, if everything were in gray scale? Our world began in color. That thought gives us a marvelous glimpse into the outlandish creativity of our maker. Who knows, he may be holding back a whole realm of undiscovered color that we won’t see outside of heaven.

God meets us with an open hand, giving us a feast. Yes, a feast for the eyes, to be sure, yet more than that. He gives what is needed from an open hand at the right time, satisfying true desires. The gift of color is merely a fragment of our creator’s vast generosity spilled out on creation.

May your surroundings be alive with color!

Happy weaving,
Karen

(Check my About page for Etsy Shop coupon for August, 2014.)

 

Quiet Friday: Undoing

Karen

I see a treadling error about 24 picks back. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Backing up is not hard, but it does take some guts if you do it the way I propose. (I first observed it done this way by Becky Ashenden at Vavstuga, though I don’t claim to enjoy it nearly as much as she does.) It is time for some undoing.

Disclaimer: Try at your own risk. Do not attempt the following if you do not know how to repair a broken (or cut) warp end. And do have fun! (I have not cut any warp ends with this method… yet, but it could happen.)

1. Notice the error as soon as possible. Stop weaving. Loosen the warp tension enough to make it easy to spread the warp ends apart.

Treadling error detected. Steps show how to fix it.

 

2. With one hand, spread the warp ends apart at the center of the warp’s width. With your other hand, begin clipping the weft threads between the spread warp ends. Do not try to do this without good lighting. And if you must have coffee first, no more than one cup.

Tutorial for removing weaving errors.

 

4. Continue carefully clipping the weft threads. Only clip as far as you can easily insert the point of the clippers.

A bold way to fix weaving errors!

 

5. Treadle as for the last pick woven, and pull out the top weft thread on each side of the cut. Treadle the pattern in reverse, and with each step on the treadle pull out the top thread on each side.

Removing weft threads to fix an error. Step by step.

 

6. Continue treadling in reverse and pulling out the top thread on each side. Repeat steps 2 through 6 until you have removed the weft error.

Undoing a weaving mistake. Tutorial.

 

7. Tighten the warp tension for weaving. Weave as if nothing ever happened. Except, pay attention this time!

Goose eye twill towel on the loom. Karen Isenhower

 

May you have all the do-overs you ever need.

(Please visit my updated About Page to find a special coupon code to use in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop.)

Happy Weaving,
Karen