Process Review: Dressing the Drawloom the Second Time
- By Karen
- June 25, 2019
- 13 Comments
Dressing the drawloom the second time is easier than the first time. No slip ups or confusion. Just smoothly moving from one step to the next. (Read to the end to see what to expect for July.)
With my first drawloom warp the most challenging part was distributing the pattern shafts. (See Q and A with Joanne Hall and Drawloom Dressing.) This time something clicked and the light bulb turned on. Instead of blindly following steps, I now understand what I am doing, and why. And I am having fun in the process!
Friends, It’s that time again, when Warped for Good is put on pause for the month of July.
Thank you for sharing in this journey with me!
What’s on my looms: I am near the end of the blue double weave blanket on the Standard, and I am planning a new pictorial tapestry for that loom. The drawloom is dressed and in motion. And the Ideal loom is still sitting ready for rosepath rag rugs. Also, Steve and I have a Casita trip planned that will include some leisurely backstrap band weaving.
What’s on your loom right now? Share with us in the comments.
See you the first Tuesday of August! (In the meantime catch me over on Instagram @celloweaver.)
May your second times be better than your first times.
Keep on Weaving,
Karen
13 Comments
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Cutting Off a Failure
- By Karen
- May 21, 2019
- 8 Comments
I made an embarrassing blunder. No wonder this Tuna wool resists all my efforts. It’s the wrong yarn! Tuna is 6/2 wool—twice as thick as the 6/1 wool I should be using. Cowboy Magic won’t solve this sticky problem. (I thought it would, as I expressed in this post: Tame the Wool.)
The yarn is gorgeous, but my frustration level is pushing me to throw in the towel. I tried hard to make this work. I was so convinced I had the right yarn that I missed it even when reader Joan left a gentle comment asking if 6/1 Fårö yarn would work (I’m sorry for not listening, Joan). There is nothing left but to cut off this failure.
In this lowest moment a thought occurs to me. Re-sley the reed. An ounce of hope rises.
I re-sley to a coarser reed and tie back on. I hold my breath and step on the treadles. It works. And it’s gorgeous!
Have you experienced great disappointment and loss of hope? Sometimes our own failure brings us to that point. The Lord makes things new. We come to Jesus with our failed attempts, and he exchanges our used rags of effort with his clean cloth of righteousness. In his forgiveness, the failure is cut off and removed. Our threads are re-sleyed and re-tied to make us gloriously new.
May you know when to cut off and start over.
Love,
Karen
8 Comments
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Beth says:
Where there’s a will, there’s a way! The “failure” would make lovely bolster pillows. We all make mistakes and move forward. The resleyed weaving is beautiful. I’m holding my breath about the project I’m about to start.
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Hi Beth, I thought about making a handbag out of the failed piece, but bolster pillows is another good idea!
I came perilously close to pulling all the yarn off the loom and calling it a total loss. What stopped me was the beauty of the yarn itself. I just had to find a way to make it work.
I’ll be looking for your brave project on IG.
Thanks for your sweet encouragement,
Karen
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Betsy says:
I’m glad you figured out what the problem was and got it fixed. The colors are so pretty!
Looking forward to seeing you next week!
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Hi Betsy, Fortunately, most weaving problems are fixable…when we calm down enough to think it through.
I’m looking forward to seeing you, too, at the CHT conference next week!
All the best,
Karen
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Hi Karen,
Very pretty lemonade.
Thank you for explaining how to make a correction when plans need a little help.Kind regards,
Nannette -
It’s not fun when it’s happening, but oh, how good it feels to get everything straightened out! Good for you for sticking with it!
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Hi Karen, Thanks! I came awfully close to giving up altogether. You’re right, it feels terrific to get everything straightened out. At loom everything (or almost everything) is fixable.
Karen
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Tried and True: Center the Reed
- By Karen
- March 12, 2019
- 10 Comments
Eleven hours and thirty-six minutes into this project, the starting line for weaving is just around the corner. Wind the warp, and beam it. Thread the heddles. Sley the reed. Unlock the back beam ratchet. Move the countermarch to the front of the loom. … Pause when you think about moving the twelve shafts and the reed forward with the countermarch. Reach. Wiggle. Pull. Wiggle. Pull some more. Got it. Now, put the reed in the beater. Relax? Almost, but not yet.
We must not forget to center the reed. I center the reed just as soon as the reed is in the beater.
How to Center the Reed
(We are actually centering the warp that is in the reed.)
Supplies needed: Tape measure (or string)
1. Using the tape measure, measure from the right edge of the warp in the reed to the outer edge of the beater on the right-hand side. Hold the tape measure with your fingers marking the measurement.
2. Holding that measurement, place the tape measure at the left edge of the warp in the reed stretching out toward the outer edge of the beater on the left-hand side.
3. Note the difference in measurement between the right side and left side. Move the reed in the beater to center.
4. Repeat the first two steps until the measurements are the same on both sides.
Now you can relax. Enjoy the moment, because you are that much closer to seeing fabric take shape!
May you enjoy the process you’re in.
Patiently,
Karen
10 Comments
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Trina says:
Only a weaver would appreciate the amount of concentration that has gone into getting to this point! Well done!
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Hi Trina, True! And only a weaver would understand that I enjoyed every minute of it.
Thanks,
Karen
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Gosh! So much involved with setting up a countermarch. I’ve only dealt with easy-peasy jack-types. I agree with Trina’s sentiment.
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Hi Beth, The countermarch seems straightforward to me. It’s all I know. Having 12 shafts does add some complexity though, I admit.
It’s what we get from the loom that counts, and I always admire the cloth you weave!
Happy weaving,
Karen
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I do not yet enjoy setting up the loom. It is so hard to wait to throw the first shuttle. But, like all things worth doing, the solid foundation makes the end result beautiful.
Praise God .
Nannette
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Hi Nannette, I find the setting up process calming (most of the time), but I understand that each of us approaches the loom differently. Point well taken that a solid foundation makes the end result beautiful.
Thanks,
Karen
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Cindy Bills says:
Thank you for always showing us your process! It is fascinating. I had to chuckle at the “eleven hours and thirty -six minutes…” I recently spent hours working on a cramming and denting project only to find as I began to weave that I’d missed a dent in the sleying. Then missed catching it when I tied on. And when I first started to weave! Oh boy, patience is required then, for sure. It is important to love the process and the blessing of it all. 🙂
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Hi Cindy, I think denting errors are the worst of all. After I finished sleying this one I realized that I had missed the step of checking the number of dents in each grouping. I’m hoping, hoping that I won’t have to regret that later. But even re-sleying becomes part of the whole process, doesn’t it?
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Vivian says:
What a beautiful warp. It is inspiring.
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Hi Vivian, Thank you so much! I agree with you that this warp is beautiful. I like looking at it.
All the best,
Karen
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Tools Day: Click Test
- By Karen
- August 14, 2018
- 10 Comments
It is not easy to see sleying errors in this fine-dent reed. I unknowingly quadrupled the ends in four of the dents, instead of the specified two ends per dent. When I check as I go, I find the errors while they are still easy to fix.
How to check and double-check for sleying errors:
- Tie ends into threading groups, using a loose slip knot. (I do this before threading the heddles.)
- Sley one threading group. (I sley right to left.)
- Visually check the sleyed group of ends for skipped dents and crowded dents.
- Do a Click Test. Use the hook end of the reed hook to count the dents by running the hook along the reed…click, click, click… Make sure the number of clicks matches the number of dents needed for that group of ends.
—This is how I caught my errors. When the dents came up short in the Click Test, I knew I had some crowded dents that I had failed to catch in the visual check. - Move ends and re-sley as needed.
- Sley each remaining group of ends, checking as you go, visually and with the reed-hook Click Test.
May your errors be few and fixable.
Happy sleying,
Karen
10 Comments
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Great tips! I warp F2B, sley the reed left to right and the heddles right to left.
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Hi Beth, No matter what warping method we use, it’s good to find any denting errors as soon as possible. After the weaving begins it’s much more of a hassle to correct, isn’t it?
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Ouch. Better at the click than 10 rows into the weaving.
Thank you for the lesson to correct.
Nannette
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Lise Loader says:
Hello Karen,
I have been following your work for many months, love your teaching and can’t wait for your next project.
Unfortunately I don’t get the clicking of a hook to check if skip or crowded reed. Is there a video or some kind of demo for me to learn from. I have some mistakes when I’m dressing the loom and it is frustrating when the skip or the crowing is right of the middle of the reed, if you know what I mean.
Lise
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Hi Lise, That will be a good subject for a short video. Thanks for the suggestion. I can do that next time I dress the loom.
I do know what you mean about finding a denting error — and it always seems to fall right in the middle of the reed!
What I mean by the “click test” is this – I know that if I have 40 ends in a threading group, and there are 2 ends per dent, that there should be 20 dents with threads in them when I finish sleying that group of threads. I am counting the dents with the tip of the reed hook (it’s hard for me to count the dents without something touching the actual spaces, and my finger is too large for that with this fine-dent reed). As I move the reed hook along the reed, it makes a sound (“click”) at each dent. I listen for 20 “clicks” to check that I have those 40 threads in 20 dents.
I’m always looking for ways to check my work as I go so that when I get to the weaving part it’s smooth sailing! But even so, a few mistakes still manage to slip through sometimes. That’s weaving! But thankfully, mistakes are fixable!
I hope that makes sense.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Annie says:
Good morning, Karen.
I am also not sure what you mean by clicking the reed in terms of how that will show a mistake. Perhaps a short video in future when you need to sley again?
I like the colors in the warp that you are using! Is the yarn a variable one? Or did you mix colors thread by thread? And what are you making? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Hi Annie, I’ll make a short video about the “click test” next time I dress the loom. Thanks for the suggestion!
Read my answer to Lise, and see if it makes sense to you.
The warp colors alternate. Since I wind with 2 threads at a time, I’m able to wind the 2 colors at the same time and then thread them alternately in the heddles.
I am making hand towels for my daughter. This is double weave with twelve shafts. (My first attempt at weaving with twelve shafts.)Happy weaving,
Karen
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I love how you are always challenging yourself and growing as a weaver. I can’t wait to see the progress on these towels. After reading your response to Lise, I understand the click test perfectly. I am going to adopt this practice also.
Thank you for taking the time to clarify for us.
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Thousands of Threads
- By Karen
- April 6, 2018
- 2 Comments
Finally! Every warp end is in a heddle, where it needs to be for double-weave cloth to happen. I don’t mind the time it takes. The process of dressing the loom is fascinating. And I hope I will always see it that way. I’m thankful that I get to weave.
Threading complete! 2,064 ends in that many heddles, at about 3 ends per minute. But who’s counting?
And now, onward to sleying the reed!
Reed is sleyed at 4 ends per dent in a 50/10 metric reed (equivalent to a 12-dent reed, imperial), at about 12 ends per minute, which feels pretty fast at the moment.
Thanks. It’s something we give. Heartfelt thanks is a ready gift that costs us nothing to give. Gratitude leads us to see blessings in the ordinary, and opportunities in the routines of life. When we abound in giving thanks, letting it spring up from a satisfied soul, we bring life to our family and our community. An abundance of thanks to God lifts our eyes to a view from above. It’s there that we see all those threads, thousands of them, working together to become a glorious cloth for our good. That’s reason to give thanks.
Thankful for friends like you,
Karen
2 Comments
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Joyce Lowder says:
Love your gratitude for the preparation to weave! The ability to weave does require careful preparation and each step needs attention to arrive where we want and need to be. Likewise…God’s work in our hearts brings us to where He wants us to be! 🙂
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Good morning Joyce, That’s a beautiful way to express it! I’m thankful for God’s work in our hearts.
All the best,
Karen
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Copyright © 2019
Love the drawloom project! I’m getting ready to dress my loom for retro-inspired kitchen towels. Enjoy July!
Hi Beth, Your towels sound like fun!
Happy Weaving,
Karen
Enjoy your July.
I will be picking currants and black raspberries out of my backyard to sell at the farmer’s market.
The weaving on the drawloom looks so warm. Ready for the autumn.
Blessings
Hi Nannette, I have fond childhood memories of picking black raspberries in our backyard, and eating them! Yum!
If all goes as planned, I will finish the drawloom weaving in time to make a simple vest that I can wear this autumn. …we’ll see.
All the best,
Karen
Good morning, my sweet! Weaving has been suddenly interrupted. Father’s Day – 15 minutes before the close of service – my heart began racing. No pain. It being Father’s Day, I thought I needed food. While at the restaurant, pulse 158. Wayne wanted to head to the ER…light ache in jaw. They stopped my heart and thankfully, it started on its own. 3 drugs later, I was finally in my sinus rhythm. Orders to lay low. Sleep studies. Waiting. Terrible drug reaction. Waiting. Today…sleep study in near future. Home sleep study last Thursday. Waiting. Love you and thankful I remain on this side of heaven. HE has given me a new ministry with Semper Fi Fund. We should talk! I love you!!!!!
Oh Charlotte, You’ve been through a lot! Hopefully, weaving will be back in rhythm for you. I’m thankful you’ve been given a way to bless others in the Semper Fi project.
I don’t want you to rush off to heaven when you still have a mission here!
Love,
Karen
Hi Karen! My loom projects are a runner on the drawloom in 35/2 linen for warp snd 16/1 for weft. It’s on a 21 shaft setup. On the other standard loom I’m just starting an easy batch of M&O towels in 16/2 cotton. I’m enjoying seeing your drawloom progress! Enjoy your July!
Hi Geri, Thanks for sharing! It’s great to hear what you have on your looms. I’m looking forward to putting linen on my drawloom–it may be the next warp! And more and more shafts each time. And M&O’s is one of my favorites, so pretty.
Happy weaving,
Karen
P.S. Just wanted to say my drawloom is set up on the Glimakra I bought from your former weaving teacher. The one you learned on! I forgot her name but at the time I bought it she was in the Denver area and downsizing.
Geri, how cool! You are weaving on the loom I learned on from Leigh? That’s a beautiful loom and such sweet memories for me. Oh, that was a special time with Leigh.
Thanks for letting me know!
Karen
Hi Karen, we moved last month and after painting every room in our downsized house, I’m still at blacking boxes and trying to do something with the smaller yard. My loom room is a nice room in the basement and unpacking will be a winter thing. However, still on my baby wolf loom is a scarf from NZ possum merino that I kept on my much pared down look room to sell the previous house. Must’ve worked cuz it sold in 5 days! Somehow I’m looking forward to winter!
Hi Maggie, I know how big a job moving is. You’ve got some restful times to look forward to after you get fully settled in. You will have so much fun setting up your new weaving space! No doubt that loom with lovely weaving was what sold the house! Congrats on your quick sell.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
What a great idea, to use woven bands for loom tools! I’m not a fan of weaving just to weave. There has to be a plan! Now, spinning…that’s different.
Your drawloom weaving is going to be lovely. Enjoy!