Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Notches and Next

No matter how carefully I wind the bobbins or throw and catch the shuttle the weft will occasionally snarl around the axis in the shuttle and notch the selvedge with too much tension.




When this happens I immediately stop - do not beat! - and re-seat the weft.




I do not tug the selvedge threads sideways to remove the notch but stick my finger into the shed and gently ease the threads open. Once the warp threads have released the weft, I then re-seat the weft, change the shed and continue weaving, vowing to be more attentive - until the next time. :)




This is how the pick in the photo above looks after beating.





The green and purple warp is now finished and cut off the loom. I have two warps to cut and serge, hopefully wet finishing them New Year's Day. Doug is supposed to work so I may as well go up to the annex while my neighbours probably aren't working and press.

The next warp is wound, ready to be rough sleyed and the loom dressed. Another mostly dark warp, I'm trying to use up as much of my 2/16 yarn stash as possible. Some of it is really old - I acquired some of it from an estate sale and the company - Wabasso - hasn't been in business for probably 20 years, so that tells you how old the yarn must be!

And I've pulled colours for the next warp after that. If my student has no preferences, she will get a light beige, grey and medium blue warp to weave on. I'll weave the first half with the pesky linen, and let her weave off the rest with a nice co-operative cotton slub.

Currently reading Bay of Spirits; a love story by Farley Mowat (Canadian literary icon - but one with a sense of humour)

4 comments:

Life Looms Large said...

I'm secretly glad to hear that I'm not the only one that happens to....and thanks for the tutorial on what to do when it does happen!!!

Sue

barbara said...

Thanks Laura for the lesson on what to do when the thread snags in the bobbin; and there is a major pull-in on your warp!!! Love the colors you are putting together for your tea towels.

Might not get one loom cleaned off this year. An old weaving friend called the other day and she wants to try her hand at weaving again, to see if it is something she wants to get back into. I told her she could weave off a tea towel on my warp; not sure if that will happen today or not. There might be one other tea towel on the warp ..... so as soon as my friend gets her towel done; I will finish the warp!!! I would rather help out a potential weaver, then meet my deadline to have my looms empty to start the new year. 2 out of 3 empty looms is not bad!!!

Happy New Year, and may 2010 bring you and Doug: Peace, Happiness, Good Health and Sufficient Wealth.
Weaverly yours .... Barbara

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Laura, for your great weaving tips. I wish I had learned from you way back when I first started learning how to weave because it's harder now to change some old habits that need improvement. Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

Eva

Anonymous said...

You know, this is what I love about my end-feed shuttles: they never seem to snag, and the slight tension keeps the shot perfect.
HOWEVER, since I do still weave with my more trad shuttles, yeah, I hate it when that happens. I have also been using the trick you described. I think Desiree Koslin taught me that one, but don't remember clearly. She was SUCH a good teacher, though, it was probably her!!!