Sunday, April 12, 2009

Book Review - A Joy Forever



A Joy Forever; Latvian Weaving by Jane A. Evans. Dos Tejedoras Fiber Arts Publications. 1991.
ISBN 0-932394-16-7 178 pages

A Joy Forever is now officially out of print. The good news is that Jane still has copies left for sale.

The book has copious black and white illustrations, index, glossary and a detailed table of contents.

Latvians, like other eastern Europeans, liked lots of patterning in their fabric. The more the merrier it would seem! Jane has documented some of the ways they were able to create these textiles using the least amount of equipment - split-shed, pick up sticks and so on.

After years of studying actual textiles, she used computer software - new on the market in the late 1980's - to record the weave structures used. The number of different weave structures and the various ways the weavers approached achieving them is awesome.

Jane also explains how the different weave structures work so that the reader can apply the techniques in order to weave the fabrics, be that pick up or loom controlled. (The best way to understand a weave structure is to weave it with a pick up stick, imho!)

This book contains a wealth of information for those weavers interested in achieving pattern through weave structure. Some of the weave structures covered: untied float structures, tied float structures, lace weaves, twills, supplemental wefts, and much, much more. If you have Madelyn van der Hoogt's book, this would make a great next step. Or just jump in. Jane makes it all sound so interesting.

To order: http://janeevans.ca

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