A Close Look

 

This is a 'linen tester'.  Why is it called that?  No idea.  But it's a really useful tool if you want to take a closer look at your textiles.

I have one that is a little bit different.  It has the inch scale, but it also has a 1/4" and 1/2" scale.  The viewing area is 1" by 1/4" by 1/2", which is helpful when working with finer threads.

available from Jane Stafford Textiles

I also have a digital microscope.  I wish I'd bought the higher resolution one, but the change in price between viewing at 5 times and higher than that was a significant price difference.  And, not having a whole lot of money at the time, I went with the lower resolution.  Much to my regret, at times.

Not everyone wants to get so up close and personal with their threads, but I find that if I am to truly understand my cloth, I have to understand the materials - the threads - I am weaving.

When we scale up - or down - things change.  The dynamics of the threads in the weave structure change, just like changing the weave structure will change the results.  Just like changing the density will change the results.

And, because I always want to know more, to know why - if that is even possible - I like to take up close and personal peeks at my cloth.

Especially now.  Why?

Because just in the last 3 months I have had 3 different publications ask me to write about weaving.  Deep dives.

I'm stoked.  Truly.

My body may be breaking down, but I still have my brain (in no small part due to the fact that I am NOT taking opioids for pain relief right now).

Truth to be told, the last injection doesn't seem to have done much and I'm still living with pain.  But it doesn't seem to matter if I weave or not, so I will keep weaving.  And for so long as I can keep thinking, I'll keep writing.  I guess...