Snowmaggedon

 

After a period of  'too warm' weather (for February), we are back to winter.  Yesterday started with steady fine snow, which then alternated between heavier snow, then finer, but snow all day.  Mostly it was fairly dry, not the heavy stuff that other places get, but it turned into a lot.  Depending on drifts, accumulation was well over 12".  Which is still not a lot compared to other places, but it was a lot for us.

Given we are both 'retired' and had no appointments for the first few days of this week, we have decided to just hunker down and not go anywhere.  

Doug does the snow shifting, but I doubt I'll poke my nose out the door.

The snow stopped overnight because the temperature dropped and we are now having a glorious winter day with fresh fallen snow (over *everything*) and light sparkling off the snow.  It's quite beautiful - if you don't have to be out in it.  The wind chill is sneaky and dangerous.

Hopefully this will be the last major 'storm' of the season, but with climate change, who knows, I sure don't!

Yesterday went fairly well.  One essay got written, then a tentative approach to the loom, which seemed to go well enough I did a second towel.  But my shuttles are getting 'worn' so Doug is going to deal with them today (I hope) because they are my favourite shuttles.  I have others, but one isn't quite 'right' and the rest are low profile which don't really like weaving on the Megado.  

My preference for shuttles is the Leclerc standard, but not just any 'standard', but a specific era of Leclerc shuttle making.  I prefer the older ones with the small grommet in the side, not the wider slot.  I prefer the shaped ones, not the straight one.  And I really dislike the newer plastic ones because the weight of them is too light and the plastic feels - well, too plastic-y.

I used to have about a dozen shuttles but I would bring them to weaving workshops and over the years some of them simply walked away.  So I stopped providing shuttles.  

At this point in my life I don't want to buy more, especially since I don't actually like the newer Leclerc shuttles and actively dislike the other brands - their shape, their feel, their weight.  So I am a bit anxious waiting for Doug to get to his workshop (before the temperature drops even lower) and for the wood finish to dry/cure so I can have my favourite shuttles back again.

the finish has worn off to bare wood - you'd think I weave a lot or something?

In the meantime, I will make do with my less favourite ones.  Because I'm quite pleased with how the new warp is weaving up and I really want to finish the black weft and move on to the next colour.

45 Degrees

 

The other day I saw a question from a fairly new weaver asking about getting a 45 degree angle on their weft and the answer was to do the best they could.

Ahem.

It's impossible.

The photo is a tea towel I wove, about 24" in the reed, finished width of 20.5".

When I folded it so that a 45 degree angle could be shown, the photo shows what that 45 degree angle would look like in the shed.  The side height of that angle is 20" tall.  Therefore, for that 24" in the reed warp?  The shed would have to be in excess of 20 inches long in order to lay the weft into the shed at a 45 degree angle.

I *think* people conflate the 45 degree angle suggested as the ideal for a twill line in the cloth with the angle the weft should take in the shed.  When that is clearly impossible.

(The cyan triangle is my little 45 degree gauge I use to check my twill angle.)

So what should a new weaver do?

First of all, understand that the angle that is used should be appropriate for the cloth being constructed.

My general angle of weft in the shed can be as low as 5 degrees, to around 15 degrees.  

It is much more important to NOT trap the active/live end of the yarn in the selvedge.

So.  Once the shed is opened, throw the shuttle, giving a tiny 'tug' on the weft yarn to seat it around the selvedge.  

Then let off any pressure on the bobbin and as you bring the beater forward, lift the hand with the shuttle just enough for the beater to pass beneath your hand.

As the beater comes forward to press the weft into place, the weft will find a natural balance point through the cloth and the actual *angle* it has been laid in doesn't much matter.  

There are even times when I will keep tension on the weft in order to increase draw in - for a particular purpose.  

But mostly, I just try to be as consistent as possible and allow the weft to find it's natural place in the cloth and not bother too much about the actual angle.  But if a guideline is needed, around 10 degrees.  

If you don't have a protractor, you can make a rough one by folding the little 45 degree angle in half, which will give about 22 degrees, then fold the 22 degrees in half for about 11 degrees.

Rather than fuss too much about angle of weft, though, I would encourage new weavers to learn how to wind a 'good' bobbin (yes, under tension, smoothly wound), practice their shuttle handling skills, hold the shuttle in the cradle of their fingers using their thumb to break the cast off of yarn, lifting their hands so the beater travels beneath the hand, and be as consistent as possible every step.

Developing a good rhythm will help as each movement flows smoothly into the next.

Ergonomics

shuttle held 'overhand' sometimes referred to as The Claw

shuttle held from below or under hand

There are several 'hot' topics in the weaving world.  They come round, regular as clockwork.  People give their opinions.  No minds are changed.

So I offer this simply as information.  Do with it as you will.

When I started weaving, I recognized that some positions and postures were more ergonomic than others.  Over the years I have consulted with physiotherapists, massage therapists, people who have degrees in body mechanics.  All confirm - the thumbs down position is 'bad' for the body.

Maybe not today.  Maybe not tomorrow or next week.  Maybe not even in a year or 10.  But it puts additional stress on shoulder, neck, pectoral muscles, to repeatedly make a motion with the thumb in the downward position.

Now, it all depends on when or even IF someone might develop physical issues.  Your genetics for one.  Previous injuries for another.  A person also has to take into consideration their own physical limitations, whatever they might be.

But the principle remains.  Thumbs down is generally not recommended.  

The two photos above kind of illustrate the point.  Thumbs down, the lower arm is rotated, the elbow raised and away from the body, shoulder raised.

The thumbs or palm up position, the shoulder is in more neutral  position, the elbow closer to the body, the lower arm is not rotated.

Which way someone holds their shuttle is a matter of personal preference.  All I can do is state the principle and let people choose which method they will use.

On The Other Hand...again just a month ago I had a weaver approach me in my booth in Calgary to thank me for my videos and all the preaching I do here about using 'good' processes.  Seems she had been plagued with chronic severe neck/shoulder pain for two years, trekking from doctor to doctor, taking copious pain killers, unable to weave.  She finally got to a specialist who frowned and said the only time he had seen such injury was in people who (and made the motion of throwing a shuttle).

She told me she said, 'you mean like throwing a shuttle?'  "Yes!" 

"I'm a weaver."

After that the doctor was able to zoom in on the muscles that were injured, recommend exercises, and she bought my DVD, which she said fit right in with her treatment.  After several months she was once again able to weave.

Other people have contacted me to let me know that once they adopted the palm/thumb up way of holding the shuttle, their selvedges improved and their weaving rhythm became more efficient.  It was not what they had expected, but they felt that was a positive outcome.

So for anyone contemplating how they hold/throw the shuttle, think about the effect the thumbs down position has on your body.

We only get one.  Let's take care of it.

(And if you choose to continue with thumbs down?  Take frequent rest breaks, massage your lower arms, shoulder and neck.  Apply heat/ice as required.)

While I'm on my soapbox...sit high enough - hips higher than knees.  Sit up on your sitz bones, not rotated onto your coccyx.  Engage your abdominal muscles to protect your lower back.  Sit up straight, not hunched over.  Sit perched on the edge of your bench so that you don't cut off the circulation to your legs.  Bend from the hips.  Again, as your ability to do so allows.  Not everyone has good range of motion for whatever reason.

Speedy

People are always amazed at how fast I am.  The secret is that...anyone who practices, mindfully, with similar manual dexterity to what I have can be just as, if not faster, than me.

In this video on You Tube, I break down the motions so that anyone can see how I do what I do.

Over the years I have worked hard to have ergonomic motions.  Turns out these ergonomic motions are also the most efficient ones.  So working ergonomically results in yes, less injury, but also more speed.

Working ergonomically, efficiently, with a good rhythm also results in more consistency and therefore better results in terms of the cloth being created.

So no, someone new to weaving will not be as fast as I am.  It took time to work out the motions, then practice them, training my muscles to do the motions consistently, while also learning when and how to adjust what I was doing depending on the fibre being used, to develop the speed that I now have.  There are times when I slow my weaving rhythm down to a snail's pace in order to weave, for example, a very open cloth and the weft isn't so much as beaten in but simply pushed into place.  Going slower in that instance gets me the results I desire much more quickly.

Everyone has to work at a pace that is comfortable for them, given their equipment and their intention.  It is not a contest.  It is personal growth and development that must be the first goal of any weaver.  Pay attention to what you are doing, do it the most ergonomic way you can, and in the end, efficiency may well increase, too.

A short profile of me done by the local cable channel is here

Shuttle Handling

One of the issues that new weavers have is how to hold and throw their shuttle.  During my travels in June I talked to several people who said this was a problem for them.

First of all, I am interested to know how they are actually holding their shuttles.  If it is overhand, I recommend that they try holding it this way - cradled in their fingers is the best way I can explain it.

The above photo shows 'catching' - the point of the shuttle goes between my index and middle finger which allows my thumb to control the let off of the yarn from the bobbin.  The shuttle should be 'thrown' (actually propelled by the index finger) as close to the reed as possible as that is where the shed is the tallest.

My preference is for Leclerc brand wooden shuttles, but people with small hands find them too long.  In that case I recommend finding something that is shorter - Bluster Bay and Harrisville Designs both make shuttles with a snub nose.

Once the weft has been set, my thumb moves to the top of the shuttle, then my index finger moves to the point of the shuttle so it can be 'thrown' back for the next pick.

To beat the pick to the fell, I lift my hand holding the shuttle just enough for the beater to move below.

I weave fast.  All the motions of weaving roll one into the other.  My weaving rhythm depends on what I am weaving, how tightly I want the cloth to be.  An open cloth must be woven more slowly as each pick needs to be carefully set into the web.  A 'standard' cloth can be woven more quickly.  A dense cloth can be woven even more quickly as the force required to beat the pick in means the beater bounces back from the fell more quickly.

The point is not how quickly a weaver weaves, but that they wind up with the quality of cloth they desire.

But learning more efficient processes means that cloth comes off the loom more quickly.  If that's not important, then each person needs to do what is appropriate for them.

In the meantime I have this humongous stash to use up...

Currently reading Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb

Weft Tails

ready to throw shuttle with fresh bobbin

On wider warps I anchor the weft tail with my ring/pinky finger(s) so that the tail of the weft doesn't scoot into the shed, which means reaching in and fishing it out again.  The shuttle is held by my middle finger and thumb, with the index finger poised to push the shuttle through the shed.

single 2/8 cotton inserted into new shed with mat body weft overlapping

Generally I try to make my joins in the first inch or two nearest the selvedge.  The fresh weft tail is laid in as close to the base of the V of the shed as possible so that the angle of the warp threads will help to trap the new tail at the selvedge.

Currently reading part four of The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold.  I've been told that her other books have textile references, too, so I'll look for more at the library.

Change of Plans

As I was weaving the first scarf with the tussah silk it occured to me that this yarn would go very well with the 2/20 mercerized cotton for baby wraps.  And since one large cone of yarn takes up less room than a couple of dozen partially filled spools of silk, I'd switch to the 2/30 silk.  And then when I was weaving the white on white scarf, I remembered the rest of my silk stash and discovered not one or two already dyed 2/30 silk yarns, but 6 differently coloured yarns.  Which means that I won't have to do any dyeing after the weaving is done.  Win-win, no?

And stash reduction is stash reduction after all. 

For people interested in how to hem stitich, I have a video clip showing how I do it on my You Tube channel here .

As I was weaving today I got thinking about the admonishment to 'practice, practice, practice'.  While this is good advice, it leaves out something crucial, in my opinion.  It is that element of analytical thought while practicing.  After all if you keep doing what you've always been doing, you will keep getting what you've always been getting.  So it isn't enough to just keep practicing by rote what you have always done, but to be thoughtful about what you are doing and the results you are achieving.  I call it purposeful effort.

Perhaps this comes from my background in dance where the instructor was constantly monitoring and making tiny adjustments to body position, or the field events I was involved in during high school, or the classes in hap ki do and tai chi - all of which reinforced the notion that there was a constant feedback from brain to body and back.  But I am very aware of my physical effort and tuned into how tiny adjustments can make big differences in my results.

When I started weaving in 1975 there were no end feed shuttles available for hand weaving so I learned how to weave well with a boat shuttle.  Even when hand end feed shuttles became available I found that I actually have more control over how I lay the weft in with the boat shuttle.  End feed shuttles are not great for highly textured yarns, especially if they have a bunch of hooks for tensioning.  And there are times when I want to moderate how the weft lays in the shed depending on density and so on.

But learning how to do these things did not happen automatically.  I had many hours of learning when and how to make these adjustments depending on the yarn being used, density, weave structure, and so on.

It is up to each individual to take into consideration their particular set of circumstances and physical abilities, learn how to control their own bodies and therefore their results.  And yes, that comes with practice, practice, practice - utilizing purposeful effort.

Currently reading The Stolen Voice by Pat McIntosh

Keeping the Beat

From time to time people ask which way of beating is the correct way.

Well, the 'correct' way is the way that gets you the results you desire. :}

That said, I have worked out a weaving rhythm that entails beating on a closing shed. I think this video clip shows what I mean the best: http://laurasloom.blogspot.com/2009/07/wider-weaving.html

By the time the beater hits the fell, the shed is pretty much closed and the beater is pushed back on the new open shed. This helps to clear out any stray threads that don't open properly.

This is my default method of beating, the one I use when nothing special needs to be accomplished, just needing to eat up the inches and yards as efficiently as possible.

However, there are qualities of cloth where this approach doesn't give me the results I desire and I need to adapt - control, if you will - how the picks are set into the fell line.

Here are two examples when I need to change how I beat:

A very open cloth. The picks do not get beaten in as much as they are pushed into place. There is a point in the laying in where there is a 'catch' in how smoothly the pick is being pushed. At this point the weaver has to decide how much further the pick needs to be pushed in order to achieve the openness required. Then the weaver must remember the degree of force and apply it consistently to the rest of the cloth.

A very dense cloth. The picks in a dense cloth need to get pounded into place. This may require one or more adaptations. For rugs, weavers sometimes add mass to their beater by attaching weights to it. Sometimes a double (or more) beat is required. Adding extra beats to a closed shed will help prevent the weft from popping out and away from the fell line. In some cases I've heard of situations where two weavers will sit at the loom to add the necessary force.

And all sorts of combinations in between the above two extremes.

Needless to say, any deviation from my default beat means that I have to go more slowly. But sometimes it is necessary to go more slowly in order to achieve the quality of cloth being attempted. In all cases, no matter how one beats, being consistent will result in better quality than not being consistent.

Remember if you can't be perfect, be consistent.

(for the t-shirt, go to my website and click on Store, then Merchandise for a link to a CafePress store)

Currently reading From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

Blue Towels

blue/grey towels on loom


close up showing Wall of Troy and straight twill threadings

A few posts ago Sharon commented on weaving being a whole body experience. This is something that new weavers don't understand at first, especially if they have only woven on narrow warps.

The wider the warp you have on the loom, the more you need to use your whole body. Perfecting throwing and catching technique will allow a weaver to weave quite wide warps. How wide depends on the individual's body - how long their arms are for one thing. :)

The motion for throwing the shuttle is such that the weaver needs to shift their body weight onto the right hip when throwing the shuttle from right to left then onto the left hip for when throwing the shuttle from left to right.

The torso pivots around the centre of the body leaning slightly to the right to throw with the right hand, leaning forward slightly as the shuttle traverses from right to left and leaning slightly to the left to catch the shuttle and grab the beater. As the beater comes forward, the body rocks slightly backwards as the feet change position on the treadles.

And so the cycle begins again.

It is a very good idea to learn how to sit up on the hip bones and not rotated back on the coccyx so that this range of motions can happen with the least amount of stress on the body.

It is a good idea to tone the abdominal muscles - the core muscles as they are sometimes called - as having good strong core muscles will help protect the lower back muscles from strain.

Review the video clips (click on the Video Clip tag to the right or the label below) showing weaving to help see what I mean.

Throwing the Shuttle

I got started thinking today about how I throw the shuttle - what parts of my arm/hand actually get used.

It seems to me that there is only a very little wrist flex once I get up to speed. That the motion comes initially from the shoulder, bringing the hand closer to the selvedge. Then a slight rotation of the lower arm from the elbow and that the majority of the propulsion actually comes - not from the wrist - but from the index finger.

Unfortunately it would take a high speed camera in order to slow the movement down sufficiently to really see what's happening.

Of course a wider warp could change everything..............

Time Warp - wanna come to my studio?

Another Weaving Clip

The age old question - do you beat on an open shed? closing shed? closed shed?

I thought I beat on a closing shed until I really started thinking about what I was doing and observing what was actually happening. And then I began thinking that at the moment of impact, the shed was in fact closed.

So I set up the video camera so that it was recording what was happening behind the beater on a level with the warp in order to see.

And now you can, too.

Changing bobbins

This video clip shows how I change a bobbin and start a new thread. It is another clip from CD Weaver. Using the Leclerc shuttle, I flip the empty bobbin up with the index finger of my left hand, slip the full bobbin on, thread it through the hole, snap it into place and continue weaving.

About Shuttles

With all the thinking I've been doing about ergonomics and efficiency, I thought I'd discuss a little bit about why I use the shuttles I weave with.





Since I don't want to be fighting with my equipment, I have chosen shuttles that have spindles that stand upright rather than being mounted with a spring that prevents them from moving completely out of the way of the shuttle cavity.

It takes just a flick of my left hand index finger to flip the spindle upright in order to slip the bobbin onto it.



With the bobbin upright, I can easily thread the weft yarn through the opening in the side as there is plenty of clearance and lots of room to see the hole.




A quick snap and the bobbin is seated and ready to go. No fumbling, no working artificially slowly because the equipment gets in the way of doing the job that needs to be done.

Now someone might very well say to me "But Laura, it doesn't take all that long to put a bobbin in a shuttle with a spring loaded spindle." My response is that when you do this task many times in a day, if it takes even 15 or 20 seconds longer those seconds add up to minutes and minutes add up to hours. Lost minutes that mean I don't get paid as much for what I'm doing because my equipment is inefficient.

One reason I can weave quickly and produce as much as I can during the day is because I have targeted equipment and processes that are needlessly inefficient and changed them to things that allow me to work as effectively as I can.

Very early on in my career I realized that while I can make more money, I can never make more time. Buying equipment that allows me to work as efficiently as possible has always seemed to me to be a wise investment.

For more info on how I hold and throw the shuttle, check the video clip label.

Opinions (boy, have I got 'em!)

Well, here 'tis - hopefully the last warp of my current 'blue' period. :) And period is the operative word, as I'm really hoping this warp will put a period to the fine, fine linens. The very finest of the cottons are in this warp, and I'm left with 9 spools of a blue yarn that is anonymous but appears to be about a 2/20 or 2/18. It's a good colour to use up with some 2/16's pale greens that I have that are slightly on the blue side, and some odd lots of 2/20 turquoise in two shades. But that warp may wait for a while while I pursue some other projects that have been simmering on the back burner waiting for me to deal with the linen. :)

I've been thinking a lot about efficiency this week due to a couple of threads on some of the chat groups I belong to.

Unfortunately, I've come to the conclusion that efficiency is as personal as everything else in weaving - what is working efficiently? It depends.

Working efficiently means choosing tools, processes and materials appropriate for the job at hand. But that job will vary depending on what is being made. A tool or process that is efficient for a rug weaver may be vastly different than for someone who is making fine fabric.

The choice in tools is also going to depend on our own personal abilities, and disabilities.

I have had two whiplash injuries in my life. Therefore I choose my tools and position them based on harming my neck as little as possible. In other words, I cannot - for any length of time - work with my arms stretched out in front of me, or reaching over my head. Therefore, I position my warping board no higher than shoulder height, and work standing quite close to it. I use both hands to seat the yarns on the pegs so that my left hand puts the yarn onto the left hand pegs, and my right hand onto the right hand pegs. I do not torque my body by using only my right hand to guide the threads. This torquing is also bad if you have lower back problems - something I've developed after damaging a muscle in my butt (one of the glutes) several years ago.

Which shuttle you choose will depend partly on how large your hands are. I have large hands so I don't like shuttles with stubby little noses, and only a slight slant to the points.

I don't like some boat shuttles because the spindle is on a spring, preventing me from lifting the spindle upright in order to pop the bobbin on and thread the weft through the guide hole. I don't like awkward movements, and trying to fuss with the bobbin tethered to a spindle that won't co-operate equates with needless frustration and working 'artificially slowly'.

I don't like end feed shuttles with hooks for tensioning instead of pressure plates. For the fine threads I use, I sometimes need to adjust the tension by micro increments, and the hooks just aren't efficient. I don't like hand end feed shuttles because they are too heavy, putting too much stress on my whip lashed neck, and I have always had good selvedges with a boat shuttle. :) I find that using my thumb as a brake on the bobbin allows me to apply just the right amount of tension to seat the weft in the selvedge most of the time, and if I have to unweave, it's much easier to roll the weft back onto the bobbin for a few picks than onto a pirn.

If I'm using the fly shuttle, most often what I'll do if I have to unweave more than one pick is to break the weft off and throw the surplus out rather than try to salvedge it - it will cost me more in labour to wind it back on the pirn or deal with the yarn that has already fed off than the value of the thread that I throw away............

My bobbin winder is electric, but I don't like the double ended ones. Too much fiddling with the ones I've tried in order to get them to operate properly. I'm sure there must be some that work well, but so far I've not found one to my satisfaction. My single ended bobbin winder does everything from spools for sectional beaming, to pirns, ordinary bobbins and paper quills. Something that you can't do on a double ended winder. :)

Then there is the issue of budget constraints. My equipment has to function and function well for lengthy periods of time. I can't afford equipment that breaks down all the time requiring repair, or worse, replacement. I don't mind paying more for something that will operate and give me good cost-recovery making a particular task faster to do, or easier on my body. But I don't want to be repairing or replacing it every year.

Fortunately I have a live-in loom mechanic who is very handy at coming up with solutions that work, and generally finding a source of parts locally so I don't have to wait on a distant supplier to get around to shipping them to me. I don't do this as a hobby - it's my profession - and I can't understand why some suppliers don't get it - I'm sure they would be frosted if their suppliers dilly-dallied sending them their needed parts forcing them into lengthy down time. No weaving, no income, ergo no food, heat, light...............

That's one of the down sides of a piece of equipment that gives you more mechanical advantages - more stuff to break down. :((((( The Leclerc Fanny hardly ever gives me a problem with something breaking, but it doesn't have a computer assisted dobby, auto-cloth advance, or 16 shafts. :)

So my best advice is to watch closely what other weavers do, the equipment they choose and how they do it. And then try different things for yourself. I have learned from many different weavers. Some things work very well for me, others don't. So I keep what works and after a fair trial, leave the rest.

As far as I'm concerned the best tools a weaver can have are an open mind and a willingness to try something different.

Ergonomics = Efficiency

This is a photo showing how I catch the shuttle as it exits the shed. The point slips through my index and middle finger, and my thumb acts as a gentle brake on the bobbin so that it doesn't over run and let off more weft than required. I catch and throw my shuttle this way regardless of the width of the warp I'm weaving.

I know it's hard to relearn muscle memory if you have been doing something physical another way, but working ergonomically is much kinder to the body than working akwardly. The other bonus is that ergonomic motions generally mean increased efficiency.

The last few days I've received a couple of emails from people that have warmed my heart.

Elaine R writes:

I've been weaving on the shawl on my Kessenich and practicing your technique. While I don't have it down pat yet, I certainly got a lot more woven in a short time than I have before on such a wide piece.

With each bobbin change I try a different shuttle, and I think I've figured out which one works the best. I will have to have Rick flatten out the end a little to get rid of the point so I can push it better with my finger, but that is easy. One of my goals this year is to do more weaving and use up many of these cones of yarn. I mainly do scarves, shawls and table linens, and with
your good guidance, I should get a lot done.

A good shuttle will encourage the holding and throwing of it in this manner. There are many shuttles available that are awkward to catch and throw this way due to the shape and size of the point of the shuttle. What I recommend to people is that they try holding their shuttle this way and if it is awkward, try different styles until they find one that does feel comfortable. My shuttles are all Leclerc boat shuttles. I use the regular ones with my Fanny and the low profile ones on the AVL because the shed on that loom is smaller.

Sharon S writes:

Laura, I have dramatically increased my speed of dressing a loom thanks to your CD Weaver words and videos.

After winding a couple of longish (for me) warps back to front I did a 4 yard warp front to back and even though it went fairly smoothly I still had a few popped threads while beaming and it wasn't nearly as relaxing. So I'm thinking I'm becoming a back to front warper, at least on the standard loom but maybe on the Baby Wolf, too.

But the biggest thing that got faster was my threading. The last threading i did was an 8-shaft lace weave that was threaded 1-8-1-2-7-2 1-6-1 2-5-2 1-4-1 2-3-2. The method you show in CD Weaver was much faster than what I did before but I noticed tonight that you mention the method is best for 4-shaft threadings that are basically "in order" (not so much for the block weaves). I agree with that assessment.

My question, though, is what do you do for block weaves? Is it just slower and I should accept that or do you have some lovely tricks that work in those situations?

I've gone from taking a week of working a couple of hours each night to thread 320 ends to threading 450 ends in two sittings - maybe a couple of hours each? That's nowhere near your speed but it's still a substantial increase in my own speed and I'm enjoying my weaving a LOT more because I'm getting to the cool part quicker. I guess I'm sold on getting better!

Thanks again for the CDs, for your blog, for being so willing to share.

I use the Harrisville brass hook that has the threading hook on one end and the sleying hook on the other.

While threading block weaves is slower than twills if you hold the hook like a pencil, you only need a tiny hand movement to thread. You don't need to move your entire arm and shoulder. This method of threading requires less physical effort on the part of the weaver and is less tiring.

Using the hook in much the same manner, you can sley the reed the same way. A small flick of the hand passes the thread(s) through the dent - no large arm/shoulder movement. Again much less effort required, and less taxing on the weaver's body.

I'm all in favour of working smarter instead of harder and accomplishing more by doing less. :)