Winding Warps

 

Warp winding station

Close up of cross

More angst on line about warp winding, warp beaming, general dissatisfaction with the whole warp dressing process.

Warping is not difficult, but is *is* complex.  It is a process fraught with invisible considerations - a combination of physics and well, what appears to be 'magic' when someone who is good at it, does it.

But it isn't magical.  It is a precise series of steps that needs to be done in order, consistently, applying tension when necessary and controls that do not hinder the process, but enable the weaver to precisely get the job done.

It is not helped by getting frustrated, but examined and adjusted to better suit the situation at hand.

In other words...it depends.

I see all sorts of comments and they are all fine - as far as they go.  But hardly anyone tells why they do what they do.  

Here is my attempt to explain what I do, and why.

1.  Warping station

I place the board so that it is solidly against the wall.  It doesn't shift around or wobble. I can wind with some tension (not a lot, just to keep things happy) and press each pass of the yarn down towards the base of the peg.  I do not overlap the threads but place them beside the ones that have gone before which keeps each pass of the yarn pretty close to even - in tension and therefore length.  When I press them towards the base, some of the threads closer to the base might overlap, but they do that by increasing their tension in order to climb over/under the previous ends.  Once they are released from that path, they go back to the same tension and length as the other passes.

2.  Generally I use two ends at a time.  In the first photo you can see the two tubes each standing on a peg to keep the yarn stable and evenly winding off the spool because each end is threaded through a reed that takes the yarn up off the tube, centered.  Each yarn can balloon outwards without catching on each other or anything else.  This keeps the yarn from spiraling out evenly tensioned, not catching and jerking on its journey to the warping board.  I set each tube so that it empties in the same direction, in my case to come off the tube in a counter clockwise direction.  Whatever you do, be consistent.

3.  I keep a finger between the pair of ends as I find the yarn comes off the tubes smoothly.  Some people don't and say they don't have any issues.  Personal choice.  The cross is a 2x2 cross.  By doing two ends at a time I halve the time I need to spend winding the warp.  I find that using 2 ends in a pass generally makes things go more smoothly, especially if the yarn is a bit hairy or textured.

4.  I count out as many threads as I need in an inch or so.  In this case the epi will be 20 so 10 passes or 20 threads in a 'bundle'.  I use a counting string of a thicker yarn, contrasting in colour.  The thicker yarn is made even thicker by trebling or doubling and doubling (for 4 strands in the bundling yarn) and then as I complete each bundle of one inch (or whatever is appropriate for the warp) I twist the two ends of the bundling string to create a X between the previous bundle and the next.  Continue to done.  (If more than 15" in width in the reed, I will wind two chains.)

5.  When the warp is wound, I tie a single 'knot' to secure the counting string.  The yarn is hairy enough that is all that is required, so it is easy to pull gently on one of the 'strings' to loosen the knot and quickly and easily removed the string when it is time.  

6.  Tying the cross is done by tying the entire (half) warp above or below the cross with a single string, bundled in the same way as the counting string.  I do not tie the actual waist of the cross because I find that compresses that area and makes it more difficult to separate the threads later.

7.  Then the choke tie is tied, about 18" or so from the cross.  See second photo for a close up shot.

For this tie, the whole point is to secure the warp chain and discourage it from sliding around and becoming messy.  So I do the same thing with the choke tie and introduce a twist into the chain about 1/3 of the way through, then another 2/3s of the way into the chain, and then I pull very firmly on the tie to make sure the yarn is trapped as much as possible in the tie.

8.  Take one more close look at the warp chain.  Does it look correct?  All the ties have been tied?  Then cut the warp yarns off (they can be loose, the counting string will control the threads).  Pull the bottom peg out and then carefully drop the warp into a box/bin for the next step.

No, I don't chain the warp.  Notice I did not tie any other part of the warp.  This warp is only 5 meters, and really doesn't need any gathering ties.  Notice I did not say 'choke' ties.  When I *do* tie along the length of a longer warp.  I don't tie them very tightly, just enough to prevent yarns from straying from their path, too much.

Also note, I do not have studio pets that will be tempted to stick their nose or claws into my yarns.  Your mileage may vary.

Truth be told, it is taking me longer to type this out than actually winding the warp.  

If anyone wants more info on warp beaming and warping valets, I have plenty of posts - just use the tag in the long list of tags and click on warping valet.  I've written multiple times about the process I use, and people constantly question why I do what I do.  Isn't it annoying?  Fiddly?  Confusing?  No.  No.  No.  What it does is give me consistent results that provide for happy weaving.

What will that look like for you?  Don't know.  Everyone gets to choose what they want to do.  So if something I do doesn't resonate with someone else?  I am not the weaving police.  If you are happy, bless you.  If you are not?  Maybe think about what you are doing and start to examine your processes, maybe change a few things.

One last thing - I don't aim to control every single individual thread in a warp.  A warp is a collective.  There may be tiny differences, but for most handweavers in the 21st century, they are not end of the earth failures.  Most times a little faith will go a long ways towards successfully completing a project.  And take some time to be thoughtful about what you are doing.  Only then will you really learn what you need to do.  And of course, change one thing?  And everything can change.  

Understanding that one simple principle will go a long way towards understanding what you are doing, and when you might need to change something to better serve your objectives.

Who Needs Warp Packing?

 

A few months ago I was looking for this photo and couldn't find it.  Can't have anything to do with the literally thousands of photos I have on file, now, could it?

Anyway, I don't remember who was asking for a photo of this, but if I remember I'll pass it along.

There was a discussion on how to beam a warp when you don't have access to any kind of warp packing, and I commented that in some places where resources have historically been thin on the ground, people realized that they could beam a warp with NO warp packing...IF they used high enough tension and shaped the warp on the beam in a way that would facilitate beaming and then weaving the warp off.

Pictures, they cried!  Well, I couldn't find any, nor could I find the one I thought I had in my photo files.

And now, looking for something else completely, here it shows up.

This technique relies on the warp being beamed at a high level of tension, such that the ends cannot cut down into the lower layers when weaving tension is applied to the warp.  The warp begins wider than weaving width, and, as the layers build, the warp is narrowed, usually by using the reed to 'pinch' the warp.  The sleyed reed begins straight in it's alignment with the back/breast beam, and then to narrow the chain, the reed is moved on an angle to the beams.  The warp shape takes the form of a 'lozenge', tapering in width as the warp builds up on the beam.

So when I suggest that people beam with tension, I am thinking along these lines and applying the principle of a well tensioned warp leading to better results.  

In the photo, notice the thickness of the warp on the beam.  This is NOT a short warp, it is many meters long.  If the weaver was to introduce sticks or other warp packing into the beam, the circumference of the beamed warp would become very large.  By not using warp packing, very long warps can be beamed and the labour involved in dressing the loom amortized over a greater output.  Not to mention, there may be very little to use for warp packing available in their environment.

But we can learn from other cultures, other societies.  Learn the principles.  Apply them to our own practice.

I'm not saying everyone has to beam this way.  If the weaver is only ever dressing the loom with a few yards, warp packing and lower tension is probably fine.  But scale up and problems may begin to appear.

(Ask me how I know...)

Change one thing, and everything can change.

The more tools we have in our toolbox, the better able we are to choose appropriate tools/processes.

Be open to other cultures and their practices.  Just because the loom they use is largely sticks and string doesn't mean they don't have a perfectly good loom.  It's just different.

It is not the tools the weaver uses, but how the weaver applies their knowledge and manages their tools.

Which brings me to the news that I just found out David Xenakis has died.  

I met him at a 'conference' back in the early 1980s and was blown away by his thinking.  If anyone is interested in rigid heddle weaving beyond using a single heddle and willing to turn their brain inside out, look for his book(s).

Weaving

 

I try to explain how large warp winding equipment is when you scale up.   Here are a few photos from the weaving studio/mill we visited in Roberts Creek today.   And this one isn’t the biggest.  The photo above shows the back where the warp is transferred to the loom beam.  And the threading ‘library’ at the top with the warp left in the heddles on the shafts so that you don’t have to rethread every new warp.  

Fun trip.  So glad I finally got to see the operation.  Macgee Cloth at Roberts Creek, BC.  

Side Hustle

I'm thinking I could start a 'side' hustle, dressing looms for others.  Why not?  It's the part that most people complain about the most.  It's the most time heavy part of the process.  I could hire myself out, like itinerant fruit pickers, visit weavers, dress their looms, then move on.  Like the tooth fairy, but better...

I have already done that, here and there as I've visited with people, getting their workshop looms ready because they ran out of time.

This warp is for Janet Dawson's workshop.

Through a comedy of errors (so to speak) we confirmed her workshop, then had people drop out due to Life Happening.  Having already confirmed, we decided to go ahead, but three people, three looms, wasn't going to do the class material justice.  So I asked how many looms would.  We settled on a number, I asked for the loan of looms and in the end one other guild member will dress her loom and loan it to us.  I'm doing two more.

One of the reasons I wanted to complete all the registration data crunching was because I still have those two warps to get ready.  Here is one - 2/8 Tencel which will be set up in an 8 shaft deflected double weave.

One of the local participants is borrowing my 'table' loom and will set up the loom with the colour and weave warp, which I wound for her.  I think the last warp is a twill gamp.

After not touching a loom for almost two weeks, I'm happily winding this warp.  The colours appeal and it's not so complicated that I can't just go with the flow of winding, four threads of each colour.  A nice repetitive mantra of 1,2,3,4, change colour, 1,2,3,4, and follow the cheat sheet.  

Untangled

Someone on a weaving group asked recently how to keep two yarns from tangling when winding a warp.

Here's my two cents (partly because I can't remember which group).

I prefer to wind from tubes or cones.  I have little posts I can stand the tubes on. 

My tubes are always set up to unwind counter clockwise.  I don't remember why.  I think I determined that 2/8 cotton set up to unwind this way would remove a twist per rotation.  It seemed preferable to me to remove a twist rather than add one, but it's all lost in the mists of time.  Let's just say I always do it this way.

Which ever way it is done, they need to both be winding off in the same direction.  If one winds one way, the other the other direction, the yarn coming off will snag onto the opposite yarn and tangle.  If they are winding off the same direction, they snag less.

The larger the cone or tube, the further apart they need to be.  For these half pound tubes from Brassard, a couple of inches apart seems to be fine.  Larger cones will be set further apart due to the size of the 'balloon' as the yarn whips around the yarn package as it comes off.  The further apart the packages, the less inclined the yarns will be to tangle.

The yarns are run through a dent in the reed laid flat at the bottom of the board.  This keeps the yarn feeding off the package straight, again reducing tangles, but also keep the packages upright, not tipping over and wrapping themselves around my ankles.  This is especially helpful when I'm winding several different coloured stripes - there is enough room below the board for a number of yarn packages.  I simply drop the yarns I'm not using and pick up the ones that are next in the sequence.

During winding I keep a finger in between the two yarns.  Lots of people say they don't bother and it's not a problem.  For me it was, so I do.

Of Knots

"Never use a knot where a bow will do."  Laura-ism #1

I very quickly learned about tying knots and bows.  Knots are good.  Knots are secure.  Knots can be damned hard to un-do.  So I learned to not tie a knot unless I really needed to secure something for the duration of whatever it was I was doing.

That meant learning when something had to be temporarily secure, and when it needed to be secure, period.  It meant I had to think through the process and analyse it to decide which was most appropriate - a knot?  or a bow?

The process of analyzing the the steps involved in weaving also taught me how much security I really needed to do the job.

Like most new weavers I tended to go for lots and lots of 'security'.  I would carefully tie off the four 'arms' of the cross plus the waist, then in addition to the choke tie near the cross and the counting tie at the other end, I would tie off the warp every yard along the length.

But tying all those ties?  Takes time.  Un-tying all those ties?  Takes time.  It gradually dawned on me that tying the waist of the cross meant I was compressing the yarns making it more difficult to sort out the ends to do the next step, plus tying every yard along the length was just adding more labour to what is already a labour intensive process.  

Eventually I learned what worked best in terms of how many ends/inches of warp to wind on my warping mill and/or board.  Multiple tiny warp chains just mean more ties to tie.  More than 15" worth of warp in a chain becomes cumbersome.

What a weaver actually does will depend on so many things - the yarns they are using, the equipment they have at their disposal, and so on.  Ultimately everyone has to figure out what works 'best' for them.  Remembering a few key principles will help guide the weaver in choosing what works best.  Knowing several different ways of achieving the same thing - a warp wound and beamed under sufficient consistent tension - means choosing the correct tool/process for the job.  Bottom line?  If you are happy with your results, you don't need to change a thing.  If you aren't happy, then you might like to try something else.

Belt and Suspenders

A lot on my mind, so warp winding, leaving some ready for me to slam onto the loom when I get home seemed like a good idea.

Seems like there is a surge in people interested in weaving happening all over the country, which is great.  It also means a flood of people trying to learn a craft that is subtle and nuanced, usually re-inventing the wheel.  They are either far away from personal assistance or on a very limited budget, not wanting to buy books or DVDs or travel to take classes.

Inevitably they run into problems and wind up with disasters, disappointed in their results, not understanding that weaving takes a certain level of knowledge and skill, which doesn't come on the first or even 31st stab at it.

They wind up being afraid, tense, wary.  They tend to use what I call a belt and suspenders approach to the craft, often doing things more slowly than necessary, partly because they just haven't given themselves enough time to practice the physical skills or have enough knowledge to know when extra time needs to be taken in order to get good results.  

So often warp winding becomes a problem because they hold the thread with a death grip.   If they wind more than an inch worth of warp the first threads are longer than the last because the extreme tension they are using causes the pegs to bend.  Or they can't get the warp chain off the board it is so tightly wound.  

They use massive numbers of ties along the length of the chain and tie the cross round the waist as well as the arms.  

All of those ties take time, both to tie...and untie.  Frequently I see ties made from one strand of very thin thread, tied loosely.  To me this is not helpful, especially if the ties are the same colour as the warp.  A loose tie really doesn't do much except prevent the chain from spreading.  

A new weaver must first of all learn the vocabulary and physical skills including how to most effectively handle their tools.  The definition of 'effective' will vary with each person, so learning a variety of approaches is imho necessary.  The more the weaver knows, the better able they are to choose appropriately.  And to know when belt and suspenders are necessary.  And when they are not.

More Than One Way

There is more than one way to skin a cat (sorry cat lovers).

It seems everyone thinks their way is the absolutely best way to do what they do.  But we are not all equal.  Nor do we all want to make the same things.  Our looms are different, the yarns we are using are different.  So while I believe that my method is the best method for me, I know that it may not be the best method for anyone else.

Over the years I have fine tuned my processes in order to streamline the amount of effort required in what is a very labour intensive craft.  Once I figured out the best equipment to purchase for my needs, worked out how to do the processes with the least amount of surplus effort, set up my studio so that things are at hand, got looms that best make the type of cloth I want to weave, the rest was practice, practice, practice.

Over and over again I see new weavers assuming that they will get stellar results the very first time they make it to the loom.  Unfortunately weaving requires certain basic skills and they don't come without effort.

True there are some people who are better more quickly than others.  What I said about us not being equal?  Manual dexterity and eye/hand co-ordination are abilities that some people have in abundance, and others?  Not so much.  So yes, while some people do get really good results very quickly, it is not a given.

In addition to the actual physical skills required, obtaining appropriate equipment (warping pegs, warping board, mill, drum, wheel, sectional?), weavers must also learn about the materials they are using.  Being able to make good choices is sometimes intuitive, other times poor choices are made and results are not as desired.  Then there is the way colour blends in a woven structure, how texture affects the cloth, the appropriate density for the function the cloth is to serve.

There are many many facets or layers involved in learning how to create textiles.  It is what keeps me coming back to the loom, because there is always something more to learn.  I find that extremely satisfying.

Tweaking

One of the things that has concerned me since the fall in March was the damage done to my spine/hip.  Apparently it (the damage) was significant and my body is not happy with me right now.  The x-ray also revealed the extent of the damage to my hip from over use.  Weaving on a floor loom with that awful side-step-depress motion to release the brake has taken it's toll.

Once I had recovered from the initial fall - and everything seemed to be ok - I was still a bit suspicious about my hip and had discussed with Doug on several occasions about converting the Leclerc Fanny to a live weight tension system.  After getting the results of the x-ray last week I realized that it was not something that could remain in the realm of theory and over the past couple of days Doug has been messing about with a cord and weights.

The live weight tension system is really simplicity itself.  So simple it seems like it shouldn't actually work.  It took quite a bit of weight before I felt I had the correct amount of tension on the scarf warp, but it seems to be working just fine now.  That's 25 pounds of lead on the heavy end, one pound on the other end of the cord.

Of course, how I beam warps may have to change, but we didn't remove the old Leclerc brake system from the loom, just locked it 'off', so it will be easy to remove the cord and lock the brake on again for beaming the warp with the trapeze.

I suspect more weight will be needed for cloth that requires a firmer beat than the rayon scarves I'm currently weaving, but Doug bought lots of weights of various sizes.  And we know where to get more.

Currently reading In Praise of Slow; how a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed by Carl Honore'.  I saw a TED talk with him a while ago, and of course the Slow Movement has crept into the world of textiles.  The thing that I noticed however, is that the Slow Movement is not solely about doing things slowly, but doing them at the correct speed.  If you have ever watched a chef prepare food, you will have observed that they do not slice and dice slowly, but very efficiently.  IOW, very quickly.

Handwoven cloth is by it's very definition 'slow'.  That doesn't mean that I want to work slowly (even when my body demands it!)  I want to work at a purposeful, efficient pace.  I want to work at the 'proper' speed for whatever it is I'm making.  Sometimes that means I go more slowly (ie. use a temple) in order to be more productive in the long run.

The big thing about the Slow Movement is that it wants people to stop rushing.  Rushing through their day.  Rushing through their meetings, their meals, their interactions with other people.  Stop rushing through their lives.

Being Slow doesn't mean wasting time.  It means using your time well, staying focused on what you are doing rather than always thinking about the next thing and the next and the next, forever not in the moment.  A lesson more of us need to learn, I think.

Gimpy

After a trip to the chiropractor this morning I'm much more mobile, but still feeling 'fragile'.  Her advice was to walk more than sit, so I wound warps.  I've got all that yarn that needs to be turned into place mats, after all!

So once again showing my warp winding 'station'.  Tubes on spikes feeding off the ends, winding off the spools counter clockwise (no particular reason, just being as consistent as possible) traveling up through the reed laid flat at the bottom of the board, over head spotlights on to brighten up a somewhat dim part of the studio under the stairs above.

So far I've managed two warps, but I'm also waiting for Doug to check the mail and see if the order from Brassard has arrived so that I have the yarn necessary for the warps for the pounds and pounds of yarn shown in a previous post.

For now I think I'd better work on the next Craftsy blog posts.  

No Boredom Allowed

Just cut the four scarves I wove yesterday and today off the loom.  Unfortunately my camera really didn't want to do the colours justice so this photo doesn't show what the scarves actually look like.  But what I wanted to show was that, just because you are weaving a 'long' warp, the items don't have to look the same.

This painted warp was pretty consistent in terms of colour and value - by simply changing the weft colour different looks are the result.

No, I don't get bored.  I do get tired, but that's a different thing entirely.

Someone once asked me if I didn't get bored winding a long warp.  "No warp, no weaving, no food."

Winding a warp, dressing the loom, throwing the shuttle - all are necessary to bring my fibre dreams into reality.  Each part of the task is necessary.  None can be left out or skipped over.

Weaving - the physical part of it - is as much a mind set as anything else.  If someone truly finds one part of weaving 'boring', there are several things that can be done.

Give it up.  If weaving isn't something that is enjoyable, find something else that is.

Find a weaving buddy to help with the parts that are 'tedious'.  Help each other with the parts that aren't as enjoyable as the others.  Company always makes things more pleasant, I find.

Pay attention.  Boredom is giving up paying attention to what is happening and allowing one's thoughts to wander to future (or past) events.  Stay focused on the task at hand.

Attempt to become more efficient at what is being done.  In other words, take something that is slow and tedious and speed up how quickly it is being done.  Less time for boredom to set in if the task is done more quickly!

Use it as a working meditation.  Feel the physical act.  Be at one with what is happening with your body.

Above all, remember that how we feel about something is a choice.  We can choose to be bored, or to engage ourselves fully in the task at hand.  We can choose to dread doing something (beaming a warp) or figure out how to make the task less of a mountain and more of a molehill.  We can choose happiness in spite of the things life dishes up.  We can choose to stay entangled in something that isn't working, or cut our losses and move on to something else.

In the end, I absolutely refuse to be 'bored'.  Now that truly is a waste of time!

Snap, Crackle

In spite of running the humidifier for several days, this warp proceeded to crackle and the threads splay outwards away from each other anyway.  So out with the spray bottle to tame the wild static electricity!

After winding I sprayed the entire warp chain, then put the box and all into a plastic bag in hopes of the fibre absorbing some of the moisture.  But I rather suspect I'll wait until the humidity has increased before attempting to dress the loom and weave it.  My hands are rough from the dry weather and with the tendency of the silk to cling onto everything?  I'm going to exercise a little patience and wait for better weather!

Static

This morning I went back to the warping board to start winding warps for the Big Project.  Unfortunately the long spell of cold weather (from -20 to -30C) means that the relative humidity has plummeted.  When the cotton developed static electricity during winding I carried on, gritting my teeth.

Thankfully I was able to get the short warp (5 meters) wound without too much tooth loss, and happily switched to the wool.  But even the wool became unruly with static!

Finally admitting defeat I set the humidifier up to try to raise the humidity level in the studio before tackling the silk.

While that is going on, I'm going to try to get my ledger up-to-date.  It's getting woefully behind and the end of this month I have to remit federal sales tax so I'll need to have everything caught up by then anyway.

Tunnel's End

I was going to title this post Deja Vu or something because it feels as though I've been stuck in some sort of weaverly Ground Hog's Day, the only thing changing being the colour of the current warp.

But once the red one is done, this series of towels is also done!  I am anxious to move on to something else as critical deadlines are going, well, critical...

I have decided to go ahead and sell the warping mill.  It is a Glimakra, quite large, and it doesn't fold.  It's very cramped in my studio so it needs to find a more welcoming home - one with enough space that it can stay 'open' all the time.  It can be taken apart, but it's a bit of a fiddle to do it and really needs two pair of hands to do it comfortably.  I'm not sure how long a warp can be wound on it.  I've been doing about 15 meters using only the upper part so it could probably do 30 without too much difficulty.  Each side is about 30" and it stands about 5 feet tall.

It's a dream to wind warps on, rotates at the barest touch of a finger, quiet and smooth.

If someone is interested, we could deliver it in March to Fibres West (in Cloverdale, BC) or to Olds for the Fibre Festival there in June.

If it doesn't sell by the end of June, I will consider shipping it elsewhere in Canada.

We also have a brand new, never-been-used, never taken out of the box (other than to be inspected by Doug, near as we can tell) Leclerc warping board that will wind warps up to 21 yards.  Again, we could deliver to either fibre festival.  According to the Leclerc website the board measures 22 3/4" by 64".

Price for the mill is $250, for the board $100.  Shipping to elsewhere than the above mentioned locations would be extra.

Just finished reading Back of Beyond by C. J. Box and started Jacqueline Winspear's latest Leaving Everything Most Loved

Mystery Solved?

So you may be wondering why I suspected insufficient tension during beaming as the cause of my problems?

My first clue was as I was weaving the header.  Now it is not uncommon that, as you weave the first few picks, slack will develop and the warp will need to be tightened.  However, it usually happens once or maybe twice, not repeatedly, and not as the fell is advanced further into the length of the beamed warp.  (This observation is based on the slippage happening in spite of the brake itself holding firm.)

This is what was happening on the last couple of warps.

The other thing I observed was that as I advanced the fell, even after a few meters/yards had been woven, the fell line got wavy.  To me this indicated that as the warp slipped forward, it had done so unevenly.  This is another indication that the warp had too much slack as it rolled on (too little tension during beaming).

My solution was to add two cups of water to each of the jugs I use for weight.  Two cups doesn't sound like very much additional weight, but I noticed the increased pull/drag as I wound the warp onto the beam!

I'm pleased to say that I had no issues at all with this red towel warp.  Cased solved!

Currently Reading Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George

Getting From Here to There

A friend asked if I could do a video of how I got the warp from the rough sleying into the loom.  Not having a camera operator to follow along as I did it, I just took some still photos, hoping that will be enough information to help understand my process.

The first photo shows the warp, already rough sleyed.  In this instance, I am using a 9 dent reed putting 6 ends into every third dent in order to get close to my desired width.  The warp was wound with three ends at a time and I don't want to split those ends up, so 6 at a time is required.

The warp is meant to be 24" in the reed for weaving.  Using the 9 dent reed, it is slightly wider than that, which is what I prefer if I can't get it exact.

Once the warp is rough sleyed, I flip the reed over top of the lease sticks.  Notice there is about a finger's width of space left between the lease sticks.  I've found that much closer and the sticks will tend to 'pinch' the threads making it more difficult for the warp to slide between them.

With a wider warp I have to take the yarn in sections in order to create a shed to slip a third lease stick into the loops to prevent them from falling out of the reed and to make it easier to carry the loops to the back of the loom.

Showing the warp loops all onto the third stick, piled on top of the stick and the reed.

The bundle of sticks and reed is placed on top of the bucket in which the rest of the warp is stored...

...and carried over to the front of the loom.  The bench has been set to one side, the beater still has the top on it but no reed and the heddles are pushed to either side of the loom.

The reed and lease sticks are lifted up and the bottom of the reed slid into the beater.  Very important at this point to ensure that the warp is not caught in the beater either at the bottom of the reed or the top.  The loops are carefully eased through and then the beater top fastened down to hold the reed in place.

For a wider warp it is often helpful to have another set of hands to assist with this bit, but I can do it by myself.

The third lease stick with the loops on it is carefully eased by the heddles and placed into the Angel Wings.

With the stick being held by the Angel Wings, it is a fairly simple matter to thread the apron rod through the loops and apron, securing the warp to the back of the loom.  Once secure, remove the stick.

After that is done, I go to the front of the loom and gently ease any uneven threads back to even.  If the choke ties are properly secured, there should be little to no slippage of the rest of the warp during this process.  After straightening the loops out at the back of the loom, the warp is placed around the valet rod, the choke ties are removed, the weights hung and beaming can commence.

Changes

Since I started using the mill making warps longer than my usual, I've noticed something interesting.  I've been having mild tension 'issues' indicative of inconsistent tension during beaming.  After observing this happening several times, I've come to the conclusion that longer warps need higher tension while going onto the beam.

I have yet to 'prove' this by beaming with more weight, so I will do that with the next warp.  The difference in length isn't so much that you would think there would be a problem, but the longer the warp, the larger the diameter of the beam.  Perhaps it has something to do with that.  Or not.  I don't know the reason, I'm just reporting my observations....

There are many people on the internet who stoutly maintain that you must not wind the yarn off the end of a tube.  They give the reason that winding off the end of the tube will either add or subtract twist depending on the direction the yarn is wound.

You will notice that I have my tubes on a 'post' and I most definitely take directly off the tube from the end.  However, I always set my tubes up so that they wind off the same direction.

I don't know if I'm adding or subtracting twist - have never bothered to figure it out.  I just do what I do consistently.

Why do I prefer to take it off the end of the tube?  I don't have to 'fight' with the spin of the tube, jerking and dragging or casting off more yarn than I need just at that moment and worse, wrapping that excess yarn around the axle on which the tube is placed.  In the end I feel I get better results - more consistent tension as I wind my warps.

As always, Your Mileage May Vary....

The Edge

My Leclerc Fanny has a certain maximum length of warp it prefers.  An 11 meter long warp fits nicely onto the back beam and the woven web behaves quite nicely as well, even with the thick weft I'm using for the place mats.

However, with the mill I can wind a longer length warp so this warp was closer to 13 meters long.  The woven web just barely co-operated and I managed to nurse the entire length onto the cloth beam without cutting and re-tieing.

The thing is, with a long warp, when the cloth roll builds up it becomes more and more difficult to set the tension on the web each time the fell is advanced.  The beam is no longer a nice firm round beam of hard wood but cushioned by the many layers of cloth wound round it.

My next place mat warp is around 14 meters long.  I will have to dig out a 7th (maybe even an 8th) bamboo blind in order to wind the warp onto the back beam and when I reach the mid-point, cut off, remove the woven web and re-tie.  This minor inconvenience will be well worth it as if I didn't, getting proper tension back onto the warp as I advance will become a tug of war.  Much better to just grit my teeth and do what needs to be done rather than get into a power struggle with the loom and warp.

Seeing Red

Three warps.  Three red warps.  Turns out my stock of 2/8 cotton is much more depleted than I remembered and what I have the most of is red.  So the next two towel warps on the Fanny will be red based.

It's really hard to tell from the photo but the top most warp has two different dye lots in it.  One half of the warp is going to be a more intense 'lipstick' red, the other half a more scarlet red.  I'm sure that it will be quite subtle, but if not, it's a design feature....(s'my story and I'm sticking to it!)

The warp on the AVL is 2/16 cotton in a scarlet red.  The beginning will be woven off with the last of the singles 16 half-bleached linen, which will use up that cone of Lynn's yarn once and for all.  The rest of the warp will be woven with a very softly spun 20/2 scarlet red from Lynn's stash.  This 30 yard long warp may not use up the entire cone of that but it should put a good dent in it.  :)

I have made a pretty good stab at staying on top of the administrivia, but will have to balance my ledger and cheque book so my papers can be delivered to the accountant before I leave.  Since I'm up to date on my entries, though, that task should not take too long.  She says, optimistically!  And there is the writing for Handwoven to do, too.

There is a call for instructors for a conference I'd like to apply for - that also has to be done before I leave. There is the planning for the Project That Cannot (yet) Be Named.  I'd hoped to have done that before now, but other things have gone 'critical' and needed to be dealt with immediately.  But it's time to get cracking on that project because I have a bunch of weaving to do for it.

I have also been spectacularly unsuccessful at losing weight over the past 6 months.  The best I can say is that I haven't gained any.  :(  Since my weight had been climbing, I suppose I can rate my efforts a partial success?  But I had really hoped to peel off 15 pounds - guess that will go back onto my list of goals for the new year?

Christmas will be a low-key affair - lunch with mom, then come home and weave?  Sounds good to me!

Currently reading The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

Never Doubt...

...the wisdom of the universe...

I haven't used a mill in any serious way for...decades.  I used to have a small table top mill that I would wind  warps on, on the dining room table.  But I gave that up when I switched to sectional warping and never looked back.

When I did need to start winding actual warp chains again, a friend had a warping board that she gave me and I have quite contentedly been using that for the last 15 or so years when I needed to wind a chain.

A couple of months ago, helping clear out a weaver's stash of equipment, the large (non-folding) Glimakra warping mill was in danger of heading to the dump so I offered to take it home and try to find a buyer for it.  It sat in pieces at the annex until this afternoon when I brought it back to the studio and squeezed it into a corner so I could wind some warps that really will be much easier and faster on the mill than the board.  Trust me - I've already wound one warp on the board and it wasn't much fun.  Oh, I could do it if I didn't have any other alternative, but there it was, the large floor standing mill, sitting right there (in pieces) in the annex.

Not everyone could fit such a large piece of equipment (30 inches on a side) into their home/studio and it was a stretch to get it into mine.  Needless to say, I won't be using the trampoline much for the next little while!

The plan is to wind as many warps as possible that will be easier/faster when wound on a mill, then store them until I have time to weave them.  Once they are done the mill will be taken apart again and stored until I can find a buyer...or I find a need for it again myself.  We'll see if I actually try to find a buyer or just keep it!

PS - notice that I'm not using the full height of the mill.  The Fanny is much happier with warps shorter than 13 meters and at that length, it fits quite nicely into the shoulder/hip distance of my body.  So, while I'm standing to wind the warp (which I do at the board, anyway) there is no stooping/bending or reaching higher than just a bit higher than my shoulder.  Mainly because that's where the pre-drilled holes were for the peg boards.