WEFT! Right?

 

selvedges - no that is not a plain weave selvedge

I am pleased to say that the Kickstarter for WEFT seems to be going well and it's looking like we will see a 'new kid on the block' in terms of weaving publications this time next year.  (see yesterday's post for the link.)

It is also good to hear more about the project (I finally watched the promo video on the Kickstarter site) and really wish this magazine had been around in my early days when I was fumbling around trying to figure out how things 'worked' - and what didn't.

It also feels good to know that there are some passionate younger folk willing to take up the reins and try to bring good content to weavers who also want to know how things 'work' - or don't.

Over the past 100 or so years there have been a number of people who have similarly tried to write it all down.  From Margaret Atwater, to Mary Black, to Harriet Tidball to David Xenakis, to Madelyn van der Hoogt - and many others - there has been a consistent effort to keep the knowledge alive and getting it out to those who want to know.

But there is a complicating factor right now - the growth of 'artificial intelligence' and the enshittification of sources of information.

Given I rely on the internet for some of my resources when writing, I was concerned about AI interference in my searches, so this morning I tossed a search term onto Google, then figured out how to filter out their AI responses.  Good!  I don't need to foul my searches with verbal word salad.

However, in the search for the way to do that, I typed in an actual search term, and then took a look at some of the links that were provided (after the AI filtering).  And there was a link to an industry publication that piqued my interest.  Because it was something I had observed, and wondered at.  I'd even been about to do some 'testing' of my own textiles to see if what I had observed made an actual impact in my cloth.

Well, industry had already done that inspection, and their link confirmed my observation - that most draw in happens primarily closer to the selvedges, rather than within the body of the textile.  How much?  I'm pretty sure that depends on the width of the cloth.  I suspect that, the wider the cloth, the larger the area of draw in along the selvedges.

The effect is pronounced enough that some industrial looms now come with separate beams specifically for the selvedges, so that the take up that occurs doesn't interfere with the weaving of the body of the cloth.

Now, in industry, looms typically have roller temples, but even so, draw in happens, enough that industry has made mechanical adjustments to counter the negative effects.

Hand weavers work at a much slower speed than industry, we can make tiny adjustments on the fly.  We don't usually weave 1000 yards before we cut off and re-tie.  

Right now I'm weaving 30" in the reed, about 90" in length per shawl, and I'm only weaving 3 shawls before I stop and cut off and re-tie.  Yes, there are minor tension differences in my cloth, but not enough that I'm overly bothered about them.  I know that I will soon cut off, re-tie and resolve some of those minor tension issues.  So a lot of the issues that industry deals with are so far beyond the scale that handweavers are using that it might seem irrelevant to us.

But for me, reading that link today, confirming my own observations and conclusions felt...affirming.  

And it gives me a much needed boost to continue to explore, dig, analyze and write about what I learn.

I really hope that others are as interested as I am in digging deeper, exploring further, and will support this magazine, which I hope will cater to the best of the nerds in all of us who 'play with string'.

And for anyone who wants to read the post I found, link here

Launch Day!

 

The Kickstarter campaign for WEFT launched this morning.

They need to reach their goal by mid-July, so if you want to see a magazine geared towards the more intermediate level weaver, here's your chance.

I'm told PLY is an excellent magazine for spinners; I'm hoping this will be an excellent magazine for weavers.

Handwoven is good - it has great projects with lovely photos, and provides information on how to weave the projects they highlight.  I'm hoping WEFT will bend a little more towards teaching beyond the basics.  

Partly that is a bit selfish on my part, because while I subscribe to Handwoven, it isn't geared towards me.  In fact I wrote for Handwoven on many occasions in the past.  My textiles were even used on the cover of two issues.  :)

But I also miss getting together with other weavers, talking about textiles in depth, expanding my horizons.  I could join a study group, probably should, but right now I don't want to add the 'burden' of deadlines to my life beyond what I already have.  And I really don't want the responsibility of hosting a study group.

Since my body started seriously falling apart a few years ago, it's become impossible for me to teach a class in person.  Fibre Week at Olds College has been cancelled, so I don't go there every year, either.  And I miss the community of weavers.  So, I'm hoping that WEFT will be a good alternative, perhaps help keep me thinking in fresh ways about how to take threads and turn them into cloth.

Even if you aren't interested in WEFT, let weavers you know, know about it.  Let's get this project up and running!

Quiet Days

 

two strands of yarn after weaving - the curving path through the cloth is recorded in the individual threads when they are removed from the cloth - they are no longer straight round rods

One of the things I've been thinking (and writing) about is the role of compression in the making of cloth.  The article has been sent and received and should appear sometime next month.  Will give everyone a heads up when it drops.  :)

I have also been thinking about other aspects of weaving that tend to get glossed over, or simply misunderstood.  As such I've been flipping through books looking for what others have said, trying to find a way to bring the information to more people.

The thing is, weaving is full of rabbit holes.  Weaving is not just *a* rabbit hole, it is an entire rabbit warren!  There are so many 'it depends' considerations.  So many things that can be tweaked that will ultimately affect the finished results.

It is really challenging when new weavers simply want to know what they should do when there are so many variables.

Even words take on different meanings, if the context is changed.

This is what I'm working on now - a definition of a word and how to explain the role the concept plays in creating cloth.  Even the Oxford Concise Dictionary listed 8 different definitions for the word - and that doesn't even begin to address the use of that word in weaving.

Wednesday I got the next spinal injections and was hoping that Thursday would be 'better'.  It wasn't.  So I gritted my teeth and stuck to my 'light duties'.  This morning *seems* to be 'better', but I'm going to stick to my '3 days light duties' and continue poking around, flipping through books, shoving thoughts around in the back - and front - of my brain.  Try to come up with all the ways the word is used and explain how and why the definition changes in context.

Which word?  You'll have to wait and see.  The article will be submitted to the editor as soon as I can wrap it up, but it may be months before it appears in print.  The lead time for articles to print is 6-12 months (sometimes more).

I have also sent a list of topics to another publication in hopes that they might like to publish more of my words.  I'm not holding my breath, but...nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.  :)

If my body is going to continue to deteriorate, but I can keep my brain functioning, then I can keep writing, keep teaching.  

In the meantime, I also need to clean up my ko-fi store and start getting ready for my annual Big Birthday Sale.  Stay tuned.

Unusual View

 

As a weaver, my usual point of view is from the front of the loom.  OTOH, the back view is pretty impressive, too.  

Or, at least, *I* think so!

All those filled heddles marching across the width of the warp.  I enjoying seeing them dance up and down as I weave - something I can just see over the top of the beater while I'm weaving.

It is very satisfying, really, to have things progressing smoothly and the cloth begin to build up on the cloth beam.

Today I had my next spinal jab and everyone always tells me to 'take it easy' and let the shot do the work it needs to do.  So, I've gotten used to planning ahead, piling up 'light duty' types of jobs to do while I wait.  Never my best self, impatient as I am to keep going.  Especially when things are going smoothly, and sitting at the loom is truly a working meditation.  Something I find I need more and more as the political climate around the world seems to be crumbling everywhere.

Since I am powerless to change anything on a global scale, my approach is to go make something.  Create something.  Spread positive energy into the world, if I possibly can.

Yesterday I spent some time digging through my library, pulling books I thought might be useful for the two articles I'm working on.  I have the colour cards for Brassard, so I'll see what I can come up with for a yarn order to weave that gorgeous fine white linen singles on.  I've just finished proof reading the article I sent to one place last week.  It should be coming out fairly quickly as the editor decided to add my voice to her publication on 'short'* notice.  She apologized for only giving me a month to write it - pshaw, a month is plenty for me to write something I care passionately about.  Especially since I didn't have to actually weave anything to illustrate it - I could pull most photos from my photo archive.  I did take one close up photo, but that was about all that I needed to do for that one.

I'm not sure when the publication date is, but when it goes live, I'll let all y'all know.  

I think I am going to make myself a cup of tea and sit for a bit with the Brassard colour cards.  It takes about two weeks to get orders from Quebec.  But I also don't want to wait too long because they usually shut down for summer vacation at some point during the summer.  And I'm really looking forward to working some more with this fine linen.  

In the meantime, there is the final pressing to be done on the towels I hemmed, thumbing through those books looking for more information, and that book on Mariette Vermette-Rouseau.  Now I have my new glasses that teeny tiny font should be easier to read.  

*standard lead time to write for a magazine is 6-12 months...

Why, oh Why?

 

two topics, two piles of books...

One thing about writing the new articles is the age old question...why?

Why is this thing happening?  What causes it?  How can it be prevented?  or enhanced?

Right now I'm working on two different articles.  Neither has a tight deadline, but I suspect both are going to need some examples/samples to explore the questions scurrying around in my brain pan right now.

I've done some research on one of the topics, before, but not particularly in depth and I have questions.  I now have a much more extensive library than I did back in the 80s when I first started looking at the broader topic, and so I'm going to go deep diving into those new (to me) books and see if they shed any light on the question.

The other topic is more of an explainer of a term that - per usual - has more than one meaning, depending on the context.  This can be very confusing for newer weavers who learn the definition of one meaning, then encounter it in another context that is different.  I'm going to attempt to explain as many of the different definitions as I can, in hopes of bringing understanding to the question of what that term means.

Why?  Why am I going to spend several hours over several days, and even more hours weaving samples to illustrate the articles?  Because I want to help people to understand, not just follow suggestions.  Suggestions that may only address part of the equation.

Weaving is full of 'it depends' conditions.

The way it depends varies in so many ways that sometimes it's hard to remember them all!  But I'm going to try, and it is going to take time for me to dig through my memory banks and those books until I'm satisfied I have been as thorough as I can be.

The craft of weaving is huge.  Much larger than most people grasp when they first begin weaving.  And so we each of us pick away at it, trying this, trying that, finding out what works, and what doesn't.

Ultimately the only correct answer is the one that gives the weaver the results they desire.  But on the journey of getting there, it can be a good idea to draw upon the experience of others, to find out what they have done, and what they advise.

So, yes, I will be digging through the indexes of these books looking for the terms I am trying to write about.  Just this morning I was reminded of alternate words to use in addition to the term that is most commonly used *today*.  Since some of my books date to the late 1800s, early 1900s, having other search terms is going to be useful, I think, and might bring me closer to some answers.

The only downside to doing all this?  I keep thinking of more aspects of weaving that I'd like to dive deeply into!  Fortunately I've already forgotten the one I thought of this morning (although it may come back!)

I've been weaving for nearly 50 years.  And I still learn.  And that is why I keep weaving - because I want to have answers to the questions that pop up when I'm doing something different, or trying to explain why something is happening to a newer weaver.

The life so short, the craft so long to learn...

A Different Tack

 

Over the weekend I got the next warp into the loom and started weaving this morning.  

Shawls are similar to tea towels in that I'm using 2/16 bamboo for warp and a similar sized rayon for weft.  But, shawls are larger - wider and much longer - so it looks like it is going to take about 4 hours to weave one shawl.

The weave structure is twill, and ratio is 7:9 so the cloth has more warp showing on one side, more weft on the other.  That is a little hard to see in this shot, in part because it is an awkward angle, in part because of the light (which isn't great) and partly because it hasn't been wet finished yet since it is still in the loom.

My next warp was going to be tea towels again, using that fine singles linen that just arrived, but instead I've agreed to write an article and will have to do some samples to illustrate.  OTOH, I can piggy back that experimentation onto a warp I had been planning some months in the future to use up some of my 2/8 cotton and that mystery yarn I posted about a few days ago.  Instead it will go on 'next' and I'll start to use up that mystery yarn at long last - once the article samples have been woven.

One of the things about the articles I've been writing over the past month is that they have required some digging, some thought experiments, some examination of my assumptions, forcing me to think about things in a deeper way.  And then, of course, how to design the experiments to prove - or disprove - my assumptions.  

To have the previous warp, and now this one, go smoothly (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself) is leaving me with some time to sit and ponder.  Since I only need surface attention to weave, other parts of my brain can wander hither and yon, looking at the craft, or my approach to the craft, in different ways.

Wednesday I get the next injections for my back and as such I will need a few days 'rest'.  Part of that 'rest' time will be looking at the Brassard colour cards and choosing the yarns to go with the fine white singles linen.  Part of it will be spent reading about the topics I'm exploring for the articles.  I also have a bin full of hemmed towels that need their final finishing press.  I think I have plenty to keep me occupied for a few days until I feel able to try weaving again.

And who knows what ideas will float to the surface?  In the meantime, I'm enjoying these nice 'easy', co-operative warps.  

#4000

 

Sports coat - silk warp and tabby weft, alpaca pattern weft

Blogspot tells me that this is post #4000 since I began blogging in 2008.  

Over the years I've written about a lot of different things.  I've shared my life, my weaving, what I'm doing, and you, dear reader(s), have come along for the journey.

In many ways, I've treated this blog as a diary.  Frequently I'll come here and type in a search term to remind myself of when something happened.  Or look for photos for an article I'm writing.

Over the past month I've been writing a few articles, and so I've been digging around in my photo files.  Sometimes I find what I'm looking for; sometimes I don't.

I used Doug's jacket in one of the articles, offered to get a close up and was asked if I would send one.

This fabric was a bit of a watershed moment for me in understanding the difference between ironing and a hard press (compression).  

Our 20th wedding anniversary was coming up, and I'd invited Doug to attend Convergence in San Jose.  I had hand woven clothing to wear, but he didn't, so I decided to make some cloth appropriate for a sport coat.  Two of the local guild members had used a tailor in Vancouver, so I contacted the tailor and made arrangements for Doug to be fitted.

The tailor was an 'old-fashioned' tailor and he made a very traditional sport coat.  Doug did wear it to 'special' occasions.  

I enjoyed making the cloth and working with fine threads - finer than I usually got to work with because I just couldn't get paid enough to do that.  OTOH, a gift?  Well, I was willing to work with such fine yarns for a special jacket for our 20th.

Now that we are retired (and continue to avoid large indoor gatherings) I don't know how much wear he will get out of it.  But he's kept it all these years, just in case.

I, otoh, can no longer get into my handwoven clothing.  I really ought to get rid of it.  But I keep thinking one day I'll lose weight and be able to wear it again.  (ha!  dream on!!!)

And here we are in 1990.  I remember that body, that energy.  Long gone, now.  Ah well, I *can* still weave!

(If you subscribe to Heddlecraft, look for the article in the next issue...)