Lesson in Humbility

It doesn't do to get complacent - that's when you stop thinking.

This warp is 36 epi.  I have a 9 dent reed, but it's very old and rough on the top and bottom so when I checked my stored reeds I noticed that I also have a brand new metric reed (35) which is also 9 dents.  Without thinking too much I popped that reed into the beater and proceeded to sley it.  The entire time I was sleying it I did not once stop to ask myself why I hadn't been using this reed, but the old battered one.  Or if I did, I didn't take the time to properly answer the question.

Turns out that the reed is too 'short'.  When I put the beater top back onto the beater, there was a 1/2 inch gap between the reed and the top. 

Now, you may be asking yourself how it is possible for me to put the reed into the beater without putting the top of the beater on.  The answer is simple.  On the AVL, the bottom of the reed is 'pinched' between two pieces of wood.  And, since the beater top is rather large and blocks the view in order to sley, I leave it off while I do that job.

I really dislike having to change reeds and resley because all my nice neat little bouts which I so carefully tie into slip knots are now gone and the danger of making sleying errors is much, much greater when the warp ends are all loose. 

However since I was not resleying to change the density, merely changing one reed of the same dents per inch to another of the same dents per inch, I realized that instead of pulling the warp out of the wrong reed entirely, I could transfer each group dent by dent which would mean the risk of sleying errors would be low.

How to do this when the AVL doesn't really have side frames that the reed could lay on?  I grabbed a couple of short lease sticks (for the Leclerc Fanny or other smaller loom) and rested them on each side of the loom across the bottom of the shafts and onto the side frame of the loom.  And taped them there.  The reed rests quite comfortably there and it's only taking me a few minutes to pull each group in it's order and put it into the reed which is clamped in the beater. 

If you click on the photo you should be able to see the set up more clearly.

Once the reed is completely re-sleyed I'll carefully pull the reed out and remove the sticks and then I can go ahead and put the loom back together (the sandpaper beam is also out of the loom), tie on and ought to be weaving this afternoon.  :)

And I can be pretty sure there are no sleying errors to fix.  But just in case, I'll be sure to check each shed.  Doesn't do to get complacent!

Currently reading Snuff by (Sir) Terry Pratchett

UNBC Artisans of the North

Not great photos but here's a peek at my booth this weekend

The craft fair at the university is a fairly low key affair.  The booths/tables line the halls and corridors of the university as well as the cafeteria, which is where we are located.

There is no entry fee - come one, come all - and the crowd is generally younger than at Studio Fair which happens next week.

Although it is supposed to start at 10 am the public, in their eagerness, usually starts coming around 9:30.  Which is partly why Doug was still hanging the mirror when shoppers began to descend.  :}

I am very happy to be in the cafeteria because it has lots of glass walls, therefore natural light.  Unfortunately today the snow that has been predicted for several days began to come down around noon and the day is dark and dreary.  The snow, once it sticks to the ground, will help to brighten things up.  And the snow is surely a good reminder that people need a scarf or shawl to keep the cold at bay?

Thankfully we were all moved in before the snow started - we are just keeping fingers crossed it stops for move out tomorrow evening.

Staging Area

8 boxes of hand wovens all packed up ready to be loaded into the van

Once again my living room floor is acting as a staging area as we prepare for the first of four consecutive craft fairs. Doug has gone off to unload the rear seats of the van, store them at the annex and pick up a few things stored there that we will need for the shows.

threading proceeds on the beige tea towel warp

Recovery is not a straight line, as a friend observed recently, and the past few weeks have seen plenty of zigging and zagging as my energy waxes and wanes.  Getting a flu shot probably had something to do with the decline of energy this week, but at least I'm somewhat protected for nasty bugs as I head into a month's worth of high exposure to crowds of people.

And craftspeople are famous for showing up for shows, sick, mainly because there is no one to phone in sick to so they can stay home in bed.  :}  I know that's happened to me often enough over the years.

With a muzzy head I didn't do much threading this week but am feeling alert enough today to tackle that job and this morning got almost to the half way mark.

A lot of people colour their heddles as a way to keep track of where they are in their threading.  Personally I don't find that method particularly helpful.  My drafts are printed out with numbers showing which shafts the threads are to be on, which means that I would have to translate the numbers into colours.

Rather than attempt that mental gymnastic, I number the shafts - the top of the bottom shaft.  You might just be able to see the numbers if you click on the photo to enlarge it. 

Since I also quite often need to shuffle heddles from one shaft to another, colouring them really isn't all that helpful to me.

My hope is that I can finish setting up the loom over the weekend - the Artisans of the North at the U of Northern BC doesn't have killer hours - and maybe even weave a bit before we leave for Vancouver and Circle Craft.  But I'm not too bothered about that - mainly I just want to leave the loom ready to weave on for when we get back from Calgary (Art Market).

Currently reading Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Still 'Finishing'

Still making like a slug and very slow moving but I am managing to just stay on top of what needs to be done.  :}

Today I had lunch with a weaving buddy.  So nice to get out and about and catch up with someone I see only occasionally.

Then errands - mail a parcel, pick up a reserved book at the library (and a couple more, just in case), up to the annex to fetch more boxes and drop off something I'd borrowed back to it's owner.  And then I pretty much crashed.

However I do have the boxes needed.  I just finished cooking dinner and carrying up several armfulls of scarves to check for pricing and start packing.  After I eat.

There are still a few more armfuls to be carried up but there is no more room on the table so I'll deal with these first.

It Isn't Finished....

When you are weaving as a way of earning your income the job isn't finished until the goods are sold.

With the first craft fair of the season coming up it's time to get finished, finished and hope for some sales.  I've been remiss in keeping my Art Fire store up to date - but there is no way I can miss out on the craft fairs.  For one thing, they have been booked for months and they are an unparelled opportunity to make about 75% of my income in 1/12th of the year.

As you may have guessed, earning one's income from making and selling textiles is a cyclical affair.  The income dries up right after Christmas - although the expenses do not. 

And then there's the fact that I don't do inexpensive shows - rather I do shows that generally need to be applied to and paid for months in advance of the event.   And very high prices for the spaces, too.  But these are also the shows that appeal to people with disposible income, generally willing to pay a premium for hand crafted goods.  And I rarely hear the phrase "Your prices are too high." 

Learning how to budget is crucial in this business. 

Anyway, the textiles are not completely done until they have their care/hang tags attached as well as their prices.  I subscribe to the policy that everything ought to be priced if you want to sell it.  Since my prices are fairly high, if there is no price on it people will either assume that it isn't for sale or they can't afford it.

This has been my logo for a number of years.  I was told the last time I ordered cards that the printer was going digital and would no longer be using an offset press and that I would have to re-design my cards.  They have had a black logo with a slightly off set silver line around them.  Quite elegant looking I think.  But apparently this is something he can't do digitally.

I'm also thinking it's time to change the paper I've been using.  It isn't cheap paper, but then, my textiles aren't cheap.  I think it's really important to have your signage reflect the value of your product.  But since I haven't made a change for quite a while and I have to re-design my cards anyway, perhaps it's time to change the paper I've been using.

That's a job for after the craft fair season, however.  Fortunately I've enough hang tags to deal with the current inventory.  But first they have to get attached.

Currently reading Cradle to Grave by Aline Templeton

In Pursuit of Perfection

two different waffle towels

As I was nearing the end of this blue warp I started having misgivings.  I'd changed the epi from 36 to 30 because the weft I was wanting to use was somewhat thicker than what I'd used on the last 2/20 merc. warps and thought that a more open warp might work better. 

Since I had another 2/20 merc cotton warp I wanted to do (got lots of that yarn to use up for weft!) I decided to check the finished results before committing to another 30 epi warp.

Am I ever glad I did.  I'm not at all happy with my results in the waffle weave.  The woven illusion actually turned out okay - better than anticipated anyway.

I used two different weft yarns on the waffle weave towels in the photo above, and two somewhat different tie-up/treadlings.  But the different treadlings are not enough to account for the humongous difference in dimensional loss - it has to be the weft yarn.

The towel on the bottom is woven with 2/16 unmerc. cotton.  The towel on the top is woven with the singles 6 cotton that I've used elsewhere for collapse effects.  As you can see, the singles 6 has most definitely collapsed (or torqued, would be a more accurate statement).  There is a 4 inch difference in the width of the two towels and the singles 6 towel is thicker.  The twill stripes in the singles 6 towel has ruffled much more than in the 2/16 towel.

So I'm going to try this again on the beige warp, set at 36 epi and see if that reduces the dimensional loss in the singles 6 weft towels. 

Like I keep telling my student, change one thing and everything changes.  :}

Fibre Geekery

This book popped up during a chat on Weavolution and I decided to take a look at it.  To buy it is prohibitive but I was able to get it on inter-library loan for a mere $8.  Well worth it to satisfy my curiousity.

As the title says, the primary focus is to identify fibres for forensic purposes.  As such, the book goes into much greater detail than a handweaver would be able to.  Not very many of us have spectroscopes and electron microscopes etc.

I found the chapter on fibre characteristics interesting as it went into far greater detail than most textile science books.  There is a great chart showing the classification of fibres.

But probably the greatest value this book has for weavers (and spinners) is the extensive book list that follows each chapter.  If you are interested in details of fibres and yarns, here is a great place to start looking for information.

Of course there is always my favourite source book, A Guide to Textiles for Interior Designers by Jackman and Dixon.   Judith MacKenzie has a brief overview of different fibres in her book The Intentional Spinner.  Or Google 'textile science' and I'm sure you'll come up with lots of hits.

It is my belief that, in order to make good choices for our textiles, at least a rudimentary level of knowledge about fibre characteristics is essential.  I'm very pleased that several more guilds are showing an interest in my topic A Good Yarn.  It looks like a couple of guilds will select that title for workshops/seminars next March.

Currently reading A Bitter Feast by S. J. Rozan