A stroke of Luck!

I have been asked to do workshops for the local Art Center at the local housing projects.  Two in fact and it has been confirmed.  Guaranteed pay by the hour.  I will be doing 'Weaving and Needle crafts', trying to plant seeds for Christmas projects.  

I am looking forward to this very much.  I am going to start with Pot holder looms and then I thought I would ask the students what they want to learn.  The hard part will be getting them to attend at all.

Wish me luck!

Also I have been working on my new Mini Wave Loom by Gilmore Loom, trying desperately to figure out some of the weave structure processes.  Not having much luck either.  

Just once I wish I had an instructor!  Imagine how far I could go if I had professional tutoring.  

My next project is going to be for the Beautiful Art and Artwork Guild that I belong to.  It is for our secret Santa Christmas Event!  So far I am thinking green, red and gold.  Not sure what I will make yet, but of course there will be pictures!

This is my first membership with a guild and I am looking forward to participating.  If you are interested in joining just click on the link above and come check us out!  All are welcome and the categories will fill up fast!  My friend KraftyMax is the founder and she is great to work with and full of enthusiasm.  There is much to be gained from belonging to a guild and I am looking forward to the entire experience.

Puni's, puni's and more puni's!

I am on a Puni binge.  You see I want to make myself a shoulder wrap, just a rectangle, out of my own handspun cotton.  It will be done in periwinkle and white.  So I have quite a bit of it spun up already and of course I probably need even more.  I have plenty of already prepared cotton, but I want this piece to be completely done by me.  

In order to do that I have to do the prep work for my cotton.  If you follow this blog you have already seen pictures of the spindles, spinning wheel and my puni project.  My goal is make my puni basket nice and full before I start to spin again.  Then I can spin the white puni's, the periwinkle roving and of course my new 'Sunset Merino Top' wool that Carol bought me day before yesterday in Tallahassee.  At that point there probably won't be much weaving done for a few days.

I am in the process of getting ready for that and I am almost there.  I believe it takes me a little longer to make the puni's because I do not have the proper carders for the process.  I am using dog slicker brushes and of course I am new to it as well.  It is working though, so as I watch T.V. sometimes I will also be making puni's.  Even if it is only a few of them.  Eventually my basket will be full.  At some point I also want to do some tie dying on the white cotton.  Hoping that someone will sign up for my spin class to do that with!

In the mean time I will continue to hone my skills on my new Mini Wave Loom by Gilmore.  I am actually starting to have a nice little collection of bands.  I even took out the sewing machine so that I can start to make them into something.  Wish me luck.

Consignment booth!

We have a nice little used furniture, knick knack, bric a brak kind of store here in Moultrie called 'Stuff and Such', and the owners have decided to rent out space. 

Carol and I are going to go half on the rent, which is only $15.00 with 5% consignment cost, and try to sell some of our wares.  I am going to be putting some of my weavings and art work (framed) in it and see if I have any luck.  Maybe even my handbags!

It seems like I might also have an opportunity to go into the housing area and teach basic weaving might have presented itself through the Art Center as well.  I am thinking about teaching twig weaving, or pot holder weaving on little square looms, maybe even something done in an embroidery hoop.  That way they will have a completed project ready to hang on a wall or give as a gift.  It is another way to pull in some money if it works out.

Wish me luck!

Weaving workshop!

In Thursdays workshop my student, who is doing really well with her tapestry weaving, has completed the weaving portion of her tote bag.  She had made the body and a very nice 'strap'.  She is even thinking about lining it!  She is a seamstress and I can't wait to see how it turns out so that I can post pictures for all to see!  Even if she won't let me post any pictures of her! 

She has decided to do a pillow for the second project.  She prefers to weave seated on the floor, so we are calling this a 'but pillow'.  Too funny right! 


Again I feel like the proud mama. 

I will keep you posted.

I made it into another Treasury!!!

Check out the treasury! I am so honored.  Please go and check it out!  My Pine Needle baskets seem very popular!

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=5706&comment_posted=Your+comment+has+been+posted.#comments

And here are some pictures of the completed 3d band. The warp still gave me a little trouble even after I cut the first small piece off.  But I persevered and it is 33 inches long without the fringe and 2 3/4 inches wide.  I think some of the floats are too along, but I think it is kewl anyway!

On a road trip!

Yesterday Carol and I took a road trip to Tallahassee.  Moultrie has a great Art Center but not a single art store.  She wanted to go to a bead store and to take us on a lunch date to belatedly celebrate our birthdays!

So we found a great bead store where she (of course) blew her budget up.  LOL We ate waaaaayyyyy too much good food at Olive Garden and then we went in search of yarn shops.

We found 2!  They were both fabulous!  Now keep in mind that I don't actually NEED any yarn.  My friend KraftyMax really loaded me up on my birthday, and then again when I went to visit her in Jacksonville for a week.  I literally have two large trashbags of new yarns.  However, right now I am immersed in warpface weaving on my new Mini Wave Gilmore Loom.  It actually requires a much different kind of yarn than what I have boat loads of in the attic.  Most of my yarns are singles, alot of them spun by me, for tapestry weaving.  Now I need very smooth, tightly spun yarns.  Cotton or maybe silk.  Unfortunately most of the yarns we found were of the softer knitting variety.  Gorgeous silks, angora, wool, bamboo...the colors were GORGEOUS!  I would be terrified of making a warp blub again and wasting those beautiful yarns.  They were also out of my financial league.  

However, at the second shop, Carol found some roving while I was in the restroom, and couldn't let me walk out without it.  So she bought it for me.  It is by Louet and the color is called Sunset.  I was looking for some fall colors and I think we hit on it perfectly.  Below you will find pictures and I of course will keep you posted on the spinning of it.

Three D Warp floats!

Still having a little bit of trouble with the tension on my warping with the new loom...I will certainly be glad when it goes a little easier.  This one was supposed to be a very long piece, about 5 feet, but I had a saggy place in the warp.  So I cut it off and retied onto the front beam.  So here is a taste of what I was doing.

Another practice band on the Mini Wave!

This one is done with #10 mercerized in ecru and a mystery yarn from the Art Center.  I think, from the smell of it that it is Hemp.  Very grabby, making it difficult to weave.  This one is 42 in. long before the fringe and 3 1/2 in. wide.  I played around with the design with no particular plan in mind.  I like the flower!  And this is the longest one so far!

Next I think I will try one weft double weave.  If I can accomplish it.  Kind of difficult to explain but it will allow me one color on the front and another on the back.  It also will have motif's in opposit colors.  Wish me luck!  Of course I will post pictures.  Then again you will probably be able to hear me squeal all the way across the country if I succeed.  I am a little tired of the striped background.

The final pink and green band!

I finished the NEVER ENDING pink, green and white warp at last!  I know that you guys have seen lots of pictures of the other two pieces, but this one I gave to my roommate.  I did one design that looks like its Peruvian, or Bolivian or something.  I got it off of the backstrap blog by Laverne Waddington.  The other, I call that one a "  Pandula".  It is my version of a flower which lives only in my imagination.

As you know that is the very definition of a Pandula.  I got the term from an article in Rug Hooking magazine.  There was a woman who had hooked her entire life and all of her creations were Pandula's.  This where I got the name for all of my sites. 

A Pandula is a flower which lives only in one's imagination.

Today is Saturday and I spent the ENTIRE day yesterday warping various looms.  As you know I have been really struggling with the warp board style of warping necessary for my new Gilmore Mini Wave.  I have also learned that it is hard to translate warping instructions from Inkle weaving patterns to the warp board.

I ended up with a green and white stripe background.  After first annihilating a beautiful white on white warp for an idea I had in my head.  Then when I went to do the green and white one, because I wanted high contrast, I discovered that the green I chose was hemp.  If you know anything about hemp, you know that it is very 'sticky' to work with.  Needless to say I had a very frustrating day at the warping board.

Most people are not aware of how many hours it takes to do these things.  Since everything I have done before now has been weftfaced, where the warp is completely covered, figuring all of this out with noone to help me has been difficult to say the least.  Each warp is another adventure.  Sometimes pleasant, sometimes not so much.  But I will persevere!

Anyway I digress, I just wanted to post a couple more pictures for you.  So here they are.

I was going for a flower in the one below!

This is what is on the loom right now!  Not really sure if I like this one yet.  Might have to do some frogging!

My mistake inkle band!

I turned this mistake weaving into a leash for my little mutt dogs!  I am so thrilled with it!  Tell me what YOU think!

More warpface weaving!

Well I have learned alot in the last couple of weeks.

First off, even if you can control 16 feet of warp enough to actually get it onto the loom, which I can't, you will be bored to tears with it before you can finish it. 

I also learned that alot of the inkle instructions don't apply to my new loom.  The warping will have to adjusted to make certain weave structures work.  I really want to do pick up patterns on a solid color background.  This means I need to learn how to do basket weave warpface.  I tried to get it warped up but something about using inkle instructions went awry when applying it to my 2 harness mini loom.  I think in order for it to work I will have to change colors at both ends of the warp instead of just at the starting end. That way I can get single stripes of warp, instead of 2 stripes because the loom will be cut to thread it into the heddles.  Lots of confusion for me as I can't seem to find much information on 2 harness/shaft looms.  Most people with table looms start with four harnesses.  My mistake was thinking that all inkle theories/applications would work on a 2 shaft loom.

I did complete the pink/green/ecru warp after several really baggy spots.  I had to cut off and retie onto the front beam to correct the tension.  This means I have several completed pieces which are slightly smaller than I wanted.  The last one, which looks alot like the one I posted yesterday because it is from the same warp, turned out the best.  The design factors are better also.

I am indeed having trouble finding charts for the pick ups and the wording is hard to understand alot of times when I read them on line.  As I have often said, this is a learning curve.

I already have plenty of bands to play with.  I guess I am going to have to do some construction/sewing very soon.  Lots of people will also be getting book marks in their Christmas cards this year.  LOL

Pictures below and feedback welcome.

 

This is the last of the pink and green warp (Thank goodness) and this one turned out the best.  The sides stayed nice and even, and I even like some of the little designs I did.  I know it looks alot like the first one, but it is indeed different.

Still a learning curve!

Well I completed the purple band and warped up for another.  This one is pink acrylic, almost a watermelon color, green cotton #10, and white cotton #10.  I went for a very long warp, got most of it on after a very long battle and now find that I am bored with this color scheme.  

The lesson here is long warps are difficult to put on the loom, and even if you succeed you can have saggy spots and tight spots, plus it is alot of weaving on the same project when you are doing 15 or so feet of the same warp.

I did have a badly sagging part in the center of the warp and it was making the weaving anything but fun.  So I cut off the piece that was done up to that point, pictures below, and retied it to the front beam.  This has helped alot towards eliminating the saggy spot.  So just for the sake of an update I am posting pictures here for your viewing pleasure.

Keep in mind that I am having trouble finding charted motif's so I am just playing around with the design on my own.

Shots of new 'Mini Loom'

I am learning so much with my new Mini Wave Inkle / table loom by Gilmore Looms.  It is quite a bit smaller than KraftyMax's model, so learning how and where to put my hands in for the warping has added a little bit to the challenge.  However, I do have small hands and not only have I succeeded, I am really starting to get the hang of it. 

So of course I took some pictures and wanted to share them with you.  These are all practice pieces so be kind!

After botching 2 warps in a row, I went for a much shorter, (3 ft.) and much narrow warp, out of yarn that I had tons of.  I only warped one color and I got bored with the actual weaving of it, so I tried floats in the same color as the background.  They are usually done on a striped background and I had been told that they would not show with two tones for the background.  I wanted to see for myself.

Believe it or not I love this tone on tone piece and I intend to do a white and ecru piece very soon.  (I think the floats will show just fine with the right yarns.)  I think one will be matte and the other will have a sheen.  Should be very elegant.

I tried to enlarge this picture, but it got too blurry to see the design any better than this one.

After ruining yet another warp, I again set out smaller, again.  I think this one was around 5 ft. and I am (of course) still having trouble following other people's designs.  I hate looking back and forth to the graph, and un-weaving if I make a mistake in THEIR design. I tried charting my own and found it tedious, (duh) so I just started weaving and doing pick up as the mood hit me.  

I did look at Helen Bress' book and came up with some things that are similar to her designs.  Part of the problem is that I don't always have the same thread count that they (other designers) do.

  I am having so much trouble wrapping my head around this warping business that I am lucky to get it on there at all.  So once its on I just go with it.  It has grown since I took these pictures. it is now about 30 in. long.  

I already had in mind to do a belt for KraftyMax's "hippie chick daughter",   (and then before I could she actually ashed for one, LOL) and I think this one might even be long enough.  If not I have plenty of purple.  It happens to be Kraftymax's, her daughter's, and my daughters favorite color.

This is the beginning and I think the one on the left kind of looks like a flower. 

Of course there will be more pictures when it is completed.  I think I am even going to add beads into the fringe!  Wish me luck and keep following.  Same bat time, same bat channel.

My corner of the world!

 Boy am I having fun.  I have also destroyed alot of yarn :-( .  See EVERYTHING to do with warpface fabric is the OPPOSITE of what I have been doing for the last 12 or so years in tapestry weaving.

When I warp for tapestry, it really takes very little time.  Even when I use the warp bar which makes the warping a hair more complicated.  It can be done with practice in about 30 min.  Not so with warpface fabric.

All of your design is in that warp as those are the only threads that show.  If you want stripes, or if you want to do pick up patterns, or brocade you have to warp accordingly.  On  warping board.  There are also alot more threads in a warp face design.  On tapestry the average for me is between 6 or 8 ends to the inch.  On tapestry it can even be 50 or more to the inch.  So a 2 inch fabric would require 100 warp threads.  Get the picture?

I have destroyed more yarn in the past month than I think I ever have in my life, AND I HATE WASTE.  At least I am not using all of my beautiful yarns that KraftyMax gave me yet.  It is a very good thing she gave me yarns as all of this warpface weaving takes an entirely different kind of yarn to my "fuzzier, stickier" tapestry yarns.  You need yarns smooth, slick yarns that won't catch on each other because they are all pushed as close together as possible for warpface weave.

I did get two small green linen bookmarks though.  When I rewarped after destroying the first warp, I went decidedly shorter and narrower.  I even did a float pattern on a solid green piece.  I was told you wouldn't be able to see them unless you had a striped background, but I figured at that point I had nothing to loose.  Well it does indeed show, it is just a much subtler effect.  I am thinking of eventually doing a piece that has a matt off white and a shiny off white to see if I can get a tone on tone pick up design.  Saving that yarn for now though until I have a few more warp successes.  LOL

As for Thursday's weave workshop, Dana completed her first tapestry and removed it from the loom.  I was very proud to find out that she had been weaving quite often while I was out of town.  She even played around with some different techniques.  She tells me that she is going to make a handbag and our next warping will be the strap and side panels for the bag.  BRAVO DANA.  (I am the proud mama again.)

She isn't sure she wants me to share pictures with you yet...but I will keep trying.

So this is what is going on in my little corner of the world.

I will definitely be posting more pictures as soon as I have some success with my new Mini Wave loom.

Warping the "Wave" loom.

This one belongs to KraftyMax and is larger than mine.  But I thought I would post some pictures of me warping it up so you can get more info if you wanted to.  This loom  is DESIGNED AND BUILT TO ORDER.  They are a unique hybrid of table loom and Inkle loom.  They are tough!  Strong metal ratchets, strong hard wood beams, texsolv heddles...If you are looking for a smaller portable loom you are just gonna have to have one of these looms.  

You can find them at Gilmore Looms!  Tell them Marsha sent you!

Oh yeah, and try to ignore the woman having the severe bad hair day in these pictures!

What I've been up to!`

Well I am back in GA again.  Hated leaving FL, had so much fun.  Got to see people I love very much and tons of fiber art STUFF!

Got home yesterday to find my new 'Mini Wave' had been delivered.  Wooo Hoooo, I probably won't even come up for air for a week or so.  LOL

My friend Dana who bought the Rigid Heddle had ordered it for me as payment and had it delivered to her work place.  So when she got off work she brought it to me.

Bet you guys didn't know KraftyMax was a fiber geek as well as a jewelry / bead geek.  Basically I guess she is just an extremely talented artist and homemaker.  Anyway, she loaded, and I do mean LOADED me up with some of her surplus yarns.  It was like going to Joann's or Michael's in that closet.

Since Dana is now following in the wake of my fiber geekdom I broght her a big bag of yarns also.  I was very excited to give them to her and see her reaction.  I think my choices will serve her well as we continue to Tapestry weave and for when she learns to use her Rigid Heddle as well.  There are absolutely no yarn stores in our little one horse town.  We have to travel at least an hr for one and even then there isn't much in the way of selection.  Certainly not of the 'fine' yarns, like Merino wool and such.  It's pretty much acrylic heaven.

Now don't get me wrong, Acrylic yarns have their place.  You certainly can't beat them for wash and wear items that get put in to the dryer.  They are soft, and the colors can be mind blowing.  But for things like weaving they are too stretchy and spongy most of the time.  So I brought her some Acrylic to practice with, things like lap blankets and such on the RH, and I also brought her some fine yarns for her tapestries and such.

I was delighted to find out that she has almost completed her first tapestry while I was away.  She even ran out of a certain color and we will be going over to the Art Center to retrieve a small ball of it today at lunch as she is striving to complete her piece by tomorrow nights class so that we can take it off of the loom, and hopefully start another!  I have so many kewl things I can't wait to show her.

As for me I have tons of yarns and such to go through myself in the next couple of days.  I find from my experiments of late that tapestry and Inkle/warpface weaves require very different kinds of yarns and I definitely need to do some organizing.  I probably need to bring down my sewing machine as well. Lots to do to catch up so I can play with my new toy.  I even have some t shirts to stash away for a future rag rug!  I will be a busy beaver for a little while!

Be sure to keep an eye out for tomorrow's post.  There will be pics of me warping up the Large Wave loom for KraftyMax to play with while I am away.  Don't forget to take a look at her sites and her parents' as well.  Mr. and Mrs. Allen own Gilmore Looms and you will love their products!

Thought you might like to see some of the 'Collections' I have been honored in.

Some of these are old, some are new.  I am honored to be in all of them.  Just rediscovered the links, so I thought at the risk of tooting my own horn I would share them with you.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=3797
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=3748
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=1660
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=1657
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=717

Groups I belong to!

If you are following this blog, then you are probably a fiber geek like me!  Soooooo, I have decided to introduce you to some of the groups that I have found online that are very beneficial. 

There is absolutely no favoritism in how I will list these.  I am active, probably more active than most members, in several of them.  I find invaluable information in ALL of them.  If you are a 'fiber geek' I think you will enjoy them also.

http://weavolution.com/http://www.weavezine.com/
http://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/
http://www.ravelry.com/

I also follow several fiber artists' blogs, and I am constantly finding new info.  Or even info that is written in a manner that I understand better than when I found it the last time.  Things will just sometimes 'click' after reading it from a different perspective.

I hope that you also find these helpful!  Happy reading!

New loom

I am still in Jacksonville, FL., and I still don't have MY new loom, of course.  It is not even due to arrive in GA till Tuesday the 5th.

However, since I am visiting the daughter (KraftyMax) of the owner of Gilmore looms, I have access to her loom.  She has the largest of the WAVE table/inkle looms.  Mine will be the smallest, called the MINI WAVE.   Soooo, I have warped up Max's and would like to share pictures of what I am doing.

I used a traditional warping board.  Do keep in mind that normally I use one continuous warp thread that is wrapped around my frame and a warp stick, even my rigid heddle had an alternate method for warping.  It was called the peg method and it also was one continuous thread, no warping board.

This is only my 3rd time warping with a warp board.  VERY DIFFICULT! at least for me.  I put 11 feet on it.  I found it to definitely be a learning curve.  Moving the warp from the board in an organized fashion and mounting it onto the frame is all foreign to me.  I must also say there were several major problems...somehow I managed to correct them for the most part and not waste the warp.  The yarn I used for the warp also came from Max and I believe it is silk.  Definitely didn't want to waste it.  It is beautiful, very bright and shimmery.

I have indeed been weaving a lovely 4 inch wide inkle/warpface band.  I intend to make Max and her daughter ( who now proudly wears the blue and brown prototype cuff bracelet) matching cell phone pouchs, myself a bracelet and I am not sure what else.  I have never had the option of this much warp before.  Of course now I also get to learn how to hem stitch.  I always used half hitches on my tapestries.  Hemstitching was never necessary, I never minded the fringe either.

I may have to get out the sewing machine eventually.  I am trying to avoid that though, I really don't need another hobby or to try to figure out where to put it.  Lack of space remember, is why I sold the rigid heddle.

In tapestry, warping takes very little time, weaving much longer.  In warpface textile, warping is MUCH more time consuming, weaving very much faster.  Everything is backwards for me, the design, the warping, the types of yarns, even the hand motions.

I am making some strides though.  Check it out for yourself.  The pictures aren't great, please forgive me.  I will get better ones soon....even the finished projects will be posted.

I had my reservations about ordering the smallest wave, but this one is a bit of a moose.  I think I will be quite happy with one that is a little less bulky for my smallish person.

Warp Floats!

Newest Inkle band's on tapestry loom

I thought I would post a couple of pictures of the last warpface band I did before I left GA. on my little trip to FL.  It is just another practice piece and I even put snaps on this one as a practice bracelet.

I didn't even try to make the pick up pattern symmetrical.  I like the pink and coppers color together though.  I was just looking for a little twist on the pink/brown craze.

I do indeed like the snaps!  They serve a dual purpose of also keeping the weft from unweaving.  I don't have to bother with  the ends at all.

The largest one is a bookmark, no snaps of course.

Going to Florida!

My daughter is coming down from North Carolina to get the rest of her possessions out of storage.  She will be picking me up on the way and taking me to visit friends and family in St. Augustine, and Jacksonville.  I am so excited.  I have been very homesick.

My only regret is that I will probably be there when my new loom arrives.  Carol even ordered me a book on Inkle weaving for my birthday, and I will probably be gone when it arrives also.

However, KraftyMax is going to lend me her larger 'Wave' loom while I am there so I will get to practice at her house with some guidance for warping before I come home and have two of them to weave on.

I will indeed be checking in on my 'web stuff' from her hubbies lap to while I am there, so if you need to find me feel free to e mail.

I am sure there will be tons of pictures taken to be posted upon my return.  TTYL

I sold my Rigid Heddle Loom!`

My Rigid Heddle didn't get much use and further more it was too large for my current living situation.  Even when it had it's own space in the spare room with the spinning wheel and all of my fibers it simply didn't get used much.  I prefer tapestry, so that is the loom that stayed the closest at hand and got used (and still does) the most.

I sold it for the price of a small lap loom I wanted.  It is made my friend KraftyMax's parents.  They live in California and own Gilmore Looms.  The loom is  technically a modified Inkle Loom.  It has texsolve heddles though and a cloth and warp beam.  You can put up to 5 yards of warp on it, depending on the yarns you are using.

These looms are called the "Wave", and I could only afford the smallest of these called the 'Mini Wave'.  It will weave maximum 4 in. wide.  At the rate of success I have been having with my warpface weaves, this is probably the maximum I would ever hope to achieve anyway.  LOL

Traditionally these bands, tapes, ribbons, (small thin strips) are pieced together to create larger pieces of fabric.  These are used all over the world in places like African and Peru. 

Since it will fit in my lap I am thinking it will be more ergonomic for my body aches and pains.  Wish me luck.

My weave workshop lady bought the RH and I will be giving her private lessons as part of the sale.  Wonderful!  I love the barter system.  She gets what she needs and wants, I get what I need and want.  Bravo!