Seabreeze Spinners

Ebay of course is one of my favorite sites to watch for used spinning & weaving equipment. Also look for a guild in your area. They often have used equipment for sale and people who are willing to help you get started. Two of my favorite on-line resources are: Online Spinning & Weaving Guild and Spinners’, Weavers’ and Knitters’ Housecleaning Pages

Enjoy the chase.

Tropical Twister

Tropical Twister

Fiber Space met yesterday here are lots of photos of current projects. Congratulations to our beader extrodinaire who recently acquired a loom and refurbished it. She brought in her first project (black & white striped scarf). We our proud to report (LOL) that she dressed the loom and started her project before reading the weaving book she’d purchased to guide her (the long hard way BUT…you really learn your loom that way and intimately understand the process and relationships between warp & weft). Another beader was busy beading a mirror to mount when she creates another patch work purse like the one she’s showing. Our spinner is spinning the finest of yarn. She is wearing the summer-winter, blue & white beaded necklace she made and I felt it needed documenting too. Others beaded, crocheted, and finished rag rugs.

My goal was to set up the box loom/tape loom for a new red/white tape. The tape is 8/2 cotton warp with perle cotton weft. You can see the tape as it progressed.

We’ll meet again the last Saturday of the month in August.

Tropical Twister

My Julia, “the little red loom from Glimakra” arrived yesterday! I’ve documented lots of photos showing how it’s going together. A very nice loom, at a great price.

It arrived in a flat shipping box and shipping from Sweden, it is one of the ways they’ve kept the cost down. Opening the box it looked pretty complicated but with the aid of drawings and a great CD instructions, it’s coming together. The “Weaving on the Julia” which comes with the loom if GREAT! It provides simple direction without condesending to the experienced weaver but still providing details the novice like me needs.

You’ll notice the Kessenich Loom project rug at the front door. Couldn’t resist giving it a place of honor. More as I get her up and weaving.

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I finished my first project on the reconditioned Kessenich Loom, a rag rug. I created a lot of learning opportunities along the way, LOL, but I’m well pleased with the results.

Aren’t all creative people messy? …

What a lovely close to a Smoky Mountain vaction but saddly, back to the real world Monday, tomorrow, the car trip home.

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I originally planned to use “natural” colored warp but after consideration, I decided to use double stands of thread for the warp. I only had enough natural for 1/2 the warp. I combined yellow & khaki for additional warp stands with additional warp of double brown and others with double orange. The best idea is to change colors while creating the warp. I however, didn’t plan out the color distribution until after I warped the various colors, so I had to address each color individually. As a friend said recently, “I like to do everything the hard and long way”. LOL, I think that’s me too. Today, I began dressing the loom. I completed about half of the warp. More tomorrow…

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It is a day to celebrate! Yesterday my heddles and reed were delivered. I loaded up the loom with the heddles. The Texsolv heddles are light and I was concerned the heddles might float, not so, everything works easily and smoothly. I’ve started to measure out the warp this morning. My husband the engineer used bungee cords to secure the warping board firmly but temporarily. He’s a genius!

I’m excited to start my first rug. I’m using the Rag Rug Handbook by Janet Meany & Paula Pfaff The book is detailed with abundent photos and clear drawing. I highly recommend! I’ve identified the wood of the loom. Apparently the older Kessenich Looms were fashioned from cherry not red oak. It is beautiful.

Lacy is in a much better mood today…no fireworks and no thunderstorms. We’re having a grand time in the mountains.

Tropical Twister

I’ve completed the second tape. As you can see from the photos below, the first tape that was completed with the paddle loom alone, backstgrap fashion, has very inconsistent widths. The second, my first tape on the cradle loom, was much more consistent. With some practice, I should be able to produce fairly consistent tapes.

The next project I’d like to try on this loom is with finer cotton thread and a floating pattern weft. I’ll keep you posted.

Tropical Twister

My plans to use a sewing machine stand as the base for a “weaving accessories table” are moving forward. I purchased a “table top” from Lowes, a laminated 3/4″ plank 24″ by 16″. I glued 2 – 2 by 4 pieces to the underside. I then stained the top and started to layer latex spar varnish to make the finished table water resistant.

In between coats of stain and varnish, I worked on my tape. It seems to be progressing nicely. You can see the finished tape winding up on the cloth beam.

Sitting on the deck in the mountains…70 degrees…life is good, least for me. Lacy doesn’t look too thrilled to be wearing her 4th of July outfit.

Tropical Twister

The set-up and weaving process for the Norwegian Cradle Loom with a rigid heddle is as follows. First, I used locker hooking twine, pre-cut lengths of soft string, to tie loops of equal length through all the holes on the warp beam and the cloth beam.

I threaded the paddle style tape loom (mine is from Fred & Grace Hatton, Finn Sheep) according to the diagram from Handwoven Magazine, Interweave Press using the warp color order directed for “tape loom or rigid heddle loom”. I tied small bundles of the warp to the twine loops on the warp beam. When all the warp had been tied, I slowly turned the warp beam to wind on all the warp. To keep the warp from getting tangled and to assure an even draw of thread, I wound a length of drawer/shelf paper somewhat narrower than the warp beam with the warp threads. Then I tied the thread coming from the warp beam and through the paddle tape loom to the loops on the cloth beam. With everything in place I was ready to weave. By lifting the paddle up for one pass and pushing it down for the next it created alternating sheds for a nice tabby weave.

The first weft thread, which was later discarded, was thick white cotton. Several passes caused the warp to tighten up. Then I started weaving with my warp. I selected crochet cotton size 10 to use as weft. The weft needs to be finer than the warp. My warp is cotton rug warp, that is, rather heavy cotton. I am using black as my weft color choice as my pick was between black or white at WalMart. I would have prefered brown to match the outside warp threads. (Not a lot of choices here in the mountains. I stopped at a quilt shop but they were closed to prepare for Christmas in July, what are the chances of that happening, so I pressed on to WalMart.) While the weft “does not” show in warp dominate weaving, it does; it shows slightly on the edge of the tape. Actually, the black works just fine against the brown warp threads. After I wove an inch or so, I removed the white cotton yarn and left just the final tape threading. I plan to go back and secure the end before it is removed from the loom.

I love the loom!! My tape is much more regular than when I used the paddle loom alone as a back strap loom, as I am able to maintain the tension. I expect to try some other projects with this cradle loom when this tape is done, perhaps card weaving.

Tropical Twister