not so succesful

sumi-e pracice this week.my fish look like hakes or maybe moray eels and not koi. ganbarimasu💪

until i get it.

on another note the neighborhood's chinese bazaar is top notch.

found there which will work beautifully for the aya suiboku ink sticks.

was making do, but the new ones are not only more pro but also convenient. and they are just sauce dishes not the real mackoy.

neki desu

 

of tools

this little contraption from the chinese bazaar is god's answering service.it works for steaming,for keeping fabric below the surface of the indigo vat without touching the bottom and getting ruined.it also works forkeeping the samples pinned with a clothespin at the bottom, making them practically crease free. not to mention the original use of drying your underwear.

every japanese balcony has one as portrayed in japanese dramas. (￣ω￣ )

this other baby although a much pricier contraption also rocks it. you can dye in it keeping the temperature stable, you can use it as asteamer, you can also make beer! which btw is the original use. ask me why hardware clerks hate me.

i haven't been using it much as the electricity has skyrocketed.but usually weekends are ok.for steaming you only need to create the steam and put the fabric in which doesn't consume much energy. top it with aheavy cloth to gather the droplets and not ruin your work and wait 15 to 30 mins with the tank turned off.

neki desu

 

of harite and shinshi

one of those unbeatable tools created out of sheer ingenuity by the japanese.one wooden slat has nails which fit into holes on the the slat.the fabric is held there and the slats are tied to a tree or whaterver to keep the fabric taut.you can adjust the tautness by simply moving one end farther away.that's it.beauty.

i am especially fond of my harite as it was made and gifted to me by bryan-san on my 2014 visit to his place in fujino.

now you need to tighten the other plane and you do it with shinshi ,flexible bamboo rods with a nail at each end.

your cloth is ready to brush color on it.

et voila! you'e all set.the second beauty is that you can build your tools easily. i've been using my bamboo tree culms and some pins inserted at the ends and it works.

neki desu

 

the art of tool making

always admired the japanese for having created aseparate craft of tool making.their tools are simple,efficient and meet their needs. those brushes each one with specific use. i mean you can paint backgrounds with other brushes but nothing beats the hikizome brush for  evenly covering backgrounds.

 same with shinshi. i've been buying them on every trip, but as the eu custom regulations have  changed lately i don't forsee lots of shopping since i box the purchases and send them surface mail.last time i din't have to pay any taxes but got hit with nice brokerage fees.this year i dont think even tea will escape being taxed.

as a result i've started creating my shinshi.these are the first pair, quite luxurious bcse i'm using some of my black bamboo stems. (* ^ ω ^)  notice one of them has the pin cap out will have to hack its use meaning making the hole first.have solved the issue for  the future  by using the glue gun to fill the hole if too big.

let's see how i make progress with this latest folly.

neki desu 

 

the tools of japan

ive always delighted in their simplicity and effectiveness.simple  yet sophisticated. most artisans build their own tools as needed. we who can't build them, resort to buying or depending on the kindness of friends. these harite were made and gifted by a friend.have kept them idle for 8 +years  until a wide enough project happened.

this is an exercise from the maiwa course. have to secure the masking tape better to get clean hard edge lines.once the fabric gets properly stretched ie. the distance between chairs is the correct( the harite is given and wont alter) the masking tape won't be much of a problem.painting with alum-iron solutions in different strengths, cut into 4-5 pieces   and then immersion dyed in chosen dyes. a sample chart of dyes and mordants .

the underneath is kept tensioned by the 

shinshi another simple effective tool.

won't be using my beloved japanese brushes because of the iron.

neki desu 

 

when youre the bug

you are knitting away when you notice a needle giving trouble. needless to say it's in the middle of the bed and mid project.whoa! woe!

so tankful to have a garter bar. with care you can transfer the knitting to it lay it on a table and proceed to change the pesky needle.then carefully put the knitting back and get on with the knitting.

you have become the windshield of the proverb.

neki desu 

 

the ultimate raddle

found these knitting looms( would you believe the name?) at the chinese euro store.removed the pins from the other side, made a hole to connect both and i have a raddle spaced at 2 cms with tall enough pins to avoid disasters.

just need to find a 5-10 cms wide piece of wood for a base attach the raddle to it and life is good.

if you happen to have a friend with a 3d printer perhaps you can come up with a neater hack.

neki desu

 

being grateful

 got the tig wires for blocking knits.thanks to this man in you tube who refrained me from spending 30 € for a few wires. although the thin skinned were offended by how the man expresses himself ,i found it pretty hilarious, the poor guy just  knows knitting exists.

got 60 wires for 16€ ! and now i can block in

length and width

with the savings i got these wonderful vintage buttons. helping local businesses.

neki desu

 

more beautiful tools

what a pleasure writing with these brushes.
have a good weekend

















neki desu
 

happy dance realm

may i introduce my new to me lace carriage? found someone from the u.k. in e-bay who had no issues with posting abroad. we're talking europe here which is akin to adding a bit more postage than to scotland or wales.no custom papers no nothing🙄🙄

so happy dance ,






neki desu
 

creative thoughts

i don't want to buy more equipment nor i have space for more so i really need to optimise everything i own. good brain exercise!
the cone holder moved under the k-machine and the combination of gate pegs and knitting carriage
gives enough tug so that the 18 turn x inch wool warps smoothly without kinks.

using all to it's full capacity and then some more
could qualify as zero waste.mottainai













neki desu

the threader

i like the elegant simplicity of japanese tools.i also like that they are crafted by craftspeople for craftspeople.in this case the shuttle is for handweaving, not an adaptation from the industry, so it fits the hand, has an adequate weight and it's a beauty.and it works.

the threading mechanism as you can see is very simple ; a wire hook goes through eyelets, picks up both yarns and pulls them through another eyelet at the top.

tension is created by the number of eyelets the yarn goes through.

the eyelets are mounted on a tilting bamboo piece with a spring so one can join them to pass the yarn.

that's it. it makes me smile every time i have to change bobbins.

neki desu

to every thing there's a season

and a time to every purpose...

this is a page from a book i bought when planning my first trip to japan.it was shuttle love at first glance.could not get to them then. although i spent 3 months in japan there was too much to see, experience,eat and absorb. almost on sensory overload i came back and took me a good two years to process, slow that i am.

on my second trip i got to them and the maker. by now i had the right weaving mindset, a loom beyond my 12 shaft table loom and felt very much at home in terms of the craft; had done away with the art vs craft bs and was fearlessly weaving submitting work to shows and not apologizing for or justifying my weaving.

now when i use my shuttles i experience things i don't know i could have years ago.i'll never know, but it really doesn't matter.

neki desu

wild imaginings

wouldn't this be great for my table loom? now i only need to add a lifting mechanism.

have a good weekend.




neki desu

tools of the trade

the p carriage made for silver reed k-machines. hacked and used by ingenious brother k-machine knitters.this tool aides in creating long dropped stitches.  i'll go miles  for a planned distressed look.
here's a vid showing a clever elegant hack for the tool. actually, the tool is not touched at all.

neki desu

of packaging

my new sectional beam and underslung beater aka free standing.

so well made i'm delaying opening it. and fast delivery. Louet rocks.

tomorrow i'll start drilling holes, and pinning down the carpenter.

neki desu

thanking multishaft looms

doing pick up. cannot imagine creating imagery for yardage this way!

the image is quite ambitious, let's see how long of picking up can i take as it goes snail pace.

character building if none.

moving on : louet responded very quickly.already ordered the sectional beam and standing beater.

now on to find a carpenter to build the extension.

when it rains, it pours.

neki desu

utilities

i don't do cute, in fact i detest cuteness in grown up women.i find it as a dumbing down confinement to women; you're cute,children are cute:ergo you are a child.

the feminist just spoke and stepped down the soapbox before it would get harangue like.

rewind. 

i was at tiger stores, like a chinese dollar bazaar, but with good scandinavian design.their products are useful, well designed, inexpensive and not use and throw away.

i was there looking for some post it pads and at the entrance there were these wooden spools filled with xmas cuterie ribbons and trimmings,all extremely falalalala.

seeing beyond that the spools could be used for yarn odds and ends.the spools are 8 cms tall and can hold 50-100 mts fine grist yarns.

at 1€ each i can wait until i go back to japan and get itomakis. 

neki desu

where to look

this object has been in my sewing box for quite some time now. as i've mixed feet& attachments from 2 machines to "simplify" i had no idea which machine it came from.if you don't know what it is google is pretty useless. besides google has turned into a pay advert place where the first 4 pages are for paid stuff. 

that might help business and google, but not the regular user who just wants/needs information. and we thought google rocked time ago. sigh.

i am relying more and more on pinterest as a source of information which not also provides visuals, but also links where to find that information.

well yesterday  looking in the pattern drafting boards one link led to another and yet another et voila!

found a photo of the above and learned that it's a seam guide. i am one very happy camper now.

disclaimer: i do not pin anything nor anyone.i just use pinterest as a source of information, just like google in the good ol' days.

let's see if pinterest doesn't die of success as google did.

neki desu

fiat lux

pretty sick of dealing with clamped lamps.however, to my delight i found a diy project for  making a a free standing movable * light fixture which  i hacked to my convenience. it will serve for both the k machines and with an additional led strip on the beater, my loom.

 without much preamble here's what you need:

• 2 pvc pipes which will serve as uprights cut to the desired height
• 4 lengths that will make the feet 
• 2 90 degree fittings (not threaded)
• 2 T fittings (not threaded)
• 1  pvc pipe cut to desired length ( i chose transparent for increased light diffusion) which will hold the light.
• 1 tube led  light( the look is similar to a small fluorescent tube, but it's more compact,lightweight and gives led light)
• pvc glue

 measure the space where it is going to go,the horizontal pipe will give you the width of the fixture.

i got my pvc tubes cut to measure where i bought them.if not you'll need a hacksaw to perform the cuts. 

also the light fixture i bought comes with the clamps, screws and cable.

work:

connect the 4 lengths to the T fittings. put a dab of glue in the lower holes of the fittings as you connect the pipes. this will strengthen the joins adding stability.let them dry.

connect the uprights to the feet adding a bit of glue.let them dry.

put the elbow fittings on the uprights,add glue and dry.

do not put glue on the holes that will carry the horizontal pipe.you can later remove it and add a longer or shorter pipe according to your needs.

mount the light:

make 2 holes on the horizontal pipe with a soldering iron; if not available use a hot metal skewer.these holes will help you to ease in the screws.screw in the holding clamps or whatever comes with your light fixture and push the light tube in.

you're done.

if you need more information leave a comment and i'll address it. let's keep it open  here, so that others can benefit.


*trivia: when i started the blog in 2005-wow 10 years already- i desperately wanted hemingway's novel as the blog's name.woe is me, it was already taken. as movable is  a variant of the spelling
i did not hesitate and have been happy ever after.


neki desu