good to have adequate tools

the weather is overcast and muggy, awful  for being outside brushing dye to a pre mordanted scarf.

i know i am going to regret my wishes for sunshine, but at least it is dryer. i have been working inside after creating some space out of  my ever chaotic studio full of lots of everything .

anyhow  paraphrasing my beloved sennet and the craftsman it is good to have the required  tools  to complete a task.

note the harite on the foreground stretching taut the scarf. underneath some shinshi completing the task. 

i was mildly upset because all the tool nomenclature at tanaka nao has been changed and i was left in the dark.that said no one fabricates craft  tools like the japanese. they have elevated tool making to a craft itself.

the brushes;  works of art in themselves. the fat one is a small ground dyeing brush. if you regulate the amount of dye / paint you can get nice gradations. the other brush is for painting edges sharp. i think painting  fabric is my excuse for using these and getting extra pleasure from the job.

the scarf will be cured for a couple of days, then folded shibori like and dyed in ai perhaps? stay tuned.

neki desu
 

of shuttles and makers II

the finishing: filing to shape and polishing the wood. i think this is also done to prevent the wood from drying and cracking. sandra? chime in.
notice the placement of the eyelet.
the bottom shuttle is 17 cms long and 1 cm high used for silk brocading the top one is 24 cms long and 1.5 cms high for weaving the ground fabric.

there is a simple wire with a spring that holds the bobbin in place.it is flexible  from north to south and rigid  from east to west at the same time.
since japanese looms are not wide, a kimono fabric is 36 cms. wide,  the shuttles are not going to travel too far on the warp. thus this simple mechanism controls the bobbin and doesn't let it spin wildly.







neki desu
 

of shuttles and makers I

while in kyoto i had the opportunity to visit hasegawa-san's workshop housed in a traditional machiya in nishijin.

hasegawa-san is a third generation kyoto shuttle maker; a soft spoken man who downplays his importance  and fame in that very japanese way. 

his family supplied the shuttles to  silk weavers in nishijin during years and although there are not many weavers left in nishijin , hasegawa- san still continues to practice his craft.

the shuttles are made of oak blocks which are carved and filed into shape. most of the work is done by hand although drills are used to drill holes and a hand press like machine is used to force an eyelet into the holes so that the fine silk threads don't get caught.

 except for  one or two all photos are from the catalogs he gave me.
i was too enthraled and at the same time excited to take photos

neki desu

hasegawa san

back, but not quite. almost stayed. 

during this week i'll be posting a series on hasegawa-san and his handmade shuttles.japanese simple efficiency at its best.
http://web.stagram.com/p/704650103461111952_53373961

stay tuned.


neki desu

loom hacks

thread separator : from a plastic  clothespin basket. (yes, we still hang the washing)
threads can be staggered if need be.

idea from amanda 
use the ribber weights for warping!
especially short narrow warps.












hooks for adding weight, for separating bouts, for everything.

weaving update: halfway mark, 1.50 mts to go.











neki desu
 

new toy

 i never believed my parents when they said that once you grew up that was the end of toys.maybe that was true during their times, but not now.and being the gadgeteer i am it's all said.

the color changer is here; record time serving and delivery.

i spent all day yesterday sweating setting it up and learning the ropes.

those who can give or write good clear and concise instructions are not aware how blessed they are.

i still have not been able to knit more than a couple of rows because i know the problem lies in the threading: but since i am getting conflicting instructions

and  photo information i am going trial and error or i should say trial by ordeal. the good news is that the north wind is blowing and the temperature has dropped.
remember the movie chocolat?

neki desu
 

pleased to inform

that the heater works well. it only goes up to 34ªC as it is for aquariums and not for making fish broth.

i bought the 100w. one, but in theory the 50 w one would have been enough as you need a watt x liter.

the extra wattage means that it heats quicker, but once the thermostat get to 34º it shuts down.

that said it takes out the chilly edge from the vat and puts it to work. to go up to 40º must be heaven on earth, but have not found anything that could take the vat there.

another consideration i'm taking is that since the temp is not optimal i'm letting it rest for an hour after each session.

yesterday's catch.i am a very happy camper.

neki desu
 

will work for anything

just to be able to pay the electricity bill. had to bite the dust and get one because it didn't matter whether we were roasting, the ai vat was 25ºC and wasn't going anywhere. we'll see how this works.

the cord extender will be a tripper . i have also been warned by the  maker that it is not intended for other uses. but do you really think that the heater minds that the water to be heated is blue??i don't think so.

neki desu

bouncing off the walls

     

dashed to e-bay looking for the appropriate tools, a card puncher and blank cards.

the reason? this.!! you can punch the cards and work the  results on a knitting machine! lots of tuck -slip, most above my head, but a great reason to study in depth, my aim for the year.

similar to working graphically on a liftplan. actually, with some ingenuity and image resizing these can be used as liftplans too. alice??

weaving update: on my last 25 cms!!!

sewing update: pants already cut

neki desu
 

small luxuries

 it's a rule of sewing: no matter how good you are at sewing, if your scissors are blunt you end up with a less than acceptable garment.

i've always been a fiskgar's girl ever since i took a weaving course in finland in the first ice age and came across them. actually i've had those same scissors up to now. since i live in a quaint town, there's a sharpener that passes by every two weeks and i've been sharpening my knives and scissors with him. but there comes a time when no matter how much i sharpen- actually he sharpens- it's no go.

time for new ones and a great excuse to go downtown to the old city where cuchilleria roca is located.

the place is a  delightful old fashioned store which  sells knives scissors, cutlery and impressive badger shaving brushes.the salespeople are also old fashioned in their service,very helpful and what i like the most, they do not rush customers; they make you feel as if they have all day just for you.

the lady who waited on me showed me the usual fiskgars and suggested kai scissors as well. she showed me the pro range,totally out of my budget, but goodness what scissors! i settled for the 9 inch mid range and the sales pitch was totally out of her control. she said that  they were japanese and that japanese steel was very good. as if i had to be cajoled into anything japanese!!

the scissors are heaven to work with. the handle is soft and  supple, the inclination is just right helping  to cut  without the need to pick up the fabric, yet another sewing no-no.

the blades are made of katana grade steel. i am convinced of that because of  japanese  reputation for excelling in craftsmanship, even in an industrial scenario. 

and they are nice to look at.

another small luxury: re-fashioning  defectuous shibori silk scarves for facings.

i'm cutting the pockets for a skirt from an ai dyed silk scarf which didn't make the grade.

more about the skirt tomorrow.

neki desu
 

things i can't live without

beeswax for taming unryly warps.
blu tack for fitting any bobbin to my bobbin winder spindle, for attaching repair heddles in the middle of a warp (yes, always in the middle) for picking up pins, needles and beads  and as a general fixer upper.
gaffer tape from the chinese bazaar ( so that i don't go broke) for everything else.

and then:

item of a hundred uses, not only for shibori.


what are the indispensables in your studio?



neki desu
 

on my way to the fourth

three toiles later each one slightly improved from the previous and i still do not get what i want.

i want a scoop neck bodice to attach to this skirt and make a dress from this fabric.

drafting the bodice  pattern block was relatively easy, especially after getting my patternmaster ruler.

if you want to draft your patterns do yourself a big favor and get one.

ambition  always blinds me and attaching the bodice to fit the skirt, especially when it has side panels is more than a challenge to my present skills.

perseverance, perseverance. hoping to get it before summer ends. after all it is a summer dress.

happy 4th to ya'll in the u.s.!

neki desu

quality and a creative solution

   

amazed with the quality of this indigo.after so many years trying and going nowhere i've finally joined the results league. the image on the left is the 4th dip the one on the right the 6th. it has changed from a dark royal blue to a deep dark blue   ^_^  ♫♪
i had to find a creative , yet another one, solution for the dyeing hoops  that keep silk skeins from tangling. was not ready especially after spain's rescue to pay a ridiculous amount for the professional stainless steel  hoops .people at the hardware store hate me i'm telling you. i never use things for what they are intended and they don't like that. guess it challenges them in more than one way.

 here you have it: a bike lock with a clamp. it's flexible yet strong, covered in plastic and inexpensive. all i needed.

the silk skein is on its second dip.

neki desu

a bit of ingenuity

i live in a big city. some of it's joys include access to original version films, opera and theater.

the down side is that locating people to perform tasks such as plumbing or carpentry, to name a few, is difficult. when you luck out you get hit with bills hefty enough to pay for the person's second residence  or the kids' college tuition.

on line shopping is an option but there are shipping costs and then there's the immediacy factor. as a result i have to grease my brain cells and come up with creative solutions for  impromptu issues.

ergo my doubling stand:

3 strawberry containers one inside the other bottom and middle ones holding the bobbins, top one as a lid so that the bobbin doesn't fly out. the yarns are passed through a hole at the bottom of the container. the ventilation holes to keep fruit from self poaching.yarn goes all the way to the top, gathered at the top and wound on to the final weaving bobbin.the yarns are kept in order and if needed i can pass both of them through  an eye screw near the bobbin winder  to add extra tension. 

my shuttles are low profile japanese silk shuttles with wooden bobbins. they work with my loom outfit becausee it is narroweish(70 cms) and the shed is not very wide. i have had to devise a rig for the shed, but this will be the subject of another post.

i know i'm going to embarrass myself  letting you in with this pedestrian solution, but it works!

neki desu

not so scary

the tool. the vid instructions, the book.
feel confident manipulating the garter bar now.

some results.practice makes perfect...

why is it so easy to drop stitches unintentionally and so difficult to do it intentionally?

neki desu

the story behind the project

the school, as many others around this insane world, had just given the final axing touches to their textile department and program and the small beauty was in a corner literally rotting to death. ignored by all the powers that be who in turn had refused my offer, in a not so remote past, to restore it. time had come to clean and make space for more serious pursuits  and surprise, surprise, the loom was going to be thrown away.

luck in the form of a former teacher called on me  and urged me to get there as fast as i could to pick it up.  there i went, loaded it on a push cart and hauled it home for 4 blocks! a rather sorry sight, but look who's laughing now (^_^)

at first my wishful thinking lead me to believe it was a small jacq loom as the carpentry workshop at school used to build those as gifts for visiting dignitaries.then after a more sedate look i found out that it was an 18 shaft loom capable of weaving up to 20 cms.

i have along term restoration project in the horizon which is already giving husband-san the hives. moreover,blinded by ambition, i'm contemplating having either a comber board or a jacq head built.as a preliminary step i have already downloaded various documents from the late ralph griswold site.
hope that winter is long enough to accommodate both weaving and restoration projects.

you can examine the photos at will here

neki desu
 

the frugal weaver

this is my wet finishing/felting machine. it's a small washing machine better known here as a camping washing machine! it is a 41cms square  made of heavy duty plastic which holds about 20-25 liters of water with a 2kg of dry clothes capacity.

the full cycle takes 30 minutes, but you can stop and back to the beginning or wait till it finishes and give it another 30 minutes if needed.

the inside drum is made of heavy duty teflon

and the mechanism is almost pedestrian.
a dented wheel that fits into the drum's also dented edge and moves it. it stops itself and changes movement to counterclockwise, producing a backlash movement.

this little friend is extremely efficient in water and electricity consumption and acts as my alternative to running the washing machine for one scarf.
i put it inside the bathtub, put the shower head in the machine and  fill it with hot water. then when the cycle's done i unplug the stopper located at the back and the water runs out.doesn't spin dry, but i can live with that. after all felt never gets spin dried or you end up with a hideous clump of a material.

i bought my machine  several moons ago for around 30€. although i'm not into camping however, thinking of  all the money and especially  resources i've saved really makes me one happy camper. my contribution to saving the planet (^_^)
there are newer models being made. for recent converts that is.because as there are no parts subject to wear it is indestructible, and as long as you have electricity it will run.

as an aside,something i find most surprising thing is that it was made by ITT.

these machines are still going strong and you can find many brand new ones  at e bay.

neki desu

this one could well be about tennessee williams

and the kindness of strangers.

the help plea for my 牡丹掃け (ぼたんばけ-aka peony brush) was answered, as you can see by the box in the background.the internet can be a pretty awesome place too.

 no need to point out which is the the falling apart grungy brush and the brand new baby.

how can i not be available for help?

one needs to keep the wheel turning, the great mandala. 

on a less mystical note a lesson learned. one has to use the brush as part of maintenance.if not the glue dries out and it falls apart. use, baby use!

have a good inspired weekend.

 

neki desu