meanwhile back at the ranch

taking advantage of a bug free warp and tying on. it's a hell of a slow process,but it saves two steps.

especially with this nervewrecking wiry silk i think it's adequate .

still need to do some computer work to see what  i  can weave with this straight draw without getting bored. today is the last japanese class. want to end them badly so i can concentrate on other things. need to start planing the trip to bilbao. and there's passport renewal in barcelona. hope i can solve it on line and avoid the trip there.who would have thought.

neki desu

 

one happy camper

finished washed but not ironed yet.beauty shot here with a textured band.

another beauty shot front and back.

the front shows the distinctive warp colors. the back is predominantly blue.

two for the effort of one. love how the irregularities of the yarns show up.

i was somewhat  hesitant to weave a crepe with so much color but the outcome is not bad at all. what do you think?

eki desu 

   

almost

finished. this project has been wall to wall fun.i am really enjoying seeing how all the irregularities of the yarns weave and show up on the surface. a well tensioned warp, just a few bugs and broken threads.

straight draw which is always a piece of cake. as the japanese say: simple is better. let's see what becomes of this crepe weave after wet finishing it.

already planning the next warp .a beautiful tightly spun silk bought in france but from brazil,of all places.didn't know until then they traded in silk.

i bought kilos and kilos of silk years ago from a mill in france now sadly defunct. bought organzine, s and z twist crepe yarns and this one. that's how i ended up concentrating on weaving fine silk.

anyhow when washed this silk relaxes and becomes almost silk floss . weft is still to be sourced from the stash. taking advantage of the debugged warp and will tie on to it.

neki desu 

 

shibui

 adding random  shibui bands.

intense weaving needs back relief.

 

lettuce like cawliflowers and in the background surviving kuke plant.

string beans as food fodder for slugs and other nasties.

radishes can defend themselves pretty well.

and now back to weaving.

neki desu

 

a shuttle and a hack

this is my favorite shuttle, handmade by hasegawa-san of kyoto. the slanted and relatively pointed ends are ideal for silk. it also feels good in the hand.i believe all the craftsmanship and feelings passed down for generations are embeded in it. it is mind boggling in its simplicity, yet it is functional,;the three eyelets on the side give the appropriate pull to the yarn.

the warping went well, still need to fine tune the new method. however, even a straight draw can present complications. save all your berries containers, they are excellent thread separators for film cans housing correcting ends.

neki desu

 

the chosen and wabi sabi

which weaves like this. i am not claiming all the copyright bs in fashion  as i know someone somewhere along the line came up with this, either  gererated by a PS action or paper and pencil. there's a tendency to think one is fabulous and unique which it isn't quite so. off the soapbox.

adore the irregularities of the yarns. actually it's a yarn show.  (￣ω￣ ) an exercise in wabi-sabi.

warp: silk dyed with walnut and madder( not shown) weft: heavier silk indigo dyed gifted by a friend.

first monday without tai-chi, full weaving day.

neki desu 

 

and now pixel fun

i knew i had it, i found it but i needed instructions on how to. alice's schleins crepe creation action for photoshop.yesterday i spent the whole morning perusing her blog  not that it was a chore mind you.it's  veritable a delight and there's so much information! alice, one of the sages of the tribe, has given a lot to the weaving community, we all would be less than half way of where we are now.  looking through the blog i was reminded that i am, above all and despite all my detours, a weaver.

 this particular project i want simple the yarns will speak as i wanted a textured fabric in the crepe range.alice had created a crepe making action which runs in photoshop . the image is then taken to the weaving software and this will tell you the treadling.

a rabbit hole, i warn you.

these are just a few. still have to go through fiberworks and see how they weave. 

here's  the link to the page where the action, pattern preset and the how to are located.forget about the laundry and have some fun. 

you're welcome  <(￣︶￣)>

neki desu

 

opportunity cost

in this method is high not very economical as there are extra steps and movements.the reed hung on the back has to be threaded. once threaded the wind up starts.the advantage is that the threads warp in precise order as they were picked up from the back  cross.no twists ,no breakage.once beamed the  front cross is passed behind the reed and secured, then the reed is taken out and the threading commences. after that the rest is standard procedure,threading,reeding and tying. 

 look at my faithful knitting weights working hard.

albeit the extra steps i like it,kind of, as

all those threads wind in their corresponding places. it is especially adequate for thin silks whether springy or not.

beauty shot. i have another warp in mind and will repeat to ,as a knitter friend says, proof the concept.

neki desu

 

of warps

et another method.

have a good weekend

neki desu 

 

alt warping

the other day i saw a japanese weaver warping in a similar way and i'm trying it. i had to tune it somehow as i don't have the luxury of space where i can lay the whole warp and keep the reed in the middle as i wind to the back

i think it's  a convenient method  for thin silk warps as it avoids the twists  which tend to happen in my tuned raddle. i feel i have more control of the yarns.

the louet with sectional beam is becoming a pain ; the cross is behind the shafts and it's difficult  to see  the cross well which translates into crossed threads at the front. maybe i should give up on that thin silk i use.

neki desu

 

the coming week(weeks?)

a mistake no longer made.because it ended up in trouble as you can see. i used to make warp chains and save them for later dyeing or warping. the intention was to speed up the warping process, this in a perfect world.in the real world it always got tangled andi had to re wind for weeks.this is the last one as i learned the lesson.will patiently wind it and then proceed with making the chains.after that selecting the pattern and dressing the loom.one step at a time. geezz and it's already may the 5th  ಠ ಠ  

neki desu 

   

sourcing from the stash

 for a weave. silk dyed in walnut and i believe chesnut water.the blues were a gift from a dear friend.

think i'll also use the akane dyed silk.plan is something simple to highlight the yarn colors.

have to decide on the structure but it needs to be simple, notice the operative word again, as it will be on the table loom. the dobby is still with the dead warp on bcse gutless me can't bring herself to cut it, trash it and liberate the loom.

the last hellebores.they were white but this year they came out pink.not complaining.

it's a holiday here so happy may day to all!

neki desu

 

if life were a pair of mitts

it would be peachy.two hours all together and i'm not a fast knitter.now i need to make a pair of cotton ones for the spring-summer season.vanity lives here. (￣ω￣ )

 it's been so long since i sat at the loom. with this kind of instant gratification it's not easy. i have to repair the present  mess at the loom and start weaving since i have some projects cooking.that loom has been stalled for an embarrasingly long period, occupied by a failed warp  which i dont' have the guts to trash since it's  silk dyed with natural dyes. i need courage.

neki desu

 

the sleep of the righteous

8 thread satin from way back and i mean way back. it was my satin weave period when i dedicated some time to undersatnding the structure. the silk was an amazing quality, bought in a warehouse in new jersey, a quality not to be found now. not even willing to pay lots of money for it.

something about the whiteness of it and the colors was a put off ,to me it looked  too much like a prayer shawl. went into the drawer and resurfaced some days ago.

in the midst of my present dyeing frenzy i opted for a walnut taninn dye post treated with ferrous acetate.

pleasant outcome. colors toned down and blended with the background.indeed a wearable.

neki desu

 

getting....

pretty silk, dyed with an unrememberd natural dye. perhaps shikon aka gromwell with an alkaline modifier.who remembers,who knows.

the section is already done madder orangey and this blue.

going to warp this section front to back and then  weight it individually in the back. asking for trouble? maybe.

one thing i know it is too difficult to thread from the yarn coming from the back because it is way too thin to be discernible. add frafile points to it and what do you get? the warp from hell suspended in a limbo for one year.

neki desu

 

an exercise in stubborness

i lack the courage to cut this warp and trash it.it's good silk all dyed with natural dyes. mottainai

so it's been relegated again and again, but have kept me from getting on with life,actually.it's been a year with a fully unusable loom.

 therefore new years resolution is to tackle this %#] warp and move forward. will i succeed? we shall see.

so far the offending section has been takenoff and re,reded using one of my vintage japanese reeds.

and i've started winding bobbins to make up the section. i wonder why the japanese don't use sectional beams working with such fine silks. sectional seems to be a western sort of hit. it seems you dont graduste into the major leagues if you don't use sectional warping.which with all due respect it is a royal p*i*t*a. would like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

neki desu

 

another dimension

of the intricate concept.

have a good weekend

neki desu 

 

this time is for real

🤞🤞 last 50 or so threads.thank goodness this is for my personal use.nobody could have paid the woman hours spent. unless of course it was a russian or arab tycoon. weaving will commence and let's see if there are no bugs to fix.

this summer i haven't dyed as much as i usually do. good thing i have a stash of previuosly dyed silks that will keep me through the winter.

neki desu