poof

i was merrily knitting away some 2 color samples when the machine died-mind the spelling- away.
no smoke, noise or other sign, but i think it blew a fuse.
in fearlessness i went inside the machine to check it, but i think i need a thingie to test the fuse and see if it's working.there are instructions to change it; however  there's a bit of soldering. i am fearless, but soldering might prove to be a bit too much.





in any event there's a lot on my plate right now so repairs may have to wait. too bad.













neki desu
 

awol

   

guess where i was last week? more here


neki desu

shuttle maniac

double shuttles for silk weaving. the new one is hasegawa san's. the old one probably too or by one of his ancestors as he is third generation shuttle maker. my friend amanda, whose kindness is overwhelming, offered to buy me one when she was in kyoto last month. she then found a place that sold second hand weaving tools and  got me the old one as a gift. seriously, i am having my will written so i can leave all my shuttles to someone. japanese shuttles are designed for hand weaving, not adapted from the industry, so they feel great in the hand and have the precise weight. one has to remember that in the beginning there was hand weaving and then much much later came the rest.（*▽*）

threading order                  threading mechanism

  

threading 101 using the  threading wire. it has a small eye 

through which the silk yarn is threaded. i just love the ingenuity of the system. the prove it works is that it has been used forever by the  handweavers in nishijin.

neki desu

bengara

the series i have been working on since i returned from japan. all that red and those stones found their way into weaving. the beginnings are here  ,where i explain the process, and here.
i beg your forgiveness for the quality of the photos. it proved to be a greater challenge than expected and this is the best i could do  （´＿｀）



neki desu
 

development

a very cool building in ginza.




photo processed and glitched











further processing and resized.

and finally knitted. cut  the last 40 rows on a whim. maybe shouldn't have done it.





neki desu

mono no aware

have a good weekend!



neki desu
 

a useful exercise

from very little collapse to maximum.the wide white is doupioni silk in a very slubby texture.





weaves are plain and han
damask light and tight beat.

then merino wool weaves:han damask and plain weave light beat.
the collapse came in the  wet finish so it's  fulling

after these:
wool steel and crepe wool light beat,
plain weave. the weave close to
the magenta yarn is all
wool stainless by itself, with a firmer beat

48/2 merino and crepe wool, very light beat. plain weave and han damask.the warp kinks out.












end game: wool crepe same as warp

han damask light and firm beat.

 plain weave, very light beat.

neki desu