Twisted is off and I’ve got issues…

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Twisted is off and I’ve got issues…

…besides the psychological ones.

Monday-I finished the twisted warp section. I had twisted it two more time, but then decided that was too much, so I unwove the top section and redid it with less twist. After cutting it off, I think that at least one more twist would have been better. What do you think? It’s an interesting idea, though, and I’m glad I did it.

The good news is that I had nice straight selvedges! I was expecting more draw-in, but it didn’t happen. Some of the issues that came up while weaving:

1. Some of the heddles came undone, which means my knots weren’t sufficient. Maybe a drop of glue on the knot? Or maybe I just need to learn how to do knots.
2. Unknotting and putting the warp back into heddles is difficult to do with this loom, but I’m not sure it would be any easier with a different type of loom. The hard part is the heddles, but, since it was a narrow section of warp, I didn’t put those warp threads into the heddles again, especially since I was having trouble with the heddles—see #1.
3. Weaving on the dining room table may not be the best location. The loom needs to be higher and
4. The lighting needs to be improved.

Taking those things into consideration, maybe the next project will be more pictorial, although I have other ideas for some shaped tapestry pieces.

Next up—warping again. Maybe I’ll do it right this time! I’ve scanned a couple of drawings and experimented with color. That means using a cartoon, another something new for me on this loom.

Later Monday—Just tied more heddles. Going to try for the entire width of the loom (12 inch weaving width) at 6 epi this time. It’s really nice to be able to experiment like this. And I did put a drop of glue on the heddle knots. Now if I can just figure out a better way to keep up with the warp thread as I warp.

Oh, and by the way, I’ve decided that I really don’t want to do a three hour seminar about tapestry with no looms. You can read more about my thoughts about possibilities for a seminar here.