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tapestry or sweater--whose blog post is this?

11/25/2019

 
Picture
Four Selvedge Warp; wool; walnut dye
Last night I cast off the last stitches
of my fourth Somewhat Slanted Sweater.
Picture
This morning I gave it a good bath.
I mean.
White fleece?
Spinning, plying and knitting as I go?
For months?
Lots of time on the road?
Talk about a grime magnet.
And who is going to wash her hands
every time she picks up
spindles or needles?
Well, maybe you.
Alas, not me. 
Picture
Anyway, it should be dry by tomorrow
so I can try it on all clean and blocked.
​
For some reason,
these somewhat slanted sweaters
fit quite differently before
and after
blocking --
esp the sleeves
which  have a tendency
to
lengthen-- 
(knitter beware...)
so there is not much point in taking photos
until it has finished this growth spurt. 
Picture
Sleeve increase aside,
I'm amazed at how individual
each version is--
as individual, indeed, 
as those that I've seen
made by other people.
Picture
For there have, by now,
been a fair few made
and I'm super excited
​because the Somewhat Slanted pattern
 and the Sarah-Dippity Skirt
now have their own Ravelry Pages.
so other versions can be linked.
Picture
Here, for instance, is Vicki's version.
I totally adore how she made an elegant wide neck
then added crochet cross straps 

​to keep the shoulders from sliding down.
Picture
Getting this Ravelry page up
is a thing I've been meaning to do for ages
and can't thank Vicki enough
for helping me make it happen--
and also the wonderful Ravelry team
for linking these two patterns 
to patterns I've produced over the years
 (for other publications).
Picture
Because Ravelry is a knitting site, however,
my two weaving PDFs can't go there
(at least as far as I know),
and it may be because of this
that instead of process photos
of the new sweater,
this blog post has been taken over
by a wool and paper conspiracy:
Picture
 an indigo swirl
making its sinuous way
up walnut dyed wool warp
with the full support and consent
of a bunch of used coffee filter yarn.
Picture
It is a bit  high-handed--
though as you may have noticed 
my materials have no compunctions
about bossing me around,
and a four selvedge warp
can reduce me to a state
of worshipful acquiescence
every time.
But really,
who could resist being seduced
by such yarnish loveliness?
Picture
Anyway, 
assuming the tapestry loom doesn't get bossy again,
I'll hopefully have a few photos
of the finished Somewhat Slanted Sweater
by next tuesday.
Picture
Three Needle Bind Off: Somewhat Slanted Seams.
 And if, in the meantime,
you too want to feel
the four selvedge magic,
​(and are willing to take the risk of life take-overs)
Rebecca Mezoff and I
are having an unprecedented one day sale
on our online four selvedge warping class FRINGELESS.
The class will be 25% off on Monday, December 2nd, 2019.
The code is: 
AllFourSides
(fyi- Rebecca's other amazing classes are  15% off that day only
with the codeword: FyberMonday).


ps -- AND LOOK!
It's now Tuesday,
the sweater got dry,
and amidst all the things that I thought would keep me from blogging today
(why I wrote most of this yesterday),
I had time for a quick snap!

Mock Turtle Somewhat Slanted
+ a sliver of (one of my many)  Sarah-Dippity skirts
= a  warm and comfy outfit
for a busy day.
Yum.
Picture

the lure of color and paper

11/19/2019

 
Picture
Do you ever find
 at the end of a medium-big project
that your mind is particularly vulnerable
to the enticement other ideas?
Picture
Well, that's how it was for me anyway,
As I finished weaving
the Digestive Biscuit Tapestry last week,
the pile of multi-hued coffee filters
my friend Jodi had collected
in the process of making
her amazing watercolors
--
a pile of luscious color
that​ I had carefully stored in a cupboard
to avoid just this problem--
would not stop calling to me.
Picture
Handmade Watercolors by K. Jodi Gear made from foraged rocks and plants.
Clearly, 
the out-of-sight-out-of-mind strategy
is only temporarily effective.
Ignore them though I did
as I cut the tapestry from the loom,
no sooner had I set down the scissors,
than I put the tapestry aside to rest,
dismantled the loom,
and made a tiny indigo pot.
Picture
Indigo-dyed pigment-stained coffee filters oxidizing on a willow and grape vine sphere.
And why not?
The sun was shining,
the chickadees were chirping,
and I could take the drips outside
(wearing two sweaters and an apron),
to turn some of those
yellows (from rabbit brush),
pinks (from Cochineal),
and vaguely off-white ones (from coffee???)
into a range of greens, purples and blues. 
Picture
It  didn't take long
and was hugely satisfying--

for what's not to love about a stack
of naturally colored paper?
Picture
Then I thought --
"The tapestry 
 surely would like
​to rest a little longer--

which leaves me time
to cut a few of these into strips
and add some twist.
"
Picture
It  was kind of like ​creating
​my own box of crayons--
unsurprisingly addictive.
Picture
It was also,
I noticed,
​ a great way to avoid
the inevitable finish work
 on this fringed tapestry 
(my first in a couple of years
that was  not warped
using the four selvedge technique).
Picture
As I twisted the linen warp ends
​and sewed slits,
​I wondered how long
I could I gaze upon
those freshly spun coffee filters...
Picture
For not only did I want to see
that amazing color
neatly tapped into 
weft-faced splendor,
Picture
I also wanted to examine--
on a tactile level--
whatever it was that had led me 
to make the mid-tapestry leap
from linen to wool

a few weeks ago.
Picture
Color Card; Hand Woven Four Selvedge Tapestry; 3 1/2 " x 3" ; hand spun linen; hand spun paper/kami-ito; natural pigments and dyes
Alas, this was not a large enough experiment
to come to any great conclusions,
so more experiments will hopefully ensue. 

Here's, however,  what I did note:

1. that weaving with wool
is familiar, forgiving,
elementally comfortable
and I LOVE it beyond words
(and in the midst of weaving words).

2. that I'm still super  interested
in my ongoing cellulosic adventures--
in pursuing materials that come my way
friendly, familiar,
and easy to weave
​​or not.
Picture
Dan's Digestives; Hand Woven Tapestry; 25" x 19"; Linen Warp; Wool and Linen Weft; natural and synthetic dyes; hand and mill spun yarn.
​3. That weaving tapestries
in whatever material
is an amazing thing
to get to do.

Tapestry Toilet Tuffet

11/12/2019

 
Picture
This
is the flushing mechanism
on the tank of  our toilet.

And this (below)
is our toilet.
Picture
Or perhaps I should say --
 our former toilet.

For despite the unutterable aesthetic pleasure
of a wooden toilet tank with a copper liner,
a brass flushing mechanism,
and the ability to control the water volume
by how long you push 
on said brass button,
we replaced the whole thing last Saturday.
Picture
We were sad to see it go,
but after 30 years with us
(the tank itself is from the 1930s/40s),
aesthetics were not enough
to overcome an aged mechanism
and the extra water used
when flushing with a bucket
to actually get things 
 down the pipe.

Short of digging a hole and building an outhouse
(still illegal in town, alas), 
our new toilet is grand.
It meets all the low flush standards
for our aquifer-sucking region
and the wooden seat
helps it feel like the old one
(now at the local building recyclers 
where they are sure someone will want it
for a non-functional restoration--
wooden tank? Copper liner? Brass flusher?
what's not to love?) 

So all is Grand -- 
Picture
Except---


​
--for the dreaded
PACKING DETRITUS!!!!!!
Picture
The cardboard boxes
in which the toilet was shipped
are at least recyclable.
But the protective foam?
Not likely.
And how horrible
to stuff our garbage/landfill
with plastic-encased air.

Also, how to throw away
something that is kind of interesting
in and of itself:
interlocking sections that can lie flat
or be folded into the edges and corners
that protected the toilet
from chips and cracks
during transport--
thus preventing more waste.
A person could make something --

But arghghghghg--
why fill the house
with pieces of foam I don't need.?

Also arghghghghg---
how to avoid buying  things
that inadvertently
generate trash in my name?

Needless to say,
​ I didn't sleep terribly well--
because in the middle of the night
​I had an idea.
Picture
And first thing in the morning
I put it to the test.
Picture
It's not pretty to be sure,
but a piece of fabric tossed over the top
helps with the aesthetics.

And amazingly
​- it's  actually great:
firm-- yet squishy, 
stable--yet wobbly enough
to keep my hips moving gently as I weave--
like those giant exercise balls you can sit upon
without the rolling issues. 

Also, the height is easily adjustable
in 1 1/4 " increments
which makes it a super simple way
to deal with some of the ​pipe loom ergonomic issues
I raised last week.
Picture
This morning,
needing the tuffet to be slightly taller
than the double width allowed
I experimented
​with the two solutions below.
Both are the same height.
Picture
With its bigger base,
the one above is more elementally stable,
though the tower version on the right
is kind of fun to sit on
(in a wobbly kind of way),
as long as my feet are flat on the floor.
Picture
Certainly one or the other
(or maybe both)
will see me through
the last few inches
​of the Digestive Biscuit Tapestry.
Picture
Who knew?


ps.
It turns out that a standard pillowcase
is exactly two blocks wide by three blocks long
and I'm currently sitting crosslegged 
on a foam block/pillowcase raft
firmly yet comfortably insulated
from my cold floor.

Maybe if I put the tapestry tower
on top of the raft ...
​

Fixed Warp Leg Adjustment

11/6/2019

 
Picture
My favorite way to weave
is to sit on the floor
with a bit of old camping foam mat under my butt, 
tools, teacups and yarn within reach,
​and a growing tapestry in front of my nose.
Picture
To work comfortably and ergonomically
on a fixed* warp on a pipe loom, however
(at least if the tapestry in progress
is more than a few inches tall),
regular height adjustments are necessary --
both of the loom and of my seat.
Picture
Not sure what I was stewing about, but I've no doubt that some time at the loom helped chase those clouds away...
The seat is easiest to change.

Beginning on the floor, 
I perch on progressively taller 'tuffets'
until the wooden box in the images above,
is upright -- its tallest dimension.
Picture
When that is no longer comfortable
​ I shorten the loom legs.
Picture
With the loom laid flat
I twist off the feet  and legs
Picture
then choose the length I'll use next.

If I make the loom too short,
I'll be uncomfortably hunched over
when I begin weaving again.
If not short enough,
 I don't get to sit on the floor.
Picture
This time, I went for the shortest legs I had--
hardly a piece of pipe at all,
​but just the thing
for getting back
to my funky blue mat.
Picture
The fell is now  a few inches above
where it was in these photos
and I am once again
climbing the tuffets--
hoping to be back on the box
weaving the words "whole wheat"
​before too terribly long.
Picture
But there still many ingredients
between me and all those 'w's.
 and today I'm going for
"1 t baking powder".
So far, I have the  "1 t b"
Back to it, then!
Picture
*A Fixed Warp
 has the warp anchored to the top and bottom of the loom.
To change position (as shown in the photos above)
the weaver must move herself
in relation to the fell. 

A Continuous Warp, 
can be rotated around the loom,
allowing the weaver to stay in the same position,
and move the fell to suit her body.

Both have advantages and disadvantages --
--the first allows the weaver to see the entire tapestry the entire time
which makes spontaneous design decisions much easier,
(at least for me).
It also, potentially,  has less loom waste.

--the second allows one to weave a long/tall tapestry on a relatively short loom,
and to always sit/ stand in whatever way is  most comfortable.

Me -- I like both.
How lucky is that?

ps. as ever, to see other posts about pipe looms and various warping systems,
use  the search bar at the top of the page and see what comes up
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


    Picture
    Click for info on
    my four selvedge
    warping class
    with
    ​ Rebecca Mezoff  
    fringeless


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