a field guide to needlework
  • Tapestry
    • 1994 - 1999
    • 2000 - 2003
    • 2004 - 2007
    • 2008 - 2009
    • 2009 - 2012
    • 2013 - 2015
    • 2016 part one
    • 2016 - 2017
    • 2018
    • 2019
    • 2020
    • 2021
    • 2022
  • Store
    • Guides
  • Newsletter
  • Blog 2014-2021
  • About

Dilemmas

11/28/2017

 
Picture
Slit Tapestry/ Back of the loom/ Back light/
Yesterday, I released this tapestry from the loom.
I say 'released' because it was woven with a four selvedge warp, 
the tapestry part suspended (laced if you will)
between two supplementary warps of fly line backing,
and when such a tapestry is done there is no cutting involved--
rather an 'unlacing' as you might with shoes.
Picture
Last Light on the Loom. Pipe Loom (black and galvanized). String heddles/ leashes as described in Backstrap Dialogues (the zine).
But I wrote about four selvedge warping in a different post so won't go into detail,
as today I wanted to answer a couple of the questions that Janet asked in her comment on last week's glimpse of  the work in progress.
Picture
Halcyon 2 ply doubled for four selvedge warp
"Did I have a cartoon behind the warp," she asked first,
and the answer is No, then Yes, then No. 

I began merely with a desire to tap some weft into warp
and a bit of curiosity about combining:
1. ​a collection of spindle spun yarn (natural dyes as usual),
2. some mill spun 2 ply Shetland from Elemental Affects
(a hint/ challenge from Rebecca Mezoff led me to check my LYS, The Yarn Underground, for unexpected tapestry weft),
and
3. some wool warp I  bought at Halcyon Yarn in Bath, Maine in September.
(details at the end).
Picture
​The "plan" then, was simply to weave--
Picture
 to lose myself, if I could, 
in the interaction between bobbins, hand and yarn.
Plain weft with circles.

Picture
Alas, however,
 the woman with the striped dress insisted on gathering up some of the circles,
so I drew a quick sketch, positioned her behind the warp,
decided to change value right about there (Janet's heel question),
figuring that she wouldn't take up too much space and I could get back to my simple shapes soon enough.
Picture
Should have known better.
This purple sock person had some deliberating of her own to do.
Weld yellow, or not weld yellow?
​That is the question.
Picture
A background color was assumed (by me at least),  but open warp tapestry is an old friend, the kind that almost invariably arrives unannounced with the expectation that I'll be ready and willing to include her in whatever I'm doing.
As usual I couldn't say no.
​

So that was how that came about.

Then more lovely tap, tap, tap.
Picture
Exhausted, however, by all of this unexpected decision making
 a little nap toward the top suddenly seemed appealing --
with the added opportunity to let go of color and rise above all those circles.
Picture
But alas, contemplation of color turned out to be the order of the day
and who can resist the magic of opposable thumbs,
(so good for holding on-- and for letting go)?
Picture
And then, suddenly, it was done,
and ​I have no idea what this work is about.

Nor, indeed, do I know how I'm going to hang it--
(the open warp and two sided nature makes an ordinary frame/ mount seem silly).

It doesn't even have a title.

​And these photos are a little out of focus.
Picture
And, Why? ; 17" x 17"; wool warp and weft; natural dye ©sarahcswett 2017
But it has had a bath in  hot soapy water,
is currently drying,
and is nearly ready for a steamy iron.

UPDATE three weeks later: Julie Barnes came up with its forever name: And, Why?

And after that,
perhaps I'll take the (somewhat obvious) hint from these three gals,
return to sorting  ideas
​and  contemplating whatever it is I am going to do next.
Did I say something about a dress?
Picture
Halcyon Wool Warp -- 2 ply

Oh, and here's the technical stuff/ yarn review:
The Halcyon two ply warp is  strong, balanced  and tightly plied.  Very easy to work with. Though definitely wool, it feels to my hands almost like cotton Seine Twine-- very different from the singles Brown Sheep Wool Warp I've been using for a while (softer, smoother and full of extra twist).   I like them both, but can see that this one might perhaps more satisfying for those who are trying wool for the first time and want a familiar feeling. Definitely suitable for large works -- though if not using a four selvedge warping technique I'd probably go for the 3 or 4 ply, depending of course on your sett, the thickness of your weft, and personal preference as to the hand/ look of your finished work.
As Rebecca Mezoff says in this post, the possibilities are tremendous. 
I sett this tapestry at 9 epi, which was great for my super fine hand spun yarn, but a tiny bit close for the Elemental Affects weft used double (I wanted to blend the two greys). 

AS for the Elemental Affects yarn -- I liked it very much.
  It  has little stretch, lies beautifully in the shed and packs into place in a most satisfying way. 
I would/ will definitely use it again, though will have to figure out the sett/ weft interaction.  The two skeins I got were a slightly different weight  from one another --the darker grey slightly thicker-- so though two strands of hte light grey packed in beautifully, two dark required more force than I like.  As you can see if you scroll up a couple of photos, I transitioned from double dark grey to a combination of one light/ one dark for the border part way up, as the two dark strand combo was driving me a little crazy.  
Ways to fix this: 
1. wider sett (8 epi probably)
2.  finer warp (which would make more space between the strands).]
3. combining the Elemental Affects with a strand of something finer than it,
4. using only one strand of the Elemental Affects at a time (and changing my sett to 10 or 12)
5. finding out which size yarn is the 'normal' one.  If the finer, then get more of that.  If the thicker, adjust accordingly.  It comes in lots of lovely colors for you non-dyers, and you can get them from the Feral Knitter.    Of course now that I've  just been to Janine's site, I'm suddenly curious about the Jamieson's Shetland yarn for tapestry. 
Has anyone tried it? 

Picture
Elemental Affects 2 ply
Picture

Tapestry!

11/21/2017

 
Picture
It happens.
Ideas for clothing too.
Might need to knit this striped dress.
I wonder what fleece I should start with...

ps . Just upgraded my computer system and it is acting funny, so I thought I'd  say a quick Tuesday hello before I start messing with things-- or messing them up.

Dressing

11/14/2017

 
Picture
What a delight to get all those wonderful comments and ideas last week.
Some made me laugh out loud.
All made me think. 
SO much to consider.
 THANK YOU!
Picture
As you can see from the date on the comic above, however,
it actually took me several days to figure it out--
even with all that help--
and that only after I'd put the skirt away
and taken it back out
THREE TIMES
(with many an internal pin prick about the very topic of last week's post). 
Picture
What FINALLY got it going again, was the realization that I didn't like the fit --
Go For The Gusset Skirt #1 has four woven panels and four knitted gussets.
GFTG Skirt #2 has three woven panels and three knitted gussets.
GFTG #3 (this one), has four woven panels, but I ran out of the red yarn after three gussets.  
I thought the red band I wove from the leftovers of the skirt yarn (this before it had occurred to me that any of my scarf-like backstrap experiments might become clothing), would be an OK substitute -- and it was, as far as  making the thing wide enough to go around my waist and hips.
But the fit and drape weren't quite right and it wasn't until I made the 'mini gusset'  you can see on the front of the skirt (literally knitting to knit to the last inch of red yarn), that everything fell into place.
But some projects are just fussy like that.

As soon as the old seam was undone and the gusset stitched  in
(yes, Maureen, lap seams), 
it declared a definite preference for Red buttons even though I had decided they were too big (thanks to all who noticed them),
and then settled onto my body like  -- well, like it was made for it.
Picture
After that -- properly dressed--
it was time dress a tapestry loom. 
Picture
1" Galvanized and Black Pipe
Though of course first I had to build the loom.
Picture
Naturally I picked an arrangement of pipe pieces that was slightly different from any I'd built before --the top and bottom beams had always been used for sides or legs--
which meant that I didn't have anything handy to use as a four selvedge jig.
And that meant that when I got out my collection of random bits of dowel and PVC,
absolutely nothing was the same as anything else.
Picture
Ultimately I cobbled something together-- totally different from any other four selvedge jig I'd ever made, and definitely bigger than I had planned--

but some projects are fussy like that.
Picture
Some, indeed, are seriously demanding:

"1 inch pipe rather than the 3/4 you had planned, Ok?"

"Dark grey warp..... please."

"Four Selvedge..... if you would be so kind."
​
"NO -- NOT 11" inches -- 18 inches Dammit!!!!!"
Picture
In the comments of the post two weeks ago, Jennie  asked:
"Why did you drop weaving tapestries?"

And I didn't know how to answer,
 in part because I don't actually feel like I dropped tapestry.
It's more that other things have insisted on being made,
-- fluid fabric and such-- and there is only so much time and mental energy in a day.
 I wrote a bit about this in Backstrap Dialogues


But today it also seems clear that tapestries have not been coming into my studio
because I wasn't properly dressed.
Picture
But now I am. 


work in progress

11/7/2017

 
Picture
One of the odd consequences of having a blog and writing somewhat regulalry,
Picture
is how often I find myself thinking, 
"better finish this before Tuesday so I have something to say."
Picture
It's pretty  funny, when I think about it that way,
as I never ever know what I'm going to say until I start to write --
even if I've already uploaded some photos,
which is part of the fun. 


But still, the feeling lurks
that one should never talk about an idea
or show images of a project
until they are complete--
have lived up to their promise
or are deemed decent enough to actually share with the world-- 
(too hideously embarrassing to have gone public with something that turned out badly).
Picture
Except that the original definition of a blog is "web log" -- is it not--
a kind of public/ private diary where ideas unfold?
And it's not as though I haven't blogged
(can't believe I'm using this verb... I used to scoff at it),
mid-project before, so I'm clearly not wedded to the modesty thing.
​
But nonetheless, to be caught mid-project seems a little off--
Picture
 the maker equivalent of not leaving the house without makeup,
or wearing undies without holes in case you are in an accident,
or checking your teeth in the rear view mirror to make sure there are no hunks of kale blackening your gums when you smile at that important meeting you're about to attend. 
Picture
But I've only worn makeup about twice in my life and then for a play,
so that analogy might not be not the best
(is there a hyphen in make-up or is it one word? My spell checker likes both, alas).
And the ripped undie thing never really works for me  as I invariably get attached beyond the point of decency:
"-- if I wear leggings with this pair, they won't fall down..."
​
Picture
And the salad thing?
Well, since I live in town and usually walk places rather than drive,
there is rarely a handy mirror with which to check.

I must, therefor, rely on my friends:
"Sarah -- there is a bit of something greenish stuck between your teeth ...
no, not there, a little to the right... almost....a little more... got it."
Picture
Picture
So friends -- the grey buttons or the black?
​Or some other color entirely?
    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


    Categories

    All
    Backstrap
    Books
    Cellulosic Experiments
    Clothes
    Coffee Filter Yarn
    Comics
    Distractions
    Dyeing
    Embroidery
    Hand Spinning
    Knitting
    Linsey Woolsey
    Looping
    Mending
    Milkweed
    Out In The World
    Plain Weave
    PVC Pipe Loom
    Shoes
    Sketchbook
    Slow Literature
    Tapestry
    Textile Tools
    Things To Wear
    Vague Instructions
    Willow

    Archives

    September 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

things to make:
yarn . music . friends
whatever it is you cannot 

not
begin
Proudly powered by Weebly