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Cellulosic Experiments

3/27/2018

 
Picture
Three tapestries, as yet unnamed, all 3" square - four selvedge --linen, wool, natural colored cotton, natural dye
Apparently,
despite years of serious misgivings
​about mixing wool and linen
Picture
Linen warp, linen and wool weft.
(reasons include:
acid/base chemistry,
stretch, compression,
textile integrity),
Picture
I'm doing it anyway.
Picture
And naturally, it is a blast.
Picture
What fun to poke at my prejudices--
​
to weave spindle wool and flax
into unwearable sweaters,
​on a loom made of plastic?
Picture
How freeing to 'hackle' a messy strick of flax,
(using Russian Paddle combs that have been gathering dust for years),
and make deliciously lumpy yarn from the disorganized tow,
Picture
then to spin some rather nice singles
from the now silky smooth hackled flax
and ply it for warp for the next tapestry?
note:  plying stick HIGHLY recommended for keeping the fine line linen orderly 
Picture
Jenkins "Lark" plying wet spun line linen singles; Iosub plying sticks; Edwards "Hepty" spinning commercially prepared tow top
Then to discover that my wet spinning technique
left much to be desired,
for after plying, washing and warping --
 hairiness ensued. 
Picture
Spindle Spun Line warp before sizing
Then to remember that I wanted to try flour and water size
(approx 1 teaspoon flour mixed with water till consistency of thin cream
applied with my fingers then allowed to dry).
Picture
Linen warp after sizing
Then to find that some of the hairiness returned with all the handling
(perhaps particularly with finger picking?)
but that it all worked fine anyway,
(though perhaps if I'd  soaked the warp with size
rather than just lightly coating it,
it'd have stayed glued down?)
Picture
Then to notice that I had some selvedge wonkiness --
in part because of my carelessness
(as Susan Iverson says, "if you weave it right you don't have to block it ")
and in part because I wasn't taking into account 
 the huge differences in the size and properties of my wefts:
--ground: the lumpy tow I showed being spun up above (singles)
--house: leftover warp (two ply wet spun line)
--sky:  two strands of cotton I've had floating around for years,
( Sally Fox organic roving spun on a supported spindle
and purchased punis spun on a book charkha--
the latter the source of the black flecks).

But also to notice how interesting it all is.
And how much I want to keep experimenting.
Picture
​It is worth noting that all three tapestries were woven at 10 epi 
but because of differences in grist
between the hand spun warp,
 the commercial linen warp in the two pictured at the top,
and all the different weft materials--
the surfaces vary as much as the selvedges.

(Note: Rebecca Mezoff is in the midst of writing
​an amazingly clear and useful series of blog posts on the relationship between
sett, warp and weft size. 
The photos of her samples make this deliciously clear!)
Picture
This is all I can think to say,
today,
at this point on my creative oxbow,
but hopefully there will be more.
Meg link
3/27/2018 03:00:21 pm

I love your work, and your blog, your drawing/painting, and the life you convey. These little gems make me want to even consider tapestry weaving, which is a VERY long stretch for me. Peace and happiness!

Lynn
3/27/2018 03:09:07 pm

Do you think you can restrain yourself because you've been experimenting with textiles in so many ways for so many years? Or because with experience (er, age), you have come to realize the usefulness and beauty of concentrating your efforts? Or what, exactly? Why are you here (there) in your fiber work?

Trace Willans
3/27/2018 05:24:14 pm

I had hoped to comment on Limited Palette but it was full. A nice experiment in mixing the indigo or other pigment with a little skim milk powder and then with either a little soy milk or water to get the desired consistency. It does make a lovely paint.

Ramona Strnad
3/27/2018 08:35:32 pm

Thanks!

Patti Kirch
3/28/2018 12:22:23 am

I love your 3" stories of fiberous texures, I reread each page.... the 2by2 inch pages/tapestries too!

Deborah Pawle
3/28/2018 01:31:59 am

Love your little weavings. When doing 4 edge selvedge how do you get all the holding warp threads the same length. I really want to have a go at this. I do have your book on my wish list.

Ann
3/28/2018 09:07:08 am

This pertains to your limited palette post. Get thee to a bookstore and grab the most recent National Geographic--the one with the focus on race. There is an artist--Angelica Bass--who photographed people and then matched a bit of their nose colors to the Pantone palette. The result is a gorgeous color palette--from pinks and creams to tans and bronze and peanut and chocolate. Oh--found the webpage: http://www.angelicadass.com/humanae-work-in-progress/

Velma Bolyard
3/29/2018 07:25:24 am

When I was a shepherd I thought: I can't imagine wanting to spin cellulose fibers, protein fibers are so wonderful! When I was a papermaker I thought: how many amazing plants and their beautiful, useful fibers grow around here! The thing is, I was both, simultaneously.


Comments are closed.
    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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