Reflecting

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Diane

I confess that I do have a habit of whinging about things that are really rather trivial. “It’s too cold outside.” “I miss my husband.” “I messed up this project and now I have to undo it.” In reality, I am an extremely fortunate person. I have a beautiful home, food on the table, a husband that truly loves and appreciates me, a group of friends that will tell me when my fly is open, and the ability to make choices about how I spend my day. I also know that I was not given any of these things; they came as a result of hard work, compromise, and occasional profound sorrow. Why am I getting all wistful, you might ask? Well, I’m just at a point where I have a moment to reflect on the fact that I *AM* lucky. And that I make my own happiness – despite weather, proximity of loved ones or fibery fallout.

Yesterday, our fellow Raveler, Gloria19, showed another picture of her “Daily Tapestry.” Tapestry has been flying about in my head of late – I dwell on pictures and textures and have woven miles of it while running. But I keep putting up barriers to actually just getting something out and doing it. Seeing Gloria’s project again really pushed me toward the notion of a fiber diary. Something random-ish, something small, something that will help me reflect on the day. Be it morning, noon or night. And, in the way of a marathon, it starts with a single inch and will eventually be a Finished Piece. I’ve never been good with written journals and the notion of making Art with fiber appeals quite strongly. This might be just what I need.

So, while dealing with Life and all that comes with it this week, I am also letting myself dream about a Daily Tapestry and thinking about how I will start with that. I will allow myself to mix styles (soumak, tapestry, cut pile, twill!) and just let this be a piece of pure creating. A pilot light, if you will, to ensure that the larger spark doesn’t go out. I’m not ready to commit to a start date yet, but setting one will be part of my first goal. Size, start date, palette. I think that’s something I can get my head around this week. And perhaps this little daily nudge will help me be thankful for the truly wonderful life I have – and for all those who are a part of it.

Oh, and it’s a bit too humid here in Wisconsin. :-)

Posted in Miscellaneous | 2 Comments

Finally Underway

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Diane

After lots of interruptions and other projects, the production fabric is finally on the loom and underway. I wanted to try weaving something nearly full-width on the Gilmore, mainly to get a feel for what it’s like to throw a shuttle that far. I needed to do some rigging to get a wider raddle in to place, but here’s the process:

I put all the sectional warp pegs back in and, again, used no packing material as I wound on. The warp is a mix of 10/2 and 20/2 cotton along with an end of 10/1 silk noil (as previous). I held all six strands together while winding the warp and threaded randomly. Oh, and Lynn? 864 ends is a lot of ends. A lot. The warp is 36″ wide and 24 epi. This was slow going.

Weaving is underway; I’ve got about the first 9″ done. It feels very open, but I remember that it was like this before and I simply can’t fret about it. The cotton shrinks mightily and that’ll make the Spot Bronson pop. I like the shots of somewhat darker stripes. I hope it translates well to the final garment, but we’ll see.

Now, for those with a sharp eye, you might ask, “What’s that dark stuff down there?” That, my friends, is the header row. Again with the tweedy wool single of which I have TONS. Here … look again …

I gotta say, I *really* like the look of that fabric. Depending on how much I’m able to weave off, I’ll try and save some at the end to get a big enough chunk to truly evaluate it. I think that’ll be back. It’d be trivial to warp up something narrow and just bang that off in plain weave. The contrast is just so striking. But that’s for later.

Here’s hoping I can make a big dent in this today as I don’t know when I’ll get back to it. Lots more rolling about in my brain. I’m hoping throwing a shuttle will help quiet things down.

Posted in Weaving | 3 Comments