Spiritweaving; Sun Riff

New spiritweaving completed.
Same warp as Midnight Riff.
This is Sun Riff.

Weaving #20150807

New piece completed this morning.
Untitled as yet.  It gets a number based on the date.
Cricket loom. Same warp as Midnight Riff in my last post.

This piece was full of new ideas and techniques I've never done before. I hem-stitched it on the loom at both ends, I turned the weaving 90 degrees, sewed a backing to it and figured out a way to secure the fringe neatly.  I always have problems with the finish work on pieces and the logistics of hanging fiber art. I'm pleased with the things I figured out to hang this one.

I backed this piece with a lovely commercial cotton quilt backing from Inda that is dyed a lovely and uneven saffron color. I love this material so much I've gone back twice to buy additional yards.
I stitched it on the machine on three sides and hand-stitched the 4th side by the fringe.

I am especially pleased with how I was able to secure the fringe, so it hangs down in a very free, flowing way, but is completely secured in place. 
I am not sure if my pictures and explanation will be able to convey what I did, but I'll give it a try.

First, remember this edge is hem-stitched, so the threads are secured pretty well, in twos. Starting at the top, I tucked the first two threads under the next two, and put them to the side. The next two threads were tucked under the third set of two, the third set under the fourth and so on, all the way down the edge.

I then wanted to make sure the pairs of threads would stay tucked under, so I used regular sewing thread and needle and, starting at the top, I made two half-hitches around each place where the threads crossed, coming up through the fabric underneath the next hem-stitch, between the two warp threads in that hem-stitch group, then around them with the half-hitches and on to the next.  

I chose to hang it on a piece of branch I gathered when I was down in Bloomington at the IU Writers Conference. Sanded and beeswaxed mindfully.

I like the look of a crocheted hanging cord and the way I can make the loops around the branch without knots.
This piece was very firm because it is backed and I was able to hang it by connecting it at only two points to the hanging cords. Without the backing, most weaving is too drapey not to support it all along the top edge.  I really like the way the stick looks without a lot of hanging cord wrapped around it. 
I firmed that top edge further by running long ends of the cord through it.

Finally, I crocheted a little round to cover the nail head or hanging fixture.

Now back to the loom!

Midnight Riff and Maysville carpet warp

Finished Midnight Riff with long braided and knotted fringe and hung it from a gathered stick which I sanded and polished with beeswax polish. The 'stick practice' is something I do as a conscious, spiritual practice and I should perhaps do a post about that one of these days.

MIdnight Riff was woven on a 10" Cricket loom, dressed using mostly Maysville cotton rug warp. I love that cotton. It is unmercerized and isn't a fine yarn at 1680 ypp  (size 8/4), but it comes in a nice lot of colors and it's sold on small 800-yd. tubes at $8-9 each, rather than pound cones at $18-24. A stash of these doesn't require a lot of space to store either. I keep more than 20 in a drawer (I lucked out in getting a large number of these at a yard sale!)

Direct Warp Using Warp Board

Yesterday I tried something I've been thnking about since I put 18 feet of warp on my 10" Cricket rigid heddle a month ago.

 I love direct warping, but it has always been difficult for me due to the space needed. I've had to take over my dining table and the length of my living room, creating a blockade for however long it took me to walk threads 80-100 times from loom to the warping peg. Limbo skills were required to get to the bathroom.

I realized that I should be able to set up the warping board (mine is good for up to 10 yards) so that the footprint required would be much smaller for direct warping of a very long warp.

The experiment was a success! I can now warp using only the table in my basement laundry room right next to my studio space. No more trudging upstairs, shlepping an extra table, loom, cones of yarn. No more blocking living space and feeling I had to hurry to wind that warp. I can now pause when I need a break.   Behold:

Saori weavers call these 'fingers' or tabs. It's a little fiddly and slow, but I love beginning a weaving this way and I love that it makes use of what is often waste yarn.

Adventurous Weaving Workshop

I'm not a very good documenter, an issue which makes blogging difficult.  I forget to take pictures.
I especially forget to take pictures of events in which I am very engaged. I feel pretty good about documenting yesterday's event, though, because:
a. I remembered to bring my camera
b. I remembered to take pictures before the workshop was over.

Just before.
The picture above is everybody after 4 hours of adventure. John is taking his finished sampler off the loom, Cheryl and Dennis are watching, Dawn is reading a Saori book (probably not actually reading as it's in Japanese) and Susan is finishing up for the day.

The workshop focused on two techniques and permutations thereof: inlay and clasped weft with 2 and 3 yarns. It was planned to be an intermediate workshop, with previous experience on rigid heddle required. Participants were to come with a loom, warped and ready to weave. On registration, everyone was provided with 400 yards of black cotton 8/4 carpet warp, and instructions to create a 9' warp about 9" wide.

Oh the rebellion! Cheryl and Susan weren't experienced rigid heddle weavers and had little weaving experience. (They are, however, fiber people and great knitters, and adventurous, and I am not such a stickler for rules, even my own.) John offered to come in before the workshop and help them warp borrowed looms. So, they were essentially weaving for the first time in a Saori-inspired way.

Cheryl's weaving

It was so rewarding to work with Cheryl. She was using a 20" loom, and was having to navigate the learning curve of using it. Adding in clasped weft, juggling two and then three weft yarns going at the same time  - well, that's a whole lot to encounter for first time weaving, and I very much admired her for plunging in and exploring the process.  And not throwing up her hands, even when she chose mohair to work with at one point!

Susan's weaving

Though it doesn't quite show up in the photograph, there was a tremendous amount of motion expressed in the beginning part of Susan's weaving. It was very lively and lovely to see.

Dawn's weaving

Dawn is an experienced rigid heddle weaver. I'm not sure I've seen anyone take off the way she did. For weeks after her first class, every time I saw her in Riverwools, she had a new scarf or wrap to share. Since she was trying lots of different yarns, I got to enjoy seeing (and feeling) how they worked up.

Two things are interesting about her work yesterday -one,  her choice to use white as her sampler base color. It was a practical thought she had, so that things would show up better. I don't think she realized how amazing it would look. The other interesting thing is that weaving freestyle is out of her comfort zone. You'd not know it to see how she enthusiastically engaged and created some visually striking work.

John and his sampler weaving

 John is a master weaver - he is actually my weaving teacher. I learn to tri-loom weave from him and he is also the one who started me on rigid heddle. So it was a great thrill to be able to share some weaving fun with him.  He has one of the Saori principles deeply in his heart: weaving as a group, the sharing of weaving with others.  It was very generous of him to help Cheryl and Susan to be able to take the class, and he has been more than generous with me over the years, sharing his knowledge and weaving wisdom, booth space and lots of laughter.



This is my post-workshop weaving. My own weaving in the workshop was demonstrative, and done more to show the techniques.  But I was certainly inspired by all the discovery of the day and came home and continued to weave. I'm using up some Opal sock yarn here.


If fibery clutter is evidence of a good time, we had a great time.
I learned some new things, found inspiration from my students.

And Susan and Cheryl bought looms. 

Weaving - Saori Inspiration

A couple of weeks ago, I became so inspired by my discovery of Saori weaving (an intuitive, Zen, free weaving initiative originating in Japan) that I somehow overcame my warp aversion and dressed my Ashford 12" Knitters Loom.  And enjoyed it!

The picture above is the momentous moment of cutting that warp from the loom after I finished my first piece.  And here it is.

What a revelation, what a joy to weave without a chart, a plan, any goal other than to play with color and line and texture.  To be finished when it felt finished.

Warp: 3/2 mercerized cotton, 10 dent rigid heddle.

Weft: hand-dyed thick/thin cotton, handspun wool, silk, various other wools

detail of a favorite part - this is handspun from some hand-dyed Winderwood Farm wool.

another favorite part - a thick/thin silk from Habu Textiles

Do a search on "saori weaving" if you're interested in learning more. There are so many interesting tidbits here and there I didn't want to link to just one.

Blissfully weaving, more to come...

Zann