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A rare view inside Ashford Wheels and Looms, New Zealand

A rare view inside Ashford Wheels and Looms, New Zealand

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As textile folk, many of you are familiar with the New Zealand company Ashford Wheels and Looms. In fact some may own an Ashford product as they also sell hand carders, drum carders and many other tools and accessories.

They sell all around the world.

Me, I am the proud owner of a set of their hand carders and a drum carder, they are invaluable tools when it comes to my felt making.

Here’s a question:  what have Lego and Ashford Wheels and Looms got in common?  I will tell you at the end of the post.

Back to my story.  You probably have experienced one of those rare moments in life where the planets aligned – a real ‘right place right time’ moment.  This happened to me earlier this year.  Last February, we did a once in a lifetime trip to New Zealand.  At this stage I can’t tell you how many time zones we traversed but, travelling from Ireland, but were a long time in the air and we covered over 18,000km.  I loved every minute of the trip and we factored in time to spend at the Ashford store in Ashburton on the South Island.  So for anyone who has or is thinking about purchasing anything from the store, here’s some photos and a story that might fill in the blanks on your lovely pieces.

I was so excited when our hire car pulled into the car park.  I jumped out and started talking to the first person I met.  By sheer stroke of luck I was talking to the company’s owner Richard Ashford.  My second bit of luck was that he and his lovely wife Elizabeth were about to lead a factory tour for an American group.  He introduced me to the group (which I thought was very courteous of him) and off we all headed into the factory.  The couple’s charisma and energy shone through during the tour.  They were both about to retire from the family business making way for a new generation of Ashford’s to take over the business which has been on the go for over 90 years.  I wish them both a happy and healthy retirement and I want to thank them both for making the morning I spent in their company so warm and memorable.

So if you are the proud owner of one of the 900,000 Ashford products which have been made so far in Ashburton, give us a shout and let us know what treasured item you own.  If you are thinking of buying, the slide shows may well whet your appetite.  Enjoy this rare view inside the factory.

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Stockists are all over the globe.

My next stop was a wander around the store.  Think kid in a sweet shop in this regard.  The only issues that held me back were the fact that there’s only so much that would fit into the suitcase and the realisation that I can buy from one of many stockists in Europe – happy days! Here’s a sneak peak of the interior of the shop:

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I hope you enjoyed these special holiday photos. Please feel free to reach out and tell us what Ashford pieces you own (or what is on your wish list)

Answer:  both are highly successful companies who started out making wooden toys.

curved wall of mettle and glass, of Ottawa city hall gallery. the class panels are horizontal bands of clare and frosted glass, the clear giving hints of the exhibit inside.
Egils Rozenbergs Tapestry Exhibition (Ottawa, 2024)

Egils Rozenbergs Tapestry Exhibition (Ottawa, 2024)

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As I write this, I am just back from the private tour of the EGILS ROZENBERGS’ (Latvia) – Signs of the Time exhibition, arranged for the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners guild. His work is monumental, and striking.  it is well worth the trip down to the New City Hall on Elgin St. (there is a parking Garage underneath the building. Use the Elgin Street entrance. As with much of Ottawa at the moment, there is construction and road work near the other entrance.) for those who find it a bit of a drive, let’s take a peek at the exhibit while it’s here! (Although you may want to come back for a second viewing when you have more time!)

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1.1-1.3) City Hall Art Gallery – peeking through the windows and looking at the tapestries

The exhibit’s public Opening and artist tour is on Thursday, August 29, 5:30 to 7:30 pm the Tour begins at 6 pm. The exhibition runs from August 29 to November 24, 2024, at the City Hall Art Gallery (110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON, Canada, Ontario)

The new City hall is actually an old building, the old teacher’s college (Normal School), built in 1875 and the expansion of a new wing in 1990. Besides city offices, there is civic space, including multiple gallery spaces.  We are heading to the gallery behind the grand piano in the atrium.

I arrived about half an hour early so have time to check out some of the architecture of Ottawa city hall.

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2.1-2.5) Looking around the atrium of City Hall before the gallery opened.

I wandered back to find 2 people waiting for the talk but didn’t recognize them. They were the Tapestry Artist himself and his Canadian weaver friend, who would help him as a translator. Moments later, the Latvian Ambassador and his assistant arrived!

The artist is on the Left and the Ambassador of Latvia is on the right. both are standing in front of the City Hall Art Gallery3.1) weighting for the Gallery to open for the talk. The artist is on the Left and the Ambassador of Latvia is on the right.

The rest of the tour group arrived, as well as the gallery manager and we all went into the gallery.

We had a good turnout for a mid-day, mid-week time. Besides the local guild members, there are a few people you might not recognize; The Latvian Ambassador and his assistant, the Gallery manager, the Artist and his friend, and a fellow weaver who was also his translator (he did a fabulous talk in English). You might also spot Michel, Director of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum!

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Exhibition Egils Rozenbergs' tapestrie book and 4.1-4.2) Stepping into the gallery you are greeted by the monumental tapestries, which were striking, even more so in person. / The show catalogue, the book on Egils Rozenbergs ($40.00) and the visitor book.

Egils Rozenbergs is an internationally known weaver. He gave an overview of his education and then a bit about the focus of his work. He told us how he started as a painter, then he switched from painting to the new department of Textiles, with a focus on large tapestries for exhibitions. Since his scholastic training,  he has worked as a Textile artist. He was selected to weave a tapestry for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark as a present from Latvia. He has also had 2 of his designs picked by the French Goblin Tapestry Studio.

He had selected tapestries representing some of his older series of work as well as his latest series. This new selection marks a shift in his source material (the type of “yarn” fibres he uses). His early work used Wool/ Linen and Copper, moving to Wool/Linen and Polyester, and now shifting to Polyester, Polypropylene, Nylon, and Acrylic.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries with the tour listening to the artist Egils Rozenbergs in front of one of his new tapestries5.1-5.2)He said his opening remarks and overview of the exhibition in front of his newest tapestries (his Transfiguration series), then answered some of our questions. / his translator friend, on the far left, is also a weaver.

We asked him quite a few technical questions; details about his loom, his warps and even weaving techniques.

He had a large horizontal loom similar to our 100-inch loom but only uses 2 shafts. (I was able to find the full picture that was used in the show promotional material, showing the loom he uses here: https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.hk0UBNJtxNtcQhIuT3o3vwHaE8?w=302&h=202&c=7&r=0&o=5&dpr=1.3&pid=1.7 )

There were questions next about if he was using a flying shuttle to compensate for the wide weaving width (that needed a bit of translation). No, he is using a manual shuttle and a tapestry technique for the pattern weft. Occasionally he had a friend weave with him, like we do for the 100-inch loom. I was wondering about what EPI he had set the warp. He could tell us how many warps in 20 centimeters which Ann S. quickly did the math and told us that it converted to 5EPI. That led to a follow-up about the visual difference between the wool ground and the new work with VHS and cassette tape (he had an ingenious way of adding twist as he wound balls for his weft! But I should not give away his secret, you will have to ask him when the exhibit travels closer to you.)  the PPI was greater in the newer weaving one of which was woven in plain weave where you can see both the warp and weft. The other tapestries were all weft-faced. One of the tapestries had a gradient in the ground, we found out he is using multiple strands of yarn, in different colours. He is switching out and in colours, as he weaves.  There was a question if he used a cartoon under his warp. He said he makes detailed drawings about 12×15 inches of his designs then graphs the design directly to the warp, making marks (drawing) on it.  He mentioned he sometimes frames and sells his preliminary drawings, as well as the tapestries.

He took us around the exhibit telling us about pieces he had selected.  These are made mainly of wool, Linen and Copper. He had been able to find coated copper (so it would not tarnish, he pointed at a tapestry from 2004 which was still shiny copper). I tried to remember everything he was saying and take shots to show you and the guild members who could not attend today.

In the area to the Left of the entrance, there were representatives of 3 of his series themes. The first represented the signs found in the Latvian beach sands near his home. This series was called Signs in the Sand which he has returned to over many years. The work on the Left was Morning Light 2004 Wool Linen and Copper, and on the Right, Sparkling Sea, 2016  Wool Linen and Copper.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up6.1 -6.3) Close-up of sparkling sea (R) from the Signs in the Sand series the copper seemed to move and shimmer like light on sand in clear ripples of water.

I was very impressed with both pieces (even if they are invoking water).

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries clsoe up6.4 -6.5) Close up of  the left

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries7.1) this tapestry was from a series called Scars.  I don’t seem to have the proper title.  It had a lovely graphic rhythm. I think some of the symbols or marks were from ancient graves.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up7.2)   this was a close up. you can see the multi strands of the pattern weft, and how he is changing strands within the group as he weaves. The background is a solid blue.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries7.3) The other tapestry from this series was at the entrance to the exhibit. Signs of the Time, from the Series Scars, 2020. Wool, Linen and Polyester.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries8.1)  This tapestry represented the series of Mexican masks it was very striking too. The copper grabbed the light and reflected it back, making it hard to get a truly representational shot. This also gives you a good idea of the size of the tapestry and a suggestion of the size of the loom.

There were two tapestries from the Paris series, one was Rhythms of Paris 2012,  Wool, Linen and Copper. On a blue background, suggestions of the Eiffel Tower.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries9.2)  The second piece was based on shadows on the ground in a park in Paris. (the top of a metal gate)

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries10.1) This one is from a series of frames that support haystacks. I found it particularly mesmerizing.

Egils Rozenbergs is showing his book in front of one of his tapestries10.2)  At this point the Gallery manager reminded us that there was a book available of his work (it will go very nicely in the Biography section of the Guild library, once the guild pays for it.)

We wound up back in the main section with his newest series. It is based on the changing technology and Transfiguration. Are you seeing circuit boards?

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries close up11.1-11.2) This one had a plain woven background so you can see the warp showing through. Two Suns, from the series Transfiguration 2016 Wool Linen and Polyester.

Egils Rozenbergs' New tapestries12) these 3 are also part of the Transfiguration series. Notice the background on these 3,  old tapes that were joined together and twisted to create the ground weft.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries13.1-13.3 ) This is a close up of the tapestry on the far Left in the last photo it was called the Old Lady who walked along the sea from Transfiguration 2017 Polyester, polypropylene and Nylon.

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries14.1-14.2) Nothing is like it was Before from the series Transfiguration 2017,  Polyester, Poly polypropylene, Nylon  and Acrylic

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries14.3  (on the left) This piece was hung further away from the wall so you could look behind it

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries14.4) behind the back of the tapestry

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries 15.1-15.2 Transformation Series the end of the tour

Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries exhibition Egils Rozenbergs' tapestries electronic sign outside city hall gallery15.3-15.4)  A couple of last shots of the gallery space

Egils Rozxenbergs’ presentation and explanation of his work were inspiring. I want to go out and felt a landscape a really big one! His repurposing of tape to weft was very effective and the coated copper got me wondering where I put my bobbin of fine cotton….  I hope if this exhibit travels somewhere near you (or you are visiting Ottawa before it closes) that you will grasp the opportunity and go see it.

 

 

 

finished rag weave material
About that ‘groove’ …

About that ‘groove’ …

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In April I talked about getting my groove back and trying something new.  Groove, rut, six of one, half dozen of the other, right?  Not really.  I had the opportunity to purchase a large quantity of pre-cut jersey rags from the Guild.  Bright yellow was perfect for a summer project and perfect to get me moving again.

The project is all done.

The final weigh-in is 2.5 kilos or 5 pounds.  Right now it needs to rest for a few days.  The plan is to do some minor repairs because there are always small repairs and then decide what to do with the material.

finished rag weave material

Some of the repairs are very small, just need a clip,

Some need a bit more of a reweaving and inspection.

And some really came as a surprise.  I must have been asleep at the switch with this one, but it’s totally fixable and I’ll take care of it.

Once I had used up all the rag I was left with too much warp thread for me to comfortably cut the threads and I was sure there was more to be made from this fibre. Weavers are known for being economical (aka cheap).  The work needed in warping a loom is significant and I hate wasting the time and the fiber.

So I found a bobbin of deep blue cotton and gave it a try. And I liked it, so now the warp is used not just for rags, but for cotton as well.

simple twill weave for cotton cushion cover

The final product is enough to make a great cushion cover or bag, or table drape, or maybe a project bag.  Lots of potential for this fabric. It’s surprisingly thick just as it sits without finishing.  So once it’s been washed it will be even fluffier and more dense.

finished cotton twill for cushion cover    Hem stitched finished edge on woven cushion cover

I did try hem stitching the edge and found it is not my strong suit.  But I’ll keep practising and someday I’ll be happy with the final result.

For now, everything is resting; me included.  The fibres need to come back into their original shape and that takes a bit of time.  I need to do the repairs and inspection of the final product and tie off all loose ends before it goes into the laundry.  Then I’ll see where I go after that.

I may want to leave the huge 7-meter piece for a display our guild is having this fall at a museum, but I’ll talk to our curator about that first. So many decisions, and so much fun for the next project.   Thinking of doing a linen table runner, never tackled one of those.

 

Demo at the Log Farm.

Demo at the Log Farm.

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As some of you know the farmers market I go to is at the Log Farm in Ottawa. https://thelogfarm.com/ Along with the farmers market on Saturdays, there is also a working small farm with the original log house and barns where you can visit and see some animals and enjoy a break from the city without leaving the city.   Last weekend was shearing day for the sheep they have at the farm. They asked my guild to do a demonstration, and of course we said yes.

Here we are setting up under the tents. You can see in the first shot that the styrofoam head and hat had already taken the first of several tumbles with the wind. in the second shot, you can see the container of goodies I brought as a treat. A little bonus for coming out to demo on an iffy weather day.

This is Josee demoing on her table loom.

This is Paula spinning on her electric spinning wheel. She also has her incle loom set up and was demonstrating that too.

This is Maureen Spinning on her wheel, an Ashford Traveler. You can see it in Paula’s picture too. I think Maureen was chatting with someone when I took this.

And to be fair here is a picture of me teaching some girls how to make felted beads using some pencils. I know I am blurry but it was the best shot of the girl’s hands.

 

As I said we were there for shearing day. here are the sheep staying dry while they wait for the shearer.

Here is one getting shorn. They had their own tent so the shearer could also stay dry.  All the wool was donated to the guild and Jan and some others bagged it all to give to fellow members.

Here are some pictures of the surroundings. Some barns were renovated last year. after a few years, they will weather and not look so brand new.

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We had a great time despite the ominous clouds and several downpours. I was surprised at the number of people who attended with the forecast we had but they all seemed happy and I think we gained a couple of guild members.

Weaving
Loom with a view: adopting a new Saori WX60 loom

Loom with a view: adopting a new Saori WX60 loom

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A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to find a used Saori CH60 loom.  That loom lives in a spare room in our house. I wrote this post Weaving a Cowl for a Christmas present about using that loom.

On the weekends we usually go to our cabin.  The cabin is only a 30 minute drive from home so we go there, do yard work (amount varies seasonally) and then have a meal and a nice quiet night.  We return home the next morning to 3 cats who are very happy to see us.  The cabin is basic.  There is no TV, though there is internet.  While there I tend to do a craft of some kind.  Last year we added a screened porch to the cabin and I began to dream about sitting on the porch and doing some spinning or weaving.  Sadly our porch project started late (getting planning permission was hard) and was finished just before Christmas.  So we have been waiting for warmer weather to arrive before getting it setup.

So I started shopping around for a folding loom.  I had my eye on a Saori WX60.  Luckily one of my friends had bought one and it didn’t suit her weaving style so I was able to buy hers.  (My friend was planning to return to using her rigid heddle loom.  Whereas I sold my rigid heddle looms after adopting my Saori loom because I no longer had time for them.)  I picked up the loom at the end of March and I’m really happy with it.  Here you can see the loom on the porch.  I threaded it up the first day.

One of the nice features of the Saori WX60 loom is that it folds.  And you can fold it up with a project on the loom.  This makes the loom easier to store, and to relocate to another place.  I am still getting the hang of folding/unfolding the loom, and find it easier to get help doing that.  But I am sure that with practice it will become a solo task.

The loom weighs 13.5kg (29.8lb) and has the following dimensions:

  • When open the loom is 76cm (30″) wide, 76cm (30″) deep and 98.5cm (39″) tall.
  • When folded the loom is 76cm (30″) wide, 25cm (10″) deep and 106cm (42″) tall.

I cleared a space just inside the cabin where the folded loom could be stored.  I also setup a nice rolling cart to contain my tools.  This makes it easy to move the loom outside or inside as necessary.  I use a regular chair with the loom and prefer to add a nice cushion to the chair as well.  (Lifting your feet to treadle puts more pressure on the bony parts of your butt.)

The first weekend I had the loom I got it threaded.  On the next visit to the cabin it was time to start weaving.  This shows my porch and inside the cabin weaving locations.

Over the course of a few visits I proceeded to weave, changing colours and textures as I felt like it.  This is a highlight reel of the resulting weaving progress.

I am now nearing the end of the warp.  Originally the warp was on a square tube on the beam near the floor.  (You can see more details about the Saori warps on square tubes in this blog post.)  When the warp unwinds from the tube you transfer it to a rod so you can maintain warp tension.  In the left photo you can see that the warp is tied onto a rod that is located close to the beam near the floor.  As I continue weaving the rod is getting closer and closer to the shafts on the loom.  I have just a few more inches of weaving to do.  When I finish the rod should be just behind the heddles.  This loom design minimizes warp waste.  When I am done weaving I will be able to hemstitch my cloth and remove it from the loom.  The remaining threads will be trimmed slightly and twisted into a nice fringe for my cloth.

I should have some finished cloth to share soon.

yellow cotton rags to be woven with cotton yarn for table runner
Getting Your Groove Back

Getting Your Groove Back

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How do the rest of you get your creativity flowing when you have no juice left?  I did a lot, and I do mean a lot, of spinning over the winter.  I played with colours, with silks, with blends, mohair, qiviut, camel, linen, all sorts of wools and nothing inspired me, nothing moved me.  I joined a knitting group to relearn knitting.  The group speak French as their primary language, so that was a doubly challenging.  We have a blast and I have to say I’m still a terrible knitter and still not bi-lingual, but I love their company.  Perseverance might be the only way through this arid spot.

We have started cleaning the Guild space and prepping for destashing.  In the 100 inch loom studio was a very large bag containing rags for weaving catalogne blankets.  These are traditional Quebec coverlets to keep sleepers warm during deep winters.  They are thick and heavy.  They are also quintessential recycle projects since they are made from strips of rags.  I was allowed to purchase all the yellow strips.  These are made from cotton jersey and I loved the colour.

yellow cotton rags to be woven with cotton yarn for table runner

One of our guild members made the happy/sad decision to accept a job in her home city and left here to move across the country to Vancouver.  She generously offered her yarn for sale to Guild members.  I love her colours so much that I violated my promise-to-self of no more yarn in the house. If you closely at the picture below you might spot a little loop of thread laying on the yellow spool.  That is all that remains of the mushroom cotton.  That’s yarn chicken at it’s finest, less than one yard remained on a 500gm bobbin.

All the mushroom, yellow and magenta cotton threads are now measured as a 10 yd warp ready to go on the loom and be woven with the yellow rags.

10 yd cotton warp to be woven with rags alternating with magenta cotton.

The final piece of this little “get moving – get weaving” scenario was a bag of warp spacers for a sectional beamed loom.  These spacers really were the topper because they allow me to do a really long warp on my loom. I have no excuses anymore.  This weekend I just need to put my mind to getting on with it and know I’ll enjoy getting creative again.

table strune with cotton yarn that the students chose to make there bands from. in front of the table is a floor inkle loom.
Fall 2023 Inkle Weaving Workshop

Fall 2023 Inkle Weaving Workshop

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Today, which by now is yesterday, was my Intro to Inkle class. I was expecting 6 students, two of whom I knew had done some other types of weaving. after I sent out the last minute instructions (parking, how to get into the building, where local food could be found ) I found out two of my students were very young and would be accompanied by their Mom.

I have had young students before but these were 8 and 10 so the youngest. The eldest was very interested in weaving and had done some simple weaving before.

I got an email reply from one student they would be unable to make it and the last was a young gentleman but definitely quite a bit older than 10. He had not woven before but was quite intrigued to make cloth.

I had a very brief chat about inkle looms, their history and that we had both floor (better for long projects or for sitting in one location and weaving)  and table inkle looms (better for shorter length bands but much more portable to weave on) in the class.  I discussed what yarn would work best on an inkle Ioom, which is Smooth with a good twist, like a crochet cotton. I had brought one of my looms that had a silk warp on it to show them too.

Since we had weavers in the workshop I made sure I had options that would weave quickly for the new students and a finer yarn that would be a bit slower warping but give more design interest for patterns. The 3 sizes of yarn to work with were; for the advanced students #10 crochet cotton,  l also had #3 crochet cotton for a bit quicker warping. For those who wanted to warp the loom very quickly, I had the less tightly twisted mop type cotton. it is much faster to warp and weave and gives the opportunity to practice what the process is but unfortunately, it is not as smooth to advance the warp as the two crochet cottons.

I also had extensive notes so if they found an inkle loom at a garage sale in 6 months or a year from now they could go back and review the information we covered today. I also gave them multiple ways to do  steps since some people hate the magic knot to start weaving and no matter how many times we try to demo it or say the instructions in a different way it will not stick (sort of like the evil letters for me, so no shame. They may find a eureka moment and be able to make a slip that is solid when pulled to the right some other time.)

We had one student who I know is a good floor loom weaver and likes patterns, she tried the #10 cotton. it took longer to warp but she was a much faster weaver so other than momentarily slowing down to make and use the butterflies to add 2 slits in her band, she was very fast. Butterflies always are slower since you are weaving 3 sections of the warp separately to make the 2 slits.

Everyone got a box of Smarties (an important weaving tool) and finished with a scissors necklace. We chatted about how to improve the class and had the suggestion of breaking it into a couple of evenings, rather than one long day. It is a lot of new information to take in all at once. I think we could do the warping and review a bit more about drafts on one day and return to work on the weaving on the second. If we did a third night we could probably make a second scissors necklace (it is always is easier the second time).

I apologize, two of my students were very eager and turned up before I had finished setting up, so no pre-class shots, and then I got busy with teaching. I did pull out my camera at lunch to get some shots of the looms ready to go but again forgot it when I started teaching again. Luckily Carlene, who also rights on this blog and belongs to the same guild as Ann, Bernadette and I, was there and borrowed my camera. Now I have visual proof I was there!

But first, let me thank and show you my helpful Sherpa husband who brought everything out to the car and then from the car to the studio. After class, he took all the boxes I had packed up and put them back in the car, then disappeared them into the house as I wrote this blog post for you.

i overworked my sherpa, husband sleeping during my workshop1) My hubby recovering from the Kanata games club then transporting all my teaching stuff.

A few shots from the workshop;

2) Variegated yarn with a yellow border. (the variation gave an ikat like pattern.)2) Variegated yarn with a yellow border. (the variation gave an ikat-like pattern.)

3) This band had a heavier yarn for the border and the #5 cotton for the middle.3) This band had a heavier yarn for the border and the #5 cotton for the middle.

4) the class at work with 2 table inkles and 3 floor inkles.4) the class at work with 2 table inkles and 3 floor inkles.

4.1) Carlene is a sneaky at getting shots you don’t notice her taking as I am!4.1) Carlene is as sneaky at getting shots you don’t notice her taking as I am!

 5) A long day of weaving for my second youngest student!5) A long day of weaving for my second youngest student!

6) Another band with solid border and variegated center. It is fun to watch the colours change.6) Another band with a solid border and variegated centre. It is fun to watch the colours change.

7) my youngest students Mom helping with cutting the fringe to length. 7) my youngest student’s Mom helping with cutting the fringe to length.

8) Carlene and her scissors necklace. *note the new Lee Valley snips! She discovered the scissors open fully so we can just slide the loop from one end of the lanyard into the center of the scissors, rather than the knotting method the old black scissors required.8) Carlene and her scissors necklace. *note the new Lee Valley snips! She discovered the scissors open fully so we can just slide the loop from one end of the lanyard into the centre of the scissors, rather than the knotting method the old black scissors required.

9) Still some fringe twisting to do but a lovely first inkle band 9) There is still some fringe twisting to do but a lovely first inkle band.

10) a brand new weaver! Still a bit of fringe twisting to go but now has somewhere to keep his scissors. 10) A brand new weaver! Still a bit of fringe twisting to go but now has somewhere to keep his scissors.

 11) a bit of sewing up one side and hemming but a great first weaving! and he is almost 11!! (He was interested in the 12 harness countermarch loom in the studio, maybe he will be trying that after the beginning weaving on a table loom in a year or so?) I unfortunately did not get a shot of his brother’s scissors necklace or book mark when it was done.11) a bit of sewing up one side and hemming but a great first weaving! and he is almost 11!! (He was interested in the 12 harness countermarch loom in the studio, maybe he will be trying that after the beginning weaving on a table loom in a year or so?) I, unfortunately, did not get a shot of his brother’s scissors necklace or bookmark when it was done.

It looked like the students had fun. Most enjoyed their smarties (or found someone to get rid of the contents for them, so they could use the box.)

Eventually, we will re-run the Inkle Two workshop.  We look at 2 harness weaving that you don’t normally consider on an Inkle loom but that it can definitely weave.  The workshop contains lots of odd things you can do with an inkle loom such as weaving with wire to make a 3-Trim, or Boutonné weaving with a supplemental weft to make patterns with little loops or adding beads with a supplemental warp or weft thread.  It would also likely be better spread over a number of evenings rather than the 2 long days, as we have run it before. You may not use these techniques regularly, but they may spark some great project ideas or maybe inspire a new weaving interest.

Maybe making an inkle band of cotton, wool, silk or wire may inspire you to make a 3-D Felted Vessel with a decorative neckband or maybe a fancy strap to carry it?

Weaving with my stash

Weaving with my stash

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So, what are you going to do with all this – stuff?  Its a valid question posed by my grandson.  He’s helping me clear out the house and storage spaces and there really is a lot of ‘stuff’ to deal with.  Time to get weaving.

I chose a warp that had a khaki base made up of lots of different fall colours so it could handle loads of different colours in the rest of the warp.  Colours don’t have to ‘match’ when weaving. The don’t have to match ever come to think of it.  This is the colour palette I chose.

hand spun skeing of khaki green beside mixed fall colour threads

This warp was longer than usual because I wanted to attach any subsequent hand spun warps to the wastage.  Wastage can be very expensive and finding a way to minimize this loss is good economics.  My plan is to have a yard/meter of extra fiber at the end of the weaving that I can tie the new warp onto.  This will save me wastage of a meter/yard per warp.  The only wastage will be a few inches at the beginning and end of each new warp until that extra yard is all used up.

The colours look great and the yardage I was able to get from my hand spun was really surprising, kind of shocking actually.  Really looking forward to getting started on the threading and weaving.

multi-coloured warp on leash sticks to keep cross in place

When making a warp a cross is introduced on purpose to keep the threads separate.  This cross is maintained throughout the threading process; it protects the warp from turning into a tangled mess.  The oldest and simplest way to do this is by inserting sticks on either side of the cross, tying them securely in place and getting on to the next step of threading the loom. This time I chose to thread from front to back of the loom.  Starting by threading through the reed – the metal comb installed in the beater – and then threading the threads through the four different harnesses.  Each thread has a specific spot on the loom where it fits.  Its a bit like programming a computer by hand, really by hand.

The threads were sett at 10 ends per inch which might be a bit snug, but it looks good and once the scarf is finish it should be soft and snuggly.

repair a broken warp thread with inserting and weaving thread

When a thread broke I was not surprised, it’s almost inevitable, especially with the irregularities of hand spun, so I did a repair by pinning a thread in place, threading it through the reed and it’s spot on the harness.  Then it was weighted in the back of the loom with a small weight.  I use clip on table cloth weights for picnic table cloths. Once the damaged thread is woven in a sufficient length the true thread can be brought forward, pinned in place, woven for a little distance, then the weight removed from the patching thread.  This patching thread can be cut.

If you look at the purple stripe, everything looks fine.  The scarf is done, the length is just what I wanted and then I spotted it.  A whopper of a mistake that will set me back a little on my plans to reuse this warp, save time, blah, blah.

I have been weaving a very simple tabby, over-under, super basic.  It’s deceptive because its very difficult to get an even look to such a basic weave.  The threads had to be pulled into position, not beaten.  This way they would make nice little squares when the scarf was washed and fulled (hopefully).

Then I spotted the threading error, nearly at the end of all this fussing around drats.

Not threading error
Threading error

Not the end of the world, just a bit disappointing.  I’ll have to rethread about half the loom, and be more careful this time! Oh, and fix that single green thread that has errors all the way down the middle of the scarf.

 

Twining with a little help from my friends

Twining with a little help from my friends

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Happy New Year!!

November and December were incredibly busy but I am glad to say things have calmed down a lot in the last 3 weeks. The Christmas markets have closed and I have nearly finished writing the first draft of the much requested tutorial on how to make vessels with feet and lids. The lidded vessel pictured below is the main example I will demonstrate how to make in the new tutorial (with a few others for alternative methods to make lids etc):

A purple and orange felted vessel with a flared foot and a lid with a handle

I just need to write one more section, then edit and proof-read it. I hope to make it available in my Etsy shop in a couple of weeks.

Other than this purple vessel I have only managed to complete one piece of work between the markets, fairs and writing the new tutorial….

Back in September I was core spinning with the intention of using the yarn to experiment with adding twining to ceramic pots, you can read the post about that here.

This is the ceramic pot I made, after drilling out the holes I unintentionally filled with glaze. Drilling the holes has made the edges a little untidy but at least I can now get my yarn through them 🙂

blue and green ceramic bowl with holes around its top edge

I used paper yarn for the warp by threading equal sized lengths through each hole. I really like working with this material for the warp, it is stiffer than wool yarns and you can open it out to decorative effect.

Ceramic bowl with lengths of paper yarn threaded through the holes

Once all of the holes contained a strip of paper yarn, I cut 2 metres (6 feet) of a pretty boucle yarn to use as my weft. I folded it in half with one side longer than the other, this is so that when the yarn runs out while you are twining it only runs out on one side making it easier to add a new length of yarn.

Before looping the yarn over the first warp strip, I twisted the bottom of each pair of paper yarns to help hold them in position for the first few laps with the weft yarn. For the next pot I will try tying a knot in each pair of warp strips to secure them as the twist tended to come undone while I was twining, I really needed an extra pair of hands to hold everything in place while laying down the first layer of yarn.

Floki was only too happy to “assist”….

Ragdoll kitten looking at camera
“What do you mean, that’s not really helping?”
Ragdoll kitten rolling on his back while pulling and chewing on the yarn
“Your tension is way off, let me help…”

Even with Floki’s assistance the boucle yarn proved to be too fine for the space between the holes in the pot. I could have used 3 or 4 threads to bulk it up but it had proved so fiddly trying to hold the warp strips in place while twining the first layer I couldn’t face the prospect of trying to do that with 8 strands in the weft so I had a rummage in my stash and found some chunky grey yarn to use instead.

Same pot but with 5 layers of chunky grey yarn woven between the blue warp uprights

At this point I introduced some of my hand spun yarns, starting with the grey core-spun yarn from September (they are the grey bulges you can see at the top of the woven section) and then a yarn with colourful pink and blue beehives.

Woven part has doubled in size and now has bulges of yarn at the top in pink, blue and grey

Happy with the height and shape of the weaving, I tied each pair of warp strips to secure the top of the weaving and opened up the paper yarn before trimming the ends.

Ceramic vase base with grey weaving above and topped with strips of blue paper protruding from the top of the yarn

It reminds me of a blue cornflower.

Same vase as above but photographed from the other side

How has the start of 2023 been for you?

Weaving a Cowl for a Christmas present

Weaving a Cowl for a Christmas present

Comments 14 comments

Hello!  I am Carlene and a new poster here on the Felting and Fiber Studio blog.  I live in Carp which is part of Ottawa Canada. I am a member of the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild; the same guild that Jan Scott, Ann McElroy and Bernadette Quade belong to.

I am interested in a number of fiber arts including: crochet, knitting, spinning, felting and weaving.  I will admit that spinning is my biggest passion and where I spend most of my time.  I have been dabbling in weaving for a bit, using rigid heddle looms and taking some classes at the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild.

In June 2022 I managed to purchase a used Saori CH50 loom and since then my weaving has really taken off.  I love the Saori philosophy and how well designed the loom is.  Saori weaving is a free form style of weaving developed in Japan.  You can learn more about the history of Saori online from Saori Global.

Here is my Saori loom.  It is a cute little 2 harness loom with a small footprint similar to a card table.  The official specs are as follows: Width: 69cm (26″), Depth: 61cm (24″), Height: 98cm (38″), Weight: 15.7kg (34.5lb), Weaving Width: 60cm (23″).

One of the neat innovations of the Saori looms is using a square back beam that allows you to slide a pre-wound warp onto the loom and speed up the warping process.  You can buy pre-wound warps in a number of different thread counts (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 threads), lengths (3m, 6m, 12m and 30m) and fibre types (cotton, wool, or mixed fibers such as wool, cashmere, silk).  The most affordable warps are plain black warps in either wool or cotton.  This is a 100 end cotton warp that I recently put on my loom.  The warp threads are taped to the square tube, then wound on under light tension with spacers inserted occasionally.  At the end of the warp the ends are again taped down.

After putting the warp onto the back beam, I lifted the reed and beater out of the loom and set it aside.  Then I untaped the warp threads from the roll and lifted them up over the back beam, over the middle castle of the loom and taped the threads to the loom shelf using green painters tape.

 

Next I did some quick counting and inserted some chip clips as markers.  I wanted to thread from the middle outwards so that I could easily position the warp threads in the middle of the reed and the heddles on the shaft.  After counting out the threads I carefully snipped a single thread from the tape, then threaded it through the inserted eye heddle on the rear shaft.  I repeated this process with the the next thread and then threaded it through the inserted eye heddle on the front shaft.  I then skipped a heddle in each shaft and then repeated this process to thread the next thread, all the way across the loom.

In this next picture you can see all the black warp threads have been inserted through the heddles.  I have used chip clips to keep the threads neat and tidy.  There is a spare empty heddle between each of the threads.

I decided to add some supplementary warp threads to experiment with adding a bit of colour to my warp.  I bought these Kumihimo bobbins to try.  I wound cotton thread in various colours onto the bobbins.

Then I positioned the bobbins at the back of the loom and slowly threaded them into some of the empty heddles between warp threads.  The placement of these threads was somewhat random.  After adding in the supplementary warp threads I was ready to thread the reed.  So I put the beater bar and reed back into the loom.

I used my threading hook to thread the reed and I did groups of 4 threads, then one empty space in the reed, then the next set of 4 threads.  Chip clips were again used to keep the threads tidy.

After completing the threading it was time to tie onto the front beam and then start weaving.  The warp threads are knotted onto the front beam.  The blue yarn you see is a bit of scrap yarn at the beginning of the project to help space out the warp threads.  The weft threads (the back and forth weaving threads) is some self striping wool/acrylic sock yarn (Kroy Socks Stripes in the colour Burnished Sierra).  When you look at the back of the loom the Kumihimo bobbins with the supplementary warp threads are hanging off the back.

I wove a piece that was about 64″ on the loom.  After taking it off the loom the piece measured 60.5″ x 20.5″.  After washing the dimensions will shift again and there will be a bit more shrinkage.

After removing the blue waste yarn I trimmed the warp ends, knotted them together, then twisted the fringe.  The result is a cowl for my Christmas gift pile.  I still have one last step to do though.  The fabric still needs to be washed to set the cloth and after washing it’ll need a quick press with the iron to make it look beautiful again.  I have a stack of Christmas weaving waiting for washing and ironing.  Luckily there is still a bit of time before Christmas to get it all done.

I got the stack weaving washed and realized that I had forgotten the step of sewing on labels.  So today I sat down with the pile and sewed on tags.  I have these nice vegan leather tags that I purchased off ETSY from FractalFocusStudios and I carefully sewed one on each item.

 

After putting the tag on I did a quick try on.  Love it!  My stack of scarves and cowls are now sitting in the pile of Christmas gifts.  Soon they will all be adopted by new owners.