All posts by janicezindel

studio reorganization

Studio Reorganization in Progress

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My weaving studio (formerly our living room) is being reorganized. Today, after moving the piano over to the hallway, we moved the two Glimakra looms which now face the west wall (and windows). I am not entirely happy with that, thinking of summer sun, both in my eyes and on the warp. However, it will make warping back to front easier. We added the vintage Gallinger rug loom in front of the big window where the CM was sitting, and the 22″ 8 shaft Harrisville near my desk and bookshelves. The two shelf units are now where I originally envisioned them, in a corner out of sunlight.

Tomorrow we will add another table to the laundry room, which is within sight of the studio space, and then it will also be my cutting/sewing/pressing area. Once the piano is sold (I hope!) the dry sink can be moved back to its spot, and a third table or the warping mill and cone/spool rack(s) will be out there, too.

Next is cleaning up my desk area, in the studio, and moving a two drawer file cabinet next to the desk to hold the color printer. My weaving reference library also needs reorganizing, after months of pulling books off the shelves. VAV, PWC & Weavers, and Complex Weavers Journals are in the studio, and I’m hoping there will be room for more weaving periodicals. However, I’m getting quite a collection of notebooks full of weaving materials, so will see what takes priority.

I’m quite pleased tonight with the loom arrangement, but lighting continues to be an issue. Log homes are dim inside even on bright days. I’ll continue to use my Ott floor lamp for now, but hope to add track lighting when I am able to.

Now, I need to try the room out and see if it works better than it was. The photo above gives an idea, and hope to have another couple pics in the next day or so.

Why have I not been weaving the last one to two days? A bit of carpal tunnel came back to haunt me again, and I’m giving hands and wrists a bit of a rest. Of course moving all this isn’t much of a rest, but it’s not the repetitive motions in weaving and cranking either, and this way something needing to be done was still accomplished. Now, I need to find a cord for my lamp…

play, towels, twill

Playing at the Loom

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Yesterday another towel was begun, this time adding some blue into the mix as I was really feeling the need for a bit of color. Red will likely come along next. Though this was threaded as a ten shaft twill, none of the towels have been planned out ahead of time. Each one is started with a different weft or an idea, then sit down and start to play. Other weaving I have done, and the socks in particular, are planned out to the row and stitch, so this has been a little much needed fun.

While I finish up this warp, I am now choosing colors for the next warp, probably along the lines of hunter green/cranberry (or wine)/copper/navy (or med.) blue/gold. The loom will likely be left set up for plain weave and ten shaft twill. Coordinating rug warp colors will also be pulled from my stash for a few rugs. While weaving towels and table runners, I’ll be cutting and sewing weft strips (hunter/cranberry/navy/gold) from sheets I’ve been collecting. It will be nice to work with color again.

This weekend there will be some shifting around done in the weaving studio. I’m looking forward to things finally being settled in a workable layout. It’s not a huge area, but is accessible, pleasant, has a fireplace, more windows/light, and in winter, close to the woodrange for adding wood to the fire. The only storage room is two large shelf units, but that helps keep me focused on present work. The laundry room is on the main floor and will become a sewing, cutting, pressing area before long, adding to convenience. This is working out well.

"Damask and Opphampta" towels, Glimakra, opphampta attachment

More Towels and Beginnings of Opphampta Attachment

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Today I was able to hem and finish two more towels, a straight draw twill, both warp and weft are cottolin, and a plain weave using a white cotton thick & thin weft. Both look nice tonight on an antique cupboard with the birdhouses, painted years ago by my mother, Ruth Helgestad.

Tonight son Noah was assembling the basic framework of the opphampta attachment. When I purchased it from another weaver, I knew it was for a 54″ loom, and my loom is 48″ but thought some of it would be generic to fit any Glimakra Standard loom, and the two main support pieces for the top could be made. In order to show a woodworker what I need, I wanted the top structure assembled as he will most likely not be familiar with looms. I know when I need something from the hardware store and I mention the word “loom,” their eyes glaze over.

I want to go over my calculations for the drawcord warp again, as the example in “Damask and Opphampta” is for a 60″ wide loom. Then I’ll be able to finally get that drawcord warp made, in anticipation of the reeds arriving.

Meanwhile, I weave and crank, and continue looking for some spinning and felting time.
cottolin, Glimakra temple

Experiences With a Temple (So Far)

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Still weaving away here in the northwoods, now working on a cottolin twill plaid towel. I had never used a Glimakra temple until this warp and, at the moment, have mixed feelings about them. They do keep the warp threads out the same distance as threads in the reed. I am still experiencing draw-in when the temple is removed, but it is nice not to be so concerned with draw-in as when weaving without a temple.

On the last towel, I believe I had readjusted the width of the temple and had it pulling the fabric just a bit wider than the threads in the reed, so have put it back where I had originally set it for this width of warp.

The sharp points on these temples do leave holes in the weaving, though most disappear as weaving continues.


On one towel I found the far right selvedge thread torn through, and on the last towel, a weft thread was torn through (above).

A little earlier today I set up the homemade temple as found on The Woolgatherers website. With the weight I had on it, the weaving width was not being kept out quite as far as the warp threads in the reed, but I am using cottolin, not wool. Wool would stretch and give more than the cottolin, and that could be what is making a difference. I will be looking at the homemade temple again, but partway through a towel is probably not the time to change.

I know there is much more to be learned about using a temple, and who knows, may reach the day when I wonder how I ever wove without one. Another learning experience,…

The two colors for the drawcord warp have arrived, and I’ll be ordering the two reeds needed for the drawloom, having spoken with three or four sources. Meanwhile, additional long-eye heddles have been tied for the opphampta attachment, I am now up to 1,200, and soon will begin the pattern heddles.

Residents of the Northwoods continue to hope for spring, but we know there will likely be a few snowstorms ahead yet. Still, I am looking forward to setting my washtubs out on the lakeside porch and washing raw fleece, sitting out there and spinning, and having all the windows open while weaving. It will be so nice to hear birdsong again, watching for fawns, and keeping an eye out for the odd black bear. There is hope, I spotted two bald eagles sitting in a tree yesterday.

Gowdey Reed Co., towels, weft variations

Towel Weft Variations

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Today, while waiting for a winter snowstorm to arrive, I am weaving another plain weave towel, this time using an almost ivory color slub cotton yarn for weft. The weft color is somewhere between the bleached and natural cottolin colors of the warp. While weaving, I am planning the next towels, an all cottolin twill towel, and a twill cottolin towel with borders. I don’t have these all planned out, just thinking ahead a bit to what I would like, and trying out different wefts on hand and that will work with this warp. Hhmm,… what other possibilities are on my shelves.

I’m also waiting for Gowdey Reed Company to call as I am hoping they will be able to make a special size reed for the drawloom. Two colors of 12/6 cotton have been ordered for the drawcord warp, and I’m still considering cotton sizes for the weaving warp. I need to choose, then I’ll start playing with designs on graph paper.

Two pairs of socks were washed this AM so a photo should be on here in a day or so.

Complex Weavers, Double Harness Study Group, towels, twill, VAV

Coordinating Towels

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At last, a twill towel, now part of a nicely coordinated set. A the moment, I am tieing the warp back on to begin another towel, and debating between plain weave with a border, twill, or a white cotton slub weft. All will be woven shortly, and today I’m feeling like I want this warp finished so I can move on to another.

In researching information for the drawloom, I’ve been paging through back issues of VAV and am drawn over and over to drall towels so starting now to make notes of sett, cotton and linen sizes, and thinking about colors.

Progress has temporarily slowed on the drawloom. I have ordered two colors of 12/6 cotton for the drawcord warp, and have reached a problem with the reeds, primarily the difference in size, width, and thickness of the new reeds compared to older ones. In particular the reed for that hangs over the pattern heddles needs to be narrower in width, and the outer long edges need to be flatter to fit into the reed holders. I will be talking to two reed companies in just a bit to see if what I need can be made.

Meanwhile, I have been researching drawloom weaving projects, looking primarily at size of thread (cotton) and sett, and that must be ordered now, too.

I am also working on the CW Double Harness Study Group newsletter and updated mailing list. Life has provided quite a number of interruptions the past few days, so completing items on my Task List has been a challenge. Some are now done, some (research) are hard to photograph, and thankfully, things are moving along again.

" reed, "Opphampta and Damask, counterweights, drawcord warp, Glimakra single unit drawloom

Single Unit Drawloom, Starting Over

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Today I decided I would finish stripping down the Glimakra single unit drawloom and really start over as it had been in storage for 13+ years. The newly washed cords for counterweights are back on the loom, and the counterweights are in a box nearby.

The old drawcord warp was made from a wonderful well-sized linen of a quality that is no longer made. After unwinding the warp and finding a few of the cords broken or chewed through, it was removed from the loom. I am using the information in “Opphampta and Damask” for length of the new warp.

I’ll also be ordering two new reeds for the drawcord warp, one for the overhead warp beam, and one that sits in the reed holders behind the round metal beam and over the pattern heddles. The reed removed from overhead today had a removable cap, and despite being tied, it had opened on one end while in storage.

The Texsolv cords on the sides of the shafts as well as the long “V” cords were also removed today, examined, and washed; two of the “V” cords need to be replaced.

Tomorrow I will remove what is left of the old warp. Since the loom has been in storage for so long I expect there would be considerable breakage of the fine cotton threads when weaving. Rather than set myself up for problems, I will re-warp the loom with new cotton.

Tonight, I am continuing research on what to use for the drawcord warp, as well as what sizes would be good for warp and weft. If all goes well, everything will be ordered tomorrow.

While waiting for the orders to arrive, the loom will be wiped down with a slightly damp cloth to remove dust (a log home/studio has dust, plus we get some of our heat from a woodrange in the kitchen), and the rest of the newly washed cords will be placed back on the loom. Meanwhile, there are more towels to weave, and socks to crank.

This morning, Shirley, another co-op gallery member, asked if I had any socks her size as her feet have been cold. I’ll be taking a selection over for her to choose from.

un-weaving

Un-Weaving

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Last night I was happily weaving away on a towel, though I knew I wasn’t entirely focused on what I was doing. I removed the temple, advanced the warp, looked down at my weaving and wondered, “what is wrong with this picture.” About 1.5 inches back the repeat didn’t look right, so I adjusted the Ott light, looked again, and sure enough, I’d missed part of a repeat.

On occasions like this, there are weavers who would tell themselves this was an unexpected “design element.” I am not one of them. This was a treadling error, and un-weaving was called for. I did not take a photo, but did remove the 1.5 inches and the towel was ready to weave on again. But not last night. I walked away. Weaving when you are feeling sleep deprived is not wise.

cottolin, towels, twill

Twill Towel #1

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After a couple days of making progress on drawloom setup, I’m back to weaving today, working on the first of three or four twill towels. Warp is unbleached cottolin at 24 epi, 2 threads per dent in a 12 dent reed, threaded as a straight draw on 10 shafts. I am using 10 shafts for the twill treadling, two shafts, on the right, are for the plain weave hem.


Today I am treadling 1 to 10 and back down to 1, then 10 to 1 to 10, and keep repeating, giving a zig-zag look. Because of frequent interruptions ~ woodburner needing more wood, dogs needing to go out, etc., I have a clipboard next to me so I can check off each repeat. I also have two pins at the right selvedge so I can see where each repeat begins/ends. I just keep moving the pin closest to me, and place the temple right over the pins. This towel will have a sewn hem; the weft is the linen/cotton slub thread, for both hem and body of towel.

I have noticed that despite a 3″ plain weave hem and a few inches of twill woven, there is no rippling on this towel as there was on my samples, where I had used cottolin for the hem. I’ll assume there is no rippling on the loom because the hem and body of the towel are woven with the same thread. It is the only difference between the current weaving and the samples that were made.
"Opphampta and Damask" Lillemor Johansson, Complex Weavers, Double Harness Study Group, long-eye heddles, maillons, opphampta attachment, pattern heddles, single unit drawloom

Drawloom Progress

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I should be weaving, I know I should be weaving, but some days I am absolutely driven to make progress on setting up the drawloom, and that’s what I’ve been working on again. Not long ago I had made 1,000 string (seine twine) long-eye heddles to add the 1,000 already on the loom.


A couple days ago I decided I needed to get back to making the pattern heddles. I previously had around 125 of them made, and in the last 48 hours I’ve made another 275 for a total of 400, 100 on each of the four pattern shaft bars. These will hold (if all are used) 2,400 threads, or 3,200 if I use all the holes in the maillons. More pattern heddles can be made if needed.

Tonight, I went back to making long-eye heddles again, this time for the opphampta attachment that is waiting to be added to the countermarche loom sometime this year. There were no heddles included when I bought it, used, and I decided again to make my own heddles. The long-eye heddles will then be able to be used on either loom as needed. When these are done, I’ll begin on the pattern heddles for the opphampta weaving.

Tomorrow I’ll be taking some old cords off the drawloom, to check on the condition of the long Texsolv cords that go from jacks down through ground shafts and to the lamms. Also, the cords that hang off the sides for the counterweights. As the loom is around 23 years old, some of the cords feel stiff and old, and I want to replace them next.

It’s also time to order something for the new drawcord warp. I need to remove the old, and take photos of how it is on there. There are also books like “Opphampta and Damask” by Lillemor Johansson to refer to, as well as advice from a few members of the CW Double Harness Study Group who also have single unit drawlooms. The adventure continues…