awayuq

a book and overshot

Over the weekend I read, or at least intensely browsed, a book I bought several months ago: "Doubleweave", by Ursula Arn-Grischott. It focusses on 4 - 8 shafts, so it's not necessarily a reference for the compu-dobby crowd. But I found it very interesting. Lately I've been more and more intrigued by cloth which gets its personality from materials or new twists on simple techniques, rather than structures needing many many shafts. There are lots of color pictures in this book, and they are worth perusing. It's inspiring to see different faces of "simple" doubleweave: the austere clean squares of say black and white linen, and the crazy collapsing of ribs and folds in wool. The drawdowns are well done, especially if you have trouble visualizing doubleweave: she draws the actual interlacement of threads, so that you can tell what is on the top and what is on the bottom. There are many references for doubleweave as a structure, and this is probably not the book I'd turn to in order to write out my threading. But I would open it to trigger new ideas and help along the what-ifs.

(And she does note that some of the very earliest--and, may I add, most complex--doublecloth is from Peru. In singles cotton, with intricate interlocking designs.)

Well I don't know whether it's a reaction against having been out of my home country for 6 weeks, or a desire to reassure myself that I can still work out a threading draft, or a feeling that I have to perfect the basics of western style floor loom weaving... I wound and beamed a warp over the weekend. And what will it be? Overshot. ?? I'm as puzzled as you are. Ordinarily I don't like overshot much. And I have no idea what I'm going to do with the finished piece, unless there is enough to make a pillow. For some reason, I just wanted to do overshot. I spent some time in the studiio, gazing at lovely shelves of cotton and wool, put on the tea kettle, pulled down Davison... made myself a cup of green tea, and found myself staring at a page I'd marked long ago, a design called "China Leaves". With a sort of tweedy green cone of shetland just in the corner of my eye. Why struggle? if it turns out to be only a sampler, so be it. At least I'll be weaving! I am sure I'll learn something.

In fact, I've already learned something: a sturdy warping board with long pegs is a joy to use. This is the first warp I've wound since buying my new warping board, and it was great! I could fit the whole warp on in one winding, no need for two bunches. The frame stayed stable, the pegs didn't shift. Now that my warp is beamed, I can see that the length of all the warps is pretty much even. For years I had warps that would be longer at one side than at the other-- no tension problems, just a difference in length. I now realize this was because the pegs of my old warping board weren't straight. I'm the last person to speak against homemade tools, but sometimes it is worth it to buy things from a maker who knows the full requirements of an object. I am forever grateful to the friend who made me tools and started me on my weaving path, and I recognize the time to retire things that have outlived their usefulness.

the midpoint

I have reached the middle of Big Blue Orenburg. For some reason I feel much better now. Unfortunately, in true lace-in-progress style, this little beauty to be does not photograph easily. So for now, you'll have to take my word for it.

From here on, it's just a reversal of what I've done so far. Which should be easy, right? Of course, there's no chart, because it's so easy. We'll see.

wool skirt evaluation

The wool skirt worked out wonderfully. The only thing that could have been better was a flannel petticoat, instead of plain muslin. A full wool skirt is a truly remarkable thing.

--it sheds dust
--it sheds water
--it is warm
--there is complete freedom of movement
--when the wind is freezing cold, it is more comfortable to visit the outhouse in a skirt, because your bottom need not be entirely exposed
--you can add layers under it, more skirts and long underwear, for extra warmth
--you can hike it up, for extra coolth
--if you make it in a dark color, you can forget all the questionably sanitary things it has brushed against
--you can dry your hands on it
--you can clean your sunglasses with it
--you can carry stuff in it
--you can put it over your sleeping bag, for extra weight and warmth
--you can blend into certain situations (when I was trying to catch a taxi in Lima in my campo outfit, the driver at first thought I was an idigena and wouldn't pick me up).

I know I know, pants are liberated and all that, but for me, a skirt works best in certain rough situations.

long last

I'm home. In my traveling of exhaustion over the last few days, I've been working on the Big Blue Orenburg in various hotel rooms. At one point I thought I might make it to the middle, but I'm not quite there yet. It strikes me that I should think about the pacing a bit, because it's a one-year project and I'm not yet at the midpoint.

Remarkably, I came home without buying a single textile. ??? How can that be? I suppose I just got tired of the relentless marketing of old and supposedly old ponchos and mantas. There is wonderful new stuff being created. The textiles from CTTC are lovely, but I already have a dozen or so. I didn't even buy any alpaca yarn. This is a shift.

But rather than worry about what this extreme non-acquisitiveness means, I'm going to enjoy being back in my own studio, with piles of fabric and fiber and yarn which are all new, because I forgot I had them! I don't know what I am going to do first... I'd love to have a new summer dress before it gets too cold, and I haven't done any spinning in months. Options!