Thursday, November 12, 2009

Number 9

And so we turn Jacque's colorful old bed sheet to ribbons...















...and start Rug # 9 using our new twill tie up.











This is going to be one gorgeous rug ladies & gentlemen. And the weaving is easy, the new treadle arrangement works great and even Fred can count to 4 to make the twill pattern.

Major "Duh" Moment


I was crawling around under the loom, getting ready to try a different treadle tie up for our next rug when I was struck by a lightning bolt - could it be that our loom was put together wrong. We had been quietly cursing our clunky old loom for almost a year now because it was so hard to treadle. Well, duh, it was because the treadles should have been hinged on the back side of the loom. Something about the the sharpest knife in the drawer and all of that.


Four bolts and 15 minutes later...












I'm able to do the new tie up with out having to crawl around under the loom anymore.











The treadles now stand tall and are going be so much easier to weave with.

Another teachable and laughable moment in the life of a museum weaver.












Homespun & Huck Lace


I got some homegrown and homespun yarn from Mary & Bubba at the Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago. Bottom is sheep, top is a Llama/Sheep blend.











The Llama/Sheep blend makes a handsome warp, but I was pretty anxious about the slubby parts going through the reed & heddles.








Went through the reed just fine. Maybe I was up a little past my bedtime, but I thought my feet were just too funny.













All's well that ends well. I learned a lot about weaving home spun and huck lace weave structure.






Rug # 8 On The Floor

I think were on to something here.
Still need to hem the edges, but this is a good tight rug.