Light, Shadow, and Apples

21 Monday May 2018

Posted by jeanweaves in Damask, Weaving Inspiration

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creative inspiration, Damask, Projects, Weaving

I see intriguing lichen, a stunning sunset, a charming silhouette, and I think “How could I weave that?”

A loom comes home with bells and whistles that I’m compelled to use, compelled to learn techniques that will show the loom’s full capabilities.

Our guild challenges us to create within the framework of a theme, a museum inspiration, a commercially chosen color, a natural phenomenon.

These have subtly influenced my weaving this year.

Last summer’s total solar eclipse loomed large in our community. Everything had an eclipse theme, including our annual guild challenge— “Light and Shadow.”

I put it in the back of my mind, behind the hangings, towels, and blankets in progress. Gradually the idea came into focus, a continuation of my museum inspiration from last year—how highlights and shadows can be woven into a 2-dimensional fabric.

Last year I used undulating twill. This year I used satin damask. Last year I wove scarves, this year an interpretation of a photo, a simple bowl of fruit,

cropped for focus and color stripped,

leaving a pixelated image.

With each step, I reduced the image further to the bare minimum for single weave units. I graphed out the image on computer, trying to grade the shadows into the highlights. I adjusted the graph squares to more accurately reflect the proportions of my warp and weft.

This was a project for the process rather than the end product. It doesn’t have a specific purpose—which in itself is a learning experience for me! But as a challenge project, it did serve a general purpose—that of learning more about perspective, shading, dimension in weaving, proportion. I’ll tuck these lessons in the back of my mind until the next warp.

Meanwhile, there are towels to weave and aprons to sew.

I Wander As I Weave

23 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by jeanweaves in Damask, Designing, Weaving Inspiration

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creative inspiration, Damask, Weaving

We’ve had a lot of icy weather this past month, at least by Missouri standards. Perfect time to retreat to the studio for some serious warping!

Threading inside the loom

During the course of a year, while weaving fabric for utilitarian textiles, I let my mind wander a bit. Not so much that I lose my place in the treadling, but I do dream about what’s next. What can I weave on the drawloom that will use more draw shafts? Do I set it up for shaft draw or single unit draw? What figure can I come up with that will be easy enough for this rookie single-unit weaver?

And following those wandering thoughts led here—inside the drawloom, threading 468 threads for a single unit 8-thread satin damask. This set-up will allow me to lift individual units of threads randomly for whatever figure I can graph out. It’s more free-form than the repeating patterns of shaft draw weaving but if I want, I can work those in too.

There are so many motifs that can be woven, so many designs that show up in embroidery, knitting, quilting—whatever a person can put her hand to. Mediums often cross too, like the quilt patterns painted on barns.

While tossing around ideas for the newly warped loom, my husband suggested putting one of those barn paintings into the picture. A perfect expression of my family’s dairying and quilting backgrounds.

Barn in progress

Idea met computer sketchpad and after several edits, I took it to the loom. Since this is a learning piece, I’m taking time to evaluate along the way. There will be adjustments if I choose to weave it again, a shadow added here, a line softened there.

And while I weave, I let my mind wander, but not too much!

When My Looms Look Like This….

02 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by jeanweaves in Planning, Weaving Inspiration

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Damask, Making, Production, Weaving

New Year, new month plus one, and this is the first week I’m faced with this….

End of the blanket warp

And this…..

Baby bib warp thrums

And this…..

Opphämta warp ties

This can be daunting if there aren’t any projects in the works, but it is also a refreshing point to be at early in the year. What could be better than facing a clean slate in the middle of winter when there’s time to ponder the possibilities?

Many years, January sits on the far side of the holidays and the winter stretches before me in a quandary of unknown directions. Not so this year. The apron warps bridged Christmas and the New Year. The dark aprons sat finished with the blue warp planned but not yet warped. In between came a baby blanket order. Both projects kept me busy in the studio throughout January.

What remains of the January projects

So here I am, aprons and blankets neatly stacked, with that clean slate.

Some years I formally make a list of what I want to weave by when. Other years, like last year, I set out to improve my skills in one area or another.

While I was throwing the shuttle these past few weeks, my mind casually wandered around all the possibilities waiting for the drawloom on the other side of my studio. After finishing the opphämta hangings last fall, it has been patiently waiting for another warp. Maybe I should pay attention to where I’m wandering.

So at least for the next while, I’m borrowing a bit from last year’s challenges. First step is to plan out a warp for satin damask and decide whether to work with 5-shaft satin or 8-shaft satin. Then I’ll need to review how to dress the loom for single unit draw and spend some time graphing out a design or two or three.

I’m not sure just what I want to try first, but it’ll be a pleasant exploration whatever it is.

Holiday Notes

11 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Color, Weaving Inspiration

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Tags

Color, creative inspiration, family, Textiles, Weaving

In the past, when I worked in an office and wove on the side, all weaving stopped about the middle of November. After our local guild’s holiday show, I had to turn my attention towards preparing for the holidays.

Empty loom

We never knew how many would come to our Thanksgiving table, but I always enjoyed fixing the various dishes my Mom made and adding a few of my own. Gathering, shopping, baking, simmering all kept me out of the studio.

Christmas carries many of the accumulated traditions from my childhood with special holiday cookies, breads, and candies. All that in addition to school programs, gift-making, cleaning, and decorating. There just wasn’t time to do much at the loom.

Times have changed. Kids have grown. The office job is history. Now my studio is my “office” and I get to weave late into the season!

Harvest and Sea colorways

Last week I wound warp for an idea presented to me last month—aprons with pockets. I’ve woven them before, but my latest designs didn’t have the pockets. I also noticed while inventorying yarn that I have a lot of gorgeous 10/2 mercerized cotton. Put the two together and the ideas began to sprout. I have enough yarn for two warps, one that looks like grape harvest to me, and another that is more of a Caribbean feel. These colors will warm the January winds!

Harvest Apron Warp

I don’t know if I’ll have time to finish these before Christmas but there’s no deadline. In between batches of cookies and writing cards, I sit at the loom and throw the shuttle. It is such a welcome, peaceful way to ponder the season.

Follow the aprons’ progress on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/JeanWilliams.JeanWeaves

Design Through the Back Door

28 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Designing, Weaving Inspiration

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creative inspiration, Design, Weaving

Recently someone asked me to design an apron for his business. After some back and forth, I had a clearer idea of what he wanted and started thinking. I pored over graphed motifs from Medieval textiles, paging through for something to start with. Then I worked on adapting the figures to what the customer wanted and what my equipment can weave. All this designing before a thread is woven.

Design is a loaded word.

Design is a verb, “to conceive, to contrive, to invent…to have as a goal or purpose.”

Design is also a noun, “a decorative or artistic work…a visual composition or pattern.”

A design can be a conspiratorial plot or a figure on a business card or a pattern for a dress. Design encompasses every art and craft form, every building plan, every graphic representation. There are whole college programs built around design–none of which I’ve taken.

Planning in the works

To be honest, design can be intimidating. That’s why I approach it through the back door.

The back door is the service door. It’s the one used to bring in the groceries. It’s the door from the garden, the lawn chair, the grill. It’s the door the dog uses.

Pulling inspiration from the library

The back-door path to design uses what is available and builds on that. It reads whatever books are on the shelf, takes whatever classes or workshops come up, researches techniques that might come in handy.

Then when a challenge comes up, all the bits and pieces of design inspiration quietly come in through that back door, sit down at the kitchen table, and whisper that concept into reality. Design through the back door.

How do you approach your design challenges?

Putting Inspiration to Work

02 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Designing, Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

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creative inspiration, Opphämta, Weaving

Last spring, during my week-long drawloom class at Vävstuga in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, the lovely, vibrant, intricate hangings on every wall made my heart sing. Reds, blues, golds, 8-pointed stars, crosses, and diamonds everywhere I looked.

The hangings echoed the richly decorative weaving of Sweden. Some were in linen, some in wool. Some incorporated Monks Belt, some Smålandsväv, but many were woven in opphämta, a weave in which the heavier pattern floats over or under the plain weave ground fabric. The motifs are old and found in many crafts besides weaving.

All the way home, the patterns and colors played at the edge of my thoughts. How could I apply the techniques I’d learned to my own weaving? How could I adapt those traditional motifs to the equipment I have, the yarns on my shelf? That is, after all, why we go to classes and workshops—to learn new techniques.

Finally, this summer I wound warp for four hangings without any clear plan on specific designs. I just wanted to try my hand at wall hangings like those I’d seen. The first hanging features blues and a few bands of rose. As the patterns grew, it spoke “winter” to me – blue, icy patterns on snow, rose colored sunsets.

“Winter”

After that, the other three seasons just fell into place. “Spring” with bright yellow and red flowers and light spring greens, “Summer” with darker green vines and bluebirds, “Autumn” with acorns and oak leaves.

“Spring”

“Summer”

The warp is 8/2 bleached cotton—I didn’t know if I was ready for the careful warping linen requires – next time. The ground weft is linen. For weft, I used what I have on hand—some linen, some cottolin, some mercerized cotton. I used 17 pattern units on the drawloom threaded in a point which results in symmetrical motifs.

“Autumn”

Of course, as I twisted fringe and assembled the hangings, I already knew things I’ll do differently next time. There’s always a next time. That’s inspiration being put to work.

Great Cover-Ups

24 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Craft History, Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

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creative inspiration, Opphämta, Weaving

In the dictionary, to cover is to place something upon, over, or in front of, so as to protect, shut in, or conceal; to hide or screen from view or knowledge, often used with “up”.

There are fashion cover-ups, like the items one wears over a swimsuit at the pool or beach.

There are sun screens to protect us from sunburns.

First hanging cloth fresh off the loom

And of course, there are scandals and cover-ups meant to conceal truth. But that’s not where I’m going. Lately, I’ve been intrigued by textile cover-ups.

We have long used home textiles to hide what we want to protect or don’t want seen. A tablecloth can protect a good table or cover a scarred table and dress it up for the holidays. Sofa covers protect the good upholstery from pets and wear, and also hide the evidence of said pets and wear. Curtains cover our windows for privacy. Bread towels cover the newly baked loaf for cooling.

The Scandinavians have a couple historical textile traditions that I’ve been enjoying. One are the “hanging cloths.” Prior to the 19th century, in the day of flue-less fireplaces, the walls and ceilings would get sooty. On special occasions, hanging cloths covered up those dirty walls and ceilings, giving the room a fresh look.

According to Lillemor Johansson in Damask and Opphämta, these were white linen or cotton with colored patterns bands. The patterns were woven in opphämta or monks belt on a plain weave ground. In some communities, the patterns were all blue. In other places, the cloth could be red, blue, or a combination of colors. Braided fringes often decorated the ends.

Another historical Scandinavian tradition is the show towel. Towel bars must have had two bars, one closer to the wall than the other, but I’m just guessing on that. The idea was to hang a pretty towel in front to cover the utilitarian towel hung in the back. Family was presumably taught to only use the back towel.

We still have examples of “show towels” in our homes. My mother had special guest towels that only came out when company was coming. And woe to the child who inadvertently used one after coming in from play!

I like the decorative borders and finishes of these old textiles. I don’t have a flue-less fireplace—or any other kind for that matter—but I like the idea of woven wall hangings to dress up a room. Changing them out for the season can give a room a facelift without a major remodel.

Right now, I have a white 8/2 cotton warp on the drawloom for some of those opphämta hanging cloths. The first one is finished and I’m considering patterns and colors for the next one. It is both challenging and satisfying to design at the loom, choosing which border to balance the last, how to use the colors I have on hand to their best advantage. And it’s fun to see the pattern develop with each row.

These are my favorite kinds of cover-ups. What are yours?

The Tortoise and the Hare

11 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Designing, Weaving Inspiration

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Projects, Weaving

Cotton Lace Kitchen Towel

“How long does it take to weave that?”

Well, that depends. Is it a sports car kind of project or a minivan on the loom? Is it a thoroughbred or a draft horse, a short story or an epic, a tortoise or a hare?

What makes one project a “hare” and another a “tortoise”?

“Hare” projects are fast weaves. They are easy to follow, easy to thread, easy to treadle, quick to the finish line.

The weave structure has a lot to do with it. Tabby, or plain weave, is just over under, over under. It can be threaded on just two shafts: one, two, one, two. I only have to go back and forth in the treadling: right, left, right, left. A four-shaft twill can also be a hare weave: one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.

Fast and slow yarns

Materials can make a project slow or fast. Thick warps and wefts take up more, thread in less time, and weave up quickly. Smooth yarns stick less in the warp and in the weft. All the lovely texture of a mohair or a bouclé can really slow down the weaving if used in the warp.

One-shuttle weaves are faster than two-shuttle weaves. If I want to make a fabric more interesting and still keep it fast, I put more color in the warp and just use one shuttle for the weft.

And this one is a bit counter-intuitive, but longer warps can actually be faster to weave. Why? Because I can set it up once and weave several projects on the same set-up. Even if it takes longer to measure, I can weave longer before threading again.

Tying a second warp onto a previous one saves time as well. It’s easier to tie the knots than to rethread.

These are all characteristics of “hare” projects.

So what make a project a “tortoise”?

Well, any time I use a non-repeating threading, or one with a long repeat instead of a short one, that will take more time to thread. I have to stop frequently to check for errors and follow the draft carefully. The same with the treadling, I have to focus on what I’m doing.

Fine threads equal more threads per inch, take longer to thread and weave up.

Any time I add more colors in the weft, I add more time for the weave. Accents have to be planned out, bobbins must be wound, ends must be tucked in. Think of all the color changes in a well-woven tartan. It takes time.

Snowflake Damask Runner

Any complex weave is, by definition, going to take more time than a simple weave. In this case, complex can be defined as using more than one weave structure, hand-manipulating the threads as in leno lace, or using a multi-harness loom technique like damask or opphämta.

There are some weaves that defy these generalizations. Tapestry, for example, is a plain weave, which is normally quick to weave, but because it is hand-manipulated, it is slow, very slow. And oh so worth it!

Just being slow or fast does not make one weave better than the other. It’s just a characteristic of the fabric to consider when you are planning a project or purchasing a handwoven. When I need some hostess gifts, I want a fast weave. I just choose a simple threading and a one-shuttle weave. When I weave something for an exhibit, it has to be unique and specific to the exhibit theme. That will take longer, both in designing and execution.

Summer is often a time for “hare” weaves. I’m in and out a lot, there’s garden work to do, family to visit. Weaving fits in between and I can’t afford to lose my place in a long, complex design. And it’s fun to see fast results.

During the winter months, I work on more complex pieces. There is more time to design, to thread, to work with the projects to get the most from the warp.

Here in mid-Missouri, we are smack dab in the middle of summer and baby blankets just came off the loom before a recent trip. Back home again, I finished the hemming and will now work on finishing the dragon placemats. After that, who knows? Perhaps another “hare” project.

Or maybe I’ll buck my own definitions and start another “tortoise” during the summer months.

Tortoise or hare—what is your favorite kind of project?

Refilling the Creative Well

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Damask, Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

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creative inspiration, Damask, Opphämta

Our part of the world enjoys four seasons and right now spring is transitioning to summer. The days are getting longer, warmer, and greener. There’s renewed hope for the garden, renewed energy in the morning walks, the desire to break out of the routine, for something different on the loom, something to get excited about. Getting away for some kind of retreat is a good way to refill the creative well for the coming months.

This past week was just such a retreat for me. I spent the week at Vävstuga Weaving School in Shelburne, Massachusetts studying Drawloom Basics with Becky Ashenden. Becky’s warm welcome and enthusiasm for all things Swedish made all of us feel right at home from start to finish.

What an inspiring week! Yes, I’ve woven on a drawloom for many years, but only with a few structures. Where I’ve woven 5-shaft satin damask before, this past week I had the opportunity to try 8-shaft satin damask.

Damask in 8-Shaft Satin

We learned the properties of the various damask weaves, 5- 7-, 8-, and 10-shaft. We even worked with weaving swords to hold pattern sheds open on two different looms.

4-Shaft broken twill woven with a weaving sword

Where I’ve woven opphämta in the past, at Vävstuga I saw the variety of designs beyond what I’ve tried, combining borders and designing effective figures.

Opphämta with Weaving Sword

Opphämta borders on 10 patterns shafts

And with Smålandsväv, there seems to be limitless variations to keep me busy indefinitely.

Smålandsväv, back

Smålandsväv, front

I have shaft drawlooms; last week I also wove on single unit drawlooms, both with pattern-saving lashes

Damask with Pattern-Saving Lashes, front

Damask with Pattern-Saving Lashes, back

and without.

Single Unit Draw in 6-shaft satin, front

Single Unit Draw in 6-shaft satin, back

I’ve woven mostly with cotton; this week, it was almost exclusively linen or cottonlin. I beat my warp with a steady hand; this week, I learned that some weaves just need a heavy thump.

Lithuanian Opphamta on 21 Pattern Shafts

I can follow simple directions, but I don’t always know the “why” behind the “how.” After a week of discussing the different kinds of looms, deciphering drawdowns, and weaving on several different set-ups, I have a lot more understanding of how to make the loom do what I want it to do.

And now that I’m home again, I’m putting more thought into rearranging my looms and their set-ups. When I bought my second Glimäkra last year, it was basically so I could have one dedicated to drawloom weaves and one to wide and multi-shaft weaves. The class gave me the incentive to make that happen. Over the coming weeks, I will take the draw attachments off my bigger loom and allow it to be used fully as the 12-shaft loom that it is. The smaller loom will then be the dedicated drawloom since I usually don’t weave wide drawn pieces.

I so appreciate Becky’s encouragement and the warm welcome from all the Vävstuga staff. Many thanks to all you! Now that I’m home, there’s so much to weave, so little time!

Making the Most of Time

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in creating, Planning, Weaving Inspiration

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Projects, Time Management, Weaving

Gebrochene on the loom

Last night our study group met. We were a small group—the local colleges are on spring break and many people are out of town. Those of us who came shared our current projects and the conversation turned to tying a new warp onto the previous one.

Susan said she rarely ties on. She says she is always planning the next project while she is weaving, and it is often in a different structure.

As an example, Susan brought a rainbow colored baby blanket woven in 8-shaft crackle. What a bright and cheery blanket! The blocks for her crackle pattern came from an overshot name draft that she designed. She showed us that same name draft woven in fine white and blue linen overshot. Then there were the lace towels in 10/2 cotton—again using those name draft blocks, this time in lace. That’s three different structures from one block design. She couldn’t tie each warp onto the previous one because they are different structures, but she started with the same block design for each.

Paula said she ties on whenever she can. Paula has an Ms and Os warp on right now for a baby blanket after which she will reduce the sett for a scarf, then after that, she’s spread the warp again and tie on for a rug. Paula has studied Ms and Os for years. She starts with that one weave structure and interprets it into everything from fine to heavy fabrics. She knows just what to expect from different yarns in that weave and how they will respond to the floats and interlacements. One weave structure—many ways.

I’m somewhere in between in the tying discussions. I tie on when I can, but like Susan, I’m often on to a different structure with the next project.

Gebrochene Draft

Currently I’m working on a gebrochene weave. That’s an old German name for a fancy Ms and Ws twill. I really love the intricate patterns created with just the classic twill line going in different directions. From this one threading, I can weave plain weave with a fancy twill border, gebrochene in a straight treadling, gebrochene in a point treadling, trompt as writ, or a combination of any of these. Using different colors and fibers and tying on to the existing warp, I can weave towels, runners, napkins, even scarves before I have to rethread.

All of us have ways to get the most out of our creative time, whether it tying on to the previous warp, or using the same draft in multiple structures, or weaving a single structure into a variety of items.

How do you get the most out of your creative time?

jeanweaves

~ Jean Williams, Handweaver

Category Archives: Weaving Inspiration

Light, Shadow, and Apples

I Wander As I Weave

When My Looms Look Like This….

Holiday Notes

Design Through the Back Door

Putting Inspiration to Work

Great Cover-Ups

The Tortoise and the Hare

Refilling the Creative Well

Making the Most of Time