Back to work

Well, the move is officially accomplished, (the definition of that is all our stuff is in the new house) and I am back at the loom.

I am having issues with the warp on the loom right now, but I hope to get it sorted out soon. While I fight with it, (a girl can’t just cut 13 yards off and toss it in the trash without at least TRYING to save some of it), I am measuring the next warp in line. This is the second chunk that I have measured, which brings me to the halfway point. I am looking forward to a better behaved warp!

 

What’s that you say? NOT everyone has a warping board in the dining area and uses the boxes of seasonal use items and a printer to position their spool rack? Weird.

 

Moving

Please note that we are in the midst of a move. All jobs are on hold for another day or two until the housing chaos subsides.

Internet connections are in place, so if anyone has questions, please email. I will be checking email at least once a day, but I can’t promise that it won’t be very late at night!

Thanks everyone for your patience, I am looking forward to getting the next warp on the loom!

What it takes.

When you look at a custom fabric, you see beauty. It doesn’t matter if it is “your” colours or not, it is the product of someone’s time, effort, and artistic talent.  But have you ever wondered “How do they do that?”?

Every weaver and designer has their own methods, and clients come to you with different ideas and expectations. Some people have photos, or know the type of colour pattern (stripes, gradient, rainbow, etc) they want and the colours they love.

Some clients already know very much what they want, and it only takes  a few tries for the weaver to design something that they love. Other clients take a bit more time, but when you finally get to what they want, it is very rewarding.

Then the real work starts! The yarn amounts are calculated, and ordered if needed, then the warp is measured. There are several methods of measuring the warp, and getting it onto the warp beam on the loom. No matter what method the weaver uses, they need to make sure that they have the right number of threads, in the correct order, to match the design that the client approved.

This is how I do it. Every entry on these sheets of paper tells me how many threads of which colour, in which order to measure out. Keep in mind that every entry also means a piece of yarn cut, and a knot made. This takes time. Anywhere from 4 to 10 hours, depending on the complexity of the design, and how many times I am interrupted. 

Now some people might think “There is no chance on earth that I would do that”, but I like it. I like the feel of the yarns gliding through my fingers. I can catch any knots or slubs that might come up, and make sure that they do not make it into the warp. I find the rhythm of measuring, and the dance of my hands soothing. This is the point where you can really start to see that a bunch of time, yarn, and the ideas of two or more people, will become a piece of handmade art.

And the winner is…..

Tiffany Howard!

Congratulations Tiffany, you have an email in your inbox right about now with all the details!

For those of you who don’t know what is happening here, I just offered a custom weaving spot to the people on my email list only. I sometimes send out offers to only my email list, as a thank you to those people who have taken the time to email me expressing interest in my weaving. If you would like to be on this list, please email me (kathy@rocklakeweaving). If you know the details of the custom fabric that you would like, include that, as I sometimes just weave what I feel like weaving.

I don’t do spam. If I email you, it is because I have something that I think you would like. A custom spot. Part of a warp. Something that is already finished, but doesn’t have a home. I do not give out my email list. To anybody. For any reason.