Friday, November 20, 2015

It's good to have goals...

Hopefully, at some point in the future, I'll be able to do this:

http://norwegiantextileletter.com/article/diamond-twill-woven-on-a-warp-weighted-loom/

Diamond twill on a warp weighted loom.  I'm confident at tabby and basket weave, so a 2/2 twill is next...

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Some additions to the Coronation clothes...

Do you ever start a project and realize you could easily go on for months without stopping, but there's a due date and you have to finish whether you want to or not?  That's what it felt like for Ardien and Lisa's clothes.  So...I took them back and added some more things. 

Mainly finished some stitching on Lisa's dress. Added 14 hand drawn triskeles, embroidered in blue silk using split stitch and satin stitch.  I don't profess to be an expert embroidered - I think I'm soundly in the "she tried real hard" category, but they came out pretty well.





 I also added some additional hand stitching around the neck of Ardien's tunics.  I used a stitch called Cable Chain stitch as it looked like a Knight's chain to me.  I used silver and blue silk.



Given my time frame and the parameters personally and artistically that I had to work in, I'm pretty happy without how they turned out over all.   I could still keep going, but I'm happier with the additions and they wanted to wear their clothes :)

Taught another warp weighted weaving class at an event in August

Today there was a local teaching event put on by the Barony of Marcaster (St. Pete area of Florida).  I taught another warp weighted weaving class. I think it went well.  Those that stayed and hung out with me learned the basic mechanics.  I was happy that when I went to lunch, they were able to finish the warp themselves.  When I came back we were then able to work as a group to finish building the new warp and adding the weights.  The hardest part about teaching a warp weighted loom class is the length of time required.  Warping is not a speedy process and when I teach at a class event, people tend to wander in and out because there are other classes that they want to take.  I find it best to just start in the morning and keeping going to then end of the day.  People wander in and ask questions, learn a bit, and wander back out. 

 What you can see in the picture is my Oseburg tablet weaving loom and my warping board (travel size).  In this picture, the loom has ten cards on it and they are alternating S and Z.  Not only does this make a pretty herringbone pattern, but it creates a strong band for the warp to hand from (trick I learned at Pennsic from Mistress Thora).  I started this warp and was very happy to come back and find they had worked on it so we could pick back up after lunch.