Sonofa.. turtle!
When I got back from SAFF, I was exhausted. After the initial tiredness wore off, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to knit with my new yarn or play with the loom. I opted for the simplest of options, playing with the small square loom. If I wasn’t a slacker, you’d see a picture here of yarn squares. Maybe later. I finally settled in on weaving. Oh. My. Dog. What fun!
Clearly I have some tension issues, and some were intentional, but look at those edges. Much better than my first attempts back in the spring. Amazing what an actual shuttle will accomplish, versus yarn wrapped around a paint stick.
Uh oh, what’s that? That thing on the left.
This is a broken warp thread. And if one was going to break, you know it was going to be the one on the very edge. How rude. I pinned it like I was supposed to and carried on. I haven’t attempted to sew it in yet because I’m a big pansy little intimidated by it.
I’m all excited about the weaving. It just so happens that the Southern California Handweavers’ Guild Weaving and Fiber Festival was this weekend. Guess who went.
They stamp your hand with a sheep as proof you paid your admission
I didn’t come out of there empty handed. It seems no matter who you talk to, they tell you that A Handweaver’s Pattern Book is THE 4 harness book to have. And now I have it. I also bought 2 small cones of 8/2 tencel, one in black and one in blue, a used shuttle, and 2 large cones ($4 each, whee) of yarns that will be good to practice with.
Armed with my new yarn, I carefully put the warp on the loom, taking extreme care to get it on evenly. I think I did a decent job this time but I don’t usually see my tension issue until I’ve woven for a bit and started winding it forward. Unfortunately, I won’t know how I did for at least a couple of days. Because, see this?
It’s supposed to be here
Waahhh! I called to order new… uh… leather-only-it’s-not-leather-anymore and with the time difference, Harrisville is closed. Sonofaturtle! (You all know that wasn’t the phrase that came out of my mouth when the harness came crashing down.)
I blame California and 2007 for the mishaps above. I also blame CA and 2007 for the dryer going on the fritz 2 days after I returned home from SAFF and Sears wanting over $230 to fix it. Oh sure, they were willing to sell me a one year warranty type deal for $193 so it would be cheaper to fix. I did some digging online, ordered the part for $4, and we fixed it ourdamnselves. Screw you Sears. (Yes, I know all these things could have broken just as well back home, leave me alone.) In 2008, everything is going to get better.





November 5th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Wasn’t the weaving show fun? I bought 8/2 tencel also; it’s so nice and shiny, and I’m told it’s easier to work with than silk. Did you get yours from Solvang John? Sorry about the busted loom; hope they can ship the part quickly.
My first security word was ‘alpaca’ and this one is ’silk’. Fun!
November 5th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Hopefully you’ll get through right away in the morning and the part will be shipped very quickly. Your weaving is looking terrific! Which loom is the small square loom? Is it the one you bought at the antique store here?
November 6th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Dude, there MUST be some way to jury-rig a fix on that loom till your part comes. After all, it’s just a bit of leather cord with a clamp on it! Go down to Lowe’s or Home Depot or your favorite hardware store and look for little clamps. Maybe there’s a way to clamp/glue/stitch /wrap a little piece of cord to the existing leather, make a loop, and clamp that end back? The harder bit will be fastening something to the existing leather cord, tight enough that it won’t slip under the stress of lifting the harness.
And good on you for fixing the dryer!
November 9th, 2007 at 7:00 am
Love the colors on your loom. I can just imagine the expletive that issued from your face when the harness made its descent to the floor. I know what I would have said and it seems to fit the situation.
Sounds like you have been having fiber fun and frolic time in abundance! I wanna play too…