Skip to main content

Waves and Water

I have almost finished twisting fringe on the last set of scarves....one more to go....and then I will be wet finishing them and hopefully getting some pictures taken:) Thank you for the comment on my last post, Susan:) I always feel like I don't get anything done......I only have about three hours to 'work' at night when my son goes to bed. I am thankful that during the day, when we are together, there are 'down times' when I can get to the computer to do some research, work on patterns, update the blog/website, and all of that fun stuff.....usually about 15 minutes tops;) ! There are days that go by so quickly.....he is wonderful for keeping me 'ever busy'! :)

Tonight the plan is to wind a warp for the Waves and Water shawls. I have been working on these for quite some time now and can't wait to see how they turn out. I have decided on a two tone blue for the warp. As far as the weft is concerned, I have only picked black and am going to have to go through the stash to see what other colors I have that will work.....this will depend on how long the warp is going to be for these. I am thinking a maximum of three. I am planning for these shawls to be 18" wide and about 75" to 80" long with fringe. Nice and long for a great wrap:)
Oooooooh!!! This is an addendum to the above.....after I posted, I went back to take a look at the picture in the blog. Do you see the break in the 'wave'? Oh my gosh!!! I have been scratching my head for a little over an hour trying to make this work. I was having one heck of a time getting it to 'not break' like that to get some flow.....I certainly don't want to not have flow in this shawl!!! I started doing some research on progressing twills to find out what in the world I could be doing wrong. I grabbed my original graph paper with this twill on it and it hit me at once. I had changed the 'tie up' so that another pattern that I was using this same tie up for would not have floats 7 threads long. This made the twill unbalanced......THAT'S why the pattern was showing up with a skip in it. Phew! I quickly changed the tie up to a balanced one that I had created and no have this as my final decision.

Could you imagine I wove the shawls then noticed? I would have been devastated!!!
In the picture above, the twill on the left is balanced and the twill on the right is modified from the balanced twill but, is not balanced itself. In trying to use the unbalanced twill (right) I could not make the pattern 'wrap' properly, which made the break in the wave.

Comments

Lynnette said…
Shannon I've got to say how much easier your blog is to read now that the background is no longer black!
I love the pattern you've developed, I just be the shawls will be fab....
Anonymous said…
Beautiful, beautiful waves! Glad you got past that scary moment, too - it's horrible not knowing WHY something isn't behaving itself.
Sharon said…
I'm a little confused but think that what you showed us is a computer drafted design. I haven't invested in a program because I have so little time to weave that I'm still trying to get the basics. I'd sure like a weaving program that wouldn't break the bank - my bank, that is.
R. Delight said…
I love the look of flowing water depicted! Thanks goodness for computer software. It makes weaving a bit easier and is certainly a lot of fun to play with. I am always amazed and in awe with how much you get done with a child to care for and all.
I love twills in fact, I named my dog Twill! They are endlessly interesting. -Renee
skiingweaver said…
Hi there! They're *both* beautiful... Call me crazy, but I actually kinda like the one with the breaks. :) (Maybe because I surf, so it's all about the break for me? LOL!)

What program do you use, if you don't mind my asking? I just bought Fiberworks for my to-be-picked-up-in-two-weeks Weavebird, but I haven't had much time to really start poking around on it.

Popular posts from this blog

A New Loom!

       I’ve been weaving on a Glimakra 8 harness countermarche loom for almost 10 years now.  I love it!  It weaves like a dream, it’s super heavy, I get an excellent shed when all is going well, and I have a bit of an emotional attachment to it.  The only thing that I don’t love about this loom is that I have to climb on the floor to tie up the treadles.  Depending on the pattern, I could be under there for quite some time.  I’m pretty limber and in pretty good shape but climbing under the loom is back breaking work.  So much so that I’m sometimes out of commission for the remainder of the day after.  Look how pretty this loom is though!       I cleaned out the area that this loom has been designating as it’s home and prepped for the replacement.  I got an amazing deal on a Louet Spring and couldn’t pass it up!        I’ve been doing a lot of research o...

SILK!

The hardest thing to do for me, at times, is to consider the price of silk.  It is so very expensive!!!  I usually can't wrap my mind around purchasing it.  There are several sources out there that offer silk and about a year ago I purchased around 2 lbs of natural silk to dye.  A brave move for me considering the price!  Eeek!  I knew I had a pattern and I knew what colors I wanted......now to make the next step and get the project started!  I selected four hanks to be dyed and Chris and I got busy dying them in a variegated blue and a variegated green keeping them monochromatic since I was going to be using an echo weave pattern. Once the ends were counted out, the loom was dressed and I was happily weaving.  I wove two with a solid black weft......the weft was not dyed here in the studio, it was commercially dyed.   The best part about this project was that I had finished twisting fringe on the s...

You Are Not Going To Believe This Story!!! Grab a Tea, Cuddle Up and Take It In!!!

You're not going to believe this story!!! I am so much in awe that I have decided to write it all down here so everyone can read it. Honestly, it would take me an hour to tell the story and I SO want to share it with everyone!!!! Ok.....here we go: For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I purchased a compu-dobby loom in October. For those of you who do not follow my blog, I purchased a compu-dobby loom in October......this is a very expensive loom aided by a computer. My reason for purchasing this loom was that I have found that I really enjoy working with multiple shafts, designing fabric, 'playing' with different weave structures and just LOVE to dress my loom! So, I went on a mad hunt for a compu-dobby loom and came across a Leclerc Diana. After some time and consideration, I found one that would work for me and made arrangements to get it. I had toss and turns in my stomach because not only was this a HUGE purchase but, I had never used one only because I do...