Woven Constructions

These Woven Constructions are a series of mock-ups for a larger project in the making. They are based on house framing techniques, made of stained spruce and cotton carpet warp. Their ultimate purpose will be to define previously unmarked space. For me, weaving is pure structure: miniature architectures playing with scale. I am working on getting these out of the 2D, into a more successful 3D existence. It will take a lot more thinking, sketching, reading, researching. (I have a long list of books requested at the library!)



This last image is a shot of all the elements together- still too 2-dimensional for me, but getting there. I love the overlapping threads and wooden shapes, and how it breaks out of the house framing standards. It's certainly food for thought.

Building Tapestry Frames

In all the time that I went without a floor loom (a sort of two-year creative desert for other reasons) I very often thought and dreamed about weaving. But somehow I was holding myself back, restricting my thoughts on what I could and could not do in regard to weaving and so I focused on other projects. Since the Baby Wolf floor loom arrived, it has seldom sat vacant. It also seems that I have been weaving just as much off-loom, from my P2P piece, Weaving the Grasses of America series, and now a still unnamed series in progress. I am weaving more than ever!

Another revelation has been tapestry. It snuck up on me- I have dabbled with it from time to time, but it hadn't stolen my heart until recently. Portable weaving! To start this next series, I built four frames from 1/2x2"s using a mitre box, drill, clamps, brads, wood glue and my weaving stool as a workbench. It is time for me to start using the woodshop down the hall! The first two frames above were for working out the kinks- a bit of uneven drilling went away with practice. I'd love to use a drill press for the following frames. After assembling the pieces, I stained them with the same stain I used for the Weaving the Grasses of America tapestry loom I built and then warped the frames with cotton carpet warp.

I'd like to keep the project under wraps for now, but the last picture shows the yarn I will be using, sent to me by my lovely aunt Beth- she has been so generous with yarn!

the weaving stool acts as my work bench for now

the frames in progress

deliciously colored tapestry wool

a good day for mail

Thursday was a spectacular day for mail! I received a new Fiber Arts magazine and I can't wait to sit down and read it. I also received a bunch of color cards from Halcyon Yarn so I can start planning my spring shawl line. Then there was a box of yarn from Webs- 3 cones of rayon: yellow, white, eggplant- two cones that look like baker's twine in melon/natural and navy/natural- and one large cone of aqua unmercerized cotton. These were mill ends and closeouts, and I was unsure of the quality of yarn, but most seem fine. The rayons are a little hairy but the sheen is irresistible. I love the color and strength of the aqua. The baker's twine is incredibly beautiful but also incredibly weak. Wish I had a ball winder and a swift so that i could wind them into 2 or 3 fake plies to build up the strength a bit. Might just try warping it as groups of 2 or 3, but that will double or triple my winding time.

The last surprise was a letter from Amanda Ho in Australia! I am participating in "Pics to Picks," hosted by Meg Nakagawa- it is an exchange of photos and images among weavers, ending in either weaving projects inspired by these images or sketches and plans. I will write more it in a separate post, but what joy! I used to collect stamps, and it is such a joy to receive mail with stamps from all parts of the world. The internet connects us so well, but what an intangible idea! To think of one person physically writing a letter, the path to the mailbox, the post office sorting, the letter's trip on a boat or plane- flying over the sea to reach the other city, being sorted again and stuck in a mail bag for delivery- inch by inch, mile by mile. The physical yet invisible maps of paths of mail, paths of planes, paths of footsteps.

maiden warp on the baby wolf

After a two and a half year hiatus on weaving, a soul-sucking job in the fashion industry, a long adjustment to city life and several apartments later, I find myself with a studio and an 8 shaft Schacht baby wolf. When one of my aunts found out that a loom was in the works, she came to our July family reunion armed with a two-pound cone of blue/green/turq yarn and a request for a shawl. After a lot of life organization, the test warp is on the loom!

I am happy to start with this shawl, as I need to start out simply and slowly so as not to throw myself into an insanely complicated project (which is quite typical) that will only end in frustration and multiple starts. The yarn is unmarked, but it seems to be a mohair blend: it is a three-color space dyed yarn. It has a great hand and weight, but I am not sold on the space dye. I am afraid of ending up with one of those striated patterns dictated by the color sequence, so I will try to use structure to evenly break up any chunks of color pattern that will result from the yarn. Thus, the test warp for choosing a construction: I will probably go with a straight draw twill or herringbone twill, but will keep experimenting to get to know the yarn in case I end up with leftovers.