Wednesday, December 28, 2016

The Warped Rainbow

Last night was a "late night" at my house.  Earlier I started putting the warp through the reed and heddles.  After a pleasant time listening to an eclectic mix of music as I threaded it, it was ready for the loom. The clock said "Nearly Bedtime!"  - Abby said "It won't take long to get it wound onto the loom."
Guess who I listened to for my advice?   Yep, Abby had the final say.  So the winding on started. It wasn't long until I realized that some of the black threads/yarns that I had chosen were not the best choices for warp threads.  One of them has a pretty slub that looks great woven.  But the reed in use is a 5 dent per centimeter reed. (that means narrow slots that the yarn passes through!)  The slubs kept catching on the reed.  Another black thread was a bit stretchy and not as strong as I thought.  Oops, at least two of those broke as the winding went along.
**note:  For a traditional weaver, a broken warp thread is a problem. Some would have even scrapped this warp.  For a Saori/Freestyle weaver, this is a design change and something that we can live with. I can always add a supplemental thread if desired - or just leave the space and add to the design that way.

The stretchy yarn and the slub yarn wanted to tangle. This made the winding on take a bit longer than usual.  But it went on anyway.  At about an hour past my bedtime, it was on and I was able to go to bed.  Say what?  I could have left it and finished in the morning?  If that is what you think, you have never visited my world.  Sleep would have been fitful.

Here it is on the loom in all its glory.
If you look closely at the bottom you may see one or two of the broken threads wound around the warp beam. When the wind off enough, I will add them back into the warp. No problem!

Since this will be traveling soon, I wanted to weave enough to cover the tying rod on the cloth beam. Here is the beginning of the fabric.
The fun part of this will be weaving in the colors that are in the warp and watching the color play across the bands of black and color. I may follow the warp design for a while OR I may just go wild playing with it. As you can see there is already a bit of play with the traveling inlay in aqua and purple.

Wish me luck - it will be tempting to weave on this before the get-together. I hope Abby understands......

(In case you are wondering, I was in bed before midnight.)
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6 comments:

Jeanna said...

It is looking great, Gene. Abby is a pistol.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Love your Warped Rainbow!! Before midnight? - that's not late in my world - I'm up until two sometimes trying to finish something. And you're like me - you could have LEFT it - but that wouldn't be RIGHT - LOL - ;))

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Oh Wow! this is such a beautiful start! I bet you will have fun with this project.

Debbie said...

Love it so far....enjoy your play time and all those rich colors.

Shelley: the Dread Pirate Rodgers said...

Dear Gene, what an absolute wonder (at least to me)! I can see the concentration needed to lay down the warp (that's the vertical threads, right?) so that you have the correct colors in the correct places. And then, once completed, I absolutely understand the urge to "DO SOMETHING" and start seeing the weaving emerge.

Here are some practical questions that come to my mind .... When you do the weaving, how tightly to you ... ummm, I don't know the correct terminology, so please bear with me ... "pack" the weft threads in? If I was going to be cutting into this fabric, I would be paranoid about it raveling. Which leads me to .. what is the purpose of the fabric you are weaving? Do you make garments from your fabrics or use them "as-is" ... like scarves, etc?

It is such a wondrous process. I can see you getting into the "Zen" of the weaving and watching the finished product emerge right before your eyes. Wow. :-)

Snowcatcher said...

Wow! What a beautiful rainbow! Can't wait to see this when finished! Happy new year!