tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978632925950937140.post4720726014172822074..comments2024-02-14T03:06:23.526+00:00Comments on weave4fun: One big rug, two woolen fabrics and a host of warping issuesAndrew Kieranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08997798351349771733noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978632925950937140.post-19838321880856873622009-01-21T12:41:00.000+00:002009-01-21T12:41:00.000+00:00great spool rack!Glad to find your blog through yo...great spool rack!<BR/>Glad to find your blog through your comment on mine. I still weave on floor looms occasionally and love the process. I teach a beginning weaving class at my school and tonight will be their 4th session... threading, sleying for most this session!<BR/><BR/>Are you a WeaveTech list member? Did you read about the recent performance in NYC with loom as musical instrument in a composition?Tommye McClure Scanlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816922767294739515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978632925950937140.post-17122713084872364562009-01-13T10:50:00.000+00:002009-01-13T10:50:00.000+00:00I hope to do alternative tartans as a business, ay...I hope to do alternative tartans as a business, aye. i can weave a straight twill at a pretty decent rate i think, and i have a notion that i can work my way up to a larger, more mechanised loom someday.<BR/><BR/>what i'm going to do for making a better spool rack is probably to use a lot of stiff fencing wire, or something like that. i should be able to find an abandoned spool lying about somewhere, or cannibalise a ruined fence or derelict building site to get such materials.<BR/><BR/>alternatively, i could make the uprights from square wooden rods and attach the pins by hooks and staples.<BR/><BR/>what i did last night for thread guides was to simple rig a couple of cross-sticks 1/2 a foot in front of the spool rack, and run a doubled up line of warp cotton down the centre line of each column of spools, with one line on each side. this seems to have solved a few problems, and i can now get away with winding thicker spools, which means i don't have to change them so often.<BR/><BR/>wire coat hangers are a good idea actually, easier to work with and straighten out than fencing wire i should think. thanks for that. is handy actually, i work in a charity shop at weekends, shouldn't be a problem.<BR/><BR/>one of these days i'd like the opportunity to make a long bolt of cloth, say 100-300 metres that i know in advance is already sold so i can do the proper thing and spend a couple of grand on wool and sectional warp direct from cones.<BR/><BR/>it's going to be interesting to see how many metres i can weave in a week. i must, absolutely must, keep an accurate timesheet this time.<BR/><BR/>as it goes, there isn't really the weaving scene here there is in the states, or even england for that matter, and i was really lucky to get such a good loom so close to home. it's a very versatile frame and i'm very confident i could easily update it to more shafts if i could just get hold of the appropriate dobby box. or build one. when i get down to that college, i'm gonna take one of those things apart and see exactly how they work.Andrew Kieranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08997798351349771733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3978632925950937140.post-61690409044516422662009-01-12T21:03:00.000+00:002009-01-12T21:03:00.000+00:00Nice fabrics. The subtle stripey one shows up wel...Nice fabrics. The subtle stripey one shows up well enough on my monitor to look really good, actually. I would do a jacket out of it.<BR/><BR/>40 meters!! Reading this, I wanted to hop on a plane and come rushing with a spare reed, a drill (probably wouldn't make it through security) and a bunch of dowels. Straightened-out wire coat hangers through a cardboard box? (if you turned it with the open side to the rear, you could punch holes for thread guides in the side facing the loom) Bamboo skewers from the grocery store? The sad thing is, I often see cheap spool racks for sale in classified ads. Where I live, there seem to be more stray racks floating around than actual looms with sectional beams.<BR/><BR/>You were up against a lot, and I'm really impressed at the nice fat warp you managed to get on in spite of your travails! I hope you try sectional warping again because it sounds like it can only get better.<BR/><BR/>(I bump my head by standing up under the right corbel of my loom every time I warp. I'm sure I will do it again this time, too--right after I think "this is when you bump your you head every time you warp.")<BR/><BR/>Do you hope to do kilt fabric just for friends and family, or are you thinking of a business?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com