Today the cleaners came but it was too hot for me to go out, and I stayed home but out of their way. They're like a tornado, rapid movement in all directions, no chat, they know the house so well. In an hour and a half they were done, and the house is shining.
Meanwhile I finished that woven belt, with the slot to thread the end through and modeled it.
And I'm planning on the next adventure. This was a good day to work indoors, and I'm going to try out a thing I've been interested in for ages and why not now.
It's a warp weighted loom. This is the way weaving was done before the horizontal loom was introduced. It's a vertical setup where the warp threads are hung with weights to create the tension.
Penelope wove on this loom when she was unweaving daily. The Bayeux Tapestry, actually an embroidery, was worked on fabric woven on the warp weighted loom.
I love simpler ancient techniques relying on a lot of common sense and ingenuity before engineers started complicating the issues in order to simplify the process for the worker.
Anyway here's what I'm thinking.
Here's my yarns, and I checked to make sure the yarns could be threaded on the heddle. I'm using the rigid heddle rather than the string heddles you see in the reenactment pictures.
I need a plan and this is the back of the envelope idea as of now, sketchy as you see.
Since I need to set it up vertically, i think I'll use this rod across the door of my supply closet. First I'll remove the curtain, which is an Indonesian handwoven piece. Then I'll set the rod up firmly enough to withstand the weights.
I'll attach 120 warp threads 60 double lengths with larks head knots, to the rod, reaching the floor, thread them through the heddle, then attach weights to bundles of the threads near the floor. The weights will be the one pound soft weights from my leg weight set.
So far so good. I fact if it works, I'll just leave it in place as a new curtain across the doorway. I'm studying a lot of videos to make sure I've got the gist before I get on. There's a heddle issue to figure out.
Meanwhile one of the friends who now has a piece of my art, this one an embroidery, sent me a picture of it in its new home. Her kitty Sesame helped, but Pumpernickel jumped out of frame at the last second.
And there's an updated bouquet
Added to the usual suspects are baby's breath and dayflowers.
Happy day everyone, remember your yoga
Something has that cat's attention.
ReplyDeleteProbably the other cat who jumped out of frame a second earlier.
DeleteThe Worrier Pose probably applies to every one but the instructor. Will you still be able to use the doorway while the weaving is going on?
ReplyDeleteWith care, yes. But it's not a doorway I use much.
DeleteThat looks like a bit of an adventure
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DeleteYes, that's the idea. Here goes
DeleteI don't know what the thing that stylish people put across the bottom of their beds is called, and I guess that is what the cat is sitting on and your made it, and it looks great.
ReplyDeleteI think it's an Indian fabric. She has an Indian son in law, maybe from him. I'm pleased with the location. Quite a few people put my art in bedrooms, as part of the quiet atmosphere.
DeleteI think you occupied yourself well on a hot day.
ReplyDeleteAnother hot day today, so I'll start setting up warp threads.
DeleteI think many of us can relate to the Worrier Pose.
ReplyDeleteToo true. I like the note about chips among the existential questions.
DeleteYes! Chips are definitely existential!
DeleteGood luck with your weaving. I don't understand it at all but I have confidence that you do! ;)
ReplyDeleteI have the gist, and we'll see if the reality matches my understanding. Or something.
DeleteYour new project is exciting! I'm looking forward to seeing its progression. I like the info that this is how Penelope would have woven. I've been on an Iliad/Odyssey kick for quite awhile now and this just plays right into it, lol. And I stole that yoga cartoon too, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThat kind of historic note is what always draws me to the textile arts. It's exciting to be part of history that way
DeleteOnce again, a textile fact I never knew. The weighted warps make entire sense, now that you've enlightened us. It will be very interesting to see how they work in real life.
ReplyDeleteHow is the smoke in your area? Other east coasters are reporting it's pretty bad. Glad you're staying in to beat the heat.
Chris from Boise
The smoke is not good. Bad air quality and it smells like burned rubber or something, nothing like burning wood. We'll see how the weaving works. I have to devise a header that's not card woven which confuses me. This weaving travels down the loom rather than the usual upwards direction. Do you beat upward not down. So it will be a challenge.
DeleteHow clever are you. Love it. Can’t wait to see what you create on it
ReplyDeleteAs a usually say, we'll see!
DeleteWorrier pose!!! I will remember it. You are not idle for long. This latest sounds like a large project. The kitty seems interested in your art.
ReplyDeleteIt's a large project physically and a large learning curve.
DeleteGood thing our brains don't shut off in the heat. Yours has certainly been busy thinking up a new project to keep us interested, even though I don't understand much about the how-to.
ReplyDeleteI do this so you don't have to.
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