Always More to Learn

"Life-long learning" and "Life-long learner" are oft-repeated catch phrases lately. Not so long ago it went without saying that a person gained knowledge over time. Although I don't disagree with those sayings, I wish it still went without saying. After all, don't wisdom and age go hand-in-hand? It does not hurt to go out of one's way to seek information, to digest it and to come to one's own conclusion.

Having promised to write about a Rep Weave workshop with Kelly Marshall, it is long past time to do so. Kelly came to speak to my guild and teach a workshop in January.

At the first opportunity I signed up for the workshop. Good thing too, because the roster filled immediately and the wait list was long. Demand was so great that Kelly agreed to teach a second group of students. Our enthusiasm was well founded. Kelly is a nice person, an accomplished weaver and an excellent teacher. Do make the most of any opportunity to learn from her.

Sample and Table Runner woven in Kelly Marshall's Rep Weave workshop

Here you see my workshop sample. I opted to use my own color choices for her design, mostly because there is little 5/2 perle cotton in my stash. Adding a single cone of Verdant Green, the other colors are bits and pieces left over from a previous project. The final result is not the best color-wise. The structure itself is far more satisfying.

If you look at the photos of my Yuletide Swirl rep runner in a previous post you will see one describing my dissatisfaction with the color breaks formed when I tried double-threading my heddles for a sett of 48 e.p.i. You may recall that I painstakingly rethreaded the whole thing with single ends per heddle because I did not like those spots. The result was a nice runner with near complete weft coverage. Weaving it was slightly problematic not in treadling but in advancing that dense warp. My three subsequent Swirl warps were sett a bit looser at 40 e.p.i. That was easier but still a tad dense. Still, the resulting runners are pleasing.

Threading two ends per heddle affords ample opportunity for color blending, something Kelly uses to great effect in her work. Two ends together in the heddle allows them to sometimes switch places. If the ends are two different colors interesting blending effects can occur. The possibilities are endless and exciting. 

Left - sample with mixed brown and cream-colored yarns for thick weft
Right - Rep Runner with all brown yarns for thick weft

Kelly won me over to her way of weaving Rep with two ends per heddle. The way she avoids those weft color spots peeking out is by carefully matching her thick weft color to her warp colors.

Being used to weaving on a more “open” sett and using the thick weft color as a design element, I wasn't expecting that as the solution. On the first class day I did not bring carefully matching weft yarns. Kelly directed us to use three strands of Sugar & Cream yarn as one for the thick weft. For my first day’s sample I used three different colors for the three strands: brown, cream, and variegated browns. On the left the photo shows the same problem that bothered me back with the Yuletide Swirl runner. The final runner on the right, with three strands of brown yarn together, is far better.

If you don’t have the chance to take a workshop or hear her speak, Kelly Marshall has written a lovely book about her design process and technique, “Custom Woven Interiors: Bringing color and design home with Rep weave”. Any or all of the three are highly recommended. Meeting her and learning from her was a thrill and a golden opportunity.

There is such a thing as an information overload but one can never know enough and learning is fun. I aim to learn more every day. Whether I manage to do so is another thing . . . I am a work in progress.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Rep Swirl - Yuletide Swirl

Having woven all those Rep Weave coasters it occurred to me to try a denser sett using 8/4 cotton carpet warp. Over the years my favorite sett for carpet warp has been 24 e.p.i. For this first attempt I tried 48 e.p.i, two ends per heddle for a working sett of 24 e.p.i.

Yuletide Swirl Rep Runners

Inspiration for the design came from a larger design found in the book Rep by Catharina Carlstedt and Ylva Kongbäck. I adapted a small section from the draft called “Tiger Blue” (page 84) that caught my eye and made it into a table runner.

These colors are pleasing, reminding me of Christmas cards from a bygone era, the 1950’s perhaps. And while they are red and green, they don’t necessarily shout “Christmas”.

The first Yuletide Swirl runner, the one with plied fringe gave me trouble. The places where there are “breaks” in the pattern and the white rag peeks through did not please me. Color blending happened in an area of the smallest pattern blocks and made the colors look muddy. Maybe it would have helped if I’d stuck to blending either reds or greens right there but I’d done both. Then there was trouble with the tension. I found it difficult to beam the warp properly with that many ends and with two ends per heddle.

After weaving two runners with this set-up I found it impossible to continue. I cut the first two off the loom and rethreaded the entire width, maintaining the sett of 48 e.p.i. but switching to one end per heddle. This was essentially a return to the beginning since every single end was involved in the re-thread. While I was at it I rearranged the color order in a few places taking special care in the areas with smallest blocks. It was a lot of work but as they say, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.”

Left side of photo - Sett: 48 e.p.i., 12 dent reed, 4 ends per dent, 2 ends per heddle
Right side of photo - Sett: 48 e.p.i., 12 dent reed, 4 ends per dent, 1 end per heddle

In the end, the rethreaded runners were a huge improvement and I was far happier with them than the earlier ones. Here you see the runner on our kitchen table. For each month of the year we use a specific tablecloth, placing it beneath a tabletop glass cover. Yuletide Swirl compliments the Christmas table theme nicely.

Yuletide Swirl runner atop our Christmas-themed table cloth

Even though the colors are fabulous, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with these runners. Check back to see what happens with my next Rep Swirl project.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Coasting into 2017

Okay, that’s corny but good titles can be tough to write. Sliding into 2017 might be a better heading. Snow has been on the ground every day so far this year. That’s only eight days, I know, but very unusual for any winter where we live. It seems to have prolonged the Holiday season so we can’t complain.

Rep weave coasters from the final two warps

Here are additional photos of my Christmas coasters. In all, I wove six separate warps in six different color ways. It worked out beautifully since I was able to give gifts sets of coasters, one of each color. I hope friends and family enjoy using them. They certainly were fun to make.

Sets of six made Christmas gifts

In addition to coasters, I wove a few narrow table runners. The purple one was perfect to hold our Advent candles. Sadly, I put those away before I took a photo. We use votive candle cups: three purple, one pink and one white for Advent. The little purple runner worked so well because one candle fit on each of the middle five motifs. Next year I will try to remember to post a photo.

Already this year I have one warp of table runners off the loom and finished. Today another warp is freshly beamed and ready to go. Photos to follow.

I think it's time to put the kettle on and enjoy a warm mug.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Narrow table runners to match the coasters
The purple one was especially nice for placing Advent candles

Weaving Fun in Small Ways

Wee Swedish Coverlet

Photos of my final Wee Swedish Coverlet warp are probably in order. Here they are. Since this warp turned out to be other than perle cotton, it behaved differently. Shrinkage was greater. The finished cloth drapes well, better than the 100% cotton version. Overall, these are nice but I am wishing to weave some brighter colors for my next Wee Coverlets.

Wee Swedish Coverlet, Detail

Wee Swedish Coverlets
This group of coverlets drape beautifully.
The colors are pretty subdued for babies.
Maybe parents will appreciate this at laundry time.

Since last I posted life has taken a few twists and turns, some far less than pleasant. In the face of turbulent events, returning to the studio and immersing myself in weaving truly helps. Whenever calm reflection is necessary to peace of mind the studio is my go-to destination.

A box of odds and ends, mostly 8/2 cotton, had been on my shelf for a very long time. My guild sale was coming soon. It occurred to me to use some of that cotton to weave some quick coasters for the sale.

I took my first weaving class in 1988. My first exposure to Rep Weave at that time was an article by Joanne Tallarovic in issue #74 of Shuttle Spinal and Dyepot. A narrow runner in her article was the inspiration for these little coasters.

Rep Weave coasters
Notice the blue ones. One has rag as thick weft.
All the others have bright yellow cord-type yarn as thick weft.

Life intervened and I did not complete as many of these as I would have liked in time for the sale. But that is fine because Christmas is coming soon. Each of the four warps shown was an opportunity to learn and improve on the design. Exciting discoveries along the way made for a load of fun.

Blue coasters:

I wind my warps twice as long as needed but only half as wide, with a cross at each end. For Rep weave I wind two ends together. This works out great except when I forget to divide the total number of ends for the center block by four – not two. That is why that middle block is wider here than I meant for it to be. Since the extra ends were available, I just threaded them as wound.

The first few coasters on the blue warp have rag as thick weft (see group photo above). I liked that well enough until I thought to use a bright yellow cord that has been on my shelf longer than I can remember. Wow! That bit of bright yellow at the selvedges really pleases my eye.

Green coasters:

Now that is better. The center block is the proper width.

Unfortunately, in the meantime I’d forgotten to weave six thick wefts in the center. These coasters are shorter than the blue ones. Sometimes life events interrupt my train of thought. Oh, well.

Red coasters:

The challenge here was a limited supply of red and white. Making due, I used black and grey for the borders. Somewhere along the line I’d had a conversation about floating selvedges with a weaver friend. It motivated me to do something for the very first time – add floating selvedges to a Rep weave. I am never too terribly worried about matching floater color to warp color. Here I decided to go out on a limb and used a red floater next to the black border. The result made me very happy.

Yellow coasters:

Here you see more odds and ends from my box of 8/2. The border yellow is darker than the center yellow. And take a look at that floater!

Floating selvedges on Rep Weave???

What will be the next adventure? I saved the warp for a tie-on and there are still remnant cones of various colors in my box. Ideas are brewing and so is my next mug of tea. Hum, any coasters around here?

Watch for coaster hemming technique in my next post.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Brewing a cup of tea with first two versions of Rep Weave coasters

Class Prep

The rep class I'm teaching begins soon so I have been knee-deep in preparation. Weaving the sample projects has been fun if time consuming. This little table runner made me happy. The bright spots on the rag weft worked really well. Amazingly, I found the rag after my loom was dressed. That chartreuse colored rug warp is one of my favorites -- truly a must-have in my inventory.