Shedding Some Light

Handbook of Weaving by Caroline Halverson
Copyright Oslo, 1927

The book arrived last week. Here it is. The author, Caroline Halverson, is not named on the cover.

This is a great little book filled with interesting drafts. Fortunately actual drafts, like music, are universally understood. Unfortunately, I do not speak or read Norwegian so the text is beyond me.

Checking online translators gave a general idea of the description for the original draft #185 on page 104 of Halverson as referenced by Marguerite Porter Davison with her "Norse Kitchen" draft.  But that raises the question, "Is the Halvorsen draft the actual original?" Somehow I doubt it and unless someone has further information to share or someone who understands Norwegian can find a reference within the text there doesn't seem to be any other trail to follow. Perhaps you have seen similar designs and can point me in the right direction.

The Norse Kitchen design from the Davison book is clearly derived from the draft in the Halverson book. They are very similar but not exactly alike. In Halverson there is a photo of the woven piece that looks very much like Davison's photo but with additional repeats in the border sections. Interestingly, some of the things that bothered me in the Davison draft also appear in the original draft. Those wavy lines all curve in paralell directions in both drafts (bother number three). And the unbalanced nature of the draft (bother number four) is apparent in both drafts as well as in both photos. There is an unsettling unbalance in the Halvorsen border in that of four oval figures in the corner block, three are closed or complete but the fourth is not. Interesting, isn't it? Davison changed the draft to close that fourth oval.

The most striking aspect of the piece in Halverson is the design is woven perfectly to square. It is so precisely woven that one has to look with a very critical eye to notice some of the problems I found with the draft. Those problems are far more obvious in the Davison example. The Davison piece is clearly not woven to square. The design is compressed warp-wise, most noticeably in the corner blocks (bother number two).

It would be an interesting exercise to make adjustments to the Halverson draft and weave it. But for now I will have to be content with the solution I found for my Christmas Conundrum. I am now weaving a second warp using my own version of the draft. I'll let you in on what I came up with in my next post. Maybe by that time I will have photos of the finished pieces currently on my loom.

By the way, I realized that somewhere along the way I stopped signing my posts. So I will do my best to remember from now on.

Warp on/Weave off,
RepWeaver

Bother Number Four

This is the last one, I promise. Going by the level of annoyance, this really is number one on the list.

After the first few inches weaving this problem really stood out. It was especially apparent in the repeating middle section. Take a close look and you will see what I mean.

"Norse Kitchen" from draft in A Handweaver's Pattern Book by Marguerite Porter Davison

The ground interlacements on either side of each little white cross are not even. Checking the draft from the Davison book, one side of the center repeat section has six ends alternating on shafts two and three and eight ends on those two shafts on the other side. This problem pops up in the border sections as well but isn't as noticeable.

If you look at the photo accompanying the draft in the Davison book you will see that sample also shows this problem. I guess this is a lesson to look very carefully at sample photos as well as at drafts. It's dangerous to make assumptions.

The Davison sample photo is curious. It is so different from other samples in the book. It appears to be an entire woven piece and clearly shows crease marks. This made me wonder if the draft had been copied from the woven article and not actually woven by Davison herself. At the top of page 186 is a notation "Adapted from Caroline Halvorsen's Page 106 - No. 185".

Last week I did a search and discovered a book by Caroline Halvorsen and placed an order for a used copy. I do not know if this particular book is the source of inspiration for the Davison draft. But I aim to track it down.

Reading the "Understanding Overshot" chapter in The Complete Book of Drafting for Handweavers by Madelyn van der Hoogt it looks as if this draft may have originated in an abbreviated form. If you read the section "Variations in Drafting Format" on page 41 there is a clear explanation of how an unbalanced draft could occur.

When the Halvorsen book arrives I'll let you know what I discover. Then I will show you my solution to the problems with the Davison draft.

Bother Number Three

Take a close look at the double narrow wavy lines that define each border area. After sitting at the loom weaving those narrow lines really got to me. The twill threading for each of them in the original Davison draft is 4, 3, 2, 1 meaning that each curvy line all the way across the warp curves in the same direction. This is especially noticeable in the corner block in the borders. Perhaps this would not bother others but I did not like it.

"Norse Kitchen" towel - draft from A Handweavers' Pattern Book
Notice the way the twill lines all curve in the same direction. It's especially noticeable in the corners of the borders.

Bother Number Two

The second thing that really bothered me while weaving "Norse Kitchen" with my usual set-up was the floats. They were too long to be practical for use as a towel. I kept thinking how my rings would snag those floats. This was clearly unacceptable.

Here is the first towel. Warp is 20/2 cotton sett at 30 e.p.i. with 10/2 red perle cotton for pattern weft.
Those floats are far too long. After wet finishing they weren't just long, they were loose. Awful!

Bother Number One

The first thing that annoyed me about this draft was the way the corner pattern blocks compressed. To my way of thinking, that corner ought to be perfectly square. Since I was using the same combination of yarns and the same sett as I had been on other Overshot projects, I expected the pattern to weave to square. Wrong.

Too compressed!
This corner block did not weave to square.

Then I tried using heavier pattern warp yarns to force the issue. In the photo above I switched my pattern weft from 10/2 mercerized to 8/2 unmercerized cotton. The problem persisted. Changing the sett from 30 e.p.i. to 36 or 40 e.p.i. would also be worth trying but then the towels would be narrower. That idea was quickly dismissed.

Another strategy would be to throw more shots for each treading block. I admit to being a purist on this idea -- with the right yarns, setts and beat the design should square itself. Once you manipulate the draft in this way other areas of the design tend to go out of whack. So I discarded this idea almost as soon as it came to mind.

Bother!

A Christmas Conundrum

In my earliest weaving days a draft in the classic Marguerite Porter Davison "A Handweaver's Pattern Book" caught my eye and my imagination. The draft, called "Norse Kitchen" is on page 186 of the chapter Squares with Borders. The draft is simply stunning: a lovely center ground with classic, intricate borders.

First few "Norse Kitchen" towels.
Pattern Wefts:
Red - 10/2 perle cotton
Green - 8/2 unmercerized cotton
Blue - Cottolin

Lately my weaving adventure has led me to several projects using Miniature Overshot. You will find a few of them here on my blog. As I was considering this year's Christmas, overshot was definitely on my mind. Norse Kitchen's time had come. Using the same set-up as those Miniature Overshots I've been weaving I set out on November 10th with excitement both in the project and in my early start. There would be no midnight oil this year -- no, not for me.

I warped 10 yards of bleached white 20/2 cotton sett at 30 e.p.i. and set to work. That's when Norse Kitchen began to sour. Something about this draft was different. All along I had been using 10/2 perle cotton as pattern wefts at 30 e.p.i. But it quickly became clear that 10/2 cotton would not work as the pattern weft for Norse Kitchen. It wasn't heavy enough to square the design. What to do . . . ? I would either change the sett or change the pattern weft. Choosing the latter I wove a green towel using 8/2. Still the design would not square. It didn't square when I used a royal blue cottolin, either. Rats!

My first "Norse Kitchen" towel using 10/2 perle cotton as pattern weft.

I don't know how it goes for you, but it is near agony when my weaving goes wrong. For days I pondered the puzzle -- how do I make this work?

There were a few other issues with this draft that really bugged me. I knew for certain I could not continue weaving as it was. How would I ever meet my Christmas deadline?

This and Tat

Lately I have been busy at the shuttles. In between weaving and sewing projects and when I am out and about I always like to have a bit of handwork to do. Here are a few recent bits.

Small tatting projects by RepWeaver
Upper left and right: "Spinning Wheel" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior
Upper center: "Christina" from Tatted Bookmarks by Lene Bjorn
Lower: "Large Cross" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior

That photo isn't the greatest. At least it shows the relative sizes of these pieces. I don't have the white cross any more so I can't reshoot. Oops!

Cross bookmarks are lovely to have on hand for enclosure in greeting cards for any occasion: Baptisms, Confirmations, Weddings, Sympathy. The best ones are made with the finest threads. The thinnest lace makes the smallest "bump" between the pages of a book. A long plied tassel is my favorite finish. Recently the white cross you see here went home inside a book when I returned it to the lender. It makes me happy to be able to share a reminder of my gratitude for the kindness of a friend.

Konior crosses with Perfect Quilter thread tatted by RepWeaver

The white cross is made with very old DMC thread, so old in fact that the label does not list a size. The other bottom row crosses are all tatted with Perfect Quilter threads. Here is another image of the Konior cross bookmarks.

Next are three little pieces along side the threads used to tat them. The spinning wheel at the top uses the same thread (Perfect Quilter #090) as the cross on the left in the previous photo. Neither of these pieces is a favorite with me. The colors change so frequently that the beauty of the tatting itself is obscured. The cross on the right is far more effective if you ask me.

Konior spinning wheels and Lene Bjorn cross bookmark

My big red Spring Doily is still in progress. Since June I have done very little on it. Aside from being busy elsewhere, I am not thoroughly happy with the floppy chains of the two previous rows. This keeps me from wanting to finish while I mull over possible improvements after the fact. Watch for updates.

Meanwhile I am warping my loom to weave some Christmas gifts.

Mystery Warp

In Memory of Lynn

Recently a weaver friend of mine passed away leaving a substantial collection of yarns. My weavers' guild was the recipient of her stash. Each month for several months tables bearing cone after cone of yarn were set up and offered to members in exchange for voluntary donations. The guild turned the proceeds over to a member scholarship fund. The generosity of our late friend and her widowed husband will long be remembered and appreciated.

Cat Tracks and Snail Trails lap robe woven with mystery warp yarn.
(In the background you can see one of my warp painted rep rugs.
The trim on the upholstered sofa is my own Kumi Himo braid.)

I was able to pick up some nice yarns, in particular perle cottons for weaving Miniature Overshot. My latest warp was from one of these yarns. I saw it in the perle cotton section and took it home without further thought. That is, until I went to wind it into a warp. It seemed slightly fuzzy and I worried it would cause sticky trouble. But beaming it was easily accomplished without tangles. Still, it did not behave like cotton.

The pattern I chose is a miniature version of Cat Tracks and Snail Trails. I adapted the draft from a towel in Handwoven's Design Collection #5: Dishtowels. The towel draft was by Carol Strickler and appears on page 19 with a photograph on the back cover.

Cat Tracks and Snail Trails is an asymmetric design posing special challenges when designing borders. I struggled to come up with a satisfactory idea, but am still not entirely satisfied.

As usual, I enjoyed mixing random variegated ends into the warp. By the time I had woven the first piece it occurred to me that the warp may not actually be cotton. So I cut the first piece off, hemmed it and machine washed and dried it. The result is very pleasant, it drapes beautifully and kept a lovely sheen. Now I think that the mystery yarn may be Rayon.

Another surprise was different shrinkage rates for the tan and the variegated warps. The tan main color shrank more than the variegated. This made the variegated more apparent both in color and texture. It is an interesting result and one that bears some thought and further experimentation.

So here is the final result, four nice 36x62" lap robes, one 36" square wee coverlet and a small end piece (the navy blue one). The one with magenta pattern warp was a stretch color-wise. But once it was off the loom I found it to be quite successful.


I have one more cone of the mystery yarn. I wish I had several.

 Thank you, Lynn.

Wee Coverlet in Action

Our daughter chose one of my Maltese Cross Wee Coverlets for her little guy. We had the chance to see her and both of our grandchildren in August. Wish they lived closer. Handwoven blankets are one way I can wrap them in my love from 2300 miles away.

This is my little grandson napping with his Wee Coverlet.

So far his blond curls have not seen a scissors. I'd have a hard time snipping them, wouldn't you?

Hip Pocket for Mom

Mom's "Hip Pocket" by RepWeaver

My mom lives in a retirement center where she takes her meals in a central dining hall. Since she doesn't feel the need to drag a purse along to meals or to activities she needed a small handbag just to carry her keys, her meal card and a hanky. So she asked if she could have one of "My Hip Pockets".

My jeans pocket bags did not seem appropriate to her style. And I wondered if the fringe might prove troublesome for her. So I designed this one especially for her. Mom's favorite color is blue and she wears it a lot so her little bag goes with nearly every outfit she owns. She is very happy with it and receives regular compliments from fellow residents.

Mom's "Hip Pocket" by RepWeaver - reverse side

The bag is made from what was apparently a swatch of home interior fabric I picked up off the "free" shelf at my weavers' guild. I added tatting, beads and machine embroidery. The shoulder strap is one of my handwoven inkle bands. The bag is lined and sports two interior pockets.

Sometime when I can manage it, I'd like to make more like it.