space to work in

ah, photos. what would the internet be without them. everything in the studio is coming along nicely now, so i thought i would introduce you to my new/old "dyeing laboratory and weaving studio":

the dye laboratory and tea brewing station.

skein winder, gokoh, and kasuri shifter.

ze loom, with the new addition of jazz bands to prevent floating harness syndrome.

my workstation, complete with idea/inspiration board.

now that smell (japanese incense courtesy of lisn), sight, and touch (sheepskin bench cover) are taken care of all this space lacks is sound. i was hoping to get the vers 2x for my ipod, but they're not manufacturing them again until spring. phooey. so i'm on the hunt to find one, and haven't had any success thus far, as they didn't produce any this year.

different strokes?

i'm finding that using different wefts create different looks, even if the warp is the same (hypothetically i knew this already). i looked around for some other thread to use, as i had made a longer warp then what i had blue yarn for, remembered my mother had a spool of crochet thread and "borrowed" some of it. so here's the result:

i'm thinking of something to use the finished piece on, and have several plans running around my brain. so wish me luck when i cut into these two pieces!

just a little peek

here's an inspiration photo for the piece i'm currently weaving:

and a snapshot of the material making process; i'll use this to construct a pretty something. it's funny, at first i wanted to use a green thread the same size as the warp, but i didn't like how it was weaving. so, i took it out (i had to anyways as there was a mistake in the threading), and looked through my stash to see what i had that could work. when i came across this novelty ribbon yarn, i thought, "blue-eyed, blonde", saw that i had two balls of it (surprise, as i'm a single skein purchaser; bad habit, that), sent a couple of shots through, and liked what came forth.

this is the first time i worked on my new loom. the two accessories, high castle tray and baby wolf trap, are really coming in handy! i'm so glad i let myself get talked into these purchases. i'll post more photos as it goes.

putting a new face on things

i've suped up my loom. it's almost frankenstein-ish with the different depths of wood color; warm honey on the old parts, pale cream on the new. i wonder how long it will take to age the new cherry parts so there's more harmony?

as i've been learning how to weave on some dorset looms, it's becoming habit to place your shuttles or ruler in front of you or above the loom; but the baby wolf is without a convenient flat area. so, to correct this problem i purchased the baby wolf high castle tray and the baby wolf trap (when searching, use schacht with the other words just because those three words alone bring up horrid things). and now i feel as if i've gotten a professional set-up here.

the trap came with a black nylon sling, which had to go; it would have been like having a black hole in ones lap, sucking up all the creative energy and light. i searched through my stack of selvedged linen and found a beautiful slubby bit that would be long and wide enough, cut it to shape and sewed it up. i like the softness, durability, and weave of this cloth, plus the neutral color is nice against the wood. no fighting with whatever i'm weaving.

next, time to find a bench!

what comes from decisions

several months ago i decided that what my life needed was a loom. this decision led to another; what i needed was a schacht baby wolf loom, 4 or 8 harness. i searched the internet to no avail, checked craigslist in a sweeping 250 mile range three times a week, and after several disappointments decided to sit on this decision.

about a week ago, following a little voice inside, i searched craigslist once again. maybe my stars were in alignment, maybe i was not "a day late and dollar short", or perhaps the fibre gods were smiling, for i am now in possession of a 4-harness baby wolf.

the story goes as such; a young couple moves into a house which they purchased from an older gentleman. the home was once shared by this man and his wife, who had a loom. the wife passes, and the man is left with a loom and a too large house. he sells this abode to the young couple and leaves the loom's fate for them to decide. they, having two small children, full time jobs, and not being partial to weaving, decide to find a new home for this loom. so they post it on craigslist. and so into this story weaves my thread, 5 hours time after this posting. a phone call, an offer, a zealous explanation of my love affair with textiles, an appointment time, directions gathered, car loaded into, tank of gas filled, a five hour car trip, and the loom was there, i could touch it and see it and take it home with me. her name is sophy and we shall be friends for she is only one year younger than i.