Fair and Square - continued

Wendy-Marie offered a rep weave table runner, using Rosalie Neilson’s pattern in the the May/June 2017 issue of Handwoven. The warp is 3/2 cotton sett at 30 epi. The weft alternates 3/2 cotton for the thin pick with 8/16 mop yarn tripled for the thick pick. The runner is finished with four rows of Cavandoli knots. Having studied Rosalie’s DVD course on rep weave, she believes the draft in Handwoven has some errors –that shaft 4 should be paired with shaft 8, and shaft 3 should always pair with shaft 7. 

 She also made matching placemats.

 

The same issue of Handwoven had a design by Deanna Deeds called “Gumdrop Scarf.”  Wendy-Marie used this pattern to produce her Nevada County Inspired entry, a “Farmer’s Market Scarf.” The warp is tencel, sett at 24 epi at the two ends, and changed to 16 epi for the body of the scarf using Beryl and Igor’s variable reed. The reed is 12 epi, but the top comes off so that the weaver can rearrange the warp. This reed allowed for a more even distribution of the warp once the edging was completed. The scarf is finished with Danish Medallions. Diverging a bit from the pattern, Wendy-Marie used bambu for the weft, which helped make the scarf softer and drapier.

 Her dishcloths are based on the “Herringbone Twill Towels” by Linda Gettmann, from the Sept/Oct 2014 issue of Handwoven. Where would we be without that magazine? Yarn is mostly 8/2 cotton, with a smattering of tencel and 5/2 cotton used for color. The sett is 20 epi.

Using the Open Reed

Wendy-Marie was really interested in trying the scarf that appeared on the cover of  Handwoven May/June 2017.  She tried a new colorway and wove her first scarf.  Immediately she didn't like what the spacing of the yarns in the reed did to the plain weave portion of the scarf.  Since the technique to make the medallions at each end of the scarf requires that you skip three dents between the motifs, the plain weave sags into these open dents.  See the photo below.

In trying to figure out a system to get around this problem, Igor and Beryl suggested she borrow their Open Reed  This would allow her to sley the reed according to the directions given , but when the plain weave portion of the scarf began, she could open the top of the reed, and move threads over for even denting, recap the reed and start weaving. When she reached the border motifs she again opened the cap on the reed and reversed the process to leave the open dents.


Here is the reed with the open dents

And here is the reed with the warp resleyed



Because moving threads with the open reed can be tricky, it was suggested that she brace the reed so that it wouldn't fall forward or backward during the resleying process.  Meticulous work, but it paid off.  Below is a close up of the finished scarf. Notice the nice clean appearing plain weave section.

 

 

And here are the two scarfs shown side by side.  The results are more pronounced when you can see the scarves in person, but the Not 2 Square weavers did like the "fix" for this design.

 

 

 

 

Blue and Violet Tencel Scarf.

We are trying a new approach here on the Not 2 Square blog.  Instead of a couple of us writing up descriptions all the time, we have invited our members to explain their process and details about their pieces.  Mardi N. offered to do the first post about her tencel scarf.

This is my first project using Tencel. It is essentially a scarf length sample.

I had already woven one scarf using the Dornick Twill #196 by our own Dee Jones that I found by accident in Strickler’s Book of 8-Shaft Patterns. The first scarf, magenta was treadled as directed in #196. For this second scarf with the same threading, I decided to use the alternate treadling, #197.

Half of the yarn was dyed in KathrinWebber’s class last spring and the blue gray stripes in this scarf were dyed at home as it was necessary to augment my supply of warp to achieve 10 ½ inches in the reed. The yarn used was 10/2 Tencel. For the weft I chose some wine colored rayon of unknown grist that I had in my stash.

The sett was 20 EPI and the PPI was approximately 19-20. The overall length on the loom was 72 inches, not counting the fringes. After wet finishing, the width was 8 ½ inches and the length 64 ½ inches. Take up was 12% and the overall draw in was about 20 %.

I was extremely pleased with the weight and the hand of the scarf. - Mardi

Mardi Draws a Winning Hand

Mardi is the next Not 2 Square to finish her Weaver's Poker Challenge.  Here's her description of how she approached the project. 

"My challenge cards were Stripes, Warp-faced, Analogous Colors, Yellow and Overshot.

I decided to make a scarf because it was a small enough project to try out some of my ideas on.  The one card I chose to delete was Overshot.

I used a stripe generator and then edited it for the values that I thought would work in the design.

In a way, I cheated because I changed the warp-face to warp-dominant.  I did not want to make a plain weave scarf because I am working on finding a fabric that drapes well. The structure I chose was a 3/1 point twill. 

The yarn is 10/2 mercerized cotton.  The sett is 30 epi. The weaving length was 72 inches with a finished length of 64 inches plus fringe.  The width in the reed was 8 inches with a finished width of 7 inches.

Actually, the project satisfied the parameters but the fabric was still stiff.  If I did this again, I would change the sett to 24."  

The scarf is very nice.  The yellow color turned out nicely.

How Marcy Played Her Weaver's Poker Hand

Marcy chose to weave a scarf using her hand of Weaver's Poker.  She was dealt the following "cards":

Structure:  Spot Bronson

Color:  Blue

Yarn:  Thick & Thin (one yarn)

Design Element:  Incorporate a shape (e.g., square, circle, etc.)

Color Relationship:  Mix warp color by doubling thread in heddle, sley as one

She used a 3.5/1 periwinkle blue cotton flake for the weft which covered the color and the requirement for a thick and thin yarn.  The warp was 10/2 white cotton.  She created a design using Spot Bronson that included five diamond shapes across the 229 warp threads.  These were repeated nineteen times in the length of the scarf.  The warp color mixing card was discarded.

Marcy created the scarf design using Weaver's Craft Issue #23 pages 6&7 as a guide to understanding "Spot Bronson" also known as "Barleycorn".

The 10/2 cotton warp was sett at 24 eps using a 12 dent reed (two threads per dent).  The width in the loom was 8 3/4" and Marcy wove the scarf to 57.75".  The finished scarf was 8 1/2" x 46 1/2".

Here are some detailed pictures to show off the lace patterns.

Scarf front and reverse sides

This turned out to be a very nice scarf with a good hand.  Nice job Marcy!

Weaving Wheels

 Wendy-Marie had a great idea for her Nevada County Inspired entry into this year's fair.  Wheels of many sorts and sizes.  Engine Wheels - Wagon Wheels - Pelton Wheels and Ferris Wheels. 

She also had the perfect draft - an 8 shaft combination of steep and point twills. Shown below are two variations.  This is an easy draft to make larger if you have more than 8 shafts on your loom. 

 

And, ta da, the finished scarf.  Wendy-Marie didn't get a prize for her scarf, but her idea was sure a prize winner and I bet it won't be the last time she weaves wheels!

The Results Are In

The Nevada County Fair is winding down tonight and many of our Not 2 Squares entered items in the "Wool Division" and came away with ribbons.  Everything looked great - formal winner or not.  Over the next several posts, we'll share these pieces with you. 

Our Friend Dee was a weaver to the end.  She asked that the last scarf she wove be put into the Fair, in the Recycle Fiber Class of the Woven items.  

This fun scarf was woven with strips of cloth from an old dress.  Lovely colors!  And it earned a first place in the class.

The group setting up the room created a loving tribute to Dee.  They displayed some of her jackets, scarves and shawls.  There was also a pictorial remembrance of this wonderful lady.

Beryl  submitted two scarves in the Nevada County Inspiration Division.  These two scarves were the result of the colors found in our beautiful area.  The first scarf won 1st place and best of Division in this category.  It is a beautiful, shimmering piece with a unique design.  The colors were inspired by the Yuba River.

The second scarf had colors drawn from the flowers of the Big Leaf Maple tree.  This lovely scarf was the 2nd place winner in the Nevada County Inspiration Division.  It is made of various silk yarns and a variegated ribbon from Dee.  It is a combination of 2-2 twill and broken twill woven on 4 shafts with the ribbon as supplementary warp.  The draft is at the bottom of this page.

draft for this scarf is here at the bottom of the page

Congratulations to these winners.  More will be posted soon.

Nevada County in Spring Scarf

In spite of the December deadline for the scarf challenge, weavers are already working on their projects. 

 

Diana wove her scarf for the challenge from yarn she got from Dee.  The warp yarns were 8/2 green rayon, 4 ply variegated rayon, 5/2 light green cotton and ribbon also in greens.  The warp was sett as follows:  8/2 rayon – 18 epi; 4 ply rayon – 12 epi; 5/2 cotton & ribbon – 12 epi.  The warp was threaded in a straight draw on 4 shafts.

 

The weft yarns were the 8/2 green rayon alternating with a 10/2 pale green cotton for the majority of the scarf, woven in plain weave.  Diana used orange, white, fuchsia, blue and purple similar weight yarns for the accent areas of the weft. The accent weft patterns were mostly twills found in Anne Dixon’s book:  The Handweaver's Pattern Directory.

 

Diana used a weighted “false temple” for the first time when weaving this scarf.  This involves using clamps at either side of the woven fabric, near the fell line.  String or twine is attached to each clamp and these are weighted.  The idea is to help keep the project from pulling in too much while not having to use a traditional temple, which tends to stab the weaver.

Diana plans to enter this lovely scarf in the Nevada County Inspired category at the Nevada County Fair this summer. 

 

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September Meeting Part III

Mardi has been experimenting with waffle weave and towels.  She bought a towel kit from Halcyon Yarns that included 8/2 yarn for 4-shaft waffle weave towels. 

Two waffle weave towels

 

 

Three towels and small sample of weft

She wasn't wild about the colors but has enjoyed experimenting.


 

                                                                                                      

Dee brought in several scarves she wove in the month preceding the meeting.  Not all of the pictures turned out, so here is a sampling:

 

The warp for several of the scarves were dyed on Dye day that the guild sponsors.


Dee also brought in some towels she wove with 8/2 cotton and carpet warp.

 

Dee brought a finished bag.  It is made with cottolin and cotton yarns.  The border is sari silk.

These photos weren't the best and the background of carpet didn't really help to do justice to these nice pieces.  Hopefully our regular reporter will be back at October's meeting.

Inspired by Our County

In the "Wool" Division at the County Fair, there is a section for handwoven or knitted / crocheted, etc. with handspun yarn items that were inspired by the County.  The exhibitor may look at native plants, scenic features, like the local river or other geological features.  In the past, native plant dyes were used to color yarn used in a woven piece. 

Diana's Table Runner

Three members of Not 2 Square submitted woven pieces inspired by plants and nature features of our beautiful County.

Diana's Table Runner was inspired by the Madrone tree.



Dee's scarf got it's look from local colors.




Ingrid's scarf attempted to bring to mind the Manzanita.

Dee's Scarf

Ingrid's Scarf

This has been a fun challenge to inspire us to create interesting items that showcase our County's beauty.



 

Experimenting with New Techniques and Materials

The June meeting was a little sparse of attendees, but not of things to be shared. 

 

 

Sue Robertson showed us the results of her class work at CNCH 2013 at Squaw Valley.  She took Marilyn Romatka’s Viking Knitting class and created a beautiful necklace.  This technique is also called “Viking Chain Knitting” or “Viking Weaving” but isn’t really knitting.

    

She also took Wendy Patrucco’s Cyanotype Printing class and created two different printed pieces of fabric and a printed canvas bag.

  

The third class was Knotted Button Covers with Mushroom Dyed Silk taught by Gayle Still.  Her button was about half finished. 

 

 

Marcy showed us a table runner she wove as a challenge to use linen.  The warp was 8/2 white cotton and the weft the blue linen shown in the picture.  The design is an M’s & O’s pattern on 4 shafts.

 

 

 

She used a blue floating selvedge that created a very neat edge for the piece. 

 

Betsy is working on a five-piece collection of wall hangings/shawls that represent the four elements and the moon.  She has been working on the water element.  She showed us a shawl woven with tencel in an 8-shaft shadow weave pattern.  There are different color blue warp stripes with silver and blue as weft.

Here is some detail of the shawl.  It is very reminiscent of water. 

Betsy also showed us a sample where she played around with a black weft that was woven in treadle order.  It is really quite striking.

Betsy has started working on ideas for the earth piece.  She brought a sample of what the structure of the piece will look like.  This one was woven with 5/2 cotton.

Finally, Ingrid showed two lap robes woven with local llama yarn.  These were done in 3/1; 1/3 twill stripes. 

She also showed us her latest sock yarn scarf - merino wool and nylon yarn.