School's Back In Session

   Can you believe it????  A lot of the area schools are already back in session!  Around here, school is always in session.  We are always sharing our knowledge with each other.
  Remember that indigo dyed thread that Tina was working on recently????  She delivered the skein to Marie this morning....all nice and tidy!  Although it is too fine to use for warp, it will be a fantastic weft.

  

  Marie stepped into teacher mode with Pearl's project....just lending a hand (and lots of experience) to work through the beginning of a new weaving adventure.
  Peggy's warp will be huck placemats...and if she enjoys weaving them, she's planning on weaving curtains in huck!

  This is Helen's first project on a floor loom, and Tina was there to offer advice and suggestions.  That also means that she's working with a boat shuttle instead of a stick shuttle, which is another learning curve!














  Remember all those panels that Christy joined for Carl?  Today was the day they were cut into strips.  By the time Carl finished, he had a whole bucket full of blue jean strips for his rugs.

 Just take a look at the roll of rugs on the cloth beam!!!!  That's what all those strips turn into...beautiful rugs!  I love how the different blue jean strips play in the warp.














  Linda's going for another green towel on this warp.  The red ones are already upstairs in the shop.  The trick right now is to weave as many as possible to get ready for our November show.








 Bonnie has started weaving the huck placemats on the painted warp.  Carol suggested using chocolate brown for her weft, and it's looking great!














   Sharon, Linda and Frieda continued weaving....but, where is Alyce?????




  Ah-ha!  She was over with Pearl going over a PLAN!  Weavers helping weavers!!!













  Our order of 8/2 yarn came in, which means that Marie has bookkeeping to complete.  It's always something!!!  (And, yes, Marie....I see that fringe twister!)

 



   Have you ever had that moment when you look at your warp....it's ready to begin threading and you just draw a blank????  What were you thinking???  Betsy double checked her plans and just dove in to thread.  She's got this!!!!












Ohhhhhh......what is it???   SHHHHH!  Don't tell!  It's a surprise!!!  Stay tuned........

  I'm not going to name names, but someone played hooky today to go shopping with her daughter!!!!!  She missed seeing Anna, and all her weaving friends!  And, she won't be able to tattle on us!!!!

  Yes....school's back in session!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

It Must Be Vacation Time

  Well.....she's got her purse and notes....she's ready to walk out the door.  Yes, it's that time of year when Carol starts her journey NORTH.  She has left us with reminders about what we need to get done before she returns at the end of August. 
  I'm sure we'll do fine.............













  She'll keep up with us through the blog...I promised that I would try to avoid the backside shots.  Of course, it helps if the weavers wouldn't turn around!!!!!



  Ray finished threading this afternoon, which means he'll be winding on next week.  Carol will be able to keep up with his progress, too.















  Since there is more warp left on this scarf warp, Carol suggested that Sharon leave fringe for the scarf, and then begin a new piece to finish the warp.  This will become a mobius scarf.  Sharon was just finishing the hemstitching for the new piece.

  Peggy got her new warp started on the mill.  I think this might be the warp for curtains!















  Carl has been back on the barn loom just weaving away, and he'll need to cut more blue jean strips next week.  That will be the first thing on his agenda.

  Irene and Ron stopped by the Center to catch up with the Weavers.  She's been working on some projects at home. 
  Betsy's husband, Charlie, was in the pottery studio this morning while she was getting her loom ready to wind on her warp.

  This is the warp that she and Pat "operated on" last week.  We wound the fifteen inch section this afternoon.  That means threading next week!  That 13 yard warp had a few tangles from all the adjustments made, but Betsy's patience paid off!

  Actually, it was a rather quiet day in the studio...we have several weavers who are off doing "other things" right now.
  We're thinking about you.....hoping you're having a good time.....we'll be here when you get back!!!!

After all, we get REAL busy while Carol is on vacation!!!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

T-shirt Shag?

Surprise!  I am sneaking in a quick post today cause I actually got some weaving in this last week.   I finished the commissioned t-shirt rug a couple of weeks ago, and I had just a little bit of warp left.

Here is the back of the loom, with the new sample in progress.  My in town granddaughter has requested a big rug for her room.  Now that I have Big Bertha, (a 60inch Leclerc) in the studio, the sky is the limit!






The only thing is, she wants a big shag rug made out of t-shirts strips!  I have not done shag before so I told her I would have to sample on this left over warp first to see if we like it.

I chose some colors that I had on hand, white, grey, black, and  several blues.  These were leftovers from previous rugs already cut into strips and ready to go, which means that when I finish this rug sample, I will have a runner for my kitchen floor and an empty scrap basket!

Here is the front of the loom, and you can see that I already have some of the rug done.  This technique is from Weavers Craft Magazine, but she says she got it from Peter Collingwood.  I will go into more detail later if you would like me to.









The threading is such that sections of the warp are raised and you send the fabric through, after 2 throws of fabric you do a tabby throw.  There is a specific color order that I am following, though I changed it a bit from the original which was 7 bright rainbow colors.  The recommended tabby is "Peaches and Cream" which I do not have on hand, but I do have a cone of some unknown thickish type of yarn that seems indestructible and is about the right size.  (I will probably get the "Peaches and Cream" for the real rug.)

After each fabric throw, you pull on the loops that are formed to make  whatever size pile you want.  My granddaughter wants her rug to be really plushy, so that is what I am going for.
After each color section, (12 fabric throws) you stop and cut the loops.  That takes a lot of time, and it is easy to miss a loop or two!  I am thinking about precutting the lengths of weft that I need and slipping them into place for a row or two and see how that goes.  I think that I might get a more even pile and I also wouldn't miss any of the loops playing hide and seek amongst the cut shag.  I measured and I think that 5 inches would be the perfect length to cut my strips.
I haven't gotten much past this point, but I hope that by next week I will have a little more to show you, but I doubt it will be finished.  There is just not enough weaving time right now!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

C'mon In!

  We always welcome visitors to the Center, and encourage folks to come down to the Studio and meet the Weavers.  Dan came by the Center yesterday, and found out that the Weavers would be there on Tuesday, and that's who he wanted to meet!  He wanted more information on this piece of a coverlet that his great-great grandmother had woven after the Civil War.
  We were able to tell him that it was a Whig Rose pattern woven in linen and wool.  The wool looked to be indigo dyed.  Although Dan now lives in Mobile, AL, his folks were from Anderson County originally.

  And, to our delight, our friend Eiko dropped by the Studio.  It was so much fun catching up with her!











  Ray brought one of his rugs woven in the Cross of Tennessee overshot pattern to share today, along with some newspaper clippings about overshot coverlets and curtains.  But, then it was back to work threading his double weave warp.  He should be ready to wind on next week!




  Now to the story from last week:  when Betsy wound her new placemat warp, she got side-tracked and wound twice as much as she needed!  The decision was made to separate out the "second warp" and chain it off to weave later.  Pat jumped in and helped her tie the legs of the cross and chain it for storage.  Betsy will wind on the warp next week!!!!






  Bonnie will be able to start weaving next week.  She says she needs a refresher course in hemstitching....it just so happens that our new weaver, Jaid, does a lovely hemstitch!!!  I bet she can demonstrate that for Bonnie!








Don't you just love a good laugh????  The Ladies had a great time today!

 We had other visitors from upstairs as the Weavers just wove at their looms. 

  Lunch today was a Picnic Pot Luck!  YES.....we had plenty of desserts...just what I like!!!!

  We finished our day with another visitors.  This young man was fascinated watching Carl weave on the barn loom.
  His Mom teaches art at the local elementary school, so he knows a little bit about weaving.  I don't think he wanted to leave!!!

  I'll say it again:  We are so lucky to have this group!  It's a great place to learn and grow.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

  When Carol isn't with us, the weavers step up to help out the newer weavers taking their next steps.  Jaid had threaded her loom, and she was ready to sley the reed.  Marie got her going!














  By the end of the day, Jaid had bound on and wove her heading.  That hemstitch looks GREAT!!!









  Pearl set up catty-corner on the table with her loom.  It looks like she's at the end of that warp!  Later, Pearl tried her hand at weaving overshot on the sample loom that was set up for the weavers. 
  (We will be discussing the Overshot chapter from the Key To Weaving next week.)





 




  Ray was busy threading his double weave warp.  He's bringing some of his overshot items next week for our discussion on the book.  Ray uses the overshot technique to weave rugs....they are beautiful!






  Bonnie finished threading her loom today.  (She and Linda got a chance to catch up with each other.) 
  When Bonnie was ready to wind on her warp, Ray turned around and lent a helping hand!

  Sharon and Alyce got some weaving done today, also.  Alyce had a warp thread repair to deal with, but it went smoothly.













   After cutting more weft this morning, Carl got busy with his rug warp.  This one is about half finished.








  Linda and Betsy sorted through a donation of old copies of Handwoven.  They checked for copies of the magazine that we didn't have in our collection.  







   Here are our Ladies!!!  This really is a study of great concentration!!!!  (And, not a cell phone in sight!!!)














  So what IS Tina doing? 
  This yarn is indigo dyed singles in a huge skein.  Tina brought her squirrel cage swift to start the job of ball winding the yarn.  What a job!!!!

  We had a great day just getting it done! 
Next week is our book discussion AND Potluck Picnic!!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Front & Back & All Around

  During lunch today, Polly counted the weavers sitting around the tables:  24!    I can remember when we all fit around ONE table!

  We added another new weaver today:  welcome to Jaid!  Would you believe her husband thought she might like to learn to weave????  He might be right!














  Jaid got to be the first to use one of the new student looms.  I hope she appreciates how much lighter these looms are to take home for the week.  Our old table looms weigh a ton!
  She'll be threading at home....just a straight draw!






  You'll usually find Carl back at the barn loom just doing what he does best:  weaving rugs!















  Christy has to work fast to keep up with his production.




  Bonnie pulled a chair up to the back of her loom to thread the heddles.  She'll be ready to tie on next week.  These will be be huck placemats.













  Sometimes you'll find us at the back of the loom ON THE FLOOR!  Yes, that's Ms. Ila fixing the tie-up on the treadles of her loom.








   Pat finished her warp of Wall of Troy.  This cloth will be used to make soup cozys for the fall sales.










  Pat wove this cloth at home.  Some of the yarn is handspun!  She wanted suggestions from the weavers for using the 3 + yards of goodness.

 Frieda wound a new warp on the reel as Pat and Bonnie wound bobbins at the table.  Something is always going around!!!!









  Wait a minute!  Someone left a surprise bag at Tina's loom!  It's a collection of selvedges!  That might work for a walker bag....
  And, someone found her two shuttles of black & white fabric!!!!  Somehow they got with the Kids' Camp stuff and Irene returned it to Tina's loom.
 




  Sometimes we just gather around a loom to catch up with friends....that's a good thing.








  And, sometimes we get to be with an old friend who came to weave with us today.  Karin brought her little Ashford Inkle loom with her linen pickup band in progress. 
  Be sure to click on the picture to take a closer look at that band!!!!





  Betsy just ignores me when I play peek-a-boo with her!!!!  She was busy re-counting threads...and that's a story for another day!!!!

  Another terrific Tuesday!!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn