What Else is Wrong??

I sampled the Sunflower warp on Saturday; this is 36EPI, with 20/2 and 60/2 as tie down wefts; three shafts to tie down in pointed threading intended to create diamonds. The hand is good, but I don't like the distribution of the purples. (On Sunday I redistributed them, and added another half an inch to the left.) I love this warp so much I want to get started right away, but the colors are about the only thing that's worked so far. 

At 36EPI, the web is too sparse to crate that lovely "old wallpaper" look. At least with 60/2 as tie down, (top 1/3, right sample,) the fulling/puckering of the 20/2 pattern weft is more noticeable and/or pattern wefts are closer to each other, creating more of a pattern-color area, whereas using 20/2 both ways at 36EPI, (bottom 2/3, right sample,) makes the overall look pixelated. Now I must decide whether this is going to be fabric (40~42EPI) or scarf (36), or if it's worth sampling 39EPI, though I suspect it's either "the look" or the hand. 

3-shaft diamonds don't show. Compare with 5-shaft diamonds at 40EPI in the last post. Also, at least on the screen, diamonds became easier to see when tying down with four or more shafts. Or, I can stick to two shafts and lift 1-2-2-1, which is O rather than diamonds, but more visually impactful possibly. 

So I got the books out again. But you know me, I terrible at weaving text comprehension, I have to go over the same paragraphs over and over again; try things out in the software; see if I have samples like what I'm trying to learn; but all my samples are so darned fine. I might weave a quick set with thicker cotton for the old eyes.

Also, because tied weaves are so "close", the wet-finished cloths appear so different from how they look on the screen. This gap is so much greater than twill, although I've woven twill so much perhaps I can predict better. 

Also, because my first non-RH was a four-shaft jack, I can only think in terms of rising shed and my head completely is warp-centric. In Summer & Winter pattern wefts are the star. So the pictures in my head seldom match the pictures/cloths in real life. In fact, sometimes I don't see pattern wefts shapes right in front of me. Sinking shed is a paradigm shift and I haven't found a way to reconcile this difference.   

I don't mind rethreading, resleying, or re-resleying to go back to where I started. I just wished I could have some idea of which way things are going to move.

Still, all is not lost. How about same thread for warp and pattern wefts just to show off different textures, with a hint of different colors in the tie down, for a future project? This is me from 2010 to the rescue.

For added mirth, I've been living in Wooster and Jeeves' world by way of audiobooks. From time to time I shout a hearty "Wot!" or "Ra-Ther!!" with that exaggerated Hugh Laurie expressions, so far only in my head, but then there's nobody who can verify it hasn't spilled into real life.  

 

Autumn this year has been beautiful, cooler earlier than usual, perfect for "getting stuck in the garden" as they say, but I'm too keen on what's happening (or not happening) on the looms I have been remiss. Again. 

Be well, and be not necessarily always good. :-D