Not counting my first Pebbles project, my sixth tied unit weave piece came off the loom last night. (The fifth remains on the sample table loom.) It was a triumph of... something, many things. Recent posts sounding like a litany of loom problems, I was looking forward to a 100% upbeat post, but foolishly declared on FB, "Goddess
of Weaving willing, the first piece should come off the loom today. But
did I just jinx it? Because this has been a real Murphy's project." Well, yes, indeed, I did.
* * * * *
(Ignore this part; it's for my record. I may have posted this recently, but too lazy to look up.)
To summarise: I made three warps two winters ago; put one on the loom and sampled it once, but the shafts stopped working properly early last winter. After a couple of months of rushing around fixing them, I wanted to make sure the shafts still worked, and one day lifted the shafts on a loom with a big shed without securing every warp end at the front, causing most to come out of the reed, and quite a few, out of the heddles. I was so disgusted with myself I didn't take a pic, but I should have, because it was one glorious bird's nest. I didn't mind because I wasn't crazy about the pattern threading, but I couldn't be bothered rethreading until this winter, and sampling resumed this spring. Considering there was a ten-year gap between sampling and weaving the purple, third piece, this sixth is proceeding at break-neck speed!
* * * * *
Litany of Issues:
1) Shaft 2 is a jumper/joiner; it likes to lift when it is not required to, but only sporadically. I noticed this when I wanted to weave backwards earlier in the week to fix a weft which had draw in too far. When a shaft lifts when it need not, or more frequently lifts unevenly, (one side much higher than the other,) it usually means cords holding the shafts are tangled, or came off the spool at the top, but I found no such instance. I then created a file lifting just Shafts 1 and 2 and 3 in different order and combination and ran it, and this appeared to have fixed the problem.
It happened again yesterday, when I realized the reason why I couldn't see the weave pattern was not because it was too dark in the room, not because I was using nearly identical dark purples in the tie-down and pattern, but because I was weaving in the wrong order, or using the wrong sizes. When I opened the shed to unpick, even though I had the correct pick, the shed was different from when the weft went in.
Once again I checked the cords and the spools; once again I tried the file. I could not find anything obviously at fault, while Shaft 2 acquired a mind of its own, sticking its tongue at me, lifting as it pleased. While checking the cords, however, I noticed the tension were uneven, so I adjusted them to more or less the same degree of tautness. (Geez, there's got to be a better way to say this?) I noticed cords connected to Shaft 2 were particularly slack, so I tightened them a smidgen more than I needed to. That seemed to have done the trick but I'm not certain if I really fixed the problem.
I unpicked roughly 2.5cm, 48 picks, and found Shaft 2 had lifted three times when not called for. After that, though I didn't check every single pick, I looked up annoyingly often, and Shaft 2 operated as indicated in the files.
This summer I must take out all the shafts, wax the wooden parts so they slide easily against each other, (how long has it been???) and adjust the cords thoroughly. This is good timing as I need to reconsider heddle distribution if I were to weave more of tied unit weaves, so I don't have to move them as I run out while threading.
2) I am better at placing the shuttles in the correct order when using two pattern wefts. It's with a single pattern weft I'm more casual, weaving with the wrong size; I caught myself twice.
3) The very first pattern pick of the double pattern weft draft I used lifts 1+4. Both times I used this file, something caused unseemly long skips in several places. You might have noticed it in this pic previously, because I debated whether to post it. This is way beyond the Shaft 2 problem, and I have no idea. I didn't even notice until a little too late, and honestly after the first time I thought it was a fluke. I have plenty of other places where I lift only 1+4, this has never occurred elsewhere. And, I mean, you can't miss it. For the next piece, I may lift one more shaft, or not use this file at all.
* * * * *
(Ignore this part; it's for my record. I may have posted this recently, but too lazy to look up.)
To summarise: I made three warps two winters ago; put one on the loom and sampled it once, but the shafts stopped working properly early last winter. After a couple of months of rushing around fixing them, I wanted to make sure the shafts still worked, and one day lifted the shafts on a loom with a big shed without securing every warp end at the front, causing most to come out of the reed, and quite a few, out of the heddles. I was so disgusted with myself I didn't take a pic, but I should have, because it was one glorious bird's nest. I didn't mind because I wasn't crazy about the pattern threading, but I couldn't be bothered rethreading until this winter, and sampling resumed this spring. Considering there was a ten-year gap between sampling and weaving the purple, third piece, this sixth is proceeding at break-neck speed!
* * * * *
Litany of Issues:
1) Shaft 2 is a jumper/joiner; it likes to lift when it is not required to, but only sporadically. I noticed this when I wanted to weave backwards earlier in the week to fix a weft which had draw in too far. When a shaft lifts when it need not, or more frequently lifts unevenly, (one side much higher than the other,) it usually means cords holding the shafts are tangled, or came off the spool at the top, but I found no such instance. I then created a file lifting just Shafts 1 and 2 and 3 in different order and combination and ran it, and this appeared to have fixed the problem.
It happened again yesterday, when I realized the reason why I couldn't see the weave pattern was not because it was too dark in the room, not because I was using nearly identical dark purples in the tie-down and pattern, but because I was weaving in the wrong order, or using the wrong sizes. When I opened the shed to unpick, even though I had the correct pick, the shed was different from when the weft went in.
Once again I checked the cords and the spools; once again I tried the file. I could not find anything obviously at fault, while Shaft 2 acquired a mind of its own, sticking its tongue at me, lifting as it pleased. While checking the cords, however, I noticed the tension were uneven, so I adjusted them to more or less the same degree of tautness. (Geez, there's got to be a better way to say this?) I noticed cords connected to Shaft 2 were particularly slack, so I tightened them a smidgen more than I needed to. That seemed to have done the trick but I'm not certain if I really fixed the problem.
I unpicked roughly 2.5cm, 48 picks, and found Shaft 2 had lifted three times when not called for. After that, though I didn't check every single pick, I looked up annoyingly often, and Shaft 2 operated as indicated in the files.
This summer I must take out all the shafts, wax the wooden parts so they slide easily against each other, (how long has it been???) and adjust the cords thoroughly. This is good timing as I need to reconsider heddle distribution if I were to weave more of tied unit weaves, so I don't have to move them as I run out while threading.
2) I am better at placing the shuttles in the correct order when using two pattern wefts. It's with a single pattern weft I'm more casual, weaving with the wrong size; I caught myself twice.
3) The very first pattern pick of the double pattern weft draft I used lifts 1+4. Both times I used this file, something caused unseemly long skips in several places. You might have noticed it in this pic previously, because I debated whether to post it. This is way beyond the Shaft 2 problem, and I have no idea. I didn't even notice until a little too late, and honestly after the first time I thought it was a fluke. I have plenty of other places where I lift only 1+4, this has never occurred elsewhere. And, I mean, you can't miss it. For the next piece, I may lift one more shaft, or not use this file at all.
4) I have issues with my pattern weft color choices, mostly coming from my penchant for gradation when in doubt. But let me first finish the piece properly, take good pics, and tell you about them, because I realize how it look fresh off the loom different from when it's properly finished. Suffice it to say, the two ends of the piece looking completely different won't be solved in the washing machine.
* * * * *
Having whined at great length, I definitely have upbeat bits.
Standing and looking down at the cloth as I weave has definitely improved my technique. Selvedges look OK, I felt comfortable with them and didn't have to do any of my tricks, even though the proof is in the wet-finish.
My body got used to weaving this way markedly after day 3; I wasn't sore or exhausted in the evenings, just tired evenly. The only thing I must remember is to walk the pedal, which was difficult when I was concentrating on other aspects. When I didn't walk, my ankle on which I stood too long hurt the next morning. But if I try to change feet, say, every four or even eight picks, at least both legs got tired to the same degree. Now I'm wondering if raising my footstool by 2 or 3cm would improve the comfort even more.
And here is the best bit. In many ways, it was an exhilarating piece to weave. Which is probably why I could stay calm in spite of mechanical problems. Many things were decided on the spot and I never knew how things would look until I wove. I can't recall a project where I was allowed to indulge in my whim so often, so thoroughly, all the way to the end. So the colors aren't spectacular, but the whole process was strangely so satisfying.
* * * * *
We had Indian takeaway; I'll finish the piece on the weekend, then get started on the next piece.
* * * * *
I forgot to tell you about the most tragicomic part of the day. With Shaft 2 tamed and 30 or so picks to go, I suddenly smelled something burning. I turned off all conceivable switches, opened the door to the garage, the stairs, and the exterior window, wondering if someone was BBQing outside. Nope. I turned on the bathroom fan, and went upstairs and went outside to checked again, but it was definitely coming from the basement. I turned on the house vent system, and asked Ben, who was working from home, to come have a look. He opened up the computer but found no smoke or heat coming from anywhere. We were completely flummoxed because the smell was as strong as ever.
And then it dawned on me, and I turned around.
I can't remember how long it took to weave the last 30 or so picks. I was exhausted, exasperated, and ex-whatever-ed. What. A. Day.
The End.
3 comments:
I suppose it's naughty of me to be so amused by your travails, but yo write so well that it's hard not to be amused. Plus I can commiserate! Of course, the loom problems would persist no matter what you were weaving, but the colors and patterns are glorious, so I'd say your persistence and problem solving set-backs paid off.
The "ignore this part" reminded me of a cat I used to have. Years ago I had a wide warp on my Glimakra, unsecured and ready to tie on to the front apron rod. Well, said cat jumped up onto it, which pulled the whole thing out in a terrible mess. I learned to never leave a warp in progress without tying the bouts off!
Never naughty, Leigh. I write so we can commiserate together, or some weavers to feel relieved, "at least it never gets that bad for me!", while others can have an uproarious LOL.
This time, though, I did have a couple of moments of seriously re-configuring my weaving life plans. Which came after Ben was told in September his work department was going to be disestablished, only for that to be recanted as if it were a bad joke in November. We re-calibrate our lives according to his earlier-than-expected retirement for two months, with calculators and all.
I'm glad we didn't have to follow either revised life plans, at least for now, and while these things are likely to happen a) in this day and age, and b) as we get older and choices narrow, we need to laugh, else we'll be crushed under the weight, don't we?
I often think of that word as "co-mmiserate", as in being miserable together and therefore not being miserable. Something like that.
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