Merry figurines from Otago Museum, Dunedin.2008/07/31
Murphy's Month!
No offense to Brian, but July was a bad month for me. I hope my life will look up a bit starting tomorrow. It was supposed to be a fabulous month. Darn.
Merry figurines from Otago Museum, Dunedin.
Merry figurines from Otago Museum, Dunedin.I don't have a spiffy post title, but...
The screen on the left shows my loom computer while I'm weaving; it's showing picks 71-140 of the abbreviated 15-end draft I tried to weave today. Shafts that need lifting appear as a horizontal line. It always shows Shaft 16 at the top to Shaft 1 at the bottom, regardless of the threading.
I turned approximately the same portion of the draft its side at the right; picks 71 and 140 are shown in red. Here, you can see how the draft works with a warp in Shaft 12 vs without.
On the loom computer, you can see Shaft 12 is never lifted because it has a vertical line across the screen; in the draft on the right, it appears as a black line, the color of the weft, in the lower part where Shaft 12 warps exist.
In both, you can also see "rest" picks where none of the shafts are lifted at Pick 89 so I can check the cloth against the draft and backtrack if necessary. On the loom computer, this is a vertical line from top to bottom; in the draft it is a white (warp color) vertical line.
So, Peg, I wondered if seeing these will answers you. It's hard to see exactly which shaft should be lifted in any given pick, but I can backtrack, skip, or repeat sections if I need to. If they are to occur regularly, it's easier to build it into the draft.
Good News/Bad News Day
The good news are:
1) Very little rain, no wind. And we have several litters of water saved last night before Bad 1) started.
2) I finished "reading" Dr JBT's "Stroke of Insight" once, and have started on the second round. My left brain is overdeveloped, which I knew; it means I learned well what I was taught.
The bad news are:
1) Water out of the tap smells like a swimming pool first thing Monday mornings, and looks like cold Seven Up. See Good 1) above.
2) My left brain is overdeveloped; I need to unlearn a whole lot.
3) This morning it was Shaft 12's turn to stay in bed, while Shaft 11 was behaving. I chopped up my 15-shaft draft from roughly 2200 picks to a little under 300. Repeating shorter sets makes the scarf more predictable and boring to me, but under the circumstances, I thought a smaller repeat would make it easier to detect mistakes and backtrack. Nine repeats of the 300 picks should weave a scarf of respectable length.
Until about 5 inches in; then, Shaft 7 started to lift when it was not supposed to. This also means it's not the clipped plastic piece of Shaft 11 alone that's causing me headache. I stopped weaving and finally accepted I must make do with the pieces already woven; three OK ones, possibly a fourth depending on how it looks after washing.
Next on my list:
1) Study more about left & right brains. I came across it for the first time in the mid-70's while studying neuro-linguistics and stroke and epilepsy patients. (This was back in the days when Noam Chomsky was the star transformational-generative grammarian.) I kept up my reading in a most abridged, rudimentary way, but once again I am fascinated, especially since so much have been found out in the last 30 years. I'm particularly interested because we weavers need both parts of our brains in more "equal" proportions than other art practices. Anybody know of a good read?
2) I need to make up an mini exhibition with the small number of items I've got. I need to come to terms with the fact that it's still more important to feel excited about the opportunity, than to be disappointed that I've not achieved what I set out to do, meaning, in this case, more pieces.
3) I really need to investigate what the heck is going on with my setup.
1) Very little rain, no wind. And we have several litters of water saved last night before Bad 1) started.
2) I finished "reading" Dr JBT's "Stroke of Insight" once, and have started on the second round. My left brain is overdeveloped, which I knew; it means I learned well what I was taught.
The bad news are:
1) Water out of the tap smells like a swimming pool first thing Monday mornings, and looks like cold Seven Up. See Good 1) above.
2) My left brain is overdeveloped; I need to unlearn a whole lot.
3) This morning it was Shaft 12's turn to stay in bed, while Shaft 11 was behaving. I chopped up my 15-shaft draft from roughly 2200 picks to a little under 300. Repeating shorter sets makes the scarf more predictable and boring to me, but under the circumstances, I thought a smaller repeat would make it easier to detect mistakes and backtrack. Nine repeats of the 300 picks should weave a scarf of respectable length.
Until about 5 inches in; then, Shaft 7 started to lift when it was not supposed to. This also means it's not the clipped plastic piece of Shaft 11 alone that's causing me headache. I stopped weaving and finally accepted I must make do with the pieces already woven; three OK ones, possibly a fourth depending on how it looks after washing.
Next on my list:1) Study more about left & right brains. I came across it for the first time in the mid-70's while studying neuro-linguistics and stroke and epilepsy patients. (This was back in the days when Noam Chomsky was the star transformational-generative grammarian.) I kept up my reading in a most abridged, rudimentary way, but once again I am fascinated, especially since so much have been found out in the last 30 years. I'm particularly interested because we weavers need both parts of our brains in more "equal" proportions than other art practices. Anybody know of a good read?
2) I need to make up an mini exhibition with the small number of items I've got. I need to come to terms with the fact that it's still more important to feel excited about the opportunity, than to be disappointed that I've not achieved what I set out to do, meaning, in this case, more pieces.
3) I really need to investigate what the heck is going on with my setup.
Nelson Weather Report
I did go to see Pete yesterday, no apologies, but he'll try to fix them as I knew he would. Then I went to the gym, then went to the bookshop to find they made a mistake and ordered Dr Jill Bolte Taylor's audio book rather than the book, which was like a gift from heaven! I took a cab home in strong wind and rain. The wind got stronger, but I started weaving, and noticed that the shaft problem was more sporadic than I had imagined; sometimes it was Shaft 12, sometimes 13 or 6, that weren't lifting, and sometimes 7 lifted when it wasn't supposed to. In addition, the wind and the rain grew stronger and we had several power surges in quick succession and my setup kept looking its place, so I quit weaving.
I resurfaced, fully intending to hem the pieces already woven, but the gusts shook the whole house and I kept going outside to move my potted plants or just to have a look. It reminded me of typhoons in Japan, and at one point I did get worried we might lose part of our house or have something big come crashing through our window, but nothing dramatic happened. While speaking to Andrea from the museum, however, I gasped because I saw a big chunk of my neighbors' tree fly across the sky. So, no hemming, but a bit of cooking and baking, and I'm 75% through with the JBT book.
In Nelson, quite a few trees went down, including one on a man's room at a rest home, but luckily he wasn't there at the time. Because Nelson is usually spared of truly bad weather, and because there was damage to the water pipes, we made the national news, but elsewhere, including Marlborough, there have been more serious floods and landslides, and the storm is traveling south.
It's eerily still this morning; in fact, I'd say the silence is deafening. We are expecting a bit more rain. I hope I can force my way and finish this piece.
Come to think of it, yesterday would have been a perfect day for Mary Poppins to land at my front door. Anyone seen her?
EDIT: we made national news; here's a link to the clip that was sent to a TV station.
I resurfaced, fully intending to hem the pieces already woven, but the gusts shook the whole house and I kept going outside to move my potted plants or just to have a look. It reminded me of typhoons in Japan, and at one point I did get worried we might lose part of our house or have something big come crashing through our window, but nothing dramatic happened. While speaking to Andrea from the museum, however, I gasped because I saw a big chunk of my neighbors' tree fly across the sky. So, no hemming, but a bit of cooking and baking, and I'm 75% through with the JBT book.
In Nelson, quite a few trees went down, including one on a man's room at a rest home, but luckily he wasn't there at the time. Because Nelson is usually spared of truly bad weather, and because there was damage to the water pipes, we made the national news, but elsewhere, including Marlborough, there have been more serious floods and landslides, and the storm is traveling south.
It's eerily still this morning; in fact, I'd say the silence is deafening. We are expecting a bit more rain. I hope I can force my way and finish this piece.
Come to think of it, yesterday would have been a perfect day for Mary Poppins to land at my front door. Anyone seen her?
EDIT: we made national news; here's a link to the clip that was sent to a TV station.
2008/07/30
Naughty Pete
As far as I can tell, the new 15-shaft draft is weaving fine, but I'm overwhelmed by foreboding I wouldn't be surprised if I unconsciously ruin it. So I'm going slowly, but I was exhausted after a few picks and I wove only a quarter of a scarf yesterday afternoon. I'm not even 100% sure if it's Shaft 11 that's having a problem.
Last night Ben brought home the three framed pieces from the framers, and, oh, what a disappointment. We go to Pete, the best guy in town, and he's done one for me with the same fabric recently, as well as half a dozen paintings and posters, but these three had no spacers, the fabric wasn't stretched straight, and in the middle of the silver one was a piece of thread that must have come off when he cut the fabric. The smallest one, I like the best, but the corners of the frame are not square and touch-up puttying messy. I couldn't possibly sell this one. Not good enough.
I'm taking them back today, then going to the gym, then weaving in the afternoon. I've been in a seriously defeatist mode. For one thing, it's been raining and storming all over the North Island and this weather is supposed to come this way, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a few hours of rain and a bit of wind in Nelson. I might treat myself to a cab ride from town, though, instead of the bus.
I decided to take up the museum's offer and wait until Monday to install. That should give Pete some time to repair the faults. (And no matter what I do, that pic stays looking bad.)
Last night Ben brought home the three framed pieces from the framers, and, oh, what a disappointment. We go to Pete, the best guy in town, and he's done one for me with the same fabric recently, as well as half a dozen paintings and posters, but these three had no spacers, the fabric wasn't stretched straight, and in the middle of the silver one was a piece of thread that must have come off when he cut the fabric. The smallest one, I like the best, but the corners of the frame are not square and touch-up puttying messy. I couldn't possibly sell this one. Not good enough.
I'm taking them back today, then going to the gym, then weaving in the afternoon. I've been in a seriously defeatist mode. For one thing, it's been raining and storming all over the North Island and this weather is supposed to come this way, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a few hours of rain and a bit of wind in Nelson. I might treat myself to a cab ride from town, though, instead of the bus.I decided to take up the museum's offer and wait until Monday to install. That should give Pete some time to repair the faults. (And no matter what I do, that pic stays looking bad.)
2008/07/29
16-Shaft Draft with No Shaft 11
This is a real 1990's Airhead talk, but I decided to work smarter, not harder, meaning, I didn't risk a 16-shaft draft, but made up a 15-shaft design. Now onto the loom.
Meltdown
Yesterday morning, with only about 200 picks to go to finish Piece 3, I unpicked 400 picks trying to figure out what was going on as regards sporadic lifting of Shaft 12. Plain weave and individual shaft lifting worked fine, but not my design draft. I wove and finished Piece 3, but I had to give up on the faulty shaft for the last 2 or so inches of weaving; I'll have to sew it in. I took off Piece 3, and went hunting for the problem/solution. I discovered a) it wasn't Shaft 12 but 11 that's been naughty, and b) it was caused by a part wearing down and not catching when it's supposed to.
On my retrofit computer-controlled loom, information on the draft gets translated into movements of these tiny sticks (below, yellow) seen here about the size of an eraser at the back of a pencil. For shafts which are supposed to lift, the "eraser" is raised, pushing up the "wedge" in the top picture, so the wedge is caught by the metal piece and pushed to the right, thus lifting the shaft. I don't know if a piece broke off or it gradually wore down, but now the wedge catches only sporadically.
A wee while ago I noticed that a screw had come off while weaving; I could have sworn it was one of the top ones, but Ben thinks it was the green one, which is connected to Shaft 11. I also noticed the bottom of the Shaft 11 wedge (pink) was dirtier and a bit more damaged than others.
At any rate, I'm gritting my teeth and hoping I can get at least one more piece woven before Friday because I need more than three. If Shaft 11 fails me this morning, I'll make a 15-shaft draft and not use 11 altogether.
I'm not enjoying this at all. Ben says replacement of the wedge pieces is going to be expensive. Just what I needed.
On my retrofit computer-controlled loom, information on the draft gets translated into movements of these tiny sticks (below, yellow) seen here about the size of an eraser at the back of a pencil. For shafts which are supposed to lift, the "eraser" is raised, pushing up the "wedge" in the top picture, so the wedge is caught by the metal piece and pushed to the right, thus lifting the shaft. I don't know if a piece broke off or it gradually wore down, but now the wedge catches only sporadically. 
A wee while ago I noticed that a screw had come off while weaving; I could have sworn it was one of the top ones, but Ben thinks it was the green one, which is connected to Shaft 11. I also noticed the bottom of the Shaft 11 wedge (pink) was dirtier and a bit more damaged than others.At any rate, I'm gritting my teeth and hoping I can get at least one more piece woven before Friday because I need more than three. If Shaft 11 fails me this morning, I'll make a 15-shaft draft and not use 11 altogether.
I'm not enjoying this at all. Ben says replacement of the wedge pieces is going to be expensive. Just what I needed.
2008/07/24
&%$#@!!
On days like these I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to swear. A lot.
I spent a good portion of the day trying to convince half a dozen Telecom Call Centre brats my phone, once again, gets cut off the minute I pick it up. I missed three calls today, and my cotton guy, Adam from DEA Yarns is possibly in Nelson, and he said he might ring me if/when he is. This exact phone problem I have about ever 2 years and, surely, they can see the history on their system. I have to do the same exercise of describing the problem, doing the line check (which involves crawling under Ben's desk and unplugging the main phone line from a jack I can't see but can feel, inviting lots of dust bunnies in my hair), hanging up, waiting for them to call back, etc, etc, etc. every tijme. When I finally found a chap who wanted to help me, we were talking on my cell while I plugged/unplugged lines, and guess what battery went flat? Well, I waited, then rang their Call Centre, but the chap never rang me back. So some time next week, I'll have to repeat the whole exercise. Telecom New Zealand has one of the worst customer services I have ever known in my 50 years in three countries, seriously bad services.
And I was very angry while weaving the second half of the scarf but I had only 400 picks to go when I noticed one of the shafts wasn't lifting. I stopped weaving, checked the shafts and lines, lifted every shaft, one at a time, then in plain weave, and all worked, so I wove on, but Shaft 12 kept on lifting sporadically. I'm not sure if you can see it in this pic, but today was definitely a crawling-under-large-wooden-furniture day.
So I quit. I don't want to abort this piece because other than Shaft 12 in the last, say, 10 cm, it's been going great, and I am so behind. But I don't want to climb up and open the black box or adjust cords, etc., mid-scarf.
So I think I'll swear loudly and stomp around the house looking very cross tonight.
I spent a good portion of the day trying to convince half a dozen Telecom Call Centre brats my phone, once again, gets cut off the minute I pick it up. I missed three calls today, and my cotton guy, Adam from DEA Yarns is possibly in Nelson, and he said he might ring me if/when he is. This exact phone problem I have about ever 2 years and, surely, they can see the history on their system. I have to do the same exercise of describing the problem, doing the line check (which involves crawling under Ben's desk and unplugging the main phone line from a jack I can't see but can feel, inviting lots of dust bunnies in my hair), hanging up, waiting for them to call back, etc, etc, etc. every tijme. When I finally found a chap who wanted to help me, we were talking on my cell while I plugged/unplugged lines, and guess what battery went flat? Well, I waited, then rang their Call Centre, but the chap never rang me back. So some time next week, I'll have to repeat the whole exercise. Telecom New Zealand has one of the worst customer services I have ever known in my 50 years in three countries, seriously bad services.
And I was very angry while weaving the second half of the scarf but I had only 400 picks to go when I noticed one of the shafts wasn't lifting. I stopped weaving, checked the shafts and lines, lifted every shaft, one at a time, then in plain weave, and all worked, so I wove on, but Shaft 12 kept on lifting sporadically. I'm not sure if you can see it in this pic, but today was definitely a crawling-under-large-wooden-furniture day.
So I quit. I don't want to abort this piece because other than Shaft 12 in the last, say, 10 cm, it's been going great, and I am so behind. But I don't want to climb up and open the black box or adjust cords, etc., mid-scarf.
So I think I'll swear loudly and stomp around the house looking very cross tonight.
Powdered Tea Green Must be In!
See this by Bonnie on July 11, and then by Angela on July 23. In Japan, these greens are called "powdered tea green" (roughly mint green, but slightly dustier) after the green tea powders used in tea ceremonies, or "Nightingale green" (slightly dustier than the "powdered tea") after the bird.
Eight More Days
Eight work days for the Wall; I'll finish Piece 3 this afternoon. No matter how I work, it takes two days to weave one cotton, and I'm feeling the effect of having been to the gym only three times in four weeks. Nevertheless, this is what I do.Figure drawing resumes tomorrow morning; I'm seeing Rosie for lunch; I think I'll go the gym after that.
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