Warped again

[altivo]

Warp is on the loom and threaded. I'm waiting until tomorrow to check for errors because I've been doing it all afternoon and I'm afraid I won't see them.

Rain has finally eased off. At least we didn't have any high winds here, but there was sure a lot of rain. I think we got more than four inches total. One good thing about all that humidity though is that it made handling fine wool threads easier. There was no static at all. I've threaded fine wool in winter when it charged up and stood on its own like the hair on a cartoon kid's head when he gets a fright. ;p

Comments

[flamekist.livejournal.com]

Will you be taking pictures of all your show entries? I'd love to see some more of your work!

Would using a humidifier during the winter months help with the wool?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

There are a few photos in my Flickr pages. I tend to be pretty lazy about photographing stuff, but I do have some older photos I should add there.

This shawl will be photographed, though, I promise, at least if it turns out as I planned it. I was going to take photos of the warping process again, but the warp yarn is navy blue and very difficult to photograph. Or see, for that matter. I was going cross-eyed threading it, and still have to sley.

Yes, a humidifier helps with wool in winter. The worst case I ever had was a fine yarn made from alpaca, silk, and nylon. Very nice stuff, but talk about flyaway... I still have some spools of it, enough to do something with, but I've been avoiding a repeat of the experience.

I've heard that mixing hair conditioner with water to make a very dilute solution that can be sprayed onto the warp also helps. Never tried it though.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

There! Quickly stuffed a few older photos into that gallery at Flickr.

There's also an LJ gallery with photos of a sheep to shawl demonstration we did back in 2003. I was the weaver. We started with the loom already warped, using handspun made by Toni. In about five hours, the five participating spinners spun and plied up all the weft to weave the shawl shown in the ending photos. It was a lot of fun, though I think most of the onlookers had trouble understanding what we were doing and why you'd bother. I mean, can't you just buy clothes at WalMart? That's what they always ask.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Duh. Forgot to include the link to that demo gallery:

http://pics.livejournal.com/altivo/gallery/00017c3g

[flamekist.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty lazy about taking photos as well. Michael's always nagging me to get caught up with my glass pendants.

That shawl looks amazing! And there's no way you'd find something like that at WalMart.

I've had the same sort of reaction when I did a jewelry-making demonstration. One woman turned to the other and said "I can find this at WalMart for a quarter of the price!" And I sat there thinking "If you're looking for mass-produced jewelry made with silver-colored plastic and beads created by children in a sweatshop,then yes, you probably can find it at WalMart."

Can't wait to see the navy shawl!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Back in 1988 I was designing and sewing hand made teddy bears and hand puppets. I did the tour of street art fairs in Chicago that very hot dry summer with my creations. Sales were poor, and that was the reason. Some people actually refused to believe I had made them, and accused me of getting them at a store. More often though, the complaint was about the prices. "Why are they so expensive?" Well, because it takes eight or nine hours to make one by hand, and the materials I'm using are better quality than what you find in commercial toys. "Huh. I can get toys at KMart for one tenth of your price." OK, lady, and you get what you pay for...