Unusual Towel Exchange, Woven Labels and Loom Trouble

There is this big wind storm going on outside. Hopefully I won't lose power. The beautiful towel I received from Maureen McGuinness acts as the backdrop for my part of the exchange. Several months ago Maureen (long before the towel exchange) asked me if I had any of my wrapped silk brooches for sale. Alas, I had stopped making them because they were just too labor intense (and I am on this new kick to stop cranking out "stuff"). When Maureen sent me this lovely towel, I asked her if she would rather have a brooch in exchange. She examined some pictures on my website and gave me an idea of the size and colors she liked. I will ship it off today. Maureen is going to send me another towel sometime in the future so that I will also send her a towel.
My only requirement for the towel is some sort of label, so I can remember whose towel I am using. When I first decided (back in the 80's) I needed some sort of label, I hand printed them. I do not have any examples of that label. I began searching for a label company that would produce a custom woven label in reasonable small quantities. I went to the library and searched through the Thomas Registry (now available on line). At that time I found only 6 companies and wrote to them all. Of the 6, only the Minnewawa Label Company in Knoxville Tennessee produced a label that met my requirements. The top label was my first 1000 labels. They lasted me about 10 years. I had a friend redesign the label and ordered another 1000. (the middle label) They took me through the 90's. When I went to order another 1000, I discovered the Minnewawa Label Company was no longer there. I went on line and began another search and found ITC Labels(bottom label) I wish the label was more satiny, but the great part about this company is you can order as few or as many labels as you wish. Plus they send you a sample and you sign off on it before they make the labels.

If there are others out there who have a good label source, I would be interested in passing that along.
So I'm weaving along on my 10 year old Fireside Loom last night thinking how wonderful the piece is coming along---no problems. This morning when I went to start weaving, I noticed the slack tension. I went to give the toggle a little twist (as I have to do from time to time) and noticed THIS!
Words like GAK! ZOT! (a new word sent to me by a weaving friend, Russ) and others too terrible to mention, sprung from my lips.

Well, then I had to chuckle because I have often said there are an infinite number of mistakes to be made in weaving, and this was indeed a first. As you may or may not know, Fireside Looms is now located in Pennsylvania with new owners Larry and Michelle Lesniak(no longer in Washington state in easy driving distance from me). I started to write a pathetic whining email to Michelle, but I decided a phone call would be in order. She was most helpful and a new rope and assembly directions are being FedEx'd to me as I write.

I use my Fireside more heavily than most, so I'm not faulting the rope device for wearing out in 10 years. In fact, the tensioning system was one of the main selling features (along with the worm-drive and the removable breast bar) I didn't see a picture of the removable breast bar, but it is a thing of beauty. Anyone wishing me to take a picture of it and post it, let me know.

So "Gary", the loom has to take a little rest. Fortunately my ikat towel experiment is up and running on Grace, so my practice of weaving every day doesn't have to stop.

Yes, I'm Still Weaving---Every Day

The bamboo/cashmere snugly shawl/throw moves along at a pleasant pace. I'm not rushing along or bogging down.
One of my favorite moments in weaving is when the last paper drops. When I first started weaving, I used brown paper (white paper if I had it). One day I discovered corrugated cardboard and switched to that for several years. The cardboard is great until it begins to break down (which is rather rapidly), and then I start having tension problems. It took me a couple of years to discover the root of my tension problems, but when I switched back to brown paper...problem solved!
On the other loom (Grace), I have the beginnings of my ikat towel experiment.

How do I select the weft color? As a rule of thumb: the weft is the color you have the most of. In this case, I have enough of all of the colors . I begin by weaving a small stripe of each of the colors in the warp to see which one I like the best. I was hoping the white would be the one, (because I have the most white) but alas it is not. I don't care for the dark either. (which is good because I have the least of the almost "black")

Blog Action Day

The Blog Action Day project asks the question, “What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.” The issue today is the environment. I came upon Blog Action Day when very recently I discovered a wonderful blog by Virginia A. Spiegel.Once you check her out, she will be on your list for sure.

As I searched through the hundreds of pictures to find just the right image, I was shocked to discover this is the only picture not related to weaving or food I have taken this year.

"September Morning on Whidbey Island" This beautiful magical island in the Northwestern USA is the home of many artists (sadly I am not one of its residents) who share a passion for the environment. When you visit here, it is like going back in time. Interestingly enough, I consider Whidbey Island to be one of several weaving centers in the United States. I wonder if there is a correlation between deep appreciation for making things and a deep appreciation for the environment?

And if that is true, why do I only have one outdoor picture taken in 2007? But on the other hand, Rivers and Tides is one of my favorite movies. And Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is my favorite book of the year.

Nice Matters Award

Christine of SpinWeaveKnitandCake, so kindly tagged me with this award:

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded, please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

First and foremost, is Sara Lamb of Woven Thoughts. It was her mentioning me in her blog that got me to read a blog for the very first time. Within days I had set up my own blog, and the rest is history. Talk about inspiration!

Once I began checking in on Sara's blog, I noticed the WeaveRing icon. I clicked on it to see if there were any weavers I knew and discovered Sandra Rude had a blog as well: Sandra's Loom Blog. The thing about Sandra's work is that it is totally mind blowing. Her weaving demonstrates the vastness of the weaving journey. I am awed.

No list would be complete without Syne Mitchell's WeaveCast. I believe what Syne is doing to promote weaving in the 21st century is what Mary Meigs Atwater did to save handweaving at the early part of the last century.

Karen Madigan of curiousweaver has been a constant source of delight and a fount of knowledge. It's like I found a kindred spirit on the other side of the world. (well, a kindred spirit that keeps good records and works with complex weave structures)

Kathleen's Vegetarian Kitchen is the blog I would have wished I would have written had I written a blog about good food well prepared. It is a delicious feast for the imagination.

Stef's distracted muse keeps me coming back for more. I love seeing what she will try next. I have gotten to the point in my life where I wake up in the morning and say to myself, "No new crafts! No new crafts!" I am glad there are those out in world who can give me a vicarious craft adventure.

What list would be complete without Ruby Reuseable's Olympia Dumpster Divers. There is something so inspiring to me about making art from recycled materials!

I hope you enjoy my list as much as I enjoyed making it.

Found Picture and Nod of the Day

To all those contemplating weaving a horoscope baby blanket, this is for you.

Have you ever spent hours looking through folders searching for a picture and never finding it? Instead you find a picture you totally forgot you had lost. This picture is so adorable it makes up for the picture I couldn't find. It doesn't matter it has been over a year. I'll have to get a current picture: dark curly hair, teeth, vocabulary, and constant motion.

Nod of the Day: Take a look at the Seaview Weavers Guild website. It's a great website and a great little guild. The Seaview guild is a small but active guild operating just North of Seattle WA. I could say a lot, but the site says it all.

Still Weaving Every Day

Today someone asked me if I wove every day. I gave this long convoluted answer, when in reality, the answer is a simple "yes". I don't keep track of the inches I weave, but ever since I came home from the Saori Conference, I have made "weave every day" a part of my "practice".

I settled on triple strands of medium grays of my unknitted cashmere sweaters for my weft. The picture doesn't do justice to how mellow and rich the gray gives to the vivid warp. And I am really loving the commercial space-dyed bamboo combined with the ikat dyed bamboo.

Towel Experiment

The skeins of 8/2 cotton are from Dye Day #5. The cones of colored yarn are also 8/2 cotton although it looks and feels quite different. Just for the hell of it, I decided I would try combining the two in a short towel warp to see if the two yarns will combine without turning into seersucker.
But first there is the little matter of winding the skeins into balls. I have actually come to enjoy this process. I don't know why I selected the orange, tan and gold as my 3 solids except for the autumn season that is upon us. I also wanted to use colors I don't usually choose.

I may call this my Halloween Towel. Aside from the colors, the warp may turn into a trick or a treat once it goes into the washing machine. I have run into problems before mixing the same weight cotton from different yarn companies.

For some reason, writing this blog has made making mistakes quite acceptable. I take more risks. I am entertained by my "duh" moments. This is the first time, however, I put on a warp that I was fairly certain would be a problem. It is only a 3 yard warp, and it is all ready to go. Why am I doing this if I think it won't work? Because someone told me it would, and I want to see who is right.