Spreadsheets for weaving

Poured the first set of chocolate molds last night. I’d forgotten how thoroughly tricky they are to get right; I nearly ruined the first batch by letting them sit too long. I’m not sure how effectively I managed to save them, but I guess I’ll find out this weekend. I’m doing another batch of molds tonight, hopefully these will go better.

B., electromechanical genius that he is, has successfully wired up my little temperature controller to an electrical outlet, so I will soon be able to use it for dyeing and for maintaining the temperature of, say, a bowl of melted chocolate. (In the latter case, you put the bowl in a larger bowl filled with water, and keep the water warm. You don’t stick the probe in the melted chocolate, for obvious reasons…)

I have also done all the warp and weft calculations for my fifth project, which is going to be a complex floral pattern in fine silk and cashmere thread – considerably finer than I’ve tried before. The entire 19×72″ shawl will weigh only about 10 ounces! I have also written out the threading and treadling drafts, and graphed out the drawdown using a freeware weaving program, WeaveDesign. All in all, it’s been a spreadsheet kind of day.