Sizing the warp

I was having some trouble with the warp sticking, so I tried sizing the warp with spray starch.  This stopped the sticking, and helped with some of the tension problems, but has created another set of problems: when the tension is uneven, little loops of thread caught up from the slack of loose threads are surfacing in the woven fabric, and I don’t think they will wash out, i.e. they will show up as defects in the fabric.  And I am having trouble with skipped threads and loose threads…I think I may have to declare the last three or four inches a loss, and cut around it later.  C’est la vie.

It is a good thing that I have approached this warp (as I do everything else) as a learning exercise.  If I were trying to Create The Perfect Fabric I would have torn my hair out by now, as there have been plenty of challenges along the way.  The left edge of the warp keeps going slack on me, producing a tilted fell; there are loose threads, occasional skips where two threads bound together, and don’t forget the Grand Drama of Broken Threads (fortunately over now).  Every once in awhile, the tension changes enough to create a flaw line across the fabric.  I’m not saying the fabric is awful, but it’s far from perfect.  I had harbored visions of submitting it to the folks at Convergence as a candidate for the fashion show, but I don’t think the fabric will be flawless enough to send in.

(Probably just as well: the deadline to submit pieces for Convergence is February (I think), and if I’m getting married in June, mailing off my wedding dress for consideration a few months before just seems like a really Bad Idea in case something horrible happens in shipping.  Yes, I’d get the insurance, but as they say, “Losing your precious, handwoven dress a month before the wedding: priceless.”)

I have started the muslin for the off-the-shoulder dress, but work stress has been keeping me from getting a lot done.  There is nothing I can do about it and I expect the situation will resolve within the next week, but meanwhile I’m stressed out enough that I can’t focus very well for sewing.  I just don’t feel up to it.  So I have been weaving along, and reading through Susan Khalje’s Bridal Couture, and occasionally just playing games on my iPhone.  (I just discovered that I can play Zork on my iPhone!!  I loved the old text adventures, so this is just wonderful.)

Finally, I was shocked and saddened to hear of Michael Jackson’s death today.  I was twelve or thirteen when Thriller came out, and I remember all through middle and high school he was the unquestioned King of Pop (with Madonna the reigning Queen of Pop) – his music and his dancing were electrifying to hear and see.  I mean, he was huge.  There was a time when, no matter what time it was, you could turn the radio dial and hear “Thriller” playing on at least one radio station.  Even if he turned into a sideshow freak later, he  was one of the great cultural icons of my childhood and it’s strange (and sad) to realize that he’s gone.  I guess I understand now how people felt when Elvis died.

I wonder if people will ever be married by Michael Jackson impersonators in Vegas?