Our vacation in North Carolina (Asheville area) is approaching fast, and try as I may, I haven’t been able to think up anything dress-related to bring with me, especially since my laptop is dead. So, I will have to fall back to my old standby: socks!
Towards this, I offer this photo:
The yarn is Mini Mochi, in two slow-changing colorways. I’m also going to dye some Knitpicks sock yarn that I had sitting around into my favorite garnet red color, for those sock patterns that do better in a single shade. And I may do some painted sock blanks that gradually fade from one color (say, fuchsia) to another (say, turquoise) over the length of the entire sock. That’s assuming I can find the sock blanks that are in my stash, of course.
But four pairs of socks ought to keep me busy for the 10 days we’ll be visiting Mike’s uncle at his cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. And of course I’ll be stopping by to visit Alice Schlein’s studio in South Carolina, while I’m there. Alice graciously agreed to a visit, and I’m looking forward to it very much.
If anyone knows of other fiber-related things to check out in the Asheville, NC area, please let me know!
Regarding the samples – the issue with the 120/2 silk isn’t that it isn’t possible to weave it. By carefully clearing each shed, checking each shed in the mirror before throwing the shuttle, etc. it’s perfectly weavable. But it’s not weavable at the speed I would need in order to complete 20 yards of it AND 20 yards of dress fabric AND design and sew the dresses by February 15, the deadline to enter Convergence’s fashion show. I’m really hoping to get this piece into the Fashion Show in July.
Having thought things through, I think my next step (on Lillian’s advice) will be to warp up a full-width sample of the 60/2 silk. I will wind the warp at 72 epi, since Peg says she’s used it successfully (thanks Peg!), and sley it 4/dent in my 18-dent reed. If that doesn’t work, I’ll remove 12 threads from each section (juggling the removal so the threading sequence is not disturbed), resley, and try it at 60 epi (2/dent in a 30-dent reed).
My reason for doing a full-width sample is pretty clear: I want to know what the warp is going to do, at the width I’m going to weave it, BEFORE I start winding 20-odd yards of warp. I already know that 96 epi is fine at 6″ wide but a nightmare at 24″. I want to make sure that 72 epi will work, on my loom, at the width I’m weaving, before I commit to it. It will be a pain to warp up 1728 threads just for a sample, but far less of a pain than running into problems again. So I will be putting on a 24″ wide sample warp, starting tomorrow. I hope to get it completely beamed on and at least partially threaded before I leave. I have three days left to do it, so that ought to be feasible.
Off to dye some sock yarn!
If you have time could you please explain to the uninitiated what a “sock blank” is. I’m imagining several possibilities but would be interested to know. Dianne
Tien, one thing I was thinking about that might affect your epi. I routinely weave things about 12″ wide. If you are weaving 24″ wide you might consider opening up the sett just a bit, depending on the number of interlacements. Laura is very good at understanding this, you might ask her what she thinks you should do.
another thought about epi. I do not know if I am right or wrong here, but I have always felt intuitively that equal numbers of war ends in each dent trumps perfect epi. I have nothing to prove this and I don’t think it necesarily holds true on lesser setts or with less troublesome yarns. But you might consider this.
You might see if Eileen Hallman of New World Textiles is in town – she is a wonderful cotton-spinning teacher and weaver who lives in the area.
Oriole mill in Hendersonville, NC, jacquard weaving mill, Bethanne Knudson is the designer. Nice place. The art and craft galleries in downtown Ashville are really nice.
Teresa