Tien Chiu

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You are here: Home / All blog posts / Next project: a woven tribute
Previous post: How to use a Boyce weaver’s knotter, how to tie a weaver’s knot
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August 26, 2016 by Tien Chiu

Next project: a woven tribute

I’ve decided that my next piece will be a tribute to my friend Joy, to be shown at her memorial service. It’s a fairly ambitious design, featuring several photos of Joy , plus some of the things that were most important to her. I’m currently in the layout stage, making sure that all the images are correctly placed. I’m not entirely sure whether I can get good enough resolution on some of the more detailed images, so there will probably be other tweaks during the conversion process.

The difficult part is that the memorial service is next Sunday, so I have only nine days to finish the design, convert it to something weave-able, do the weaving, and finish it. I think I can do it, but it will be tight.

Here’s a rough draft of the piece:

A memorial piece for Joy
A memorial piece for Joy

It will be woven 29″ wide (finished width probably more like 27″). The blue background will feature the blue painted warp, the orange lines will be the orange warp. The yellow sections will be woven with threads made with real gold – though I have to check whether I’ll have enough to weave the entire piece.

Given that I have a piece with a tight timeline, it’s a good thing that I’m almost done with the loom prep! Here are some photos from the various stages.

First, a moment of panic halfway through tying the new warp to the old. Could this rat’s nest possibly be salvaged?

first half of knots - a tangled mess!
first half of knots – a tangled mess!

Well, sometimes a hopeless tangle turns out to be easier than you’d think to straighten out. This photo was taken about fifteen minutes later, after gently teasing the knots forward through the heddles and reed:

straightened-out warp, after tying on
straightened-out warp, after tying on

Still messy but no longer hopeless!

The second batch of knots went even more smoothly:

440 more knots, looking like a tangled mess
440 more knots, looking like a tangled mess
knots after straightening
knots after straightening

Since it was my first attempt at tying on, a few missed threads and un-done knots were only to be expected. Those took about three hours to fix, but here I am now, neatly arranged in front and back:

straightened, tensioned, and ready to weave!
straightened, tensioned, and ready to weave!

 

neatly tied-on warp

The next step will be debugging, so I’ll weave a short header and then some twills whose sole purpose is to reveal any errant threads. And after that, I’ll be ready to weave samples for the memorial piece!

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Filed Under: All blog posts, textiles, weaving Tagged With: joy memorial

Previous post: How to use a Boyce weaver’s knotter, how to tie a weaver’s knot
Next post: Deep in the guts of jacquard design

Comments

  1. kherbaugh says

    August 26, 2016 at 9:21 am

    Tien, What a lovely tribute to your friend. I’m sure her family and friends will love it.
    So, about your warp…..I never would have made it the 15 minutes! You must have amazing patience.

  2. Laura says

    August 26, 2016 at 9:22 am

    This will be amazing and I can’t wait to see your work. She was such an amazing person and I miss her so much!

  3. Louise Yale says

    August 26, 2016 at 9:50 am

    Please explain the symbols used in your JOY weaving.
    Thanks

    • Veronica Lacquement says

      August 26, 2016 at 11:16 am

      As her daughter I’d be happy too.
      The 4 central animals are her spirit/affinity animals. The other images I willdo clockwise.
      Rainbow heart: Gay pride
      Celtic Knot: Spirituality and trifecta of my mothersc magic.
      Spinning wheel: Mom loved loved her spinning and knitting. It was her passion.
      High Priestess: She was one of the most talented and gifted tarot readers and always was associated by others with the HighPriestess card.
      Scorpion: She was a Scorpio and had a passion for astrology.
      Dr. Who gallifreyan: I’m guessing that is mom’s name in Gallifreyan 🙂 she adored Doctor Who and it represented her geeky spirit.

  4. Julie Brumlik says

    August 26, 2016 at 10:23 am

    I appreciate your loving memorial to Joy.

  5. lerayne jones says

    August 26, 2016 at 11:12 am

    Awesome undertaking and very special!

  6. Anna Sheldon says

    August 27, 2016 at 10:11 am

    What an amazing process Tien. Great photos!

  7. Ann M. Soucy says

    August 27, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    Thank you Tien. Thank you for sharing your gorgeous gift to Joy. It’s such a kind, thoughtful and beautifully creative piece which speaks to Joy’s own creativity and special magic too. Joy would love this piece and be so deeply touched by your caring and love.

  8. saganishiki says

    August 28, 2016 at 5:22 am

    I learned of Joy many, many years ago when you mentioned her in your early blogging. I have followed Joy since and had many communications with her. She was a joy; so intuitive, talented, and funny. What a wonderful tribute. Thank you Tien.

  9. Mary says

    August 28, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    This is a beautiful tribute to Joy.

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