Learn to Weave in a Weekend Results

As I try to learn Wordpress, I am humbled by my own naivete. I have uploaded the pictures from the Learn to Weave in a Weekend class to my Flickr account (maidensweaver), and have done the administrative stuff for flickr to share them, but am to brain tired to figure out the rest tonight.
I'll upload a few pics here, and my impression at the end of the class....just for you. Then, if you want to see the rest of the pics, you can check out flickr, until I rest, and educate myself.
We began Friday night with 2.5 hours of class. The students received a vocab list, a syllabus and a tour of the building. We talked about each student's expectations for the class, and their goals regarding weaving in general. One lady owns a loom.
Once I knew their needs, I could determine my role in this. We planned their projects, determining epi, warp length, etc and made a guide string. The lady with a loom has a warping board, so she learned on our board, instead of using the warping mills. Then we tied the warp with choke ties, and ties that preserve the cross, inserted lea sticks, and ties the lea sticks to the loom. That ended Friday for most of us. One student began winding on, and she threaded the heddles completely on Friday night.
Saturday, we had 6 hours, so those who weren't threading heddles began. So on Sat, we threaded heddles, and sleyed the reed until about 2 pm, then we began weaving.
The students wove, under my supervision until 4pm, and then the days class was over, and I had to leave. They used the remaining hour that the art center was open for open studio time.
Sunday, they finished weaving off their pieces, and some hem-stitched, others ties fringes, etc.
One student made a 8" change in her weaving right in the center. That meant that as she approached the end of her weaving she came up short. Not wanting to disappoint, I attempted to help her get min. waste by extending the back apron rod so it came to within an inch of the heddles, and we removed her reed from the beater. Well, it worked. We had to have another student lifting and really pushing down certain harnesses, but the student was able to achieve a balance of the symmetery of her piece. I learned there is such a thing as zero-waste weaving!
You will see this in the flickr photos.
Here you will see a tapestry wall hanging in rag and yarn, a tapestry rag rug, and 2 basic, plain weave rag rugs. I enjoyed these students. They were very focused and positive to work with.
Thanks for a fun weekend.
Cherri

Learn to Weave in a Weekend

OH, what a fun class. I have 4 students with enthusiasm and a very positive attitude.
This group of students has flown through the process of dressing the loom, and are now inserting weft to weave off their projects. One is doing a rag rug, and two of the others are doing rag runners while the 4th is doing a wall hanging incorporating rag, charged yarn, balanced yarn, and other inclusions. I also had a make-up class today with the student I would be neglecting tomorrow due to being in the WiaW class.
She is making unbelievable progress. On day one, she almost completely dressed her loom. She came in during lunch this week, and completed threading heddles, and today (lesson 2), she sleyed the reed, tied onto the front of the loom, inserted header, and began weaving. She is doing a fairly simple rag piece using t-shirts.
I am truly blessed to be their teacher. Life is Grand.
Check out the pics. Don't forget that I will be using Wordpress to parallel this blog until I know whether I like it, then I will be (sniff) shutting this one down for the other.
My username at wordpress is Rivercityweaving
Bye for now, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Cherri

Tess' reversing twill

My student, Tess, did a really nice reversing twill that I wanted to show you.
She began weaving in the fall, and wove in my classes in Oct and Nov, then started back in the spring. She bought a 4 harness counterbalance loom, and a table loom.
She continued through 6 (?) months of weaving, and then we halted for the summer. She has become fairly accomplished. Look at what a fine job she has done. And all the time she has been with me, she has been in school, working on a post-grad degree!That's dedication;0)
Remember that if you click on the photos, you can see a great deal of detail, as they become much larger.
Cherri

Gone to Press!

Wordpress that is. I really enjoy Alice's blog. I always thought she was a computer whiz because of all the bells and whistles her blog has. She assures me it's not her, but that wordpress automatically does those things. So, I'm moving. This blog will stay here for a good while, as I decide whether like the new neighborhood, but check out the new site, and see if you don't like it better.
the url is different....obviously, so watch for
http://www.rivercityweaves.wordpress.com
It's a Richmond thing. Probably, a lot citys on the river adopt the nickname Rivercity,
but I like it, so we'll see how it goes.
Let me know what you think, ok?
Cherri

Why am I slow to post lately

I know I haven't been posting regularly this summer and there is good reason. I hate to just write to you and not add photos of the work that's going on. Well, I started a warp at Roseneath in beautiful alpaca/silk. It's a long warp and I intended to make a tallit-like garment for my son. Being slow to weave some projects, I left it in stasis while weaving other things. Finally, I began crossing it with handspun silk. I love it. Then I took a commission that the remainder of that warp would be good for, and I made a treadling error that I didn't want to take out, and didn't want to keep. The option was: cut the offending section off, use the remainder of the warp for the commission, and weave on! Right! So no pics there. My loom in the home studio has a long warp with the cognac colores alpaca/silk. And you have already seen that, so no point in more pics of the same old. The loom I was going to use at Glen Allen, was stalled with a 11 yard warp that started out to be burgundy and slate grey. I was adding stripes of a variety of colors, and some time during the week, I decided I hate the colors together, and hate that warp. I drove all the way to Glen Allen just to hack it off the loom, and throw it away! Some things are just not going to work for me. Well, I have now measured out an alpaca/silk warp (hmmmm looks like a common thread here if you will pardon the pun) for the loom at Glen Allen, but I have a new month beginning in a week and a half. That means any loom I put this warp on may be unavailable for July, and I would have to just cut the warp off.
You know......some of you do, how often I cut warps off so a student can use the loom. Well, not going to happen to my precious alpaca/silk warp. Once I get the head count for jUly, I'll be good to go.
While I wait, I'm going to order some bamboo yarn. Although I hate to spin it, I'm lovin' the feel of Amy's most recent scarf. If it's OK with Amy, I'll post pics. She is a good weaver, and has a very good design 'eye'.
So, I'm slow to post because I'm gardening, enjoying weaving,don't have much to photograph, and I'm busy ripping off warps!!!! Good thing my favorite thing about weaving is 'dressing the loom'.
Does anyone else just love to dress the loom, and really not care if they weave it off?

Cherri

Diversions

I'm distracted a little. Until today, I haven't had a commission that had to be done, and in the interest of a little nurturing in the wake of Mom's death, I have been gardening a little. I have this great little courtyard outside the studio door that I have always loved, and never had time to keep up properly. Well, my DH gave me a refurbished, old fashioned wooden-frame screen door for Mother's Day, and it has inspired me to step out a couple of times a day and week, plant and generally stimulate the growth of beauty.
Most days, we have morning coffee here, together. We greet the day listening to the birds sing, and mentally documenting the growth of all that we plant and cultivate together. (eeeewwwww, that doesn't sound like us at all, but it's true)
So I decided to post pictures of our efforts.
This is my little courtyard. I'll post pictures later in the summer, so you can see how it progresses. Beyond the courtyard and the grape arbor, you will see the garden with our beautiful squash blossoms! They are probably our favorite summer gift to one another.

Summer Challenge

Sorry not to post for a week. I've issued a summer challenge to my students, and will do the same to you. It's for the weavers. It's just to get you planning your projects, and to inspire you to think of ways to use color and the interconnectivity of color and your draft. The challenge is as follows:
Let's get the creative juices flowing with something to stretch your
imagination. Looking at your draft....assuming it's 4 harness, I want
you to choose 4 colors. color 1 is a shade or tint of color 2. Color
2 is a pure color (primary- it doesn't really have to be the primary,
but not mauve, or some other secondary or tertiary color). Color 3 is
the compliment of color 2 on the color wheel, and color 4 is a neutral
(black, white or grey).
Now for the hard part.

The dominant will be whatever color you put on the harness that
appears most in your draft.
So if your draft is 1,2,1,3,1,4,1,3,1,2,1, whatever color you put on
harness #1 would be the dominant color. Whatever you put on 4 will be
the diminutive color. Each color has a specific harness.
So all threads on harness #1 will be the same color, on harness #2
will all be the same, etc. You get to choose your pattern, but no
straight twills!

Are you in?
Cherri

today's treasure

Today, I decided to use the loom waste from the most recent commission, rather than throw it away. I wove it into a rather coarsely woven tea towel. It's not for most people, but it's right up my alley. It's a 8/2 line linen warp and primary weft, with a tow linen pattern weft at each end. Since my husband always grabs tea towels and uses them as dishrags, it really doesn't make sense to weave my tea towels of 35/2 linen, does it?

Just thought you might like it.
Talk later, I've got to get back to the alpaca/silk warp.
Cherri

New weft on the alpaca/silk warp

I've put up some new photos of the alpaca/silk warp with a handspun, laceweight single.
It's varigated in the roving, and I like it tremendously for this warp. The fabric density is 50% of the density with the pink varigated. This weft was about 1/3 the diameter of the previous, and more densely spun. The colors are more subtle with this mocha warp. All in all, a good decision. I have included a couple of objects for perspective. First, I used the needle, then realized that they do come in all sizes. So here it is with a mechanical pencil that's fairly standard. The warp is set at 24epi.
The weft seems to be weaving up at about the same.
I'll keep you up to date on this project.
Cherri

My fun little instructional video 'blips' are up at a fairly new website called graspr.
You can check out graspr here:
http://www.graspr.com
The fiber arts vids seem to be done by fair novices, so It's a good opportunity for some more seasoned fiber artists to step up to the plate, and show some aspects of the process. No givin' the soup away! Just a few little blips to whet their appetites for our classes folks!
See Ya on the flip side.
Cherri

Tea Room Review - Cuppa Tea

Today, in an effort to lift my sagging spirits, I took Virginia and I out to Cuppa Tea on Morris St. in Richmond. Did I review this last year? Perhaps, but I'm going to do it again, because in my arrogant opinion, it's absolutely delightful! The tea room is quaint, the decor is tasteful, and the Wagners are charming people.
They carry many different blends of tea, more on that later, and serve an absolutely divine afternoon tea, or light lunch tea.
Virginia chose the tea, after 'sniffing' through the tea safe of samples. She chose Yin Yang. Perfect. Although the afternoon was hot, neither of us regretted ordering a hot cuppa this afternoon. The blend was very summerish and light.
We ordered light lunch rather late in the day (4:00, traditional tea time) and had several tea sandwiches and a sweet scone with devonshire cream and jam.
I'm sure I won't remember the names of the sandwiches, but let me tell you what they were. There was a chicken salad with grapes in wonton paper cups that was very traditional and good. The Mediterranean tuna (to a non-fish eater) was fabulous with fresh cilantro. The roasted red pepper pimento cheese on dark bread was good, even to Virginia, who doesn't like pimento cheese. There was one especial little treasure on the plate, and that was a lemony carrot 'slaw' sandwich. How could there only be one each? When asked about it, Lurline was very candid about her secret ingredient, but I won't tell. You have to go in for yourself and try it, then ask.

The scones were an afterthought to us, as everything prior to the scones was so very good. I'm a plain scone person myself, and prefer the Double Devon cream to the more sour spread that we had today, but that is absolutely a personal preference, and nothing to slight Lurline and Allen for.

Summer is the perfect time to take a teacher friend out to tea, or take your kids for afternoon tea to re-inforce the wonderful training in etiquette and manners you have been working on. Or take your Mom, while you still have her, 'cause I really missed mine today... Today, I was the mom. Virginia is my daughter;0)
You can visit Cuppa Tea's website by clicking on the title of today's blog.
Cherri

Tag You're "It"

Alice 'tagged' me, so I'm going to run with it. It looks fun.
She sent the questions with her answer, which you can find on her blog:
http://ladyoftheloom.wordpress.com/
And now I'm next. If you are tagged on this post, you will need to pass the torch.
Cherri;0)

Questions and Answers
What were you doing five years ago?
May of 2003:
1. Teaching at the Hand Workshop
2. Weaving my first tallit
3. Showing my work at 'shows'
4. Cooking at church on Wed. nights.
5. Serving on a Pastoral Nominating Committee at Hebron Presbyterian Church

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

1. Meet with Richmond Times Dispatch folks at the studio
2. Teach weaving at Roseneath Studio
3. Finish "Pillars of the Earth"
4. Cut into that watermelon
5. Weave some of the new varigated yarn I just spun into the brown alpaca/silk warp

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Nachos
2. Lychees
3. Salted Macdonald's french fried
4. Fresh, hot, home-made buttermilk biscuits
5. Scones with Double-Devon cream

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Pay off debt
2. Build a house in the country with a driveway that snakes along a stream.
3. Help build the Technical School in Kenya - http://www.penuelministries.org
4. Give my husband a gift of lasar eye surgery
5. Build a Fiber Arts Center for teaching and promoting fiber arts

What are five of your bad habits?

1. Eating high fat foods
2. Being more inspired by deadlines than my muses
3. Not making my bed
4. Speaking before thinking- those of you who know me, know this!
5. Saying, "yes"

What are five places where you have lived?

1. California
2. Texas
3. Wyoming
4. Virginia
5. North Carolina

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. Fiber Artist
2. Medical Records Clerk
3. Insurance claims clerk
4. Mother
5. Volunteer

Which five people do you want to tag?

1. Margaret H http://lifeneedleworkandeverything.blogspot.com
2. Manasi http://yarnahoy.blogspot.com/
3. Peg http://talkingaboutweaving.blogspot.com
4. Maggie http://maggi.typepad.com/maggistitches/
5. Hazel B http://www.hazelbuys.com/

Latest commission

Here are pics of the latest commission.
It's a memorial. The client sent the fibers from her deceased dog, and I spun them and
wove the piece. I thoroughly enjoy weaving the wall hangings from natural fibers, and fibers from peoples loved pets. Some people choose to honor a living pet by using their fiber, and some memorialize beloved pets that have died by using their fiber.
It's a joy to get to know these special clients, and have them share their stories with me.
Hope you enjoy.
Cherri

What are we covering in the spinning classes?

I got a request about what we will be doing in the week-long spinning classes in Brookfield, Conn. and Farmington, PA. First, let me say that Brookfield is an hour from Manhattan, so if you are planning on taking that class, you should plan on making an evening 'run' into the city one or two nights, and Farmington, which is near Pittsburg, is very rural, and it is a residential craft center, so we will have a wonderful bonding experience.
Day 1: We will begin drafting, and learn the mechanics of spinning, we will dye some wool for use later in the week, and we will do some hand carding. Students will spin a bobbin or two of singles.
Day 2: We will learn to ply our singles together, and navajo ply, we will continue our dyeing. Students will learn to clean wool, and set twist. Student should produce a couple of skeins of yarn today
Day 3: We will use the drum carder, and will do some blending on the drum. We will learn to use inclusions in our spinning, and will produce a skein or two of yarn. Some students will continue to navajo ply.
Day 4: We will learn to use combs, continue drum carding, and spinning. Students will learn to spin boucle, and will spin a skein or two of boucle yarn, unless they are still having sooo much fun navajo plying that they are committed to just that.
Day 5: Students desiring to drop spindle will learn that, others will 'blend in the draft', spin from the lock, and dye yarns.

Hope that helps. The class is great for beginners, as well as intermediate spinners.
Please e-mail me with questions.
Ciao!
Cherri

Rate my blog!

Good morning!
I'm still learning about blogs, etc, but today I found out there is are blog rating services. Please take time to rate my blog at:
http://www.blogged.com/blogs/cherri-hankins.html
Also. If you haven't checked out my videos, here is a link to them:
http://www.youtube.com/maidensweaver

Talk later. I've got work at the studio that NEEDS to be done;0)
Cherri