It is nice to see posts starting to arrive at the various blogs. If you are taking part in the workshops please do use this facility. Not only will this provide useful feedback to the tutors and organisers, but hopefully will encourage other workshop participants.
Some people may be new to using blogs and some further technical instructions will shortly be placed in FAQs on www.wsdworkshops.org.uk/faq.htm
In your post you might like to comment on:
· how you found out about the workshop
· are you doing it on your own or with a group of friends? (At least one group has hired a church hall for a day to have a more social gathering.)
· did you have all the equipment in your stash or was it easy to obtain
· how far have you got
· have you encountered any problems
· pictures of work in progress would be very welcome because as yet the galleries are rather empty! They should be sent to convenor at wsdworkshops.org.uk (Replace ‘ at ‘ with ‘@’).
Hi Wonderful so far. I would love to see a picture of the lady to see if mine looks about right!
ReplyDeleteThere is a picture of the 'lady' along with Lesson 4. If yours is the first picture in the Gallery then she looks fine.
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I've been looking forwards all day to get home and look up the latest instructions. Keep them coming! Thanks . Karen
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them Karen. More patterns on Saturday. If you can't wait try to design some of your own.
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Is there a way to weave this pick up technique on an inkle loom? Do the Peruvians weave it with a 4 shaft loom as well?
ReplyDeleteMy loom is tied up so can't weave the samples but I'm following the workshop in my head...
Pascale
1. Only one picking stick is needed: raise 3, insert flat stick in the shed. One can see all threads clearly on the stick. Using both hands, pick the design for that row and hold picked threads in the left hand. Remove stick with right hand and insert under raised picked threads behind the reed.
ReplyDelete2. Designs on squared paper only need to show the 14 threads for shaft 3
(or 15 for shaft 4) ‘available’ to pick, showing empty squares for threads dropped. No need to show the lower layers at all. The designs will look slimmer, more realistic, and a lot easier to follow.
3. No need for the elaborate ‘ticking’ of each of the 4 moves on paper.
The coloured ‘pebbles in the woven background alternate row by row.
With the flat stick in the shed, it is easy to ensure that the raised threads are
alternating with the previous row. If they don’t, the wrong coloured shaft is raised. No unweaving.
4. With the stick in the shed showing all coloured threads for picking, it is not difficult to create one’s own designs on the loom, centring them on the middle thread. A simple diamond for example will grow row by row from picking one thread on the outside of the first central one. It can reverse by picking one thread on the inside of the previous one on each side. More fun too!
5. The floating selvedge seems unnecessary, as this is not a twill, and the band is narrow . The stick sitting behind the reed tends to distort the warp, so beating need to occur on a closed shed to keep band straight.
6. It is a bit mysterious why 3 and 4 are tied up together when one never uses that ‘pedal? –so far, anyway.
7. Or course the Peruvians do not use this clever but not authentic technique. For narrow bands, Andean weavers use a backstrap tensioned warp, string heddles and two sticks for sheds, picking the design by hand. The look is quite different. Instructions for this method in appropriate books by Calhander or Franquemont.
claude
Thanks Claude
ReplyDeleteClaude,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the alternative method of doing the pick up. Perfectly valid. Using a stick or fingers is a purely personal choice. The floating selvedge was optional - I always use one no matter what I am weaving. I agree that the 3,4 tie up is a bit irrelevant. It would make a plain weave of horizontal stripes but it is not pretty!.
Sylvia
Claude. Do you have the titles of the books on Andean backstrap weaving? I struggled with trying to reproduce the narrow bands which they weave in Peru. I expect Sylvia's workshop will help when I go back to the task.
ReplyDeleteClare
Clare. I am delighted you are interested.
ReplyDeleteMarjorie Cason & Adele Cahlander
The Art of Bolivian Highland Weaving
Watson Guptill NY 1976
ISBN 0-8230-0264-0
Adele Cahlander
Double Woven Treasures of Old Peru
Dos Tejedoras, St Paul, Minnesota 1985
ISBN 0-932394-05-1
Ed Franquemont
Cloth, the Andean Art. Awasqa 1991
Those books aren’t commonly available nowadays, probably out of print but you may be able to find them on the Net (from abebooks?) or order them through the Inter-library loan system. The Art of Bolivian Highland Weaving is wonderfully detailed with projects to follow and I have been weaving bands using it for many years.
If you like the real thing, I don ‘t think Sylvia’s workshop imitation on the loom will help you. When you are ready to start a project, you could contact me if you like on email through the convenor and I’ll try to help.
claude
Thank you for the references Claude. I shall certainly try to get hold of them.
ReplyDeleteClare