Double wine bag, ready to go!

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A year ago (August 2018) I made a rep rug for the studio. It was my first rep weaving and I loved making it! When the rug was the right length, I found that I had about a foot of extra warp left... I changed the big weft from 4 strands of mop cotton to one strand of mop cotton and came up with a much finer fabric.  I made the fabric into a bag, then padded it with leftover rug padding, then it languished on a shelf while waiting for a strap.

Last month, Gudrun helped me get my Anglo Saxon band weaving going again! I'm getting better at unweaving when I make mistakes but still have issues making things work the first time. I had a few fits and starts but finally finished the band last week. The Anglo Saxon method, where you turn every other card every other pick, results in a very dense band that is the same on front and back, just offset by a half motif... Perfect for a bag strap.

Ready for two bottles of wine!

Today I lined the bag with fabric from my quilt stash and now I just need someplace to go with two bottles of wine! I need to pickup my wine club allotment at K&L, that might be it's inaugural journey.

What did I learn? Don't get me wrong, I love the bag. But in the interest of doing better next time:

• I didn't line up the sides carefully so the pattern matches better on one side than the other.
• I eyeballed the bottom so the triangular ears I sewed to make it squarish are not symmetrical.
• The above two points indicate that I need to slow down and measure more. 
• I tacked down the insert divider before attaching the straps which made it hard to attach the straps with the sewing machine.
• I didn't make the warp for the band long enough for two straps; I would have liked to have put one on each side.  Having said that, I think it's sturdy enough for two bottles anyways.  Ideally, I could have looped the strap all the way down around the bottom.
• I didn't finish the bag seams nicely so it's a little messy between the top of the bag and the lining. 
• I measured each section and added an inch for seams plus and for wiggle room on each lining insert; this apparently was the wrong measurement. I could have used another inch, though I made it work.

Ikat at the Eugene Textile Center!

Solid weft, pattern weft, and a slightly blue hand

I took a 4 day class last week/weekend in Ikat weaving from Marilyn Rogers at the Eugene Textile Center. It was an amazing experience! As a class, we spent the first day learning how calculate where to tie our warps, then we tied them and dyed them in indigo. On the second day we learned how to do the same for the weft. The next day we dressed our looms, and the last day we wove.

Hashtag Ikat!

I'm not going to describe the entire process in detail... there are plenty of books that do that. I'll just note the things that I need to pay attention to.

• Measure very carefully for the tie placement.
• Make sure the ties don't extend a lot further than they should (this is hard).
• Ensure that any choke ties are loosely place or remove them.
• Marilyn recommended taping the dyed warps to the back beam before winding on to prevent shifting yet all of us had some issues; I think you have to be very aware of where you place the tape. I am wondering if it would be worthwhile tieing one tie on each pattern bundle in the loom waste near the cross end to use as a "registration" mark to ensure I've got it right.
• We used an 8 1/8" template for the 8" weft. The 1/8" is to account for the yarn going over and under all the threads, but doesn't account for draw in. Marilyn suggested weaving 10 inches or so on a dummy warp to check what the actual length of the weft should be. This would reduce the little loops on the side of the ikat where I've place the pattern threads.
• The weft squidges around when you place it then beat even with in a close shed. Marilyn said this is normal and fairly regular so I should be able to anticipate it with practice.
• This is a precise art! So be very careful when doing the setup, then the weaving is easier.

I figure I should make a couple of travel notes.

• Flying into Eugene is pricey! but convenient. Flying into Portland is a better deal but then you have a two hour drive after your last class.
• I stayed at the Inn at the 4th, which is the shi-shi hotel in town. It was very nice, very quiet, and within easy walk of lots of restaurants. They have a bizarre chicken theme.
• I had a vegetarian entree at Marche; it was amazing! Wish I'd gotten back to taste their fish.
• Another night, the group of shops and restaurants next door had a live band, so I had wine and small plates while listening to the music. It was very tasty.
• Nearby Ta Ra Rin had good Thai food.
• Provisions had some tasty wheat based breakfast treats, and I tried them, and my head still hurts. But they were worth the headache. They also had good granola and oatmeal.

First Ikat, a cautionary tale...

My First Ikat on the loom

I promised the technical details of the ikat scarf... It's 7" of 20/2 cotton in the reed, at 40 threads per inch. Warp is 3 yards long. 

I tied it in bouts of about 15 threads and randomly bound of some pieces (see photo in my last post). I dyed it in a 2% dye solution using Procion MX dyes from Dharma; I used a small amount of "Indigo" and the rest is from a 20 year old jar of "Teal Blue". The color is slightly darker out of the pot than I wanted but I like it.

I want to document my four gotchas:

• I didn't put in enough properly formatted ties and the yarn isn't balanced. The yarn corkscrewed a little in the dye bath and my warp chains were a little tangled. I overcame this... sort of...
• I thought I had all the crosses well marked and put on the lease sticks I screwed it up so am warping mostly without a cross. I do have some well organized threads but not a lot. I had to warp very carefully.
• Remember in disaster 1 where I said the yarn corkscrewed? Wow, how fun to try to wind that on without a good cross. I'd probably be just as unhappy if I had a good cross. Yarn should behave.  And its 20/2... so tiny... I broke a couple threads.
• Messed up the threading; I have two 1-8-1 runs together instead of alternating 1-8-1 and 8-1-8. Decided to leave it and proceed anyways. 

There actually is a fifth gotcha. I didn't sample... and was surprised that the scarf wasn't as drapey as the last 20/2 cotton scarf.  I went back to my notes to find his grey scarf was at 30 ends per inch and this is at 40. Oh well. It's still lovely, and I was testing technique; I may do another one day in silk.

It could also be a little longer; I wove to 68" but it shrunk back to 63".

Most of the strong vertical lines in the top pictures are reed marks, and went away after wet finishing. I did find one strong vertical that ended up being a blue thread that got lost in a white section. I blame the lack of cross.

I realize I've just listed all the things wrong with this scarf. But after all, this blog is primarly a way for me to record what I've done and identify how I can avoid the same mistakes. Despite all the issues I'm beyond thrilled with the outcome and more importantly, my DH is in love with his new scarf!

FInished Scarf on the new granite