Rigid Heddle

Progress and Finishes, Sort Of

by CZeitler

I did finish the first beaded kumihimo bracelet I tried, however I did not string enough beads on and the end is just kumihimo so I am not even going to add a photo here. Another bracelet, this one with embroidery thread, and smaller beads, has been started. There are 30 beads on each strand, I will add more if this is not enough for an 8″ bracelet. I may make it slightly smaller and add a chain and lobster clasp so it can be loosened or tightened as needed.

Onto a finish, I did finish weaving the main portion of my bog jacket, small panels were added to each side since I am a very large person and some more width was needed. I do have to re-sew up one of the side seams, which means I am going to re-sew all of them several times over, since the arm hole kept getting caught on a doorknob at work.

The front end has a simple tied fringe while the back adds in some braids to the fringe. It was all woven at 7.5 epi. with Knit Picks Dishie in whites and grays. When trying to bring my warps back together after the neck hole I had extreme difficulty. I wound up tightly tying 4 of the warp threads, two on either side of the hole, together so that the warp would rejoin after a few picks into a solid piece of cloth again. Even after finishing and washing the piece there were weft threads strung out through this rejoining of the warp. I first tried to crochet a lovely chain around the neck line to create stability, however this eliminated the stretch needed to actually get the piece over my head. To this end I wound up folding the neckline down toward the ‘wrong’ side of my piece and felling it down with what amounts to a rolled hem. I love how this looks. Admittedly the back is much longer than I thought it would be, and I am planning to use the rest of the warp I already have cut and chained to weave up pieces that I may use as sleeves. Since this is a 100% cotton piece it is not too warm, and if I were to make another piece I will likely use a slightly tighter epi to give this a bit more body to the entire piece. I do have some yarn that I believe is wool in black and rainbow that I may try to use as another version. I do also have a peach version of Dishie in a large quantity that I might use to make another version of this jacket, it was so much fun once I really got started.

There are a couple more projects I was going to mention but I think that this post is long enough already. I will mention an accidental project that I think is so funny. Friday when I was taking my braid out, this is the same day I modeled my new bog jacket, I ended up with a huge snarl at the end braided very tightly. I did try to get this matt out, however nothing was working. In the end I cut out the snarl, giving myself a small accidental trim. I then took the hair, and a glue stick, to make small pieces of ‘thread’ that I hope to use in some kind of a Victorian hair art.

Until next time Live Life A Little More Abstract!

Back on Track (For Now)

by CZeitler

On the mend and on the go once more. I was able to visit my cousin, though I managed to forget all of my medications at home. It was a good way for me to better notice how much of an effect the anti-depressant is having on me (a lot of good effect!). I only cut my trip short by a few hours, so things went very well. I took my pills Sunday night and by work on Monday I could already tell the difference. When I spoke to my Psychologist he mentioned that I was likely going through some form of withdrawal as well.

I was feeling better, though not at 100%, last week so I took it easy until I felt that I was mostly regulated. While I was giving myself the grace and rest I needed some organizing and cleaning up did occur. Since we are heading into winter I am going to keep up with the oregano and garlic oil supplements until they run out, though I might cut back to twice a week.

This week I have found myself diving headfirst into crafting again, though some of them seem a little more like procrastinating crafts, I have gotten quite a bit accomplished! I had a large piece of faux fur left over from when I tried to make a sensory quilt, it was just the right size to be a cushion for my weaving bench. It is about 5 foot long and very puffy so I hope it will work. My house is a little too messy for me to take a picture of the enormous pillow. I have decided that this winter I wanted to weave a ‘bog jacket’. This is a lovely piece of clothing made from whole cloth with minimal cutting and seams. It is my plan to weave about 9 yards of cloth on my rigid heddle loom that can make 31 inch pieces. I am going to use Knitpicks dishie cotton for the warp and likely the weft as well since I have a 7.5 dent reed. I already have 2 inches of warp wound off, when I have a little extra in pay I will buy the rest of the yarn I need. Fortunately Dishie is very standard and I don’t need to worry about dye lots. I am currently debating about whether I want to buy all white to dye myself or buy some colored yarn.

In the middle of November I am going to be a part of a murder mystery show and I need to make progress on the dress I wanted to sew for it. One of the items that I have started is the tulle petticoat, photo below. Honestly I’m not sure it’s going to work out but this is so much fun. I pinned the tulle in and did a rough basting stitch for the first batch. I plan on pinning and sewing in the elastic today, followed by sewing down the waist band and then putting in a hem for my pull on elastic petticoat. the library had a lot of tulle left over from other projects and I am supposed to be a flamboyant medium so I chose my favorite color purple.

There was an amazing sale on cotton muslin so I have 10 yards of natural cotton muslin that I need to cut apart to dye for a dress. I need to make the first try with the pieces I cut out of a tablecloth I purchased at good will. I did wash the muslin however it is going to need a good iron before I do anything else.

My library was getting rid of a ton of receipt tape while we were doing construction and no longer have the right machines to use this tape. I have been wanting to try spinning paper for some time and I did spin a large piece of this paper tape, it turned out amazing but it is such a pain to create with my wheel. When I am feeling creative and bored again I will try a spindle to see if that is any easier. If that is not possible I can use it for some sewing projects or coloring projects. Maybe even just writing lists out.

The last project is working with watercolors on fabric. My library purchased a circuit maker 4 and one of my co workers found a great price on a light board so I bought one for myself. I was then inspired by a picture of a shape painted onto a linen cross stitch fabric then stitched over with sequins and beads as accent. That picture was of a dragon, amazing, and I decided to do the same with a crow outline I had. I taped down the paper to the light board and then taped the fabric over top. I started with blue, then red, the black over all of it in an attempt to add some depth. I took the fabric off of the light board after I had the outline completed to avoid any bleedthrough onto the board, it is a good thing I did so. I hope to do some stitching over top of this then add embellishments like sequins and beads. I have not painted over the crow with fabric medium yet since I am afraid I will blur the image and I love how it turned out. I plan on getting my guts up and putting the fabric medium on today before I start stitching.

I am making strides to keep my productivity up this weekend, here’s hoping I can keep it up. Until next time remember to Live Life A Little More Abstract!