I am so excited and relieved. The study was mailed off the first of September but the evaluation did not take place until the week of October 20. Even though I knew when the evaluation would happen, as the days and weeks went by I found my confidence level slipping and my apprehension growing.

One of the hardest parts of working on my study and having the blog was the fact that I felt I should not share my work until after it had passed the evaluation process. The applicant’s names are not on any of the work so the evaluators have no idea who’s work they are examining. Knowing the way the process works, I decided not to publicize what I was working on in case on of the evaluators happened upon my blog. That is a big reason my blog has been so neglected. Most of the exciting things I would have loved to share the last two years were about my certificate work.

For those of you wondering what my study was all about, it was titled “Multi-Harness Diversified Plain Weave.” I explored the effect of color and tie-up modifications on three 16 harness designs. The completed study contained 90 samples, 100 written pages, and four final projects. I’ll post some pictures soon, but for now I just want to shout, “I DID IT!!!!!!”

I also want to thank everyone for their support, encouragement, and crossed fingers. You have helped more than you will ever know. Thank you!

I had decided to put on a few short warps to check out the breaking system and see if the second beam would work. Luckily I had picked a group of scarves to be the first project because they are not too wide and they are easy to warp and weave.

Of course a mistake like “missing the bar” is not caught until the loom is completely warped and you start to weave. The small shed is your first clue that something is not right. As you are sitting at the loom bench you start checking the possible reasons the shed is so small and finally you get the back beam. Oops, the yarn is supposed to go over it, not miss it all together! (One of the functions of the back beam is to hold the warp at the proper height on the loom so you get a good opening so you can easily pass the shuttle back while weaving.)

Many looms have removable back beams. It is fairly easy to loosen the warp, unbolt the beam, and then put it back on the loom after you have slipped it under the warp. Unfortunately, the older AVL loom I have is not one of those looms. Yes, I can remove the bars used as the back beam on this loom. But it is not an easy task and it would take a couple of people to do it.

The next option would be to un-thread the loom I just spend a few hours setting up. That didn’t sound like a lot of fun, nor did pulling the warp forward, untying it from the back of the loom, retying it after passing it over the back beam and then winding the warp back on the back beam.

So instead I decided to create another back beam. First I found a short metal bar and wrapped yarn around each end because I wanted to make sure I had a gap between it and the back beam. I then tied it securely to the beam after positioning the warp so it would go over it. The warp was higher than it was before, but still not at the proper height. So I tied the bar a second time to the other bar at the back of the loom. Older AVL’s may not be easy to take apart, but they do give you a lot to work with. From what I hear, AVL has changed the way the bars are secured at the back of the loom so this is not a problem on the newer looms.

With the warp now raised to the right position at the back of the loom I was able to weave the scarves without further problems. So the next time you goof up when warping your loom, take a few minutes and you might come up with an easier solution than starting over.

Anyway, I spent two days working on this and it seems everything is up and running. My main concern is if people are able to find this blog via any feeds and rss means they have been using. (I’m not sure of the proper terms.) So if you have a way that you are notified of new posts to my blog, I would really appreciate hearing from you if your feed service worked. You can leave a comment or just drop me an e-mail at vila@handwoven-thoughts.com.

One fatality of the move was the theme for the blog. I ended up looking for a new one and I think I like the new look. Let me know what you think.

I am not really fond of change and I am very hopeful my change did not disrupt anything. I will be so happy to get away from the computer tomorrow and back to my loom. Oh wait, it has a computer hooked up to it too. :-/

Recently another four harness pattern book was released. It is The Handweaver’s Pattern Directory, by Anne Dixon. Being the bookaholic that I am, I decided to order it to see what it offered. I am very happy with my purchase. The front of the book is full of basic information. The color pictures make it easy to see what the woven cloth will look like and they also give ideas for combing colors in weaving projects.

I have been weaving for a while and this book contains some simple patterns that I have not seen and would love to do. That says a lot about this book. I started with a four harness loom and within six months I had to move up to eight harnesses. The Handweaver’s Pattern Directory will lure me back to the simple patterns from time to time.

Many of the techniques required in the Certificate of Excellence for Handweaving, Level l are touched upon in this beautiful little book.

These are just a couple of good books I think every weaver should have in their weaving library.

After working on the COE for the last year, and it consuming my life for the last few months, it feels strange not to have that deadline looming over me. I actually slept in this morning and it was bliss to putter around the house on a day off. I worked on several things today and felt good about starting to get my house back in order.

I would have loved to blog about the COE, but it didn’t feel right the way the judging is done. Once the outcome of the evaluation is announced, I will share some photos and some of the things I learned in my study. Until then, I’m looking forward to working on my website again and adding posts here on a regular basis. Tomorrow I get to can tomatoes and if I’m really efficient I might make it back to my loom for a bit of weaving — with no deadline!!

Last time a cable broke on my Folding Dobby AVL loom. A broken cable is not the end of the world. But why does it have to happen Friday afternoon? If I don’t get my order for a new one in that day, I have to wait till Monday. It sets the final repair back farther. Did I say “final” repair. Yes, I did. I can never wait for the cable to come before I start weaving again, so I end up jerry-rigging a cord to get the loom back in production. Not pretty, but is works.

This time my AVL Production Dobby loom went on the fritz. I noticed an error and was un-weaving, not my favorite thing to do. As I worked my way back to the place I wanted to fix, many of the sheds would not open cleanly. That is when I discovered that shaft one had not been lifting as it should.

This is the first time I have had any problem with this loom. It has been a dream to weave on from the day I got it put together in my studio. I tracked down my manual, thankfully it was on the shelf where it belongs, and did some research on-line. From that I decided to see if I could do anything myself to fix it. I was hoping it was just a bit of lint causing the problem.

I took the dobby off the loom and everything seemed to work properly when I plugged it back in. So then I put the dobby back on the loom and adjusted it. As I started weaving again, I found shaft one only would raise part of the time. Once again, it’s Friday and I need to get some advice before the weekend begins.

It only took a couple of tries to get a person on the phone from AVL. I explained my problem and was given a few things to try. After frantically jotting down what I needed to know, I headed to the store. At 5:00 p.m. I headed back home with only half of what I went looking for. Canned air to blow foreign materials out of dobby is easy to find, but the lubricant for electrical parts was not.

When I got back home I tried the canned air, hoping it would be enough. After I did that I put the dobby back on the loom and adjusted it again. Lordy, it would be nice to be able to reach some parts of the loom without taking it apart! A bit more weaving and shaft one is still not behaving as it should.

My husband came home while I was weaving and adjusting and weaving and adjusting. I told him what I was doing and he started explaining to me all about solenoids. Men, they have all the answers. I am so thankful mine is mechanical! At the moment we are not sure if the solenoid is just sticking, getting ready to go out completely, or if the dobby is not adjusted just right.

In the morning I am going to try the loom again. I have 10 to 15 yards of warp on the loom that I really need to get woven off by the end of the month. If it is not working right, I have a couple of options. I can re-thread all of the threads from shaft one onto shaft 17. Not too bad of an idea, except I would have to tied on 57 heddles on shaft 17 since there are not any in the places I need them. I would also have to change all my drafts to switch the threads from shaft one to shaft 17, not a fun chore.

Option two, I can take the current shaft 17 off and physically move all the harness back one place. This way I would once again be using shafts 2 through 17, but would not have to tie those 57 heddles. This is a much better idea, but I would still have to redo all the drafts. Definitely a workable solution.

Then there is option three. Once again you have to love men that have answers! I have a 24 shaft loom and am only using 16 shafts for this project. My husband can take a solenoid from the back harness and replace the one that is on the fritz. This gets my loom back in operation without having to redo drafts and buys plenty of time for a replacement part to be sent.

So once again, I am jerry-rigging my loom to get in back in production for the weekend. What are you up to today?

These baby blankets will be handwoven from 100% cotton. They are soft, comfortable and safe for the baby, no fringe to get in the way. The size will be about 36″ x 45″ and that makes them useful wherever they go. Plenty of room to lay the baby on the floor with a few toys and large enough to wrap him up in for months. They are big enough to cover a toddler for a nap.

Pick from any pattern shown in this picture and the colors shown on the right. Bigger pictures of some of the patterns can be found in my web site on this baby blanket page on my website. There is a bigger picture of the color choices on my kitchen towel color page. Just click your “back button” to return to this post if you want after you go peek.

Easy care - fully machine washable and dryable.
Just don’t bleach.

So if you are interested in a Custom Baby Blanket, just send me an e-mail at vila@warpedandwonderful.com and we can work out the details. **This offer is good in July 2008**

They are $54 each plus $6.50 shipping & handling

The very first book I would recommend for a new weaver is “Learning to Weave” by Deborah Chandler. This book starts with and introduction into looms and weaving equipment. It gives enough information to help with the purchase of the first loom and the basic equipment needed to start weaving.

It quickly moves into the process of “warping” a loom. For those of you who are not familiar with this weaving term, it means setting the loom up with the threads attached to the loom and held under tension during weaving. The pictures are clear and the step-by-step instructions are easy to follow.

After the loom is warped, there are many important things to learn. This book will answer most of the questions that arise and assist a new weaver in understanding the weaving process. It describes the basics of thread interlacement in weaving, how to plan a project, and how to read a draft. A draft is the pattern a weaver follows to set up the loom and weave a specific pattern. Some basic weave structures are discussed and the back of the book has some great information charts. I have been weaving for more than ten years and this is still the reference book I use as I am researching a new project.

So if you have just started weaving or think weaving may interest you, this is the first book I would recommend. This is the book I use as a text book when I give weaving lessons.