December 2005

Due to demand I have added a second week of rug class to the schedule. It will be held April 30 – May 6.

Three new books in the bookstore this month include one in English: Royal Silks that I mentioned last month is in stock. Also on the shelf are a brand new version of Stora Vävboken and a very playful book, Väv Som Aldrig Förr, using very unusual and innovative materials.

I am working with the Glimakra manufacturers on a slightly modified warping trapeze design that I hope to have in stock this spring.

I have also custom ordered some 10 shaft Ideal looms. If you are interested in reserving one of these, let me know. It will also be possible to convert an existing 6 or 8 shaft Ideal up to a 10 shaft loom.

The busy 2005 class season has ended, and classes will not resume untill March so I’ll have lots of time to play and experiment at the loom in preparation for even more exciting classes in the future. I have lots of ideas already but would also be interested in hearing your input about what you would like to see on future class schedules.

No new mini movie this month. Check back in January.

November 2005

The class schedule for next year is finally up. My classes have been filling quickly so register as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

The mini movie for this month is Unweaving, method 1.

I anticipate having several new books in stock this month in addition to the eight new ones that appeared in the bookstore last month. One of these is called Royal Silks and is in English. One of the authors of this book is Ulla Cyrus-Zetterström who is helping me bring these books in.

I am busy weaving off the leftover warps from a very special group of talented weavers who were here last month for a class. The projects we set up include a fine linen warp on a drawloom with forty pattern shafts, double weave on a drawloom with twenty pattern shafts, double weave on two treadled sets of shafts using twelve shafts for four blocks, turned overshot on a double warp beam combined with regular overshot, smålandsväv with eight pattern shafts, single unit draw and finally jämtlandsdräll (crackle) in a traditional pattern with fine threads. A very inspirational week for all of us!

October 2005

I had a rewarding trip to Sweden in September; I met wonderful people and made some valuable new contacts at the weaving conference (Väv 2005). It was a pleasure to share Säterglänten, my Swedish weaving school, with the 22 Americans who were part of the tour arranged by Alecia of Loominesce. We enjoyed a rep weave class there from Ylva Kongback and a patterned band weaving class from Ralf Maag. A wealth of old weaving books found in secondhand bookstores (antikvariat) in Stockholm have been added to my library.

Several new weaving books hot off the press were on display at the conference, including one in English. Check the bookstore for these new titles later this month.

I have met with the holder of the copyright to Weave Structures the Swedish Way and have made progress toward being able to publish my translated edition. I have also met with Natur och Kultur, the publisher of The Swedish Weaving Book, my other translation project. Someone there will help me assimilate the text with the illustrations. These projects are moving along slowly but surely.

Mini movies should now load much faster in your browser as their file sizes are much reduced. The mini movie for this month is Winding a bobbin using a pirn. A properly wound pirn can have everything to do with beautiful selvedges.

[update 10/14/05]
Eight new books have been added to the Store — take a look!

September 2005

The monthly newsletter is back on track again barring any further technical difficulties. [Apologies from the webmaster!]

A weft loop disappears is the new mini movie offering for this month.

I will be away the entire month of September. Chuck may be able to process straightforward orders for me during the last half of September if the items are in stock.

I will be starting to put my 2006 class schedule together after I get back. Feel free to request certain classes for certain times and I’ll see how it all adds up.

July/August 2005

Cold mangle in use and adjusting a temple are the two mini movie offerings for these two months. We are working on getting these movies to download a little faster so keep checking in.

The first several yarn color cards are online now at the Store. The accuracy of the colors may vary depending on your computer monitor. Buying the sample book is still the most accurate way to view color detail.

My flax crop was good. I picked it while it still had a fair amount of green in it. The bundles I’ve retted so far have a bit of a greenish cast to them.

I will be away the last half of August and all of September. Any orders made after mid-August may have to wait until October.

June 2005

There is a new rag rug book in the Store this month; it’s back in print due to popular demand.

I am working on adding color cards to the yarns section of the Store to make ordering easier for you. I have a good supply of cottolin in stock at a very low price, and have been enjoying weaving plainweave with it. The reed I use is 80 dents per inch, 1 end per dent. (The equivalent is 20 dents per inch.) There is no risk of reed marks with the fine reed.

I have secured the use of a nearby facility for storing my stock of looms and equipment. This will allow me to keep more in stock in the future.

Check out the warping trapeze on my new “mini movies” page. I am pleased to be offering 30-second long silent film clips to demonstrate equipment and techniques. Each one will be accompanied by a short bit of explanatory text. Please send me your suggestions for movie topics. I plan to add one movie a month–in fact, the next several months’ worth are even all ready to go–so although the page is small now it will grow large in time.

May 2005

An Intro class has been added to my fall schedule. The dates are October 29 – November 4. This class starts on a Saturday evening and ends Friday at noon, which is offset one day from my usual format. It is filling quickly so anyone interested in this class should check in with me soon.

I have been working with a local woodworker on designing a thin and flexible reed hook with a comfortable wooden handle. I hope to be offering these exciting new tools for sale in the future. I will be posting their progress here.

I just spent three full days helping a student of mine set up an Öxabäck loom with a triple drawloom combination system. Lots of single unit draw cords go over the top of the loom and down near the beater as well as 50 pattern shafts at the back of the loom. It all went quite smoothly. Doing the tasks in the correct order is physically comfortable and leaves little need for adjustments.

My flax is up and about one inch high. It’s a small patch again this year, a circle about 5 feet across. It’s enjoying the rain.

April 2005

I have added an Intro class to the June schedule due to demand. It will be held June 19-25 and there are still a few openings left, although it seems to be filling fast.

I’ve been continuing my new wardrobe project by weaving a small bolt of twill fabric in 24/2 cotton in 10 colors. I warped it with 30 ends at once without using a paddle. Lots of yellow, orange, gold, reddish orange, etc., good for spring. I hope to be wearing it on the trip to Sweden this fall that I mentioned in last month’s news. I hope some of you will be able to join us.

It’s time to prepare the garden for my modest flax crop.

March 2005

The exciting announcement this month is that Alecia Elvstad of Loominesce is putting together a weaving trip to Sweden this September 12-26. She has consulted with me in the planning stages and I will be going. The trip starts with a day or two in Stockholm followed by a week long stay at Sätergläntan, the weaving school I attended in 1981. The time there will be divided up into small excursions and a weekend class in rep weave and band weaving. Then the group will be off to Karlstad to a weaving conference which includes short classes, lectures and a bus tour. She is working out some details so that English speakers will not be left behind. This will be a wonderful trip. Watch for the advertisement in the current Handwoven magazine or call Alecia directly at Loominesce, 886-412-8136.

My February class went well and the month of March will provide plenty of weaving time for me as well as cleaning, organizing and hopefully progressing on my book projects.

February 2005

Due to demand for another Intro class, I am now offering both April dates as Intro classes and will reschedule the Swedish Heirlooms class to a future date as yet undetermined. Please let me know if you are interested in this class.

There is currently a fairly good supply of cottolin in stock on my shelves. This is a good time to stock up as the rising exchange rate will be reflcted in a new pricelist in the near future.

One of my winter weaving projects has been a tablecloth in 8 shaft satin on the drawloom with 9 pattern shafts, 16/1 linen warp and weft, using mallions to thread the warp. I’ve also been adding some dresses to my very old and tired handwoven wardrobe.

January 2005

Flossa bars are now in stock! They have two narrow flat pieces of metal held together on one end by a wooden handle. They are used for weaving pile rugs in the flossa technique which entails wrapping the weft yarn around the two metal bars between tying rya knots. After a row of knots is completed and three plain weave wefts are woven, the loops can be sliced with a knife inserted between the metal bars. The flossa bars come in two widths, 10mm and 15mm. They also come with a protective wooden sheath.
The price for flossa bars 70 cm and 100 cm long is $52.00
The price for flossa bars 120 cm and 160 cm long is $60.00

I’m mostly finished with my first January vacation project of a 60″ square tablecloth in #8 tow linen warp and weft with 10 napkins to match on a separate warp. I’ve got 5 napkins left to weave, then it’s hemming and cold mangling. It’s a project that was designed during my Swedish schooling back in 1981. Some of these things that one plans to get around to some day actually come to be!

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