Danger

I am about a quarter done having made it up to the Danger sign. I tried to weave the red diamond with a shuttle while picking up the right threads but it just didn't show up enough. I ended up just weaving a white square and adding the red diamond with needle and thread. Looks good now. Tension issues continue here and there but I press forward.

Thanksgiving Visitors

What does one do when a six grade teacher
visits for Thanksgiving?

Make Egyptian canopic jars and royal mummified animals out of plastic bottles and masking tape...of course.

Warning - Fish Haven

Weaving continues on the maze...

I just finished that white section near the top of the photo. It is a warning sign for a Fish Haven. If you see that on your nautical chart - don't go there!

I have been experimenting with different metallic and shimmering threads. I have holoshimmer, sliver and metallic threads from Sulky - all in a variety of colors. I also bought some shimmering thread by Nomis at Nettie's during their recent liquidation sale. [Nettie's is an embroidery store in Beverly Hills which is going out of business this month. Most everything is 70% off. If you are near by, its worth a drop by - great tapestry wool yarn, knitting yarns and tons of other stuff.]

The holoshimmer thread is quite visible due to its intense mirror like qualities. Others are more subtle and only reflect a bit when the light is in the right spot. So far I have only been using the light emerald green colors and the white. I still get to experiment with the many blue metallics that I have. I also have some lavenders which might be a nice touch here and there.

This is one of the ways I keep interested while weaving so many yards of material in such fine threads.

It's Starting to be a Maze

Well, after one day of weaving I am now over 20% done. Things are moving nicely along. And yes, it finally looks like a maze. From now on, the photos should look fairly similar to this one...just with slightly different nautical signs here and there.

The path of water through the maze is in slowly changing shades of emerald green and turquoise. The dark blue stays dark blue except for the underlying changes in metallic and foam which floats underneath the two colors on top. These underlying colors peek out here and there giving the piece depth and subtle color changes. The warp also changes colors across adding another dimension to the piece. I look forward to seeing how it all works out.

The material is eighteen inches wide and with the fringe it measures out to nineteen inches. I need to make seven passes back and forth for a row to match a column in size. I am now on row 203 and have a total of 259 ignoring the hem on the top.

I have yet to project a finishing time...the time I sail by the Starting Line. Maybe I'll do the calculations tomorrow just to make sure I can finish in time. Once finished I will need to weave a sampler that goes in with the entry form. It needs to be perfect. Fortunately it is only eight inches by eight inches. I should have enough warp already on the loom to pull it off...fingers crossed.

ps here's my tapestry Harvest Moon which I just finished...

Ready for the Maze

It took awhile but I am finally at the point that I get to start weaving the maze. I am a bit over 10% complete...

The sail is done. The shimmery white I selected looks good. I am a bit disappointed by the blue flag - I did it in a shiny metallic blue. I thought it would pop more from the piece. It does shimmer...you just need the right light. I may embellish it later depending upon how the entire piece looks.

Each of the flags or symbols I incorporate into the piece will represent something from our nautical navigation days. Here the blue flag represents the Finish Line flag that the race officials would normally fly at the end of a race. The next symbol will be 'shallow water' markings you would see on a nautical chart.

I am looking foward to starting the maze. With the wind at my back, I should sail quickly through the piece.

I have finished the FINISH

Despite what the word spells out this is only the beginning of my latest project. The is the beginning...or the end so to speak of the maze I am weaving for the yardage exhibit of Convergence 2009.

What you see here is a minimal part of a 259 block-row piece. Each block has 7 back and forth of the shuttle...I did the calculation as to what percentage is finished and it is way too small to admit.

The maze here is going to have a regatta theme. Near the top of the photo you can see the beginning of a sail...there will be more. I am trying to remember that the focus of the piece is not the bottom...but the maze itself. I keep wanting to enhance and embellish this bottom part.

I have tried many things to remove those nasty worms that form due to the inconsistent tension in the warp threads. The turquoise warp seems to have the worst problems while the lite blue has the least. They are both 100% polyester but obviously there is some difference. I won't go through all the things I have adjusted, tinkered with, pulled, tied, lashed etc.

I am now trying what I call the 'squirrel' approach...using nuts to weigh down the various threads. You can see I have attached key rings to bunches of warp and used a nut to weigh them down. I didn't have enough key rings for each of the 25 blocks so I have combined those that are similar in looseness. By using the same size nut, all the thread should have a similar tension. Time will tell.

Although I still seem to be having a bit of a tension issue with the warps on shaft 7. I am nevertheless plowing ahead. I will attempt a special massage once off the loom with a needle and a bit of spritz. Hopefully, that will remove the tension worms at the bottom of the piece...or I will embellish them to made them part of the piece....Time will tell.