Developmental Stage

Day 317: Recently, I stumbled across an alternate way to work krokbragd on a rigid heddle loom (as opposed to "turned krokbragd" as done on my band and inkle looms). In the past, I've had problems with warp tension when executing this style of boundweave on the rigid heddle while using a pickup stick and heddle rod in combination. I was anxious to try the new method, so I set up 31 warp threads at 7.5 epi so I could use leftover knitting worsted as the weft. The alternate system uses a pickup stick placed in front of the heddle rather than behind, a process which must be done each time those sheds are required, i.e., two times out of three in a sequence. It is slow going, to be sure, but I have had no issues with tension, which seems like an equitable trade-off, all things considered. However, there was another factor to consider. Because different sheds are opened with this method, none of my old patterns would work as drafted. Krokbragd does not lend itself to being designed on graph paper like many other weaves, so for the last two and a half days, I've been using good old "trial-and-error" as I tried to work out how to weave alternating rows of flowers. There have been a few hitches in the development of a pattern, but I finally have it nailed.

Krokbragd On An Inkle Loom

Day 124: Eight inches of snow is a wonderful motivator. I polished off both my inkle loom project and the tablet-weaving piece hung over the small rigid heddle, leaving my schedule open for a new challenge: krokbragd on an inkle loom. Like the Monk's Belt, krokbragd is a weft-faced weave when created on a standard loom, but when you translate it to inkle-speak, it has to be turned so that it becomes warp-faced. In other words, the pattern appears as a result of the warp threads riding over the weft rather than vice versa. I've done krokbragd on both my floor loom and the rigid heddle, and although the results were satisfactory, the technique and more specifically, remembering where I'd left off frequently occasioned blue language. However, on the inkle loom, this Scandinavian style of weaving is dead-easy once you've set up the auxiliary heddles.

The quirk to inkling krokbragd is that you need three sheds. An inkle loom normally only provides two: up and down. Patterns like Monk's Belt and South American Pebble Weave can be made by lifting threads up from the lower half of the shed or pushing them down from the upper half, but in krokbragd, this would be too time-consuming and confusing. It is far easier to set up "artificial" sheds beforehand so that the warp can be manipulated with a quick, single hand-motion. In addition to the heddled threads the weaver sets up during warping, two additional sheds need to be created. The first is done by placing additional heddles on the desired threads, drawing them up through the warp in sequence and fastening them all together on a safety pin, stitch holder or short dowel (you might drop threads off a dowel, so be careful while weaving). The second shed is made by picking up alternate threads from those you just heddled, dropping the heddled threads under the pickup stick, while at the same time raising them above the remainder of the warp. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Believe me, I made quite a few mistakes on the first pass. In the photo above, this shed (#2) is held on a carabiner. Shed #3 consists of the threads held by the blue nylon heddles on the safety pin. Note that both of these sheds are held behind the front top peg on my Ashford inkle loom. If you have a different style inkle loom, you may have a slightly different setup. Now, assuming you have all your ducks (heddles) in a row, you can begin weaving. You'll only need one colour, one shuttle and a cup of coffee or tea. Raise shed #2, make a throw. Lower shed #1, make a throw. Raise shed #3, make a throw. Raise shed #1 again, make a throw. Repeat this sequence of sheds to your heart's content: 2-1-3-1, 2-1-3-1, 2-1-3-1 and you're weaving krokbragd. I've used a cheap knitting worsted for both warp and weft to create the cute little "daisies" in the inset.

Dreams Of Blueberries

Day 207: When I put in my blueberry bushes, I selected "mid-season" varieties using the logic that the pollinators would not be around at this altitude for early-season types. Now I am beginning to wonder if I should have bought late-season plants instead. Last year, I got enough berries for snacking, far short of what I envision as the eventual yield. The bushes are still young...or rather they are new to the "blueberry pen" outside my kitchen door. One was a sickly plant which had been shaded out in another location after losing its partner to similar circumstances. I moved it two years ago and added a second variety beside it for cross-pollination. It has perked up amazingly well, and both plants are covered with buds. A third bush is dwarf and self-fertile; it bore a handful of large, sweet berries last year (its first year in my garden).

As of this writing, all three bushes are lavishly adorned with pink buds, but there is a distressing absence of pollinators, and I can hardly give each blueberry flower the same reproductive assistance I'm providing to the Akebias. Transferring pollen from one flower to another on the tip of an artist's paintbrush is time-consuming! That said, we have a few warm days on the roster and the blueberry buds are not yet open. Perhaps all the elements necessary to provide a good yield will still manage to come together at the proper moment.