Eight-Throw Pinwheels

Day 16: You might recall my use of the word "challenging" in yesterday's post. This is it. I am weaving a pattern designed for an eight-harness loom on a rigid heddle. That means that out of the eight sheds required, only two are loom-generated. The other six have to be manually picked up with a pickup stick. One pinwheel (eight passes of the shuttle) takes about ten minutes to create. It's easier to see the design from the side like this. Looking straight down on it (the weaver's perspective), your eyes tend to go all M.-C.-Escher-ish, only allowing you to see either green whirligigs or blue ones. However, at this stage of the game, the weaver is focused on individual threads: lift two, push one down, lift one, push another one down, lift one, push two down, repeating the sequence for that throw across each colour. The six pickup rows are all different, three starting with "lift," three with "push down." It's amazing how many times your mouth can say "lift" even as your fingers push down the threads. Which was correct? Pause, regroup, begin again. Focus is mandatory here. Destined to be a runner for the harpsichord, the spring colours are apropos. It may take me until April to finish it!

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.

Tin Lizzy

Day 59: The origin of the phrase "Tin Lizzy" is unknown to me, but it refers specifically to Henry Ford's famous Model T, here shown in the 1926 "roadster-pickup" version. This grand old gal can often be seen parked on the road or in her driveway in downtown Eatonville, her dark red paint job spanking clean and bright. I've only seen her motoring once or twice, but I'm sure she attends the annual antique car show in Packwood even though it might take her several hours to get there at a top speed of 35 MPH. Still, it's a real thrill to watch her pull through the intersection, chugging along as faithfully as ever, her owner in period dress behind the wheel.