Out of my Office until February 18th

I will be out of my office until February 18th.



Please forgive the delay in responding to any correspondence or orders.



I’ve been weaving, if not keeping my blog updated. I have tweed Michigan tartan upholstery on the loom now and recently finished two very wide 5/2 cotton picnic cloths. That was a test of my reach on Bene Toika - much better than on a treadle loom!



With the computer doing the treadling, I was just barely able to reach the 45 inches!



In November, the Linen Rabbi, Nahum Ben-Yehuda, http://biu.academia.edu/NahumBenYehuda

from Israel visited with his wife. We worked on reproducing some ancient wool fabric, exploring weft face, balanced, warp faced - and some ranges in between. After multiple re-sleyings, I cut to the chase, set up for weft-faced, then stopped using the reed to work the warp narrower, then produce warp faced on the same piece.

On a set warp width weft-faced and weft dominant were possible in both madder and natural.
Then the fun began with a piece that transitioned from weft faced to warp faced.  The labels identify the ppi's.

The Rabbi had sent some singles linen, about 20 lea; some tow, some dry-spun, and some wet spun. We explored how to get any/all of these to weave successfully. The plan came out to a sort of “singles linen tartan”. It did take careful tensioning and a warp dressing to tame the 3 to 4 inch protruding fibers, but yes, every one of the five qualities wove up quite successfully.

The reed marks will be visible for a couple washings yet, but the cloth makes a wonderfully absorbent towel.

Until I return with tales of Australia and Kay Faulkner's two studios......

blog: www.kayfaulkner.wordpress.com   web: www.kayfaulkner.com.au

  Kati