Love, love, love

Browsing through the images on a textile group I came across a post about how difficult it is to give away (or sell) one's work. The author told how she can't bear to part with things after putting her all into making them. Each to their own of course, but I really enjoy the gift of giving whether as a gift or a commission. When someone tells me how much they love what I've made for them it makes me so happy but in the wider context, giving a gift is a way of telling someone how much you love them.

Over the last year the pandemic has separated us from each other, from family and friends. Some like that isolation - more time to craft. Others struggle with all that alone time and while phone calls and video chat provide some opportunities to connect not everyone is comfortable saying what they feel in person, let alone to a face on a screen. Sometimes the words are left unsaid because the person on the receiving end would feel awkward if you were to "go all mushy" on them. Sometimes you just get distracted and instead of telling someone how much they mean to you (or whatever else it was you wanted to say) you blether on about everything but the one thing you rang them to say. Trust me - I know. It's like the more important something is to say the more often I put the phone down and then think "Darn! I didn't tell them..."

It can be easier to communicate love and affection physically - a hug, a kiss, holding a rigorously sanitised hand, but that isn't always an option during lockdown. Sometimes it is easier to let something else speak for you. There is that saying, "when words fail, music speaks." Is it any wonder mix tapes, or their modern equivalent the play list, are so popular? (If you're interested the saying is a paraphrase of "where words fail, sounds can often speak" from "What the Moon Saw" by Hans Christian Anderson. Available from Project Gutenberg here). Another variation is that "a picture paints a thousand words." Again saying the unsayable through one of the arts. And that takes me back to the textile group post and why we should give things to others.

Choosing and sending a gift to someone is a way to support artists and artisans, but also a way to say the unsayable - to say "I care about you; I love you; I value you; thank you for being a part of my life; my life is better for you being in it." You get the idea. Giving another person that carefully chosen gift is a way to say "I love you" when the words are hard to speak for whatever reason.

And because today's theme is gifting and love I've chosen an image of a lavender pillow I made. The machine embroidery is the chemical compound oxytocin. Among other things oxytocin is the hormone most associated with bonding and relationships. It's what makes you want to cuddle when you drift off to sleep after intimacy and also contributes to the feeling of contentment within a relationship, romantic or otherwise. I could have let the pillow go to a new owner, but I decided to keep it for myself, to remind me that I am loved, even by those who might not be able to say it. It is a gift I have given to myself.

What do you think? Do you have difficulties letting go of your creations? What gift would you give to say "I love you"?

Return to Krokbragd (Krokbragd #4)

It felt like the time was right for more Krokbragd. I am toying with the idea of putting together a book, maybe more like a booklet, of patterns for rigid heddle weavers with double heddle blocks. Even if I'm the only person who reads it I think it will be a useful project and a great way of designing a Krokbragd sampler.

I find the idea using two heddles suits me much better than making string heddles or using pick up sticks for Krokbragd. Using two heddles make the process faster and really easy, and I keep my string heddles for inkle weaving.

Obviously any design is only as good as it looks in the weft, not on paper (or screen) so task number one was warping up the loom ready for weaving. Task number two start designing. This post is about the warping process. Back in Krokbragd #3 I posted the above warping diagram for double heddles - back heddle at the top of the diagram, front heddle at the bottom.

I thought it might be useful to see what the warping diagram looks like in reality. To tie in with the diagram I used three different colours for the warp. Remember - the warp will be completely covered by the weft so the colours don't matter. I had a lack of suitable green yarn, so I've used white instead.

Notice how there are twice as many white (green) threads. They form the two instances of shed 2 colour in the 1 2 3 2, 1 2 3 2 weft pattern in a single weft pass. What that means is although it looks like there should be four actions per pattern row (1 2 3 2) each pattern is actually made up of three passes of weft colour not four.

With the different coloured warps it is easy to see the three separate sheds. With both heddles in the up position the "pixel" of weft colour will appear over the shed 1 warp. Red in the diagram.

When the front heddle is in the down position and the back heddle is in neutral then the "pixel" of warp colour will be in the repeated shed 2 positions. Notice how the white warp threads appear closer together - because there are twice as many of them.

Finally when the back heddle is down and the front heddle is in neutral the weft "pixels" will appear over the shed 3 warp. In all three pictures the back beam is on the right hand side of the image so the back heddle is what can be seen in the second and third images in the series of heddle position photos.

To complete the series of images the same colours of yarn were used to spread the warp - to show how the weft would build up into a pattern. You can see the 1 2 3 2, 1 2 3 2 repeats of the red white blue white red... The weft hasn't been beaten down as it would for actual Krokbragd but hopefully the images will help you to make more sense of the previous Krokbragd posts.

If you've found the images useful why not let me know with a comment.

Poppana

When it comes to weaving I find myself drawn to the patterns and techniques of the Nordic countries. I won't say Scandinavia because while Denmark, Sweden and Norway count as "Scandi" Finland does not and it is from Finland that I often find inspiration. A more inclusive term might be the "Nordic" countries which as well as the four mentioned above includes the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.

If you're interested in the difference between Nordic and Scandinavian you might look here for info on Scandinavia or here for info on the Nordic countries.

But back to weaving. The technique that I've been exploring recently is called poppana weaving. It ties in nicely with the "make every scrap count" approach to yarn and fabric that I'm trying to achieve.

Poppana is a Finnish technique but similar approaches are seen in other cultures. For example in Japan sakiori weaving (from "saki," which means to tear or rip up, and "ori," which means weave) has the same basis - recycling and reusing old fabric to prolong its useful life.

Poppana was developed as a way to recyle old bedding and clothes by cutting them into narrow strips and weaving them into durable fabrics for rugs, winter coats, bedspreads, horse blankets, etc. Later the technique developed to include clothes woven using thinner strips of lighter weight cottons.

The fabric shown was woven on an Ashford Sampleit loom with a 5/2 mercerised cotton on a 7.5 dpi heddle. I wanted the rags to really show up and the craft cotton I usually use for tapestry weaving is just that bit thicker than the 5/2. The cotton was also used for alternating sheds of the weft to create a gridlike pattern rather than the more usual staggered pops of warp colour. One shuttle was wrapped with the cotton and the other with the poppana strips. As this was a sample piece I didn't go crazy with the colour of the mercerised cotton, opting for an unbleached colour to go with the natural tones in the fabric.

The strips were cut from scraps of fabric so there weren't any really long pieces like you'd get from a bed sheet or duvet cover or from spiral cutting a teeshirt. They were joined together using the slit technique described by Jenny at Crochet is the way. If you don't have any old bedding or clothes you want to recycle then you can buy premade poppana strips from Finnish stores such as Toika or Lankava but I made my own. The half inch strips I cut from left over upholstery fabric are not as elegant as the precut 8mm and 10mm cotton strips you can buy but they did the job.

I cut the fabric any old how, depending on the longest length of the scrap I was cutting. Traditionally the strips would be cut on the bias which can give a frayed edge, cheneille texture to the woven fabric. There are a few fraying edges but not really enough to call it a featuer, so I might trim out the more noticable ones.

There is enough fabric to make a wine carrier or a small bag. I'm leaning towards a wine carrier for when we get to go to parties again. One of my inkle bands would make a strong handle and the thickness of the poppana fabric would hopefully act as a little insulation to keep the wine bottle chilled during the journey.

What's inspiring you at the moment? Any new techniques you've been trying? Add a comment and share your new passion.

It's written in the stars above

It's all go in the craft cave. Lots of sewing to be done this week as I've more than a few birthdays coming up.

I've been trying out a new pattern from Sew Sweetness - the Persimmon Dumpling Pouch. I've seen several of the pouches on a "sewing your hand woven fabric" group and thought the shape was very pleasing.

I didn't want to start cutting into my handwoven fabric before doing a trial run so when I started reading about the pattern I was delighted to see it was actually designed to be a scrap buster - to be made from off cuts and oddments. I've become increasingly eager to use up every scrap of fabric so scrap buster ideas are my new "go to" patterns.

When I got out my box of fabric scraps there on top was a bag of odd shaped bits of felt which I'd zigzagged into fabric. There was just enough of the patchwork to make the smallest size of the pouch. I had some purple cotton left over from a recent quilt which felt like the right colour for the lining. No purple zips as I buy them by the metre in neutral colours but a mid-toned grey looked good with the purple so in less than five minutes I had all my materials' choices made and I was ready to start on my least favourite part of the process - cutting out.

While I was cutting out the pattern I started thinking about what other projects I need to get underway and my mind turned to the number of upcoming birthdays in my diary.

I don't generally believe in horoscopes. I mean - what are the chances that everyone born under a particular star sign is going to have the same kind of day, or that they're going to be compatible with someone born under some particular other star sign? But when I thought of the list of upcoming birthdays I began to wonder if maybe I'm wrong.

I clearly have some kind of affiliation with those born under the sign of Aries? After December (ie. Christmas) April is the month when I send out the most cards and gifts. I don't know what it is about those Aries people but we do seem to make lasting connections. So I need to get off the computer and back to the craft cave. Those cards and presents aren't making themselves.

Having tried out the Persimmon Dumpling Pouch and enjoyed the process I can definitely see some of those in my friends' futures.

Do you have a particular month bursting with birthdays? What are your "go to" gift pattens for the special people in your life. Why not add a link to your favourite in the comments.