Woolcraft log 3-7-08

This week Galgael is closed on the Friday, and with most woolcrafters away on holidays anyway, it was not too bad to have to cancel at very short notice.
As Laryna's day off work was Thursday this week, it was just as well that Anneruth and Eileen came as well to catch with loose ends and from the trip to the Woolfest last weekend.

Anneruth had finished weaving 2 test pieces on the wool-warped little weaving frame:

one with grey milling wool as well as handspun Jacob, and one with a mixture of 2-ply milling wool, exploring patterns possible in this tabby weave. The outcome of the 'set' (the relationship between warp and weft, as it sets) was especially for the handspun wool fairly 'see-through'. Each strip had a brought and a narrow end, due to the non-conformed spread of the weft: more weft length in a shed => weftfaced set; less weft length in the shed => warp showing. Anneruth did not like the outcome of her long efforts of that weave, nor did Laryna!
But, Eileen was keen to practise a bit of 'waulking the cloth' with this strip, and gave it a good hour or so of fine fulling on the donated glass washboard (sorry, no pics of that feat!) with a precious handmade plant soap.
The outcome was phantastic: a soft and fragrant piece of woven material, where the gaps had closed and even any uneven edges had been nudged away. It shrunk by 10%, though!

You can also see Eileen getting down straight away to starting a new piece on the little frame loom - her first weaving experience!

Laryna and Anneruth meanwhile calculated the next warp for Anneruth's rigid heddle loom on the 50/10cm reed. And Laryna came up with the great idea to use a pegloom as rattle (a spacer for the threads as they get beamed onto the warp beam)! She also mobilised Davey in the workshop to cut some flat sticks to be used as warp sticks (stciks put in the warp whilst beaming it up, to stabilise the threads on the beam). Anneruth took them away for sanding and - as the weather was nice, she used the lovely eve at home to set up the warping pecks on the garden table to make a woolwarp (with the red effect millen wool plied x 2) - as well as getting the chimnea going to take away the chill.

Slowly but surely, step by step, we get the equipment needed for the complex art and craft of weaving together - esp as much of it is woodwork...

Later on that weekend Anneruth's friend Stephanie came round to help with the beaming up - just as she helped with the first warp on that little rigid heddle loom, the narrow silk warp.

The camera was not always at hand for much of the various stages of this week's wool actio, but you can visit our July Album for some shots of the goings-on.
Oh, and one the things you will not see a picture of, but which was what Laryna did devotely otherwise all day: teasing more white wool for her rug as some other Galgaelians were out and about with the drum carder!