Strings attached

Step into my office of the last week or so:

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Sorry about the harsh phone photos. Lazybutt here not up for artistic photography today. The more alert readers will note that I didn’t even attempt to hide the corner where several generations of cats have mauled the wallpaper, despite a nice sisal mat on the wall only 2 meters away.

I’m finally done cutting, burning and attaching all cords for 8 shafts, leaving the last two for a need-to session. That’s close to 300 pieces of string that had to be measured out correctly, most of which was guesswork. And of course the 1200 heddles to be divided by 8. We’ll see if I got it right when a warp is on and I begin to push pedals.

I think I pulled a muscle fibre in my calf during the process, so don’t tell me weaving isn’t an extreme sport! 😉

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20 thoughts on “Strings attached

  1. Oh dear, all these strings and measuring … I and the strings would get hopelessly entangled. I am full of respect for you weavers who master all the maths and order of weaving. Look forward to seeing what you areb going to weave next. 🙂

    1. It’s not as difficult as it looks, if you’re logical about it, but I had a couple of days’ panic too when I got the first floor loom. 😉

      I think it’s pretty amazing what you can do with a pile of sticks and string. This beast is nearly the size of a double bed but I can put it together myself in less than 15 minutes! (probably break it down too, but I’m not going to demonstrate now that I finally have strings on it)

  2. Imponerende! Så mange snore, så mange kulørte perler – hvorfor nu det. Ja, vævning er en ekstremsport i min bog også, selv om rammevæve er lettere at sætte op. Men jeg har lavet de akrobatiske øvelser i en damaskvæv en gang. Jeg gjorde bare, hvad jeg fik besked på – ikke e smule forståelse for processen 🙂

    1. It’s definitely something you need to approach from one end and work your way along. But then suddenly the whole principle dawns on you and you can “just” do it.

  3. What are the (pony beads)large beads doing on the nylon cords? How did you put them on? On my Toika I had to burn the ends and use little plastic pegs to keep them in place.

    1. I’ve used the pony beads in place of pegs in some places where the texsolv is not going to be removed, as they are less bulky. I thread one end through the bead and pull it down a bit, thread the other end though a hole over the bead and pull, then the bead is secured on the cord and I thread that through the shaft or treadle.

      In the photo of the treadles I have beads under the treadles and pegs on top to prevent the cords from falling out. I made long cords for all the holes and those I’ll thread upwards through the appropriate lamms for my lift plan and secure with a peg on top of the lamms. Easier to adjust the height up there.

      Did that make sense? I also used them on the bottom shaft sticks for permanent short cords going down to the upper lamms.

    1. Ain’t that the truth. I have one whopper of a headache now, the room is just too small for such antics, preferably I’d like at least a yard of space all the way around it, instead I have 15″ on three sides and nothing on the right. And I’m not quite sure how I’ll get it threaded, I think the breast beam has to come off and G will have to lift down the beater. Not ideal! So I’m already considering putting it away for better times, then I could also have a snore free sleeping room…. 😉

  4. Such beautiful work, and looking at the pictures, yes I do believe that it is extremely physical! Well done and I hope your calf is feeling much better. I unpacked my yarn and crochet needles and they are always in view on my coffee table– I think they will be good when I am most ill, and now I can try something tiny and simple, like a baby blanket!

    1. Knit and crochet are nice little alternatives to reading when you’re laid up and feeling poorly I find, unless you’re so nauseous you need to lie down. I hope it wears off soon, so you can relax a bit when you choose!

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