Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

I have a rule that I don't buy yarn unless I already have a project in mind. I broke that rule today because, come on, local yarn with mug shots of the sheep it came from? How can you resist that? ⁨#weaving⁩ ⁨#fibershed⁩

After a few false starts, the rug is finally starting to take shape! I think this is going to go pretty quickly at this point. ⁨#weaving⁩

I'm now 24 working hours into my rug ⁨#weaving⁩ project. I had to buy more heddles to weave this dense, wide, large project. I have finished dressing the loom and am finally at the point where I can start weaving the rug itself.

Everything about ⁨#weaving⁩ this rug has been intimidating so far because of the giant scope of the project. For instance it took me almost four hours to wind the warp onto the warp beam. Threading the loom is next and it is equally daunting.

This may not look like a rug, but it's the first step. The width and the density of the warp meant I had to measure out 1760 individual threads. The result after 5 1/2 hours was 10 warp chains ready to wind onto my loom. ⁨#weaving⁩

My next ⁨#weaving⁩ project is a ~3'x5' Rep weave rug. It will be the widest project I've done and will max out my loom's width. I had to buy more heddles to handle the 880 warp ends. I also had to convert the metric pattern to Imperial, and convert to the 5/2 cotton I'm using. ⁨

There is a #weaving saying: "Don't tie a knot when a bow will do." The idea of thinking through a process, and spending some time now to save more time later applies to so many areas of life.

My table runner is finished! I practiced my hand sewing and used a felling stitch to secure the rolled hem and after a press it's ready to decorate my table. ⁨#weaving⁩ ⁨#sewing⁩

I finished ⁨#weaving⁩ my overshot table runner! I had some extra warp at the end to play with so I experimented with a darker brown cloth weft and lime green pattern weft.

You can get a better sense of the pattern now that it's repeated a few times. This is called "Wandering Vine" (from Davison's famous ⁨#weaving⁩ pattern book) but is also known as "Cat Track" or "Snail Trail" which makes more sense once you can see more of the pattern.

I finally sat down and started ⁨#weaving⁩ the overshot table runner last night. The set up for this took quite a while, but I think the actual weaving will go pretty quickly.

This weekend I'm threading the warp for my next ⁨#weaving⁩ project, a table runner with a "Wandering Vine" overshot pattern. Threading 452 warp threads is a lot all at once so I'm splitting it into multiple 1-3 hour sessions.

Preparing to weave fine cloth is no small task. The warp for the table runner I'm weaving next calls for 452 2.25yd long warp threads (24 epi). It took me about 6-7 hours on Sunday to measure out, and that was with running three threads at a time! #weaving

Yesterday I learned via a fiber arts podcast that the surname Walker was derived from the profession of Scottish waulkers who took part in waulking: the process of fulling (felting) woolen handwoven fabric by foot to make them denser/warmer. #weaving

I realized I hardly ever add topical hashtags to posts which probably makes it tougher for folks around the fediverse to see things I write that they might be interested in. I'll try to do better with future posts about #weaving , #calculators , #addingmachines and #Linux #FOSS and #infosec topics.

Estate sales are the way to go for quality yarn if you know what to look for. I just bought this collection of yarn (mostly wool and cotton) for the price of a single small skein of the yarn you see in front, if it were new. ⁨#weaving⁩ ⁨#yarn

Last night I finished ⁨#weaving⁩ the 8th (and final) overshot napkin! I *barely* had enough warp left for it. Now to take them off the loom and hem the edges.

Check out this cool article on the ⁨#weaving⁩ innovations that went into the recently discovered oldest pants in history! Four different weaving techniques in a single fabric! https://arstechnica.com/?p=1845532

I realized I'm bad at estimating how much time ⁨#weaving⁩ will take. First I estimated a napkin took about 3 hours, then after weaving 2 hours this morning and not finishing I figured it would take 9. Another hour and now it's done. So maybe 5 hours?

Weaving napkins is like making pancakes. The first one doesn't count. The second one is better but not quite there. But by the third one you finally got it down. ⁨#weaving⁩