Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

While I'm not going to quit my day job and get into the handwoven/handsewn purse business, if I did, I'd name my company Totes Adorbs. #weaving #sewing

Project use-up-the-rest-of-this-warp is well under way. I decided to weave enough fabric for another tote so the warp doesn't go to waste and this time I'm going with a color scheme inspired by leaves (brown, green, orange and red). I don't have any plans for this tote so I'm actually just going to weave the fabric and then set it aside so I can get to the other weaving projects in my queue. #weaving

My tote is done! This one went quite a bit faster than the previous ones (16 hrs start to finish), and the basic leather punch kit I bought was well worth it. I'm really pleased with how the color combination worked out, it made the tote a cool-toned version of the original warm-toned tote (also pictured).

#weaving

We are all aware that many surnames are derived from professions (Smith, Cooper, Weaver). In the course of my research into the history of weaving I didn't realize how many others derived from cloth production:

* Fuller - someone who fulls woolen cloth (works cloth in water to shrink/fluff it)
* Walker - derived from Waulker, someone who Waulks, or fulls, fabric
* Shearer - shears sheep, or removes excess nap from cloth
* Draper - weaver/seller of cloth
* Dyer - dyes cloth

#weaving #fiberarts

Now that I'm really cranking through this project, I had the fleeting thought "wow maybe it *would* be profitable to sell these" until I did the math. It will take 8 hours to weave the fabric and another 12 to finish it (tying fringe, washing, ironing) and sew it into a tote. I realized if I sold them for $350 I'd cover material costs and pay myself a $15/hr minimum wage.

So if you are wondering why I'm not opening up an Etsy store or something, that's why. #weaving

While I didn't get to weave as much as I wanted this weekend, I was still able to get halfway through the fabric for the new tote. Here's the progress after 4 hours. #weaving

I'm getting faster! With this new project I really got into a nice rhythm. As a result after two hours of work (30 mins of that to tie the warp back on) I went from a loose warp to about 7 inches of fabric. #weaving

Now that the 2nd tote is finished, what's next? I have other gifts I need to weave for the holidays, but I can't start them yet! It took almost 9 hours to measure warp and dress the loom for this project, so to save time overall I put enough warp on to weave at least 3 totes back-to-back.

The problem is, I can't use the loom for other holiday projects until I weave another tote! Fortunately this next tote has already been commissioned by my local yarn store! Busy time around here. #weaving

My handwoven tote bag is done! I wasn't sure whether my plan for the tweed background and purple krokbragd pattern stripe would work but I'm really happy how it turned out.

This time I used raw leather strips for the handles which meant an extra hour punching holes in leather. Like my previous tote this is lined and has interfacing so it can stand up on its own. #weaving

Here is the fabric off the loom. The brown portion in the center will be the bottom of the tote and the tweed-like pattern will be the background along the sides with the purple pattern forming a band around the center. It will be easier to visualize when it is sewn together. #weaving

I finished #weaving my tote! At the end I only had to weave a single color and the lack of shuttle changes let me settle into a nice steady rhythm.

I've now hit the halfway point in #weaving this fabric for a tote bag. When I get to this point I add a series of colored stripes. This does two things:

* Adds a little surprise when someone looks at the bottom of the tote

* (More importantly) Marks the center line for the fabric so I have reference points to mirror the measurements on the second half, and also assists me when sewing up the tote later.

I finished #weaving the center pattern for this side of the tote bag. It will run horizontally across the center of the tote and the brown toned pattern above and below will act like a background.

Update: I slept on it and woke up early to try out a tan background with a different foreground pattern. I think this is the one. #weaving

I added a fourth color and a new pattern to my fabric. It's starting to get... complicated... #weaving

While it took a few weeks to work up the nerve, here is proof that we actually do use the Rep weave rug I made for the front entry way. #weaving

I'm #weaving fabric for another tote bag using the krokbragd technique. What I like about this technique is that it allows for a level of improvisation you typically don't get with most weaving.

For instance, I decided this pattern in brown tones will be a bit too bland for the full side of the tote, so I'm going to improvise a banded purple diamond pattern around the middle of the tote to spice things up.

I just got a (free!) ⁨#knitting⁩ machine! This is a KnitKing model 93 with a ribbing attachment, stand, accessories and some yarn. It can even be programmed with punch cards and came with a giant envelope full of them. I can't wait to try it out once I get caught up on ⁨#weaving⁩.

Time for an #introduction. I've been involved in #FOSS and #Linux since the late `90s. My career started as a sysadmin, pivoting to security. I'm the President of @purism and work on hardware and software to protect #privacy, #security and freedom.

I've written a number of books (https://kylerank.in/writing.html) and was a long-time columnist for Linux Journal magazine.

I have many hobbies including #weaving, refurbishing mechanical #calculators, #3dprinting, #brewing, and many other things.

These fast ⁨#weaving⁩ projects are a nice departure from the more involved ones. Here's a merino wool scarf I wove this weekend on my rigid heddle loom (my floor loom is still dressed for a different project).