ID Challenge

What you can do for your Principality you ask?

I recently inquired of our Princess as to what projects she would like to see fulfilled during her time. Here are the things Her Highness is looking for help with:

• Embroidered Roundels for a dress for Princess Aeringrunnr. Please contact Jahanara if you would like to be put on the list of Interest Group Artisans willing to participate in this project.
• Principality Banners for your Shire- Their Royal Highness are very aware that travel for themselves and their successors will limit the regalia that They can travel with, therefore They are asking that each Shire/group make a Principality banner that can be used when the Prince and Princess are sitting in State in each Shire.
• Kneeling cushions- As Duchess Alessandra Melusine reminded us, kneeling cushions also take up quite a bit of space when traveling. Any shires that do not already have a set of kneeling cushions could also provide these items for Their Royal Highness' attendance at Shire events.
• Largesse-Their Hignesses have noted that the largesse coffers are not as full with the work of our artisans as we might like. They will be giving out largesse as they travel in and out of our lands this Reign. They would very much enjoy being able to give away items that were made by our artisans, so that they might show our wealth in the realms of Arts and Sciences!
  

I am therefore issuing the following challenge to all members:
It is our first year as a Principality, in order to celebrate our growth, so shall our Shire's artistic holdings grow. Each member is hereby challenged to make or facilitate the making of one of the following; a roundel for Her Highness Aeringrunnr's dress, a Principality banner for your local group, a set of kneeling cushions for your local group, or an item for the Principality coffers.
Those bold enough to accept this challenge are asked to comment here, or e-mail jahanara@thepurplelotus.org. Jahanara will keep a list of challenges accepted on the blog to ensure that efforts are efficiently utilized and not duplicated!

Happy crafting,
Jahanara

A Warping Good Time 9-11 Oct

Hello fellow fibre junkies!
I'm gearing up for another weaving weekend, well this time warping. I'd like to host those who need help warping their looms. I'm wondering at this point, how many interested folks have the weekend of 9-11 October open?
Just let me know through a comment and I'll send out more details once the date is set!
Jahanara

Tapestry Weaving Weekend Invitation

You are invited to the “House of Many Looms” for a 2-day intensive
Tapestry Weaving Workshop! We will begin, Friday evening, with a basic
discussion of weaving including the different weaving methods and when
and where each was used. Followed by a hands-on sessions on Saturday
during which you will focus on the basic Tapestry Weaving techniques. I
have already warped each of my large looms. There are also student looms
that you may use for your own projects and can take with you. We will
also hold evening discussions regarding weaving techniques and you’ll
have the opportunity to ask your fellow weavers questions. For those who
are brand new to weaving a Weaving Basics document will be provided in
advance to help you learn basic weaving vocabulary (please request this
in your RSVP if you need it). This will allow us to get right to the
hands on sessions!
I also have inkle looms, tablet looms, a two 4-harness table looms
(which will be warped for tapestry weaving), a 4-harness floor loom and
an 8-harness loom. Now I obviously can not be working on all these looms
at once, so I invite you to come use them.
When will this workshop take place you ask? 30 Jan. – 1 Feb.
Intensive Sessions:
Hands On Sessions
• Tapestry weaving- 2 looms ready to go, there will be a cartoon to
follow and weft threads at the ready! There will also be 9 cardboard
student looms for individual take home projects.
• Weaving ‘Round the Table: This will be an evening discussion on
weaving, bring thoughts, questions and answers!

Proposed Schedule:
Friday
• Arrivals & Diner!

Saturday
• Breakfast
• Intensive Sessions:
Tapestry Basics & History
Project Planning
Project Implementation
• Break for Lunch- feel free to break for coffee/tea/beverages as you
wish throughout the day.
• Hands-on Sessions Continue
• Dinner
• Weaving ‘Round the Table

Sunday- departures as necessary
• Breakfast
• Hands-on Sessions Continued
• Break for Lunch
• Hands-on Sessions Continue
• Dinner- Weaving ‘Round the Table Continued

Where? Contact Jahanara for details.

What should I bring? Yourself and any weaving projects you wish to work
on, or for which you need help and advice.

How many people can attend? Due to the nature of this workshop, there
will be a 7 student limit. We have beds for 6, if people don’t mind
sharing the two double beds. We also have plenty of other crash space on
couches and the floor. So please RSVP early to guarantee a bed!

Please RSVP by 15 Jan. 2009
RSVP’s should include the following information
Approximate Arrival Time
Preferred Train Station (If traveling by train)/ Pick up arrangements.


Suggestions/Request/Items you would like help with during the workshop

Many Fibre Arts Today!

Today started as a sleepy Sunday, but did not stay that way long. I went downstairs about 1300 and popped in Order of the Phoenix, ok it was already there! During the movie, I enjoyed a nice sugar free swiss mocha and finished three treadling repeats! That means I wove another 6 inches and moved the warp along again! The last week has seen this done twice, so I've woven a foot in the last week. If I keep this up, I'll have an entire yard done by the end of the month. Continuing this same amount of progress, I'll have the two yards I need for this section done by the end of October! I'm really hoping that I can keep this up and get the next section on the loom by the end of this year. I need three sections total. I know this section will take the longest, as once I get this done I should have everything down pat!

But wait there's more, I actually got these six inches done in less than 2 hours. I also hemmed Lady Salonge's cloak, so it is effectively done! I say effectively as I've just embroidered her sun-in-splendour on the back. We've talked about adding her lion on each side at the bottom later. I think we'll probably work on this summer '09 when she doesn't need to be wearing it often!

Finally, I also finished the outline on the second roundel for Odo's hood! I also took the paper pattern off the fabric. I tested a new theory on how to do this. I sparyed the paper down thoroughly, which made getting the paper off go much faster. I think this is a good option for designs that don't have very intricate lines, but I think for many of the other roundels, the dry method will work better. This is due to the fact that the wet paper and silk are difficult to separate in very small areas, such as around the calon cross and the axe heads.

I hope you will all forgive me for not having photos of all this progress, as I've been busy completing stages of projects!

Namaste,
Jahanara

To weave or unweave, an important lesson!

I recently got back to a long term project, weaving cloth for Odo's cloak, I had lost my copy of the weaving draft. This was not a big problem, as I had gotten it out of a book. In my mild frustration and excitement to get back to the project, I copied down to tie down, but not the order in which they were to be woven. I wove about 3 inches and noticed it was not looking right. I thought this was a result of improper beating and slogged on another 3 inches. It still did not look right. I went back to the book to check that I had copied the tie down correctly. I saw that the tie down was correct, and it was then that I realized my mistake!

I then had a very important decision to make, to weave or unweave. The part of me that did not relish redoing about 4 hours of work, said continue weaving, and tell people I had left it as a reminder of my mistake. However an important piece of advice Master Terafan had given me came to mind. This advice, when faced with the decision to go back and correct your work or not, you need to ask yourself, what is the more accurate representation of your skill a piece with an obvious error, or a piece without. Well obviously, I wish this piece to not have 6 horrible looking inches. So I have decided to unweave this section and continue weaving from the previous point. I think it will only take me a few hours to unweave this section. (Note: it actually took less than an hour!) This may seem like a lot, but since I have well over 40 hours already invested in the project, and hundreds more hours to go, it is but a small sacrifice.

The lesson here is to not rush things, particularly long term projects! The weaving specific lesson, is to always make sure you have the tie down and the pick order! I don't think I'll be repeating this mistake anytime soon. As a small aside, the draft copy is now taped to the loom, where I can work from it, so it is unlikely that this problem will arise again!

Lessons learned,
Jahanara

Prize for Viceroy A&S Competition

This is the weaving project that I'm actively working on, I have about other projects going that I've not touched in far too long! This project has a deadline, Viceroy Tourney! I have warped about 4 yards of this. I intend to give this weaving as the prize for the A&S Competition at Viceroy. I would like to have three prizes over all. One for the person with the highest overall score, one for the outgoing Vicereine's choice and one for the incoming Vicereine's choice.
I'd like to read comments regarding whether or not 2 yards of weaving would be useful for most people. I think it would be nice to have this be the prize for the Viecreines' choices. Then I would just need one other prize for the highest score. Any donations would be appreciated! I'm also looking for small things that the populace can "award" to their top choice.
UPDATE: I have 27" woven so far! If I weave until the the warp needs to be moved each night, I will just get this finished in time!
Now I just have to get my handout for the class edited, and printed! Then I'll be ready for the event.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Jahanara