Week 12 (Finishing dressing the loom)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 04112013 
Today's mission was to figure out how I should redo yesterday's work, and I felt like Winnie the Pooh As I sat in the weaving basement thinking, but I came up with nothing. So I wrought a message in a weaving group on Facebook that I'm a member of, In hope that someone there knows an answer to my dilemma.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 05112013 
The first thing I did this morning was to see if I have gotten any answers and there where one telling me how I was too processed and then I tested out the numbers they worked so I went straight in and redid it, it only took me two hours to do even. After lunch, my lovely classmates helped me pull the warp on the beam which took four hours. It feels great that the ball is finally rolling and picking up speed. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 06112013 
Today I have heddeld the loom in a 2/1 twill. 2/1 is the binding that has been the most common during my research about the wool sail. I am among those who believe that the sailcloth has been double used as tent cloth, seeing how much work it is in doing such a big piece of cloth. If this is not the case then I feel that the feel of the fabrics probably was close to each other anyway. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 07112013 
The things I hade left to do on the warping where to heddle it and tie it to the front beam and the treadles. I hade made a bet with a classmate that I would be weaving after two but then it was then too to two I sent him an SMS that he won. At least I got done with the warping today.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 08112013 
The day where finally here then I put in the first inlay. The fun was soon interrupted by a not so fun part where I had missed a spot in the heddle so I hade to take it all up and fixed that, but it was no biggie. So now the project is really kicking in. I have calculated that I need to weave 316cm a week to get it done till the new year and it feels like that can be done. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 09112013 
On today's agenda, I hade thought that I was to saw and work on my warp-weighted loom, but it didn't really go as planned as some old students came by so we spent the day together.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 10112013 
I have tried chakra singing today and I think it was really cool. Other than that I have sowed some on my baggy pants and I hope they will be done next week.

Week 11 (Dressing the loom starts)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 28102013 
Went back to school today, I did not bring any skins with me as planned, due to that I don't feel too good. But am sure that I will find work to do. On the way back we stopped at a home depot and I got the 20 and 25-millimeter drills I need to finish my loom, so now I don't have to walk to the one her in Sveg and that feel great as its quite the walk there. I also got a roll of pink ducktape they sold as a thing for the pink ribbon campaign.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 30102013 
Today I did some sewing on my baggy pants and it went great I got most pieces on them now I only have to wrinkle them and saw on the bits that keep them wrinkled at the ankles and waist. I also took a look at a hood that I draw out two years ago but after some thinking, I still couldn't get how I was thinking back then as I clearly have too little fabric left for it, maybe some have fallen out of the bag it was in or something.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 31102013
 I started the next step of the warping today still don't really get how it works but I hope we did the calculations right. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 02112013 
I promised a friend some weeks ago that I were to bake her a chocolate cake on the break we hade this week and today she is coming back. So that is what I have been doing today baking a cake and I must admit that anything that has with food except eating is not one of the things I do so great at so I was quite nervous over the result of the cake. It turned out great, best one I have had if I can say so myself.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 03112013 
The first step to get the warp in the loom is to spread the threads out to the width you want your weave to be an evenly spread the threads this is also the step you add extra threads to the selvedges. Even thou the math is correct it's narrower then I want it to be. This I should have foreseen and am somewhat mad with my self that I didn't but, I guess we all do mistakes sometimes. So now I have to redo it all after I have found a way to do it.

Week 10 (SO MUCH YARN)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 21102013 
Monday again, I started the day by taking a long walk and got back for lunch. After lunch I carded up the last wool I hade to card. It felt great then I stowed the drum carder back in its box. But am not done yet with processing the wool. Have some to comb left but not much so this chapter of the story will soon be done and it feels great.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 22102013 
Today the first snow came but at 2 o'clock the snow turned in to rain and an hour later it was all goon. My yarn came yesterday afternoon but didn't notice until the staff left. So today I finally got to collect my packages from the reception, two big boxes and a package wrapped in paper. I and my teacher had a talk how to approach the next step in the project and I got assigned a loom, the loom that I will be using is called ¨3¨ and am sure you will see lots of pictures of it when I start weaving. The first of two weaves I will do in the floor loom is going to be the smaller of the two and, will be about 22 meters as I put it into the loom but the final product will be around the 19 meters.

 I started the weaving process by doing the first step, which is to put the yarn on huge bobbins so I can put it on a warpmill easier. My initial plan was on using two bobbins but after the first were full after about 700 grams of yarn I felt that I had to do it on three, then the second was filed with the new amount I needed over three I realized that the first one where just badly done and that I could easily have done it on two but I stuck with the new plan to use three. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 23102013 
As I did not Finnish the bobbin yesterday I finished it today but did not start putting it on the warpmill as ones I start with that I can not stop for a longer time as the threads will lose their tension.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 24102013 
Today were the day that I took on the beast that is warping, starting after breakfast with only one 25min lunch break, I was done at 14:00. It went pretty smooth with only some problems and those problems were more frustrating than anything, counting wrong and thread running out on the bobbins things like that. I also went home to my mom today and it was great seeing The family agene.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 25102013 
Today I had a doctors appointment, and to not go into too many details I am happy with the result. The rest of the day I spent looking at couches with my mom and learned there is much more to it then I imagined.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 26102013 
I woke up today with a severe headache so my plans on working in the garden and going to the woods collecting heather went down the drain sadly as I could beryl move.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 27102013 
I feel better in the head today and that is good as I am to help bring in the sheep from there pasture today and give the ewes worm medicine. I love working with them, I love sheep and doing hard work that gets your pulse up.

Week 9 (Spinning, sickness and baggy pants)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 14102013 
Yet another Monday and what seems to an eternal task continuous e.g.. Carding and spinning. But I see the end or rather the bottom of the bag of wool now.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 15102013 
Nothing exciting to say about today's work. After dinner, I started to feel bad though, hope I will get better until tomorrow.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 16102013 
I am not better so am going to stay in bed and rest today.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 17102013 
Yet another day that has been confined to my room, think it's going in the right direction though.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 18102013
 I am not totally rid of my sickness but I have managed to card and be up all day today. I started to grow really sick of just lying in bed so am really happy that I could work today.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 19102013 
I woke up this morning with a smile on my face and the spirit of someone that's going to do great deeds, so today I cut out the pieces of my baggy pants. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 20102013 Today I got a great deal of sewing done on the pants, so in a not too far future, they will be done.

Week 8 (Test hank from the spinnery)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 07102013 
The weeks feel like they fly by as I once again have spent the day in my tower room carding wool. At least that is what it's starting to feel like, a dark room in a tower and am the traped princes. Right before the writing of this entry, I read a mail from the spinnery, that said ¨we have started some test spinning and are ready to start production tomorrow, if you send us your address we can send you a test so you can say what you think¨. So now I just have to wait until she reads my replay tomorrow.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 08102013 
Today I got a real surprise as I walked into the cafeteria for my afternoon coffee and gleaned on the information whiteboard, it said that I had a package. Apparently, my contact sent the yarn to my teacher on Friday so I would get it fast. My Teacher and I had a meeting discussing the sample and came to the agreement that it was too loosely spun and to thin, and mailed the spinnery to tell them to do the adjustment.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 09102013 
The mail I got on Monday also told me that I needed to replace 20kg of wool. So today's thoughts have surrounded the Issue of where ever I should buy the warp from a retailer or let the spinnery spin it for me, this issue has eluded me ever sins I got the mail but now I feel I really need to get to a final decision. I couldn't decide on my own so I managed to get a meeting after school with my teacher. After a long and thought-full discussion, I came to the conclusion. That I should buy it from the retailer as even if I ordered the spinnery to spin it, it wouldn't get as sturdy as the sail sample I have been working after, as its warp is spun off the cover hairs and Gotlands sheep don't have the same cover hairs as the old Scandinavian sheep do.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 10102013 
The mission for the day was to call the retailer called Hedängens ull och garn. As I hate phones I were a little scared but the call went fine, the owner was really easy to talk to and she said she would ship it today.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 11102013 
Today am going home to my mom and brother over the weekend so not much work. Spun three bobbins, hang them up to even the twist and hade a class meeting.

Week 7 (Carding-machine and more on the pants)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 30092013 
Monday again and I got the usual stuff on my agenda, updating my blog, combing and spinning. I still haven't got any reply from the spinnery.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 01102013 
Can't believe its already October. Today I had one of those days when you don't want to do anything, So I stayed in bed almost all day researching about anything that came to my minded really. I almost forgot that my fabrics from eBay arrived with the mail but remembered just before dinner, so after it I walked into town and collected those. The first one I am really satisfied with, the other one had some plastic fibres in it so it sparkles but to get 3m of fabric for about 100sek is not bad. Hopefully, the sparkles will disappear with wear.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 02102013 
I have now capitulated, the combing is numbing my mind I talked to my mentor, and she will let me use the schools cardmachine. Its harder to operate then I thought but I am getting better at it and it's so much faster. 

                                                                   

Weaver's log, Earthed 03102013 
Today I took a break from the tent as the MNT class hade a ¨do what you want and finish stuff day¨ and one of they were sawing a dress in the building I have my workspace in, so I sowed my touille on her sewing machine when she was cutting her fabric. You have to fiddle some then putting them together. And its note-getting easier with so much fabric in each leg, about 180cm in each.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 04102013 
After some research on youtube on a card machine, I pre carded some wool as they did not seem to use raw wool, as I hade earlier. I also learned that the speed I operate the drum carder on is crucial for a good resulted so I now turn the crank a lot slower then I did previous. On the afternoon I went out on a hunt for roots from Galium boreale. This brought me even closer to the understanding of why the red fabric was so expensive. Walking along the railroad we found about one hand full of roots in the two hours we were out collecting.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 05102013 
I woke up today with plans to be in the woodshop all day, but as plans often do they changed. Instead, I and a friend went on a walk that lasted almost the whole day.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 06102013 
Today I did the work I were to do yesterday, I almost finished one beam holder in a day.

Week 6 (More spinning, some lovely blue and new viking pants)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 23092013 Monday again and the time feels like it fly's by. Today I have as I have the last couple of weeks, that
is spun and combed.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 24092013 
I would really like to say something exciting here but this part of the project is not that exciting am afraid. No word from the spinnery ether, this is starting to grow a lump in my stomach.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 25092013 
As usual spinning and combing, and the lump in my stomach are growing as I haven't gotten a reply from the spinnery yet. I, however, got a wonderful view from the window in my workroom today. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 26092013 
We have had frost all week at night and according to some sources, the blue in woad will be destroyed if it gets frozen, so today I took a break from the spinning to some final dying with the boys, hoping to get any blue from the plants. And we did which were really fun to see that something that is said not to work actually work.

 I get such a rush then it hits me that I picked some leaves from a plant I have grown and some hours later I am dying blue with it, it's a great sensation to feel. 

Weaver's log, Earthdate 27092013 
I started off this morning to spin and hang up the yarn, I hade on bobbins before the class meeting after lunch. At the meeting, we walked around and presented what we hade been doing the last two weeks. I love these meetings and to see what everyone has been doing. Am looking forward to then I can present something more interesting than just spun thread.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 28092013 
Today it was an autumn market in Sveg and I didn't plan on going but then they asked me to come with at lunch and I couldn't say no, and what a lucky thing I didn't. At the market, I meet a lovely lady from England that was spinning. And she showed me some things about the spinning wheel that I should think of then I was spinning, this has given me more hope of one day master the spinning wheel. After dinner, I started working on my Viking pants that I will sow soon.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 29092013 
The mission of the day was to make a touille of the baggy pants that the Swedish historic museum have on their page. I got to the point that I now have all the pieces cut out in the cotton fabric. I will hunt down a sewing machine tomorrow to sew them together and see how they fit. Hopefully, they will work on the first try, fingers crossed. 

Week 5 (So much spinning)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 16092013 
Started the week slow with some pottering in my room. Then after lunch, I went out to my workroom and spun up the wool I got from the school to Practise spinning on the spinning wheel with and started combing my own wool for the inlay for the weave I will do on my warp-weighted loom.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 17092013 
After I had pondered yesterdays experience with the spinning wheel I decided that I shall see how combing Monday to Thursday and then spin it all on Friday works. So today I have only combed wool.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 18092013 
Wool has been combed today as well. I have also hung the thread I have spun so far up on the wall in the basement with a bucket with stones at the bottom to let it get an even twist. As I entered the basement and I saw Saturdays work I got so sad of that horrendous colour, and on the spot decided that am going to redye it, order some new white yarn to get the same pink as before. From now on I will work on taking more pictures so it gets a little more exciting to read this.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 19092013 
The day started really slow, only combing for almost three days straight have exhausted my mind and it is just empty, it took me to after two o'clock to start to comb more wool. The funny thing is that I almost did as much as I did Wednesday even tho I started so late.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 20092013 
Friday and time to spin all that wool. It started OK and I am getting faster, but some old students came and visited before lunch so I managed only to spin three bobbins Today.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 21092013
 I didn't get home last night until it was Saturday so it wasn't until this morning I saw that I have gotten an email from the spinnery, that told me that a lot of the wool is double cut. And she thought it might be on purpose as its almost four centimetres long, and can be spun but won't make that good of a thread. So I sent a reply asking how much I need to replace.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 22092013 
Last night my classmate asked me if he could get back his heddle. So today's project where to Finnish my drawstring and after two hours of work I decided that I just buy some ribbon and give the heddle back. Rest of the day I did some Warhammer research and chilled in my room.

week 4 (Spinning,pink and ALPACAS)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 09092013 
Week four of ¨Operation Roof over head¨ has begun. I started with the final woodworking today. But at lunch, a classmate told me that we were going to have a meeting after lunch with our teacher and that lasted a good old while all the way to the afternoon coffee break. After the break, I went back to the woodshop but the blacksmiths where there so I made a tactical retreat to my room until their class ended and I slunk back and finished the what I was working on.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 10092013 
Tuesday started bad, overslept both breakfasts and morning coffee break, but after lunch, my class and our teacher took the school car and went on a field trip to a farm with alpacas and a sheep race called Jämtlandsfår that have really cool wool. Now am totally in love with alpacas but I think I will start with goats then I get a farm as they are cheaper and I will get meat and skins, so I think they will pay off themselves faster. But I am defiantly in love with alpacas

Weaver's log, Earthdate 11092013 
Today I have spun some more and even though it doesn't flow as good as the first day my skill has definitely improved, I also washed the wool I haven't combed yet to see if it makes it easier to comb. I also got some grave news from the spinnery today, apparently, there where much more hay dust, double cuts and even tips that hade felted together so as it stands now they are waiting for my orders on how to preside.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 12092013 
As I expected the washed wool were so much easier to comb and where exactly what I needed to do. The day started for real at the morning coffee break then I caught my teacher to tell her the grave news, that might not sound that exciting and it wasn't the exciting part, but she had been thinking and realizes that the pieces of yarn I got before I went on summer break were just for the inlay, as I were only to spin the inlay in the original plan. So after lunch, we sat down with some fabric examples from a Danish project to reproduce Viking wool sails called ¨Dragens vinge¨ and recalculated stuff like how many threads I should have in warp and inlay as I had forgotten that when you take it out of the loom it contracts. So with the new calculations and some extra, I need almost 10kg less thread to Finnish the cloth. I also sent the order to the spinnary to go ahead and sort the wool and take the extra work cost to see if they have enough wool there so I don't have to add any new.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 13092013 
Friday the 13th and I have done what I will be doing most days in the coming weeks, spinning. Our Friday meeting with my class was fun, we had the first tour of our workstations and talked about what we had done and showed some stuff. It gave a much fuller experience than just sitting at a table talking for an hour.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 14092013 
On today's agenda is to do a final dyeing with the cochineal and get rid of it afterwards. I am not totally satisfied with the colour I got, even tho I know that it wouldn't be the same as last time I hade white and now a very light grey. So the new plan with the fabric is a pink light purple tartan.

week 3 (Wool to the spinnary and even more blue stuff)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 02092013 
Monday was spent packing for the trip to the spinnery tomorrow and back to school, I'm somewhat stressed but I think as sone as I know that my contact at the spinnery is on the same page as me, I can finally get my yarn and get it in a loom I think that will go away.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 03092013
 Today I hade a road trip to Östersund and the spinnery, My contact there and I talked a lot and compared different threads and after 30 or 40 minutes we were at an agreement that we will experiment with it then we do the test spinning, I say we as I will go up there agene and be there so we get it just right. So now they got 50kg of my wool and it feels great. My Batch will be the next or second to next they do so soon I got some thread. I also got something to aim for then I spin the 2kg of wool for some inlay for a weft on my warp-weighted loom. This cloth is for the ''door'' side of the tent. I will do it so I can get into the mind of the Viking women that did this over a thousand years ago and have something to compare the cloth from the floor loom too.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 04092013 
Today I have been down in the basement with the boys, we actually got blue this time. It's so exciting to get a blue colour from something that you have grown on your own, I will probably join them on there next blue Batch with some wool of my own. As for what I did today, I used the leftovers of the cochineal bath and did a 3ed bath in it to get a cotton candy pink colour that I'm going to weave into wadmal and make a kaftan with pink silk embroidery and fox fur.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 05092013 
Thursday and a week have soon past agene. This day had such beautiful weather that I have mostly just stayed outside and enjoyed the last kisses from the sun before the winter hits., I have however washed the pink wool and hung it to dry and started spinning on the spinning wheel to learn how to spin the inlay. I like this spinning weel much more than the one I had here last year, as I actually can make a thread and on top of that I'm satisfied with it too.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 08092013 
Then I woke up today I felt that I was to accomplish a lot today, but then one of my friends had a really bad day so I spent the day with her instead.