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.

Week 2 (warp weighted loom build and some things blue)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 26082013
 A new week has dawned and I have done a lot today. I have worked on my warp-weighted loom, on my mothers wool combs and I have warped the heddle, so today's efforts are total to satisfactory.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 27082013 As I started the day I sat a goal to Finnish one side on the beam today. I also Mailed the spinnery, my contact there is very helpful.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 28082013 
As I woke today I didn't feel like working, but I got the news that we where to spend the afternoon doing team building stuff to know the people at the school so I went out to the woodshop and worked to lunch. I drew the final side of the beam and thought how to work on the beam holders.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 29082013 
Thursday was spent working on woad with the boys, It was a nice change both working with others and not thinking about the tent.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 30082013 
Did some woad stuff until lunch and then I went home to my mom for the weekend. I also discovered that the m/kg I have been switched at some point so I had to recalculate the wool needed for warp and inlay.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 31092013 
Today I tried to shake the wool as my contact at the spinnery told me they do, but it didn't really work so instead of the possibility that I spoil something for them, I let the wool be. So the rest of the day I corrected the mistake I talked about yesterday, so that is all good now.

Week 1 (The adventure begins)

Weaver's log, Earthdate 19082013 
The first day of ¨Operation Roof over head¨ has soon past. Today was mostly saying hi to the others at school and doing a schedule, which I will show to my teacher tomorrow to get it approved. As I got two weeks ¨over¨ I feel confident even tho I lack a lot of the materials I need at the moment.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 20082013 
The second day has literally past as its past midnight. I have spent the day with the new textile students, doing some plant dyeing. It has been a great sunny day outdoors. I am dye thread for a Viking garment that I will weave probably this summer if I get it all dyed until then.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 21082013 
Today I talked to my teacher about my plans. She wants to see my schedule before she approved it. She also said that the yarn that I wanted to use as the warp isn't going to work in such a long weave. So I did some calculations and it isn't that much more expensive to let the spinnery do the warp and the inlay so that's my new plan . Other than that I have now dyed 200g yarn in heather to be the warp for the garment I spook of yesterday. I really look forward to doing it. I think temptations of side projects will be a big thing, but I need to have the discipline to stay on track on the ¨Operation roof over head¨.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 22082013 
My day started with a lecture in sustainable development that I found very interesting, he who hade the lecture made us talked about different things in small groups that we later brought up for the rest in the auditorium and discuss it further. After lunch, we raped up the dying and cleaned up. I am very happy with my yellow yarn, I also got some cochineal that I hope I can get some pink or magenta from later someday, but then I will use a hotplate and not fire as we have done now. Last but not least I have joined my two classmates that are working on dying with woad which I find very interesting and hope for some blue yarn in the end.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 23082013 I have mailed the spinnery today and is hoping for an answer on Monday. I have also settled in the workspace I have been given. As today were a Friday my class have had a progress meeting with our teachers and after that I had a meeting with my mentor and presented my schedule, she approved it, and I also told her other stuff that was good for her to know about the operation and the things I need to borrow from the school like wool comes and a spinning wheel. After dinner, I were to join in on some woad work and placing the first pieces of wool in the first batch, I however, forgot and as I brought the old cochineal baths to the basement I met my friends in there as they were done, so no blue yarn for me this time but theirs always the next batch.

Weaver's log, Earthdate 25082013 Saturdays relaxed theme somewhat continued over to Sunday. I have sewed some on a kaftan and borrowed a heddle from a friend so I can make a waist string for a pair of pants as I broke the last one I had in them. Week one is now to end and a new one begins tomorrow with new adventures.

Introduction

It is time to introduce myself, My name is Jon and this blog started as a project log for a project to weave a replica of a Viking tent at a crafts school. Sins then the blog have evolved and now concerns everything weaving and sewing I may do, but also woodwork that is related to tent frames.

My update of the blog hasn't been the most consistent or frequent. hoping I will get a habit of doing it more often than once a year as it is as of writing.

Hope you will enjoy and learn something, Don't hesitate to ask questions or correct my grammar for intense, right now I use free Grammarly so most words are correct but grammar might not be the best.