On blogs and whatnot

I've had a number of blogs over time and as things change I've changed providers etc etc.

Blogger has been a great introduction in blogging about my crafts. Recently however I've found it doesn't quite match my needs and I've been looking around for something that does.

I've now begun the process of moving things over to my own site - jewelrhi.com. I intend to continue updating this site for now - but this is subject to change in the future as I get more to grips with navigating around there rather than here.

Equipment Updating

I've been a bit quiet recently. Real life got a bit busy. 

I've also been a bit stuck in regards to my equipment. My Harris loom is looking good and awaiting a new warp - once I finish filing my new shed sticks. There was an incident with the ones I had, and, well, one snapped. Cue me trying to find very thin wood that would suit the task. I've filed it to what I need it  to be; now I just need to drill 4 holes and I'm up and running with those.

Hector needed some metal pieces (attached to the shafts - no idea what they are called). I managed to get some from another member of Glamorgan Guild - but they needed the rust removed and a good paint. They've now been treated and painted and put up on my loom. I also threaded all the heddles and tied the shafts to the peddles. I will need to replace the twine I used for tie-up - but for now Hector is awaiting his first warp in many many years. I just need to tidy up the heddles a bit and I'll be happy.

Finally my Dryad 4 shaft table loom needed some serious tlc. Weaving was impossible as cords kept snapping. I'm part way through fixing this. Suffice to say - anything that was tied on requires a replacement tie: shafts, beams, levers. I've replaced some of the very old cord(?) with chain which has ensured they are all at the same level. Previously the third shaft lifted about half the height of the others, making weaving a bit challenging on occasion. Really some of the metal parts could do with a work over, but there is no point if I can't fix the things that are definite problems. Next up is to use the twine I have to attach the shafts with their new chains to the levers. I would prefer chain - but the design of the loom doesn't allow for that - so twine it is. The cord I took off was just... horrible. I had to cut through it as there was no way I could undo the knots. Now I just need to make sure I make all the twine lengths the same so the shafts lift properly. Then I will move on to the tie-ons for the beams. I replaced some parts previously - but the neither the string nor cord I used was strong enough so I shall try my twine. I shall also replace the side which uses a shoelace.

Once all that is done then all my looms will be back in use. I need to do a small replacement on my Knitters Loom, but I'm not using that at the moment - so that can wait for next time.

Done!

So in my last post here I said I would make a carpet bag similar to this. I wasn't going to slavishly copy it. I just wanted to give it a go and see what I could manage myself.

First off - I warped up my loom and started with this...

Which I had great fun weaving. Herdwick (the marled grey yarn) and plain white wool warp, along with  a weft of  Axminster orange (plain weave) and herringbone (Herdwick) alternating with plain weave (white wool). Fast to warp and fast to weave.

Eventually I cut it off and fulled it.

And this was where I got really excited. It fulled beautifully. I was very pleased. 

Next up I needed to decide how to make my bag. Unlike the original design, I wanted a lining. I also had a bit of difficulty sourcing plain leather to cut and use. Eventually I bought some pre-made handles, with the holes pre-punched so I just needed to sew them on to the woven fabric.

Then, things got... interesting. The weaving was the easy part - but the sewing up became a bit of a chore! Although I loved sewing by hand as a child, too many years of repairing clothes (why hello coats where the buttons aren't sewn on properly!) has left me very reluctant to sew.

I started sewing up. And then I stopped.

I ran out of energy and things weren't as easy as I had assumed they would be. I kept putting it off. I didn't want to do it. Well, I wanted the bag - I just didn't want to do the bits between fulling the material and the end result.

I managed to get the two sides sewn up. I attached the handles. Then I measured out the lining. 

On trying to attach the lining I realised it  was too small. 

I re-measured, and cut a new lining.

This again did not fit.

It was a silly mistake - but I realised the woven material had bulkiness I had failed to account for. So I re-measured and cut a third time. This time - success!

I pinned on the material and plotted how to sew the lining to the bag.

I began sewing. Then I unpicked it and redid part of it.

And then...

Realised I'd put the handles on wrong. It was not my best moment.

Fortunately I managed to correct that! Just. 

And finally, finally. I sewed the lining in.

Okay. I admit. There are bits that I could improve. Bits that I have already started considering how to do it next time. But! I am very very pleased with the end result. So here - in all its lovely new glory - is my handmade and handwoven carpet bag.

Oh I know what I will be doing next...

Thank you to Hand Spinning News for this particular link (and if you don't subscribe to hand spinning news - why not? Got here now!).

I've been working away at stuff and I'm a bit tired of making scarves. Well - now I've seen this carpetbag and I'm already debating what I can use in my stash to make one of my own!

And possibly 3 others for.... no... 4... no... 5.... - oh if it works - that's my Christmas plan for presents sorted.

Adventures with Hector

Last year I was gifted with a Dryad Rug Loom. It needed some serious TLC, but what with the weather being what it was, I didn't get the chance to do any serious work to it all year. So it has been sitting in the dining room, with a warping board propped up against it for some time.

However, with the forecast for sun on Saturday - I decided now was the best opportunity to get it in to the garden and get my sander out. So Friday evening I (and my helpful father) shifted the loom from the house to the garage.

Saturday I dug it back out and placed it in the garden.

It doesn't look too bad in this picture - but moving it can be treacherous! I ended up with a very nasty splinter of wood digging in to my finger that required tweezers to remove it. I knew the wood was very dry, and there was no way I was warping it up when several parts of it were prone to splintering.

I sanded it down using my sander for the majority of the frame, and sanded by hand the harder to reach places by good old fashioned elbow grease!

Eventually it looked like this...

and after a bit more work, like this!

I unwound both warp beams to inspect the wood beneath. They were in better condition than the more exposed parts - so I only used a high grade of sand paper on them.

During all the sanding I noticed that my loom had, during its previous life, acquired a name. I had uncovered the maker's small badge (out of, at a guess, brass) during sanding, but I also found, scratched into the frame, '{ H E C T O R}'. I know the frame at one point was either in a hospital or a place for occupational therapy, and rescued when it was being thrown out. Was Hector someone who loved using the loom so much that he wanted everyone to know it was his? Did he dislike it so much he felt the need to mark it? Was he bored and decide to scratch his name on the loom? I will never know. What I do know was that it took some serious effort to engrave his name in to the wood the way he did. So I decided against trying to sand it off and immediately renamed the loom Hector.

Hector seems a justly deserved name for a loom. He's a very privileged loom - he has both a first name, Hector, and a surname, Dryad. He doesn't like being shifted from pillar to post and will happily stab you with splinters if you disrespect him.

I knew I had to stop his wood from being so dry, so once I had finished with the sanding, I moved Hector back in to the garage and managed to use teak oil on him to give the wood a drink it desperately needed! I don't have any pictures of that - as I find it gets everywhere and is very sticky! A quick inspection afterwards revealed that he probably needs another coat - so when I get a chance I shall get back out there and get on with it.

I've still got more to do once Hector has another coat of oil. The cord fixing the treadles to the shafts needs replacing. I still need to sand the bottom of the loom which I skipped doing yesterday. I need to replace the hooks and springs. Brush down the metal shaft supports and treat them, and give the material attached to the warp beams a good clean. However, getting a loom like this back into working condition is such a pleasure I cannot wait to get on with it all. I want to be able to use him for the purpose he was created for. Saturday was a step in the right direction. A few more paces and I can set him up and get making on him. I look forward to that day.

Happy Easter!

I hope your day has been filled with whatever sweets you fancy! I got some very nice dark chocolate which shall be devoured later.

As today has been so lovely - my father and I went for a wander up to the Rose & Crown in Eglwysilan. A short car ride (but a long walk) from where we live. It's a lovely old pub and the food is always always good. We both had a very nice Sunday Beef (no horse!) Dinner and dessert. The pub has an open fire, black beams and whitewashed walls, horse brasses etc etc.

  After our food we took the scenic route back home - to the north the snow covered Brecon Beacons...  And to the south - the sea and a glimpse of Flat Holm in the distance.  

It's a beautiful part of the world to live in. I just hope this year we get more weather to appreciate it properly.

Right! Time to get back to weaving my squares! I've got some brilliant mixes of colours and textures. It's great fun to experiment on a small scale and see what happens when you mix yarns you wouldn't usually blend together. I'm working on a plan to get some of them framed as they have come out so well.

Glass Cutting!

Sometimes, being someone who loves crafts and experimenting with different things can cause you to be volunteered for things you don't expect. A case in point being last week when my brother asked if I still had my glass cutting equipment.

Yes, I do. And why did he need to know?

He'd bought a new door without glazing and was hoping to use my tools.

So I said he could borrow it and I'd show him how to use it as most of the panes were rectangular and just needed to be trimmed to size.

By the end of the week I was being requested to cut all the glass for him (my sister-in-law)! Or at least - help him far more than was initially suggested (him).

So Saturday was digging out all my glass cutting equipment and setting it all up for him and his glass. 

Here it is, unpackaged - prior to any cutting. Notice the two glass cutters in the picture. After a lesson which I insisted he cut and cut and cut some plain glass to learn how to cut and then 'snap' the glass afterwards - I cut the first piece and then let him cut his glass himself. I, however, tended to do the 'snapping' once he had scored the glass using his (well, my) cutter.

He wasn't entirely enamoured of using the cutter, he wanted to use it in a similar way to using another piece of cutting equipment. But following a very brief trial - he realised the traditional way of cutting glass worked best.

He and his wife had chosen 9 different sheets of glass colour-wise, although they all had the same texture. They were all rectangular, except for the top 3 which were curved.

He did rather well all told! They aren't set out in the order that they intend to glaze with - but here they are!

Even better, when he got home - he checked - and yes - they all fitted! So no need to use the grinder I had in the corner of this picture.

I think, overall, he enjoyed being the one to cut his own glass and would probably have a go again if he had the opportunity.

I enjoyed it too! It's been a long time since I've seriously cut any glass - so I was pretty pleased with the end result.

In other news I'm still using up the left over yarn I have accumulated over time. Hopefully I'll have some pics soon of all the pieces - prior to me deciding what to do with them all.