Weaving with LED Fiber Optics

During this frantic time of my preparation for my keynote address and retrospective gallery show, I got a wonderful surprise when I first turned on the LEDs for my fiber optics weavings. I just got them back from the students at Cal Poly State University Materials Engineering Department in San Luis Obispo, CA. The students connected  LEDs, batteries, etc, etc, to the pieces I wove with fiber optics threads. I will debut these pieces at the CNCH conference on May 18 at the Oakland Convention Center. Pass along this information to anyone who might want to attend. I’m really excited about this!

2012 CNCH Weaving Convention

I spent the month of March preparing my keynote speech for the northern California weaving conference, CNCH. It will be May 17-20 at the Oakland Convention Center. It was a lot of work but fun figuring out what I could say in 1/2 hour. Believe me, there was a lot I had to relegate to the cutting room floor. It was hard to give up so many ideas. Maybe we can make a video and put it on line!

April will be devoted to preparing for my two classes and a retrospective of my work. I’ve already made the list for the exhibit for the labels, but now I need to be sure every piece is prepared and ironed, etc. I’m honored to have this recognition.

The two classes are about collapse weaving and supplementary warp–two of my favorite things. (I’ve signed up for CNCH 2013 to teach them again–also about using the paddle.

Weaving with Sewing Threads 1

I used a 4-shaft loom for this project. This piece began as an experiment at the beginning of the warp to see which combination of colors I liked best for the top layer of cloth. Many of the pieces on this warp were double weave — woven as tubes. I liked the idea because I could have the sett very open this way. (Some pieces were one layer – with double the number of ends per inch.) So, I had two layers, but making them into a tube meant only one shuttle was needed–a good thing.
After all the experiments, I choose the combination of having shafts 1 & 2 on top and 3 & 4 on the bottom. There are maybe 6 different combinations of shafts I tried. See my book Weaving for Beginners, for an introduction to the basics of double weave and how different shafts can be used for the layers. Often people learn that 1 & 3 are one layer and 2 & 4 are on the bottom. This is only one combination you can use.
The ruffles came when I pulled up the supplementary warps and sort -of rouched the layers. You can see that each section I wove was divided by a row or two with the supplementary warp woven in. See previous posts about this sewing thread warp to learn more about the supplementary warp I used.

See-through, One

In this piece I wanted to show that the cloth I was weaving was sheer. You can see the wavy supplementary warps that are on the back of the cloth. The cloth itself was woven as a tube with very fine wefts. The idea is that it’s one layer of cloth with the floating threads behind, but instead of weaving it as one layer, I wove it as a tube (two layers) the sett is very open and the layer is really 2 gauze-like layers–more transparent than a more solid single layer would have been. (The floating threads are in the middle, between the layers of the tube.)
The supplementary warps are woven into the cloth in the band in the middle. For the rest of the cloth, they were not woven in so when I cut it off the loom, they were free to wander except where attached in the middle area. The idea came from a previous piece where the supplementary warps floated behind. In this piece I planned where they were attached and free floating.

See-through one, close-up

More information on the supplementary warp techniques are in previous posts for this sewing thread warp. This is a subject I use a lot and will be teaching on line in the future. Let me know if you think you might like to sign up.

Warping Reel Pegs, Vertical

While thinking about using the paddle with a warping reel, it occurred to me to show how you can get the pegs you need for the crosses on warping reels. In my books I recommend using 4 pegs for the crosses and usually reels only have 3. This is what I have used to get the needed 4 pegs.

Horizontal Warping Reel Pegs, Detail

Warping Reel Pegs, Horizontal

These illustrations are from my Book #1, Winding a Warp & Using a Paddle, on pages 33 and 34.

paddle and reel

WHERE TO PLACE THE PADDLE
You want the paddle to be easy to reach, so when you get to the lease pegs, you can easily make the lease and put it onto the pegs.
Other than being clamped to something
approximately at the center of the warping
board as in Figure 118, below, the paddle can be clamped to the bottom of the warping board itself if the height of the board is convenient for you.
Clamping a paddle at a height close to the
pegs on a reel is shown in Figure 119a.

paddle and chair

Clamping it to the back of a chair works well, too. See Figure 119b.

Also, see below where to place the paddle at a warping board.

Paddle and warping board

Black Horsehair with heading sticks

Here are more photos of the black horse hair piece. One shows it just off the loom, before cutting off the heading sticks. Note that the heading was WOVEN when I cut off the previous piece. The sticks were attached to the apron rod to put the warp back on tension so I could weave this piece. Look up the tip on Two-stick Heading. It is also described in my first books and my book, Weaving for Beginners.

Black Horsehair detail

Black Horsehair Back Side

Here is the back; also interesting.

Black Horsehair Weaving

This piece has black horse hair woven in. I think the back side is interesting, too. Some people like it better. My computer is acting up again and I can’t show the back now.

More from the sewing thread warp. It is finished (10 yards) and I’ll be sending the last pieces. I’m pretty sure the next warp will be 10 yards and narrow again for more miniatures. They are so much fun and I feel so creative. I plan to use the very fine silk threads again. The ones used in the pieces on my home page. I can’t wait. Life seems to be in the way for now.

Lark's Head Knot

Finally, the tip is up on the lark’s head knot. Go to the tips section (choose the heading under the title of the home page) or search for lark’s head knot.