Weavers learning my ‘method’ of beaming sometimes get very nervous about the part where the loops of the warp need to be transfered from the 3rd stick to the apron or cord at the back beam. I realized that it would be a very simple matter to utilize the ‘angel wings’ as a 3rd hand.
3rd stick with warp loops – stick is tipped upright so that it is easier to see the loops
apron rod being interleaved with the loops of the warp and the apron
apron rod fully inserted into the warp loops
3rd stick removed – warp is now completely installed onto the apron rod
a couple of minutes (at most) and the pigtails in the loops are smoothed out and the warp is ready to be beamed
warp travels under the breast beam, over the valet and each chain is weighted with a jug of water – elapsed time from inserting rough sleyed warp in the beater to the warp completely beamed and ready to thread – about 20 minutes – the warp is 9 meters long, 544 ends at 24 epi (about 22 1/4 “)
Purrington’s angel wings are not required for this – any method of supporting the stick would make the job of transfering the loops much less stressful. I just happen to have the angel wings installed on this loom.
Pam Howard and I have been discussing my returning to the John C. Campbell Folk School next year in January. She has suggested another week long course but a different topic than The Efficient Weaver, which we will have given twice after my trip there in March of this year.
Thinking about what I could offer I wondered about a Weaving “boot” camp where people could come and rather than have a set curriculum, they would let me know ahead of time what they wanted specifically to learn and I would act as a weaving coach. Lectures would be given to reflect the needs of the students. For instance, perhaps people wanted to know how to read and design with profile drafts. Or there was interest in fibre characteristics and how to choose yarns wisely for the intended purpose. Or there was interest in wet finishing, generally, or for shrinkage differential (more commonly known as fabrics that go ‘bump’). Or people wanted to know more about how colour acts in woven structure.
The week long class would allow people to hone in on where they wanted to improve and give them an opportunity to focus in a concentrated manner on working towards mastery.
What do you think?
