Becka's Project Journal

Inkle Looms - Let's talk about warp

2009-06-13T09:12:00.004-05:00

Inkle looms are a little picky about what makes good warp. Whatever you use it has to be smooth.

Good warp:
I often use something called "rug warp". That's pictured on the left. I can get it at the Weavers Guild of MN, which is located in the Textile Center. Super convenient. It is strong, ultra smooth and comes in all kinds of colors. About $4.50 for a spool.
I have also used perle cotton 3/2 weight. Again carried at the Weavers Guild. You can get it at craft stores and use the little skeins. Have done that in a pinch, but it is more expensive that way. Perle cotton has beautiful shine.
Embroidery Floss. Works great. The little skeins don't go very far, but everyone seems to have them lying around.
Bamboo/Tencel yarn. I made a couple of scarves on the inkle with blends of bamboo and tencel. Nice drape, really pretty result.

Bad warp:
Anything with fuzz. I have tried sock yarn. It works ok, but due to the way you move the threads as you weave, any little fuzzy bits that stick out get tangled together and you do a lot of picking fuzz out of your weaving and prying things apart. Some experimenting with sock yarns might get you the perfect thing. Merino yarn is a disaster. I tried a single ply lace weight and it just plain didn't work. Wrong kind of yarn for this kind of loom.

Probably good:
I haven't tried but I imagine that cotton yarns would work great, smooth nylon ribbon yarns too.

Inkle Looms - Vocabulary

2009-06-08T18:08:00.003-05:00

I had several comments from my last giveaway asking for help with inkle looms. So here is the start to a series all about what I know! First things first, we need to start with vocabulary. Weavers have all kinds of strange words to describe the parts of looms.

Inkle looms are small tabletop looms used to make long narrow bands - up to 4 inches wide, 9 feet long. Mine comes from Beka Inc and I love it. I am the keeper of 18 of these for the kids programs at the Textile Center and these ones are durable!

Shed - the opening that you pass the shuttle through when you are weaving. On an inkle loom, you move one set of strings up and down, creating the shed.

Heddles - hold down every other thread. On an inkle, one set of threads stays in place, one set moves up and down.

Warp - the long threads that you put on the loom. Inkles make a "warp-faced" weave, which means you only see the warp threads in the finished weaving. This inkle has a continuous warp, which means it is one big loop, with all of the separate colors tied to one another.

Tension Bar - this is the only moving piece on this loom. It can be loosened and tightened to adjust the tension in your weaving.

Weft - The thread that you weave back and forth through the warp. You carry it on a shuttle. It passes through the shed. On an inkle, this thread hardly shows in your finished piece.

Shuttle - a thread holder for your weft thread. You also use the shuttle to press or beat the threads tightly together as you weave.

By Chance

2009-06-08T09:00:00.004-05:00

Hello all! It's taken me more time to get caught up from the SDA conference than I thought. Wow. One of the highlights for me was seeing the members exhibit. All Surface Design Association members were invited to submit a piece 18 inches square, using any technique. I was looking at all of them and was pleasantly surprised to see a name I recognized! This is a piece by my mom's college roommate. I knew she was an art quilter and I am not surprised that she's an SDA member, but it was a surprise to see her name. I chatted with a couple of her friends from NJ and took this picture; Rachel herself wasn't at the conference.
Edit. Bad blogger did not identify the artwork. "Hands On" by Rachel Cochran. On display at the SDA Conference Members Show, Kansas City, MO.

Winners!

2009-06-01T10:40:00.003-05:00

I have been at the Surface Design Association conference for the last 5 days and I have had so much fun reading all of your comments on the breaks between sessions. I learned all kinds of cool new things so I will have things to blog about soon. Now to the fun stuff - announcing the winners! My random number generator chose...

Kerry, who will get the silk scarf.
Yvonne, the striped cuff bracelet
Kassia, the diamond pattern bracelet

Then because there were SO MANY comments I just couldn't believe it, I decided to give away a few more things. Because I love fiber art as you may have guessed, anyone who said that their favorite project had to do with fiber art in any way got put in a list and I drew three more random numbers.

Tammimarie
Sara (#2)
HARK!
These ladies will get a random surprise package of some fiber art.

And because I am a teacher and I was so delighted that SugarMama was inspired to look up "inkle looms" and find out more, she gets her own inkle woven bracelet too!

Many thanks to all of you that entered. I hope you come back and visit often!

ALSO Q&A -
Do I teach classes in Mpls? YES! Through the Textile Center, all the time.
Can I help with inkle looms? Absolutely. I was just working on a photo tutorial on how to warp them a week or two ago. I will blog it, never fear!

Give Aways!

2009-05-27T00:36:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Blog Give Away Day!
I'm Becka. I am an art teacher. Specifically I teach fiber art. I know, cool huh? I make a lot of samples as I am teaching so my students can see how things work step by step. My Give Away Day prizes are some beautiful projects made as samples in classes I have taught. Pictured are:
- a shibori dyed silk scarf. Fuschia/lime/deep purple.
- two handwoven cuff bracelets made on an inkle loom. One is classy grey/blue stripes, one has a pick up pattern of diamonds that "float" on top. Cotton warps.

This giveaway is open May 27 through May 31. I will draw three winning names at random and announce them first thing on June 1st. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me about your favorite art class project. What did you make? Why was it the best thing ever? (Be sure you leave your email or some way I can contact you so I can mail your prize!)

P.S. I will ship internationally!

Visit more blogs and enter some more!

Giveaways

2009-05-21T08:27:00.003-05:00

I am going to be participating in:

Check back on May 27 for more details. You can win fun stuff here and at about a bazillion other blogs.

I heart Mo Willems

2009-05-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

I heard this interview on NPR a while back and forgot about it. I love what he had to say!

Somewhere along the way, we all were artists. Everyone picks up crayons or chalk as toddlers, but at some point, we just stop drawing. Radio cartoonist and children's author Mo Willems says that's a pity.

Willems is obsessed with why adults don't draw — and he wants to do something about it.

"One of the interesting things about cartooning and doodling and drawing," Willems tells Michele Norris, "is that people stop when they decide they're not good at it. Nobody stops playing basketball when they realize they're not going to become a professional. The same thing should apply to cartooning."

Willems says just sitting and drawing a character brings out empathy in people, and that's something the world could use more of right now.

One of the biggest reasons children stop drawing is that they see that adults don't do it, Willems says. When he goes into classrooms, he says, teachers often ask him to get the kids to draw. But when he does, many of the teachers don't participate.

"Well, now the kids realize that this is just a baby activity," he says.

He reminds us that parents are actually cool in kids' eyes — for a while — and kids want to imitate what they do.

"If your kid comes home from school and you say, 'I'll be right with you; I'm just finishing a doodle,' the kid's going to go, 'Dude, I want to do that, too!' "

Garage Sale Skirt

2009-05-19T18:41:00.002-05:00

Every year I get fabric from the Textile Center's garage sale fundraiser and make a skirt. This year was a blue chambray with embroidered flowers. Wrap around with fabric ties. My own pattern, based off of a skirt I like.

Planted today:

2009-05-17T16:07:00.002-05:00

petunias - pink
allyssum - white
delphinium - purple
scabiosa - blue
strawberries (relocated)
forget me not
anemone - white
zinnias - yellow
tomatoes
lettuce
sunflowers - assorted

also planted last weekend - bachelor buttons, violas (deep purple), moss roses, lupine (mystery color), columbine (mystery color), snapdragons (red & yellow)

time for drinking iced tea (welch morning) and reading a book (georgette heyer)

Weird weekend

2009-05-17T11:30:00.002-05:00

Sushi (not weird for us, but weird for some other people)
Andean Pan Pipe Concert
Stumped the comic book experts by asking for a knitting comic
Phantom of the Opera, we went to see the Broadway touring company. Our inner 16 year old selves appreciated the experience greatly. Our jaded older selves were slightly hysterical at the over-the-topness.
Ran in to friends at a restaurant in an odd place at an odd time for lunch yesterday
Had a lesson in "chatoyant" polymer clay techniques at Art-A-Whirl. Fascinating, but who knew?

Off to greenhouse now to buy a waterlily.

Another Weekend, Another Festival

2009-05-13T07:49:00.003-05:00

This weekend I spend an afternoon at the Shepherd's Harvest Festival in Lake Elmo MN. It's a haven for fiber geeks. Several buildings packed with yarn, fleece, spinning wheels, spinners, weavers, knitters and more. Then walk across the fairgrounds a little way and it is barns full of sheep, goats, llamas and more. I taught two mini versions of my "technology for artists" classes in a 4H barn with no internet connection, but despite that, I think they went really well! (Hello class!) I didn't take a camera with me, so no photos of the sheep!

We also had a couple of cute visitors over the weekend. My nephew, who just turned 6 months old, and his mommy came up for his first trip to the big city. We went to a couple of greenhouses and hung around the house with Lucy. Evidently, when you are 6 months old, Lucy is the funniest thing ever. Every time she would look his way, he would burst out giggling.

This week should be a little quieter. I finished my Pioneer sweater and it is drying from blocking right now. Pictures soon. It turned out great, although I did a couple of modifications.

It's also time for another book report! Recently finished:

Dissolution, Dark Fire and Sovereign by C.J. Sansom.
Mysteries set in the time of King Henry VIII, just after he had beheaded Anne Boleyn. Having watched The Tudors recently, I was instantly familiar with all kinds of characters from these books. Matthew Shardlake, the main character, is a lawyer who gets noticed by "those with power" far too often for his piece of mind. Great mysteries with lots of interesting incidental characters. The King and the Court are really minor characters, which I like. Often these kinds of mysteries have a talented commoner interacting with the King or Queen and this was a nice change. Matthew deals with underlings who are grasping to stay powerful and often they do not care how that might cause problems for those they order around. I look forward to reading more.

Firebird by Mercedes Lackey. A retelling of a classic fairy tale, another favorite genre. This one was a very easy read. Our main character, Ilya, is clever, the ending has a nice twist, the story had a very classic feel. I am not familiar with the Firebird story, but it had that traditional kind of feeling. I usually like Mercedes Lackey's writing and this was no exception.

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn. I loved the first two. The third was equally compelling. I read it nearly in one sitting. Lady Julia epitomizes "curiosity killed the cat" as she herself acknowledges in this book. I would call these a romantic mystery. Once again, great twists to the plot, witty writing that make me laugh out loud. The covers to these books in paperback are ridiculous -don't let that turn you off. They are smarter than they look.

The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey. Part of her "Tales of the 500 Kingdoms series", which is truly delightful. The series follows fairy godmothers and the kingdoms they oversee. Not true fairies, but clever magically talented girls who find themselves doing an unusual job. The "Tradition" is a magical force that tries to recognize bits of traditional fairy tales happening to regular people and then it jumps in and tries to force their story fit the fairy tale. A girl with a grumpy stepmother can find herself reliving the Cinderella story. Light, funny and packed with snippets and characters of fairy tales, which makes it fun.

Woven on Saturday

2009-05-04T14:53:00.002-05:00

I wove enough on Saturday for two belts and a smattering of cuff bracelets. (Maybe I will do a giveaway!) There weren't as many kids as anticipated at the Craftstravaganza, so we ended up doing more demonstrating and less hands-on. I did a ton of weaving. This is one of the pieces I finished. It is about 1 1/2 wide and 5+ feet long. Andy snapped a picture of me and Jen while we were hard at work. Jen was spinning fine merino-alpaca yarn in a kind of earthy colorway.

Weekend activities

2009-04-30T17:33:00.002-05:00

I will be representing the Textile Center at the St Paul Craftstravaganza on Saturday. Make N Takes for kids and me demonstrating inkle weaving and my friend Jen with her spinning wheel. Lots of fun, fantastic shopping! Come say hi!

Also, don't miss the new exhibit opening tomorrow night at the Textile Center. Hopefully we will have an online gallery for this one soon. It is all textiles from India from a private collection. Amazing, stunning, beautiful work, especially if you are in to embroidery.

Bird List

2009-04-25T13:10:00.005-05:00

We went to Carlos Avery Wildlife Sanctuary last week on a day off and here's what we spotted:

Bald Eagle (in a nest)
Sandhill Cranes - at least 3, probably more like 8, but we didn't see them all at the same time.
Coots - lots of them
Mallards- lots of them
Red Winged Blackbirds - many
Tree Swallows
Tree Sparrows, Song Sparrows
Blue Winged Teals - 2 pairs
Trumpeter Swans - two of them, one banded
Hooded Merganzers - 3 pairs
Ring Necked Ducks
Red Tail Hawk
Canada Geese - hordes

See Andy's Blog for Photos!

I heart Orange and Green

2009-04-23T23:17:00.003-05:00

My new purse. Inspired by this pattern and another similar vintage Simplicity pattern I scored at a TC garage sale, although I changed a bunch of things as I went because I like my way better. Made from a piece of vintage canvas from last year's garage sale stash, vintage trim from the thrift store and lined with a piece of batik fabric which is dark green and brown. Magnetic snap, one interior pocket. Strap is lined with cotton webbing, so it's super sturdy.

I think I am finally going to break down and try to make some of these for a couple of local shops. I have been asked before and I think maybe it's time. I am going to do all vintage and retro-style fabrics. I made this one up in about an hour and a half, tweaking the pattern as I went. How much do you think I should price them at?

Meme: A Life in Pages

2009-04-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

1. What author do you own the most books by?
Anne McCaffrey. One of my favorite authors since I was about 10 years old.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
I try not to have multiples of the same title. I have too many books already. I know we have 2 copies of the last Harry Potter book because Andy and I wanted to read it at the same time.

3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Justin de Quincy from Sharon Kay Penman's mysteries, Remus Lupin

4. What book have you read more than any other?
Moreta by Anne McCaffrey

5. What was your favorite book when you were 10 years old?
The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell

6. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
I don't know about worst. Most disappointing was The Mysterious Benedict Society. Lost Interest: The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. Usually if it's bad, I stop reading.

7. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
One best? The Sanctuary books by Deanna Rayborn, several by Georgette Heyer, Jean Plaidy

8. If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Ack. Hard to choose. Anything I have mentioned that you haven't read.

9. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Les Miserables

10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
French

11. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare.

12. Austen or Eliot?
Austen 100%.

13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
The Great Gatsby. Seems like everyone has to read this and I managed to get by without it being required anywhere.

14. What is your favorite novel?
I don't have 1 favorite. The things I re-read the most are Harry Potter, Anne McCaffrey, Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Guy Gavriel Kay, Robin McKinley.

15. What is your favorite play?
Midsummer Night's Dream.

16. What is your favorite poem?
Favorite poet: ee cummings. I think my favorite of his is
"somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond"

17. What is your favorite essay?
I am not sure I have a favorite.

18. What is your favorite short story?
I don't read a lot of short stories either. A Sherlock Holmes, maybe.

19. What is your favorite non-fiction?
I love field guides. I don't read a lot of non-fiction.

20. What is your favorite graphic novel?
Those Left Behind (Firefly)

21. What is your favorite science fiction?
The Hawk's Grey Feather by Patricia Kennealy, The Summer Tree Trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay (sci-fi/fantasy mix). Strictly science fiction I like Jack McDevitt.

22. Who is your favorite writer?
Just One?? I have mentioned quite a few.

23. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephanie Meyer.

24. What are you reading right now?
Dissolution by C.J. Sansom

25. Best memoir?
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

26. Best history?
I prefer historical fiction. Anything by Sharon Kay Penman.

27. Best mystery or noir?
And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander, Joliffe Mysteries by Margaret Frazer, Brother Cadfael Mysteries by Ellis Peters

And what about you?

Garage Sale Treasures

2009-04-20T18:45:00.002-05:00

Three sweaters and a shawl's worth of yarn:

Oodles of bias tape, hem binding lace, and ric rac:

Vintage Fabrics:

Happy Tax Day

2009-04-16T09:06:00.003-05:00

Tax day means that it is time for the Annual Textile Center Garage Sale. I will be working about a gahzillion hours over the next 3 days, but it is one of the most fun weekends we do all year. We already have donations from businesses to fill two 15 ft trucks. A business called this year and asked if we could pick up three palettes of bolts of fabric. That's a lot of fabric, people! I have 4 big trash bags full of yarn to bring in today, donated from friends. A fleet of the-best-volunteers-on-the-planet price it, organize it and we sell it at "garage sale prices".

It's like Brigadoon, it's here and then it disappears into the mist! If you are in the neighborhood - come Friday 6:30-8:30 pm or Saturday 9-4 to get in on the fun! Textile Center Garage Sale

What is wrong with people?

2009-04-10T13:54:00.002-05:00

The karma of the world is seriously out of whack this week. Two organizations that I hold with great fondness were victims of petty random acts of meanness. It is not my place to share the details, but mean people suck. To the perpetrators, I don't know who you hoodlums think you are, but I hope that whatever diety you believe in comes and smacks you on the butt!

Do something nice for somebody today will you?

(end of rant)

Chicago

2009-04-07T17:21:00.003-05:00

Spent the weekend in Chicago with Andy, his brothers and his mom, to celebrate her birthday!
Above is the Public Library building (which is now a cultural center). The most amazing glass mosaics I have ever seen covering nearly every surface (Click and you can see the photo a little bigger). I told Andy it was prettier than some of the castles we saw in France. Totally magical.
Below is us on day two of walking. We walked for miles. The weather was cool but lovely.

Book Reports

2009-03-31T17:22:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I filled you in on my reading list. I ran out of new books and did a bunch of re-reading for a while there.

I cruised through:
Dragon Prince and Star Scroll by Melanie Rawn. I have read them each at least 5 times. As I have said before anything with dragons is usually good enough for me. These have some good characters and a unique interaction with magic that I like. (I am pretty sure my sister B has read them 20 times). There are more in the series.

Then The Hawk's Grey Feather by Patricia Kennealy. An Arthurian based story, told from Talesin's point of view. Celtic influences but with starships. Good stuff. First in a trilogy. I have read them half a dozen times at least.

Then I got an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday and ordered Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman. Cheesy title and dumb cover art kept me from buying it before. But a recommendation from Bookshelves of Doom (who has very similar taste in books to mine!) convinced me to order it. Read her summary, she does a beautiful job. I liked it a lot. I look forward to reading more.

Another recommendation from Bookshelves lead me to Silent in the Grave by Deanna Rayborn. I LOVE these books. I am in the middle of the second one right now. Historical mysteries. I have read some who criticize them for not being historically accurate enough, but who cares? The characters are highly entertaining and the mystery itself had many twists which I didn't expect. Thoroughly entertaining and at points witty enough to make me chuckle out loud. I did have an interesting deja-vu moment - the first book has many parallels to Tasha Alexander's And Only to Deceive. Similar characters and a couple of familiar situations that they find themselves in.

Tiny Art Quilts

2009-03-26T22:33:00.002-05:00

Finally got around to listing a couple of little art quilts in my etsy shop. I have made a bunch of these and I really like working on a small scale. With all of the art quilts happening at work with our IKEA fundraiser, I feel a little like I have these on the brain, so I thought I would share. These are about 6x8 inches.

Tweeting some etsy favorites

2009-03-24T23:17:00.001-05:00

This is what is in my favorites right now. I am playing along with an etsy tweet "project".

Project Patchwork

2009-03-19T19:34:00.003-05:00

Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?
Becka Rahn 2009

If you are in the Twin Cities area and you love IKEA, I have a deal for you! I am one of the quilters participating in an art quilting challenge called "Project Patchwork". IKEA partnered with the Textile Center. Each quilter got 4 yards of IKEA fabrics and the challenge was to make a quilt using entirely those fabrics. This Saturday March 21 there will be an exhibit and sale of the quilts at IKEA starting at 6 pm. There will be snacks and live music and lots of art to see! Best yet, is that everything we make from selling the quilts goes to support the youth programs at the Textile Center (which are very near and dear to my heart!)

Here is a sneak peak of some of the other quilts, too! All of the remaining quilts (including mine!) will be for sale at Textile Center's new online shop in a few more days.

Who is that?

2009-03-16T17:42:00.000-05:00

Babies like the baby in the laptop camera.