Experimenting

I had been thinking of "upgrading" this old idea - making it in wool-only. Would the pattern be visible, if doing it with the same open structure as the simple lattices?

Just cut off, it looked very un-interesting:

Well, if I was in for a disappointment, I might as well try another idea: a three-layer all-wool version.

I decided to make the grids the same size as for the two-layer versions - would it be possible to tease the layers apart after the machine-finishing? Or would the whole thing come out hopelessly felted?

After pre-sleying it looked open enough:

Of course, it was a bit less open on loom:

Each layer has 1 cm (8 ends) wide "bands" placed 5 cm apart, which only gives 1 cm of empty dents when combined (1cm layer1; 1cm empty; 1cm layer2; 1 cm empty; 1cm layer3; 1cm empty - repeat)

Both experiments fringed and ready for their bath - each in it's own mesh bag:

After washing, they both looked, well, tangled...

The brown-and-blue looked exactly as uninteresting washed as it did before. One disappointment done with. (Maybe I will look closer some other time, but for now it is placed in the "failure" bucket.)

The three-layer one was surprisingly un-felted - that is, it was quite easy to tease the layers apart. I liked the look, but we all know that pressing is part of the wet finishing, right?
I decided to experiment further, so I pressed one end as hard/flat as possible. The other end got treated in the mangle - but not very much. (As I wanted to leave the middle untreated, I had to wind it on and off the mangle many many times - it got maybe 6-7 short passes.)

The mangled end to the left, the pressed to the right:

Completely dried, arranged on a mannequin:

I have showed the result to several persons, both weavers and non-weavers. So far, ALL have preferred the mangled end. Myself, I think that perhaps "nothing" is good enough, maybe it could be treated with a short time in the dryer.
And maybe I could try with a slightly more open "mesh" - like 2 cm empties instead?

On a short trip

Some things never change, do they?

This one comes from an old ironworks, later foundry:

(Rough translation: Solidarity with your workmates means cleanliness and order. Enhance the well-being of everyone by keeping things clean and nice)

In another place, they park the cleaning implements ready to hand:

The first one of the season

(which is on it's last legs anyway) -

Every tourist season I get at least one visitor into my shop who looks around and says "but there is nothing handwoven here".

Today, I was sitting in the loom sleying for another small V, when this woman came in, looked around and said "I thought there would be more handwoven items here - your sign says 'handcrafts'?"

After all these years, I still haven't found the Good Answer to that comment -

Over the years, I have tried to collect the reasons for that comment. Mostly, it seems that as I do not sell rag rugs (nor specialize in tablecloths), I cannot be a handweaver.

There is no way to please everyone, I guess.

The woes of getting old: rant alert

One of the woes of getting old is that you have seen (or heard, or ...) "it" before.

The other day we went to see a knitting exhibition at Lilla Björka. (Should you be in the vicinity, it is worth a visit just to see the house and it's view. They put on exhibitions of very varying quality - IMO, of course ;- - but... )

This time it was a small part of "The knitting house", part of the Auerbach sweater exhibition (recently in Malmö), some mittens and some hats.
"The knitting house" is so exhibition-worn (grubby, holey, sagging) that I find it best not to say anything more...

When I saw pictures from the Auerbach exhibition from Malmö konsthall (there are no pictures left on their site) I found them interesting, even though I could see where they came from - but the sheer volume, and the fact that exhibition attendants also wore them, made me want to see them.

However. With 3 (maybe 4) sweaters, which had patterns mostly from Hönsestrik (the book) - .

When the book first came out (in Swedish 1975), it was something new. It was also meant for inspiration, even if there were many many patterns chartered. (1975 - folks, that is nearly 40 years ago. Where are the modern rebels?)

Anyway, I suppose the "sentences" is what make Auerbach's sweaters different:

(and that was the most risqué sentence found on this very small exhibition)

There were some "guerilla knits" too - :

(did you know that nowadays there are actual classes in guerilla knitting? Again, where ARE the rebels?)

As some of our best entertaines sang (that must have been more than 40 years ago, come to think of it), when you are past 30 the only thing left to you is to sit in the park, feeding the ducks* - so we did...

Fortunately, this place also had a water spout of sorts.

Back to weaving!

* Link to youtube
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