ties Archives - Acton Creative

Zen weaving…

Posted on December 12, 2014 by actoncreative

Over the years, I’ve had a number of folks watch me weave and comment on how meditative it must be. My response is usually, “Yes, it’s very zen… until I mess up!” That’s sort of how life is, right? It’s going along swimmingly, until it isn’t. And that’s your weaving philosophy for the day!

We are coming down the final stretch for the project, which is great news! I’ve found over the years that sometimes shorter projects are better. So, I have it spaced such that about the time I’m ready for something new, the knots come around the bend! It’s wonderful when things work out that way!

Let's dust in a little brown... — Let’s dust in a little brown…

I love some of the warm, caramel colors in this section of the fabric! Reminds me of baked chocolate cookies – homemade, of course! (Mind you, not baked by me, but by my brilliant sister and Ma – who can completely rock some homemade cookies!)

And what do we have here? The knots have stealthily worked their way up to the mid-section of the loom! I have no more space for weaving – meaning it’s time to pull out the scissors!

We're at the knots! Woohoo! — We’re at the knots! Woohoo!

I like to start in the middle of the project, cutting close to the knots in the back. Then, I shorten up the tails once I’ve made a knot at the fabric. Snip, knot and repeat until the fabric is free of the loom!

Ahhhh… the fabric is almost completely off the loom! Next up, I’ll release the knots from the front and lay it out to see what we have! (I always forget how the project started by the time it’s done. So, it’ll be fun to check it out!) Talk to you soon…

It's not easy, being green…

Posted on November 26, 2014 by actoncreative

(How many of you are currently imagining Kermit singing with his banjo? Yeah, me too!) Hello! The project is progressing beautifully! I never know exactly how things will come together. So, I’m always surprised! It’s part of the fun!

I started with really dark greens and now I am firmly in the apple green colors! There are very few greens that I don’t enjoy. Some of the really yellowish versions aren’t my favorite. But, they still trump peach most days!

All throughout the fabric, I am mixing in strips of neckties to add a little color, texture and recycled-ness! (Hmmm… not so graceful for a made-up word. But, it might catch on!)

The tie provides a little splash of color!

With the strips of ties, instead of sewing or knotting the ends together, I simply layer the ends. I don’t want to add any additional bulk to the fabric. And, once the ties are trapped in the yarns, it will be very challenging to remove them!

It's coming together! — It’s coming together!

For this particular fabric, I am laying in the necktie strips over the yarn – which I’ve found makes it a little bulky in some instances. Next time, I may try something a little different to avoid that. I have to give it a little thought… weaving is a lot of problem solving, let me tell you!

And the weaving continues! There is still a bit more to do before the fabric comes off the loom. But, I’m getting there! Have a good one and I’ll talk to you soon…

Visual candy here!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by actoncreative

Hello, friends! It’s been a big week and I’m all tuckered out. So, I propose a visual walk through the blog this time around! I’ll be back to my usual glib self next week. Enjoy!

No one's surprised I'm using green here... — No one’s surprised I’m using green here…

The rule of weaving - some are up, some are down! — The rule of weaving – some are up, some are down!

The end of a necktie trying to escape... — The end of a necktie trying to escape…

Love seeing the cones in the background!

The woven landscape... — The woven landscape…

This is going to make gorgeous handbags!

Next up, there will be more weaving – yay!!! Probably a little less green, but definitely more weaving! Talk to you soon…

Bob & weave…

Posted on November 12, 2014 by actoncreative

We aren’t boxing today. But, I do enjoy weaving phrases that have nothing to do with working at a loom! If you come across any, feel free to send them my way! Always appreciated!

The loom has been dressed (set-up) and is now ready to go! First up, I’ll put in a little toilet paper to act as a spacer. You only need a handful of rows to even everything out. I like TP because the perforation makes it easy to remove later and I use the cheap stuff so I’m not investing too much. I try to save my money for yarn – lots and lots of yarn!!!

I’m going to kick things off with some green yarn – my favorite go-to! The plan is to take the colors in the warp (yarns in the loom) and mimic them in the weft (yarns in the shuttle). Plus, I’m occasionally throwing in a few strips of recycled neckties for good measure!

When you set up a loom, you start with all yarn on the back, and end with all fabric on the front. Imagine with me – you are weaving along and run out of space. The shuttle no longer fits through the tunnel of yarns. At that point, you release the brakes and roll the project towards you – with my loom, it is about 6″. Lock it back down creating the appropriate tension, and weave a little more! Rinse and repeat! You know the project is completely done when you can’t forward it any further!

A little necktie action to give it interest!

Watching the magic happen... — Watching the magic happen…

I’m still playing with the idea of a combination fabric – part traditional materials, part recycled. So, this bolt is another attempt at finding the right balance between the two! You know what they say about practice… eventually you end up with some kick-ass fabric! (Maybe that phrase should go on a pillow somewhere in a counted cross stitch pattern!)

I am weaving right along! Next up, more weaving! (I know you are shocked…) Stay tuned to see what happiness comes next!

The end is in sight!

Posted on September 25, 2014 by actoncreative

Hello friends! Let’s wrap this up today, shall we?

The knots are coming up quickly, signaling the end of the fabric! I started the project with lots of blues, moved into some purples and now am solidly living in magenta-land! (I know many folks who could live quite happily in magenta-land without complaints!)

Peeking over the edge... — Peeking over the edge…

I’m still incorporating a strip of necktie every so often to give it a beautiful change in texture. I love the subtlety! But, I may make the ties more prominent next time. We’ll see…

Check out the fun necktie! Little pink, little gray, little yellow!

If you remember from the beginning of the project, I wound in a number of yardsticks to keep the yarns even. Now, all the yardsticks have fallen out of the back and they’ve been moved to the front, keeping the fabric consistent. What would the world do without yardsticks? Honestly, most folks wouldn’t miss them. But, I’d like to think weavers everywhere would! (Or, it could just be me. I’m OK with that!)

Time to begin cutting! I like to start in the middle and work my way out to the edges, knotting as I go. I had a friend who asked me about using toilet paper at the project end since I use it at the beginning. And what I’ve discovered is that I’ll need to remove it before I transfer it to my seamstress anyways. So, at the end of the project, I don’t bother. You certainly could use some sort of spacer between the fabric and the knots. But for this type of project, it’s not critical. (In my humble opinion, of course!)

Once all the yarn has been cut and knotted, the fabric flops itself down towards the floor and with the help of gravity, begins unwinding itself! It’s so fun to see the colorful fabric mixed in with a mess of sticks!

Once everything is completely off the loom, I just remove the TP from the beginning of the project (remember when everything was blue?). Then, it’s ready to travel on to the magic seamstress! I don’t have photos handy of the entire bolt of fabric, but I’ll include a few next time so you can see the progression from start to finish! And then, something new! What is better than that? Starting and finishing – they are the best! Talk to you soon…

Tag: ties

Zen weaving…

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It's not easy, being green…

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Visual candy here!

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Bob & weave…

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The end is in sight!

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