Weaving and Gardening
Dec. 25th, 2006 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenWent out to try to make sense of what warp was left on what is now my floor loom (was my mother's). Mostly out of curiosity. It seems to have been a twill pattern, possibly twill stripes alternating with tabby stripes. Then we cut it and pulled it off as it's been on the loom for about 30 years and there wasn't much of it anyway. I've picked out some new stuff to work with out of the stock that came with the loom, and started winding it on the warping frame, with help from fitzw. Warp will be white and weft grey w/ white speckles. Not sure of the material content as we haven't tested them, but I think they're both cotton - the grey may have something else in it too, but seems breatheable. Going for a simple 2/2 twill, 4 yards at 22" wide. So each warp thread will be about 5 yards long to allow for starting and ending, and at 12 dents per inch, that's 264 threads. I'm doing it in groups of 66. We just finished winding the first group and needed a break. So, a late lunch, other necessities, and a little time to post to LJ :D
fitzw did manage to weave a little bit before coming over to help me, and will get more time to weave when we go back out.
We also have to make a list of things to look for at Webs, including bringing a few things with us to match for size and/or replacement. Webs is having an end of year sale Dec 26 - Jan 2.
Now, what could I be doing with gardening near the end of December? Well, one thing I could probably do is level out the ground for our future garden bed, seeing as it isn't all that cold out, but no, not today anyway. I did order some seeds last night, which should arrive in a few weeks. http://www.Richters.com has lots of things, and is one of two places I know of so far that carries seed for fiber flax (as opposed to oil flax). I also have a possible lead fromlyanna_beth to follow up on, just to see what's available. Richters sells in bulk, so I went with them for now, for the flax. I also order packets of: Roma tomatoes, Amish Paste tomato, Kentucky Wonder Bean (pole), New Zealand spinach (supposed to be more durable than other spinach), Royal Chantenay carrots (supposed to store well), Gum Arabic (tropical, but gum arabic is useful, so I want to try it out), and Primadonna Deep Rose Echinacea (heirloom and good producer). I shall likely have too many seeds for most of these, except the flax, which we'll need all of. So, I'll have to see what my friends order, and maybe we can do some trading. Or trade produce. The soil here isn't really ideal for squash, for instance. We'll have to do a lot to emend the soil. Now Sage, that I have enough to supply a couple dozen households -- with just two plants :D
There are other plants I'd like to try out, like parsnips and white/green beets, but this seems like a good start. I'd like a couple of cinnamon trees, but I figured I'd be better off getting live ones.... they're slow growers so it'd be years before I could get anything from them, but it seems like another useful plant to have around.
Well, it's about time to go back out and do a bit more work. The next step with what's been wound on the warping board is to tie it up, remove it from the board, and chain it (loop it on itself repeatedly to make it easier to work with).
fitzw. Warp will be white and weft grey w/ white speckles. Not sure of the material content as we haven't tested them, but I think they're both cotton - the grey may have something else in it too, but seems breatheable. Going for a simple 2/2 twill, 4 yards at 22" wide. So each warp thread will be about 5 yards long to allow for starting and ending, and at 12 dents per inch, that's 264 threads. I'm doing it in groups of 66. We just finished winding the first group and needed a break. So, a late lunch, other necessities, and a little time to post to LJ :Dfitzw did manage to weave a little bit before coming over to help me, and will get more time to weave when we go back out.We also have to make a list of things to look for at Webs, including bringing a few things with us to match for size and/or replacement. Webs is having an end of year sale Dec 26 - Jan 2.
Now, what could I be doing with gardening near the end of December? Well, one thing I could probably do is level out the ground for our future garden bed, seeing as it isn't all that cold out, but no, not today anyway. I did order some seeds last night, which should arrive in a few weeks. http://www.Richters.com has lots of things, and is one of two places I know of so far that carries seed for fiber flax (as opposed to oil flax). I also have a possible lead from
lyanna_beth to follow up on, just to see what's available. Richters sells in bulk, so I went with them for now, for the flax. I also order packets of: Roma tomatoes, Amish Paste tomato, Kentucky Wonder Bean (pole), New Zealand spinach (supposed to be more durable than other spinach), Royal Chantenay carrots (supposed to store well), Gum Arabic (tropical, but gum arabic is useful, so I want to try it out), and Primadonna Deep Rose Echinacea (heirloom and good producer). I shall likely have too many seeds for most of these, except the flax, which we'll need all of. So, I'll have to see what my friends order, and maybe we can do some trading. Or trade produce. The soil here isn't really ideal for squash, for instance. We'll have to do a lot to emend the soil. Now Sage, that I have enough to supply a couple dozen households -- with just two plants :DThere are other plants I'd like to try out, like parsnips and white/green beets, but this seems like a good start. I'd like a couple of cinnamon trees, but I figured I'd be better off getting live ones.... they're slow growers so it'd be years before I could get anything from them, but it seems like another useful plant to have around.
Well, it's about time to go back out and do a bit more work. The next step with what's been wound on the warping board is to tie it up, remove it from the board, and chain it (loop it on itself repeatedly to make it easier to work with).
