Work is progressing on that replica of Elzéar Goulet’s sash. After matching up the colors in January, respinning the yarn all February, I started weaving in March. Elzéar’s sash was very loosely woven, only 6 wefts per inch in a very fine wool. My theory was that this could be produced using the false weave, creating two sashes at once. I calculated 13 feet to produce the 10 foot sash. Twice this, 26 feet of warp, was tied between two pillars in the Atrium of the St Boniface General Hospital where I work. The original sash has some fill-in at the top of the sash, to mitigate the pointiness at the upper border (I sometimes call this the fish-tail effect). Note the ‘short rows’ that make the first green lightnings start much lower than the first blue lightning. So I did this bit of weaving before taking the warp to the Atrium, tieing off each row carefully. Installed in the Atrium, I attempted to shove each false row twenty feet down the warp. I have to confess failure. A certain amount of mixing up of threads happened in transit from my warping mill to the Atrium site, what with the slight elasticity of the threads and small differences in lengths between individual threads, and perhaps insufficient tension on the whole, it took me over an hour to clear the first shed. I worked on it all afternoon, figuring that once I got it all lined up it would start working more smoothly. I then realized that as I cleared the shed, the threads were jangling around behind me. I am thinking that a team of several people working on this, one shoving the shed, and two others, stationed on either side of the first person, assisting, could do the job. But this would seem to defeat the purpose. This would be much less efficient than weaving two sashes. In the end, I cut the 26 ft warp in half, and now am weaving two sashes, one tight and the other loose. Now, I’m not yet ready to totally abandon the theory of the false-weave sash. I’m rethinking this. I figure I’d need several things:
-measure out the warp IN THE SAME SITE as I will weave, no releasing the tension, folding it up and transporting -much more tension on the warp -lots of warp sizing -extra personnel to keep the threads from jumping around -shorter lengths for experimentation (indeed I have been successful shoving the false weave 4 feet, why not 20???). My next experiment will attempt to shove the false weave 10 feet.
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Once again the Sashweaver attended the St Boniface, Winnipeg annual winter celebration, the Festival du Voyageur. The sash, an important article of clothing for the men who transported trade goods into and out of the Great White North in the days of the Fur Trade, the sash still holds significance to Canadians. Snow sculptures at the entrance to Voyageur Festival Park depict voyageurs portaging their canoe, and the voyageurs always wear a sash And another snow sculpture I’ve been busy with fingerweaving workshops and demonstrations: Stationed in the temporary museum at Festival Park, I talk with the public about weaving and other skills commonly practiced in the early 1800’s weaving at Festival du Voyageur
The fingerweaving method tends to create a tangle of threads at the lower margins of the work. This is commonly called the ‘false weave’, and a person can spend many hours per sash periodically untangling this mass.
Occasionaly people have said to me, “Too bad you can’t use that somehow.” I have spent some time thinking about this. My work with sprang teaches me that it is possible. Indeed, sprang was done alongside fingerweaving in certain parts of Quebec in the 18oo’s. Whenever I travel anymore I try to scout out as many examples of sashes as possible along the way. I’ve met with some success requesting permission to examine sashes and record data. Over the past few years I have come upon some spectacular fingerwoven sashes, and five very loosely woven ones. The loose ones intrigue me. How does a person weave that loosely and at the same time keep it even. I have some experience dealing with the ‘false weave’, creating ‘art pieces’ which incorporating it as part of the work. More recently I have conducted experiments, working with the false weave. Working on a 12 ft sash, I sat myself on a high chair and pushed the false weave as far down, close to the floor as possible. Using this method I’ve been able to pack as many as five repeat patterns before untangling. It seems that, if you start out with the threads knotted together to keep them even, that a mirror image of the sash pattern is created. a mirror image pattern can be seen in the falseweave At one point I took my weaving to the Manitoba Museum and compared the false weave with a loosely woven sash there. They matched up quite nicely. Travelling last Summer, I examined sashes in Edmonton, Alberta, and found three that my data would declare to be in the loosely woven category: fine thread comparable to 2/8 worsted wool, and fewer than 7 threads per inch lengthwise. The sash of a local hero, Elzéar Goulet, is preserved in the Musée de St Boniface Museum, a few blocks from my home. It is an example of such a loosely woven sash. There is interest in a reproduction of the Goulet sash, and I am intrigued to explore a technique that would yield such a loose weave. Last Fall, I made a successful proposal to the Manitoba Arts Council for a Craft Grant. Subsequent to receiving approval I have proceeded to match yarn and dyestuffs to the original. Last week I made up a sample to verify my success at matching the colors. The curator snapped a photo of my sample alongside the original. sash color comparison You will notice that my sample, the one on the left, is wider than the original. The next step is for me to re-spin the yarn, eliminating its ‘fuzziness’ and compacting it down. My calculations indicate that this final step will allow me to make a very close copy of the original. The respinning will occupy me (along with a few other projects, like the local Winter carnival, Festival du Voyageur) for the month of February. In early March I will measure out an extra long warp. I will then set myself to weaving a sash. The false weave I will push, row by row, to the far end of the warp. If all goes as expected, I will weave two sashes at once, one a nice tightly woven sash, and one the falseweave, packed into a replica of the Elzéar Goulet sash. I’ll keep you posted. I’ve been wanting to try something more than straight long pieces with this fingerweaving. To this end, I borrowed my daughter’s dressform, measured out lengths of wool, laid them over the shoulders and started weaving. Voilà the end result! A seamless garment! No shoulder seams, no sideseams. Next time, I’ll start with longer lengths so it will extend beyond my middrift. Nevertheless, I declare this attempt a success!
In other news, at the invitation of the Social Studies Teachers Association, I attended a teacher inservice day. I was invited to teach teachers to weave. What fun! I met a woman who had purchased my book last Summer, and was well into weaving her sash. So, you see, it is possible to learn using only the book Fingerweaving Untangled! Trying to demonstrate the variety possible in this arrow sash genre, I began playing with acrylic yarn, and created several short pieces. Calling them neckscarfs, I’ve been selling them locally, encouraging folks to ‘design your own sash’. I was invited to the Canada Revenue Tax Center yesterday for their Aboriginal Awareness Day. I put up my display of sashweaving, and sold several books. Nice to know that the folks who collect your taxes have a human side to them. I’d like to think they have hobbies, relax, and are sensitive to cultural awarness issues. A friend came over today and we spent the afternoon with her tablet weaving, troubleshooting her problem with a brocading technique. At long last success! Come to find out, the problem was the direction of the threading in the cards, not with the brocading picking at all. I got the pattern working, then we got to chatting, and my attention wandered, and the pattern got a bit muddled. I went from using the two upper threads, to a single upper thread, and back to the double threads in the brocading. Quite interesting, and a nice change from the fingerweaving and loom weaving.
The current ‘Beginning Fingerweaving Class’ is about to end. Students are keen to set up their own sashes and start weaving away. It looks like they’ll continue to meet at the Musée de St-Boniface, so I’m thinking this is a great opportunity to start up a Fingerweaving Club. Anyone out there in the Winnipeg area is welcome to bring your sash and join us on Sunday afternoons, 1:30 to 3:30 PM. I received word yesterday that my next Mega-Project has been approved for funding by the Manitoba Arts Council. I’ve been intrigued by sashes I’ve seen, 4 of them now, all indisputably dating to the 1800’s and very loosely woven. How would someone weave that loosely, was my question. I am now going to test out a theory. This is my ‘two in one’ project. I will set up an extra long warp and fingerweave a sash, never un-doing the false weave. I’ve got the perfect extra long studio, the atrium of the St Boniface Hospital. I’ll shove every row of false weave all the way to the far end, causing the build-up of a second sash at the far end. All this is scheduled for the New Year. I’ll keep you informed. Another class at the Musée de St Boniface teaching the technique of ceinture fleche. Six very apt students in my fingerweaving workshop. One of them had an idea I just have to share with the rest of the world. Literature my husband procured from the fingerweavers in Quebec, when I started out, insisted that the proper way to keep an even tension is to tie the warp at both ends. The upper portion is tied to a hook in the wall, the lower end to the chair, or to a hook on the floor. One of my students this time around came up with another very clever alternative. She brought along a piece of elastic, which she ties to her thigh, above the knee. She tucks her weaving in to the elastic, and adjusts her tension there. My students find they can adjust the tension by raising or lowering the leg.
Another beginning fingerweaving workshop started up on October 5, at the Musée de St Boniface Museum. Six keen adults are working their way through the patterns with me on Sunday afternoons learning about ceinture fleche. October 8 found me on an AmTrak train, heading towards Chicago. I stopped in to visit my cousin, niece, and nephew, en route to Mississinewa 1812. Located near Marion, Indianna, the event was lovely, as usual. I had my camera with me, but never thought to take any photos. If any of you out there have a pertinant photo of me, send it on in, and I’ll post it here. Mississinewa is a lovely opportunity to network. So nice to keep in touch with youall. Back in Winnipeg, I’ve finished up a commissioned work. Friday, October 24, I spent filming bits and pieces that will go into a DVD version of my book. We’ll see what the first draft looks like, and I’ll let you know how soon the finished product will be available.
My next project is a series of loom-woven neckscarfs. Hopefully there’s a market here at our winter festival, Le Festival du Voyageur. My most recent excitement comes from SUCCESS in a ‘sprang’ experiment. I have been intrigued by images in Peter Collingwood’s book The Techniques of Sprang. Diamond and zigzag patterns in sashes pictured there are pretty straight forward. I’ve developed a method for mapping out the patterns on graph paper, then translating the graphs to written patterns, such as 6 singles, 1 double, 4 singles, etc. The challenge to myself was to work out the pattern for the two-headed eagle from the 1700 Dutch piece at the back of the book. I am Thrilled to report that my experiment was a success! The material is a medium silk cord from Treenway’s. I dyed it with a ‘plum’ Landscapes dye. I will bring this piece along with me to Mississinewa 1812 in Marion, Indiana, this October. Stop by and have a look. Now I didn’t start out with this piece. I’ve been working on this mapping and pattern-writing technique for sprang, creating ‘neck scarfs’. Folks might want to know, the sprang always wants to curl at first (the red and yellow one at the top of the picture). I find that if I wash it, and pat it flat, and leave it to dry, then it ‘forgets’ the need to curl. Guess it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, and there are a few other things to report. I attended the Manitoba Living History Society’s Fall Gathering, September 5 to 7. I had prepared some indigo dye and took advantage of the space and time to dye some two dozen skeins, mostly white, but some were yellow. As predicted, they came out a variety of blues and greens. A magic transformation as they emerge from the pot, changing from yellow to green to bright blue, it was lovely to see. and then it immediately starts turning blue By the end of the weekend I had a lovely set of blues On Sept 12, a new park was dedicated to the honor of a locally prominent Métis, Elzéar Goulet. What an honor to see my sashes all around. Of the 6 sashes visible in this photo, I had a hand in the creation of 4 of them. As well, I’ve been busy on my loom. A desperate call from a friend, the need for a sash for another inductee into an esteemed position, requiring another sash: Working on a woven silk ‘officer’s sash’.
I’ll be in Marion, Indiana, Oct 10 to 12 for Mississinewa 1812. November 7 to 9, I’ll be in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the NAVC Fall Gathering. Meanwhile, there will be another ‘Beginning Fingerweaving’ class at the Musée de St Boniface Museum, starting Sunday afternoons. Contact the Musée for further information. info@msbm.mb.ca Met with the folks from the BBC the morning of Sept 3. They are currently producing a six part series presented by Ray Mears about Canada, its history, indigenous cultures and people. Ray Mears is a Bushcraft specialist and Woodsman and the programmes will reflect this expertise as well as Ray learning new skills from other experts. The six programmes are about the Boreal Forest, The Fur Trade, Samuel Hearne, David Thompson, Dr John Rae and the people who live West of the Rockies who have made Cedar wood a huge part of their culture and history. The programmes will be an hour long and will have a mixture of Ray demonstrating traditional living skills, living from the land and meeting various First Nations people and exploring the history of Canada. This morning Ray Mears interviewed me on site in the Atrium of the St Boniface General Hospital concerning my work, creating Assomption sashes, the technique called fingerweaving or ceinture fleche. The resulting program will be aired in the Fall of 2009. That afternoon, I went with my daughter to visit the sheep farm, the Seine River Shepherds. A visit with the shepherdess, Solange, is always a treat. Back to Winnipeg, for the concert Terre Ouverte, a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the community of St Boniface. As a member of the Maison des Artistes, I helped in the collection of donations for the new sculpture gardens. Today, Sept 4, the 2nd edition of my book was delivered to my house. I’m down to fewer than 150 copies of the first edition (1260 copies printed). The second edition no longer has the ‘staple together’ or ‘saddle stitch’ binding. Rather it has the kind of edge that displays the title when the book is on the shelf, they call it ‘perfect binding’.
This weekend I’ll hang out with Manitoba Living History Society, as they hold their annual Fall Gathering in Whittier Park. We’ll be celebrating with the Scottish folk of Winnipeg, participating in the St Andrew’s Society Selkirk Settler Parade. As well, I’ve prepared some indigo, and hope to dye 2 lbs of yarn, from pale blue to dark navy. While in Edmonton last week, I had the honor of examining 5 sashes that were fingerwoven in the 1800’s. Very interestingly, 3 of the 5 were strikingly similar. All of the 3 had stories consistent with having been manufactured between 1860 and 1900, all had the same bright colored thread, and a very similar pattern. Striking to me is the looseness of the weave. I’ve been collecting data on sashes. I calculate the number of threads across the width of the sash. Often this means counting the number of threads per ‘lightning’, and multiplying it by the total number of lightnings across the width. I add in the number of threads in the central arrow and voila, total threads. This number, divided by the average width of the sash gives me ‘warp threads per inch’. I find that 20 to 30 threads per inch is common among modern sashes woven with knitting yarn. Tightly woven sashes in museums tend to have 50 to 57 threads per inch. The tightest I’ve examined had 66 threads per inch. I’ve woven a small band with some wool given me by a weaver friend that ended up at 80 threads per inch … something I’m not too keen to repeat. Even more telling is ‘weft threads per inch’. I calculate the number of rows to complete each pattern, and multiply by the number of repeats. (For example if it takes 9 rows to complete an arrow, and there are 60 arrows in the sash, then there are 9 x 60 or 540 rows in the sash. Number of rows divided by length gives me ‘weft threads per inch’. Tightly woven sashes have upwards of 12 wefts per inch. The 3 sashes I speak of in Edmonton had 4 to 6 wefts per inch. I have seen similarly loose sashes in other collections. I find little information in the litterature concerning the origin of these. Has anybody out there noticed this. Anyone have a theory about the origin of these? I find it darn difficult to weave that loosely. Two of the 5 were exquisite, fine thread, tightly woven, excellent condition. One was the sash from the Southesk Collection, recently acquired by the folks of the Royal Alberta Museum. The other was a silk sash, also collected and taken to England by a gentleman, then returned to Canada.
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