SpinnySpinny

I picked up the Leclerc warping mill I ordered a few weeks ago, I got the tabletop model. After a disastrous experience with a paddle and the warping board I determined it was time to have a warping mill again. I sold my old one with the loom before I came to San Francisco.

Previously I had the substantially similar Harrisville model, which is kinda nice as it has an integral brake to hold it in place while chaining off. I actually liked that quite a lot. But the Leclerc was about $50 less and comes already finished. The price was the smaller issue, more is that I just don’t have time to deal with the requisite sandpaper and can of oil. I can live without the brake, there are other options that can be temporarily installed as needed.

But now I get to assemble the thing. One difference is once this gets together, it’s not coming apart. The Harrisville was easier to put together (after finishing) because everything is held with wing nuts. That means it also came completely apart. That is a small advantage in storage as you can break it down to basically a pile of rods and the base.

The Leclerc has screws to hold the frame together. There are pilot holes but it is still difficult, I don’t have the strength to do it without assistance as it takes two hands to turn the screwdriver. I’ve got it partly assembled, and next time DH has a few minutes I’ll get the rest. And given that the screws go into end grain wood, it’s a one-way trip. The cross bars with the pegs do come off and the two pieces and the central rod come off the base, but that’s the extent of disassembly.

I haven’t decided if I want to sell the warping board, it does break down and there is something nice about having it to cart to demos or lend to students. This is what the storage unit is for.

No, not mine. Stop that already.

DH’s sister-in-law is pregnant so I’ve started pulling out baby fabric and patterns. And collecting more, of course. I was making baby clothes for someone else a few years ago, but it’s been stuck in the back of the closet for a while. We don’t know yet if it will be a boy or girl, but from shopping through pattern catalogs there are still way more girl patterns than boy patterns. In the baby department, even more so. I’ve bought a few to fill holes in the collection but tried to keep it to things that could go either way.

In the meantime, there are other things to do. I made a double-sided blanket, more an oversized changing pad, of flannel and tablecloth vinyl:

I did one of these a couple years ago and it seemed like a neat idea, something to keep around the house for the visiting infant. I don’t know how practical it is because it never really got used. Maybe this time I’ll find out.

Here is a picture, for a few more (and larger) you can go to the regular page: Dillo and Feorlen Get Married.

My jacket is navy dupioni with paisley tie twill lining. Instead of the suggested fusible interfacing I used organza. There is one snap at the waist, covered in a round black frog-type knot. Using all silk means it weighs nothing. The dress is blue rayon of some sort, very much like another I have in purple Tencel. It is fairly heavy but drapes well.

How could I not have heard about this? 2009 has been declared the International Year of Natural Fibers. These sorts of things are decided years in advance, in this case in 2006. The intent is to promote natural fibers, particularly small-scale fiber production that benefits textile producers in developing countries, by encouraging expanded and new use of traditional textile fibers.

Wow. Does this mean I’m cool now?

Simple things can be very satisfying. I needed a bag for for the new cheese board (a piece of slate, must be no longer trendy because it was on sale.) I had the perfect fabric for a protective sleeve, thick cotton flannel, except I had already made it into a half-baked pair of test pants that I’m never going to finish. Out came the seam ripper and I pieced together a couple pieces. A couple more seams later and it was done.

So there’s some extra random seams where they might otherwise be unexpected. One more UFO disposed of and a needed object constructed. I’d consider that a success. After the past month of dealing with jackets it was a nice instant-gratification project.