Exploring the wonders of 3 Shafts - Krokbrag

Last week - July 6 - 10, we took a break from our summer sabbatical to host five students who wanted to focus on weaving Krokbrag (4) and Summer Blanket/Winter Sheets (1). Three of them were former alumni from NH - Tricia Jenkins, Mimi Jost and Suzi Beers and the other two were also former alumni - Betty Larsen, from Marshfield and her daughter, Kristina from San Francisco. We hadn't hosted a Krokbrag workshop in a few years so we were excited to teach this again and try out some of our different methods for tieing up 3 Shafts. Needless to say, all the rugs were gorgeous and all our tie up methods worked wonderfully.  Our lone summer blanket weaver, Suzi, made a fabulous piece as well, and it was a great week for all!

Lynnette and Suzi consulting on a summer blanket pattern.

Justin starting Mimi on her Krokbrag linen warp.

Tricia, Betty and Kristina hard at work threading their rugs.

Kristina contemplating the next design option.

Betty color coordinated with her rug!

Tricia's use of odds and ends yarn made a very pleasing color
combination.

Mimi's variation on the "green" theme.

Suzi making sure that her stripes are matching up.

Three Shaft tie -up #1 - triangles.

Three Shaft tie-up #2 - heddle horses.

Three Shaft tie-up #3 - Roller bars.

Three Shaft tie-up #4 - Pulleys.

Suzi's finished summer blanket/winter sheet.

Mimi's finished rug.

Detail of Mimi's rug.

Tricia's finished rug.

Detail of Tricia's rug.

Kristina's finished rug.

Betty's finished rug.

The work of a weeks weaving!

April Showers bring….Dosia and a few others back!

April was another busy month and winter still seemed to cling on with cold weather and grey skies but in the barn we had lots of colorful weaving projects to dispel the gloom. Our warp painter extraordinaire - Dosia Sanford - was back this month to try another cotton warp for pillows. She is fine tuning the dye mixture consistency so that there is more control in the painting and learning a few other useful skills in laying out the warp, etc. Stay tuned for a class this August that Dosia will be holding for students who want to experiment with this technique. Of our regulars, Sue Carpenter finished another great napkin warp and Susan Osterman tackled a monumental project of a summer blanket/winter sheet on a linen warp. She used a 40/2 linen for the warp and some fine wool from Jagger Spun for the weft. As you can see, her middle seam matched up perfectly! Our VT. Folklife grantee, Joann Darling, was also back to continue her work with linen and this months projects were to feature natural dyed yarn in the warp and weft. Her second project of using a 30/1 linen was truly a labor of love and though not without a few broken ends, yielded a beautiful end product. Now on to May and we'll see what warmer weather brings.

Dosia painting her new cotton warp.

The finished warp for three separate pillows.

The warp on the loom.

The finished dress from last year's bobble fabric!

Close-up of the tufts that we all cut by hand.

Sue Carpenter with her finished napkin project.

Arianna - Justin's friend from Sweden - weaving a fine 3/1 twill.

Susan Osterman and Norman with her finished summer blanket/winter sheet.

Nancy Hart with her checked wool throw.

Joann Darling weaving her hand-dyed linen.

Close-up of the napkins.

The first warp of napkins - each one a different hand-dyed color.

The dyed and sized 30/1 linen for another set of napkins.

The 30/1 checked napkins.

Weaving our way through the March that would never end….

The first photo say's it all….more and more snow and more and more cold. But that didn't deter the valiant students who came despite the storms outside to weave some amazing projects this month. Starting off was former student Marina Contro who came up to try her hand at dyeing and to work on an idea that she had of creating a large check with four shades of the same color. She and Justin spent a day or two over the dye pots and then three beautiful throws and a large scarf were proof that this idea was a winner. The next adventure was the return of former student - Ed Burke and his partner, David - who came to weave the Scottish Wedding blanket for their wedding this August. It had been over 30 years since Ed sat at a loom….and David's first time ever…..but with Norman's help they wove off the 6 yards necessary for a full sized blanket. March was also the month for overshot projects and Lesley, our winter work study student started off with a warp for pillows that then inspired by Stevie and Linda to try their hands at it as well. And then there was Jane Quimby who is never content to do anything "normal" and she decided to try her hand at ikat dyeing a cotton warp, painting the weft yarns and then weaving it in an M's & O's pattern. The effect was quite stunning and there will be more photos next month and she tries another warp in this technique.  Stay tuned….and here's hoping that the snow will be melted by May!

Justin and Marina with some of her dyed yarn….amidst the snow piles!

Starting the first warp.

One of the finished throws.

The scarf warp.

Norman helping Ed and David dress the loom for their wedding blanket.

Beaming on the warp - Norman and Ed.

Beaming on - David.

Norman and David getting ready to start the threading.

Ed weaving…after a 35 year break!

Sandra and Lesley admiring her overshot warp.

Karen's finished rag rugs.

Linda's over shot runner for her daughter's wedding.

Stevie's overshot runner.

Jane tieing up her warp for ikat dyeing.

The tied warp.

The dyed warp and painted wefts.

One of the finished scarves.