Ahrens & Violette No. 00129

Ahrens & Violette loom, No. 00129

I hit the weaver's lottery!

I've owned four floor looms to date and have experience weaving with jack, counterbalance, and countermarch mechanisms--but I have none--zero, nill, nada, zilch--experience with a dobby loom. Of course, I know of them. I know people who own them. One has just never come across  my path. Until now.

Last month at a guild meeting, an AVL dobby loom was posted as a giveaway. It was free because it was missing key components--namely, the dobby bars. The loom belonged to Sara Henderson, a long-time member and librarian of the Jockey Hollow Weavers. Her family was prepared to put it on the curb and, in the meantime, was offering it free to anyone who would haul it away. 

Ahrens & Violette loom identification

I said yes. Then I went home wondered what I'd gotten myself into. And then I contacted AVL Looms. Bob Kruger responded immediately. Yes, the dobby bars could be purchased and the company sells parts to older looms. I felt a little better about the acquisition. But still, this loom was sight-unseen. I knew about the dobby bars, but what else was missing--or wrong? Still, I was excited at the prospect. 

Before we headed out to pick up the loom, we studied the manual, which is available online from AVL, and I asked members of AVL groups on Weavolution and Ravelry for advice. Following their suggestions, we assembled tools and prepared for a complicated disassembly. 

All round bests for my new-to-me loom

1. Condition. Overall, the Ahrens & Violette loom is in excellent shape. The well-made loom pre-dates the company's name change from Ahrens & Violette Looms Inc. to AVL Looms so is commonly known as a pre-AVL loom. 

AVL Loom's Bob Kruger estimates the loom was made between 1980 and 1982. The number, which is on the brass plate on the castle, identifies it as number 00129. 

2. Provenance. As suggested, the loom came from a school. Specifically, F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC. The inventory label from the New York Board of Education is still attached to the castle. There is also a stamped number on the dobby base: 86400H, but I have no idea what that means. 

3. Transport. The Weavolution and Ravelry AVL communities were awesome and provided excellent suggestions for tools and how-to disassemble. Another best: We didn't have to! It fit (just) in the back of our Ford Ranger pickup with cabover.

4. Bench. One wasn't in the original photo so I expected to need one. I don't. The bench was in the bathroom. And it's a beauty!

5. Shuttle. In a box of leftover weaving tools that we left  with was a shuttle--and not just any shuttle. It is the original end-feed tensioned hand shuttle. It still has the Ahrens & Violette label and its inventory number, stamped on the bottom, is the same as that stamped on the loom, '20.'

Dobby bars, extra pegs and pirns

And the best of the best?

In the last 'look' for weaving bits before the estate clearance people came, Maurice found the dobby bars! They were in an Easter basket, along with an extra bag of pegs and two pirns for the shuttle. Up on a shelf, they'd been hiding in plain sight.

The challenging part now is figuring out the mechanism and returning the loom to working order. So far, each day brings at least one new 'Ah-ha' moment. And the clever man who discovered the dobby bars just keeps figuring out things. 

There is definitely more to come.

Spinning wheels

Spinning to learn. Spinning for fun.

My wheel with Corriedale yarn on the bobbin

Several months ago, I signed up for a two-day spinning workshop in Southern New Jersey. It sounded like a lovely way to decompress from a family wedding planned for the prior weekend. It was.

Although I've been spinning for years (and years and years), I am not a great spinner. I can spin. I like to spin, but it's not my sole focus. I tend to spin a little a lot of days and my resulting yarn is  "so-so." OK. Not great. So I'm always interested in improving my skills.

Third Star planned two workshops--weaving with Karen Donde and spinning with Beth Smith. I did Karen's workshop last fall--the exact one--so signed up for spinning. I knew of Beth Smith and had recently used her scouring method to process a fleece. (Heads up: She is on the roster at the MidAtlantic Fiber Association's 2017 conference next summer.)

Beth Smith wearing one of her many crowns

What a fun learning weekend! I did more with the fleece from a greater number of different sheep breeds than I ever have. We prepped--hand carded, combed, teased and flicked. We spun from roving, combed tops, locks, and milled roving in short forward draw, supported long draw and unsupported long draw. I learned....a  lot.

Happy 40th Anniversary!

The Guild was celebrating their fortieth anniversary with the workshops, but they also included public outreach in the mix. On Saturday evening, they held a celebration dinner, made a marbleized silk scarf and mounted an exhibit of guild members' creations. I loved their show and took a couple of photos (below).

Third Star Fibre Artists Guild Show and Sale: ( L) Various guild members. (R) Annette Devitt's work.

Extreme views

From the ordinary to the extraordinary

L. Ralph Lauren pantsuit, 2013. R. British mess jackets

The two exhibits currently a the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York couldn't be more different. One focuses on the influence of uniforms--school, sports, military, service industry--on mainstream fashion. The other focuses on one woman's collection of high-end couture fashion.

Both are excellent. And both are free.

Fashion inspired by the ordinary

The Uniformity exhibit, which is in the Fashion & Textile Gallery on the main floor, opens with two  British military "mess dress" jackets c. 1900. The  elaborate braid and soutache patterns, which once served as protection in hand-to-hand combat, continue to inspire contemporary fashion designers. One example is seen below in garments by Yves St. Laurent and Ralph Lauren.

L. Yves St. Laurent, 1967. R. Perry Ellis, 1983

With a focus on four categories of uniforms--military, work, school, and sports--the exhibit provides examples and detailed information to show direct relationships between uniforms and fashion. 

According to signage, Yves Saint Laurent began experimenting with military elements in the mid-60's. Re-appropriating the naval peacoat, his navy blue, double-breasted jacket became one of his signature styles. On a very personal note, his 1967 ensemble (left) is remarkably like the navy blue dress and jacket I made for my going-away suit (remember those?) in.....1967!

Most viewers will be familiar with each and every uniform as well as its vestige in modern interpretation. I think the personal connections make this an engaging show and well worth a visit. 

Uniformity runs through November 19, 2016.

Fashion as unique creations

Distinctly different and on the opposite end of anything derived from lowly uniforms are the extraordinary fashions from the wardrobe of Élisabeth de Caraman-Chimay, the Countess Greffulhe (1860–1952). The exhibit, Proust's Muse: The Countess Greffulhe, is in FIT's Special Exhibitions Gallery. 

Based on a Paris exhibition organized by Olivier Saillard, director of the Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, which is the repository of the countess's wardrobe, this exhibit is a collaboration of Saillard and Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT.

Unfortunately, no photos are permitted in the exhibit so you'll have to make a trip to personally drool over the truly spectacular garments.

Proust's Muse: The Countess Greffulhe runs through January 7, 2017.

Can't possibly make it in person? Check out the museum's online virtual tours at Uniformity and Proust's Muse: The Countess Greffulhe.

Saturday in Brooklyn

Celebrating five years of friends and fiber

River Valley Farm's paper sheep took shelter from the rain

This was the fifth year for the Kings County Fiber Festival. Held in Park Slope in  Brooklyn, N.Y. on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend the festival is now a part of family history. Son Steven connected Maxine de Gouttes, organizer of the event and then owner of Stitch Therapy knitting shop in Brooklyn, with his sister Kris of Winter's Past Farm who became part of the first group to participate in the festival.

Each year, more people attend the festival and there are more group activities at the historic Old Stone House in the park. The park is also the site of a children's playground so the area buzzes with activity.

Spin City spinners and weavers
practice for competition

It's here that the Spin City Shawl Team does a practice run for Rhinebeck's Sheep to Shawl competitions. Unfortunately, I'll miss not only the competition, but the group in full costume when they go head-to-head with other sheep-to-shawl teams from the region. (Few things interfere with fiber festivals, but this one takes precedence over everything else. My son is getting married.)

Knitting with hands

Also at the Old Stone House was a large group learning to knit without needles. Lion Brand Yarn donated the yarn--and bags to hold the creations. People of all ages took advantage of the opportunity and some made some pretty large shawls!

Winter's Past Farm booth ready for business

Most of the day was just about perfect for being outdoors. It was cloudy but comfortable until about 3 p.m., when it started to drizzle. Not enough to bail but enough that we needed to make the booth into a three-sided plastic cocoon. By the time it was raining steadily, it was time to pack up. 

It was all great fun!

Warp to weave

Where to begin?

There has been a Weavers' Study Group in The South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers off and on for years but there was concern that enthusiasm was flagging. The community is great. Study and growth, not so much. 

The study group leader, Helena, and I wondered why. To find out, we surveyed guild members who had indicated interest in weaving. We wanted buy-in and we wanted to know what the weavers wanted to do. And to help plan a program, we also wanted to know what kind of equipment is in use? What are the levels of expertise? What are  comfort levels reading a draft and warping a loom? And what kind of project are members most interested in pursuing?

As expected, we found a wide range of interests, equipment and abilities. So where to start?  Several people didn't feel comfortable reading a draft or warping a loom by themselves and certain, we settled on a program that started with the basics--reading a draft and warping a loom. A weaver can't do one without the other. 

Weaving Basics: Warp to Weave

The resulting program started with drafts and progressed through warping a loom. Helena  walked everyone through reading a draft. She included both commonly found types of drafts, American and Swedish. Then we moved on to warping.

We talked about nitty-gritty preparations ranging from how to calculate uptake, etc. through winding a warp, tying a cross, and securing the warp. And as we talked, we did it. 

An interesting point of discussion centered on calculations and was a repeat of a conversation between Helena and me: How to calculate for take-up and shrinkage in a project's width. For years, I've simply added about 15 percent. Online calculators such as Weavolution also use what I'm calling 'the add-on' amount. But another way of calculating the width is to consider the desired width as 85 percent of the total, which would calculate take-up and shrinkage by dividing the total width by 0.85. 

The numbers don't differ a great deal on smaller items, but on a wider piece could be significant. Of course, these calculations aren't necessary if the diligent weaver has made a sample and processed it. Raise your hand if you always do that. I didn't think so.

When it comes to warping a loom, several participants seemed relieved that the process is not an 'either/or.' In fact, there is only one absolute to warping a loom and that is to maintain control of the threads until they're threaded and beamed. 

Personal preference guides whether to warp back-to-front or front-to-back, too. Experienced weavers more commonly start at the back of the loom but that doesn't mean starting at the front is wrong. It's not. 

Shoelaces!

As weavers share, each of us constantly picks up tips or a little trick to make the job easier. For me, it was shoelaces. Tying them on the front beam and using them as connectors makes it easy to adjust tension. Great tip. Thank you, Helena. (Click here to see how one weaver explains it.)

We moved on to demonstrate warping the loom. I had an undressed loom and a wound warp and Helena had brought a loom that was mostly warped so we could move from the getting it on the back beam to threading.

If you're in the South Jersey are, join us on the first Saturday of each month. And if not, look for a guild near you.

Click to access the Warp to Weave handout, which also has links to online resources, including one to a video on warping a loom back-to-front.

Shuttle, shuttle

Diversity, purpose and personal style define shuttle types

Sally Orgren's shuttles and shuttle holder at top center

Once a weaver has a few shuttles in his or her toolkit, what more is there to know? A lot, as Sally Orgren proved in the September program "Boost Your Weaving Skills: All About Shuttles," for the New York Guild of Handweavers. 

Targeted to weavers at all levels of experience, Sally used her personal collection of shuttles and a handout with images to demonstrate different shuttle types and characteristics, as well as proper bobbin/pirn/quill winding, and shuttle handling. 

Match the shuttle type to the loom (shed), the yarn, and personal working styles to improve the weaving experience and the end product, she advises weavers. Consider not only the type of shuttle--stick, boat, ski, rag, etc.--but the unique features of the shuttle. Considerations include:

Sally Orgren winding on a stick shuttle

• Height of the shuttle. Match height to the shed depth on the loom, which is dependent on the loom.
• Length of the shuttle. Match length to the width of the project on the loom.
• Length of the side opening for the weft feed. In most cases, the longer the opening, the more even the feed.
• Type of weft yarn. Bulky, fine, sticky, smooth.
• Shape of the nose: Sharp or blunt? Again, important to the loom type and shed size.
• Open or closed bottom. Mostly personal preference, but heavily loaded bobbins/pirns/quills will drag.
• Handling the shuttle. Very personal. How does the shuttle feel in the hand when you hold the shuttle to throw it? 

Considering buying a new shuttle? Borrow one from a friend and try it before buying it, she suggests.

The yarn goes on

Sally Orgren demonstrates winding a quill

Obviously, winding the weft yarn onto the shuttle depends on the type of shuttle. Sally demonstrated some winding operations. One was loading a stick shuttle using a figure-eight wind-on to load as much as possible yet keep a low profile shuttle. 

She also demonstrated how to make a paper quill, tips to stabilize bobbins on the bobbin winder, and how to wind on bobbins, pirns and quills. (Want to watch someone do it? Check out The Woolery's videos.)

Invitation to learning

Join the South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers meeting Oct. 1 for "Warp to Weave," a program on how to get started--or how to improve--reading a draft and warping a loom. 

The show goes, no matter the weather

Garden State Sheep and Fiber Festival 2016

Winter's Past Farm, Shelterwood Farm, & Filamenti Co-op 

It was hot, as in, HOT! Saturday morning the temperature was mid-90's and the humidity, absolutely stifling. I don't think I've ever been so hot--not even in the jungles of the Amazon.

I was hot, but certainly not miserable. I shared space with Kris at Winter's Past Farm and Robin at Shelterwood Farm. Serious, fiber-minded people showed up on Saturday morning, but by noon, the shoppers were gone. That left the sheep, who weren't buying. t suppose that was a blessing as I didn't have to move much.

Metis' 3D printer

As always, it was a fun two days, mainly because of fiber friends. Among them were Kae, Pat, Marsha, and Karen who stopped by to chat and catch up. Another highlight was meeting people I've been working with virtually, but have never met in person--especially Elizabeth A. and Pat H. (Check out our work on next summer's MidAtlantic Fiber Association's biennial conference.)

The Skein Competition, which is run by North Country Spinners, is always a big deal, too, if for no other reason than to keep me humble. Very humble. What a high degree of competency these spinners have! Very impressive. My only wish is that names were associated with the entries. I'm sure I know some of the spinners and I'd like to congratulate them.

Metis Industry owners with their printer

And, like fiber festivals everywhere, meeting other fiber-crazy people and seeing new things is what it's about. The title of unique vendor of this year's festival goes to Metis Industries, who make,  among other things, drop spindles with 3D printed decorative top whorls. 

I must confess. I got pretty excited because I have been looking for someone to 3D print some small plastic parts to a small knitting device that is no longer manufactured.

Over the years, a couple of its plastic parts have gone  missing and it's a shame not to have all of the parts. The Metis folks assure me they can print the missing parts--and make the classic machine whole again.

I'm looking forward to putting the device together and sharing this odd piece of recent history with other knitters. You'll see it here first.

Handspun skein competition: Best of Show...obviously (L) and cotton (R)