I'm Alice Schlein, a weaver and book maker in South Carolina. Occasionally I write about Photoshop, Network Drafting, bread baking, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Thanks for stopping by! Comments are welcome.
Subscribe to this blog's feed

Classes 2017

  • Explorations in Double Twill
    Two-hour lecture at the Complex Weavers Southeast Gathering. June 17-18, 2017, at the Yadkin Valley Fiber Room. For more information on the Gathering, click on above link.
  • Spin Your Own Yarn
    Jan. 17 - Mar. 13. Learn to use the simple drop spindle to spin your own woolen yarn for knitting, crochet, or weaving. This hand tool of prehistoric origin is inexpensive, portable, and easy to use. Create a mid-weight yarn suitable for garments, accessories, and household items. Pack all your spinning supplies in a lunchbag-sized tote and take it with you on vacation! Click on Winter Brochure 2017.

Books

Monographs

  • A Crepe Is Not Just a Pancake
    52 pages of text, b&w and color diagrams, and drafts for multishaft tradle & dobby looms. Many color photos of actual cloth. Methods for drafting your own crepe weaves. Annotated bibliography. Pdf available for immediate download. $21. USD. Payment by PayPal. Email me at aschlein[at]att[dot]net for payment instructions.
  • Echo Weave
    Based on the 1996 article in Weaver's, Issue 32. With brand new diagrams and high resolution scans of original fabrics. Pdf available for immediate download. $7. USD. Payment by PayPal. Email me at aschlein[at]att[dot]net for payment instructions.

Categories

Recent Posts

Other Stuff

Archives

More...

January 15, 2017

Blue, Mostly

After I spun and plied a bobbinful of blue merino with little specks of yellow silk noil, the end of the bobbin looked like this:

Bluebobbin0010

I am enjoying my Akerworks bobbins, especially when they allow me to get a sideways peek at the colors inside. In a monochromatic yarn, the view is predictable, but when spinning a gradient-dyed roving, things get really exciting:

Gradientbobbin0019

The blue yarn has been skeined & washed, and is hanging to dry even as we speak.

Blueskeins0013

It is no surprise that after a few days of shirtsleeve weather, the daffodils in the front yard are coming up. No doubt they will be hit by several freezes before they bloom, but in past years they have survived this unfriendly weather with no visible harm.

Daffodils0011

I was so saddened to hear of the death of Randall Darwall. He was one of my heroes. Great person, great artist, great teacher.

Save

Save

Posted at 11:45 AM | | Comments (0)

January 14, 2017

Complex Weavers Southeast Gathering

Registration opens January 15!

The first ever regional Complex Weavers gathering will be held at The Yadkinville County Fiber Room in Yadkinville, North Carolina on June 17-18, 2017. Su Butler will be giving a lecture on Color Interaction for Fiber Artists on Saturday afternoon, Leslie Killeen's Sunday morning talk will be Cultivate a Creative Habit, and I will be presenting a Saturday morning lecture entitled Explorations in Double Twill. This gathering is timed to piggy-back with Su Butler's workshop at the Fiber Room. We're hoping this will be only the first of many regional Complex Weavers gatherings, giving members who are unable to attend the larger biennial meetings an opportunity to enjoy CW programs. I hope to see some of you there.

Blanket1

Above: double twill color sample.

Posted at 06:00 AM in Double Twill, Weaving | | Comments (0)

January 12, 2017

Flipped

If you're still with me on the double twill blocks, here's the current variation. I've been thinking about this a lot. If you simply flip the weave structures horizontally in the liftplan, the twill will slant the opposite way. However, the light/dark warp order will also be switched. So in order to keep that order the same, you must do two things: first flip the weave horizontally, then wrap the weave one thread to right or left (we're talking one pixel in Photoshop). Then all will be well.

Here's the current table runner in double twill, now with twill lines going in both directions.

Blocksflipped0004

And up close, so you can see the twill lines (click to enlarge):

Blocksflipped0005

Changing directions again...if you're depressed about the news these days, this bumper sticker won't help, but it kind of fits in with my current philosophy of taking the long view. Think Big History.

Learnfromhistory

Posted at 03:09 PM in Double Twill, Pixels, Weaving | | Comments (0)

Next »