Annie Grimm’s Neighborhood

I've been working on a project using my 28" Authentic Knitting Board, so I've put my backstrap experiments on hold. However, that doesn't stop me from thinking about it. Here's a list of some sites and books I've drawn from over the past few weeks. I'll be adding to this as time goes on:

• Laverne Waddington's Flckr Account. Beautiful examples and video instruction: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/
• Bob's Crafts. A simple backstrap with a rigid heddle: http://bobscrafts.com/bobstuff/backstrp.htm
• Franco's Fiber Adventures. Backstrap looming and more: http://francosfiberadventure.blogspot.com/
• Weavolution's Backstrap Group. A huge amount of information and enthusiasm: http://www.weavolution.com/node/3150
• "Backstrap Basics." Laverne Waddington's Weavezine how-to article: http://www.weavezine.com/content/backstrap-basics
• "Backstrap Basics." Videos accompanying the Weavezine article: 1) Narrow Warp; 2) Wide Warp + Heddles; 3) Wide Warp + Opening Sheds; 4) Wide Warp + Finishing.
• Know It All's Making a Natural Weaving: http://www.knowitall.org/naturalstate/html/Weaving/Weaving-Picture.cfm
• Flckr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&w=all&q=backstrap+weaving&m=text

Books:

• Backstrap Weaving / by Barbara Taber and Marilyn Anderson, New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 1975.
• Rigid Heddle Weaving / by Karen Swanson, New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 1975
• The Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Book / by Rachel Brown, New York : Knopf : distributed by Random House, 1978.

I noticed in my "neighborhood",  there just doesn't seem to be a lot going on. (smile)   I know that that is how it is here.  My house is getting very close to being finished with the "total make over"....doesn't even look the same.  I
am hoping it will be done in time to maybe put up a tree at least.  May not have any furniture,  but we can have a tree! LOL!!!   Going to borrow my son's 91/2 ft one since our living room ceilings are so tall.  He isn't going to be using it, he said.  And, did say he would help put it up as it was very heavy and takes two or more to put up.  Now,  I'm wondering if I will have enough to "dress" one that huge....I gave a lot away a couple of years back, so don't know. Might have to purchase some more. 

It is currently raining a very "cold" rain.  Am hoping the snow that was in the forecast goes south like it showed last night on the map......I'm praying.  My niece who lives down further south of us posted that it was snowing there two hours ago.  So, we shall see.

Guess I better go so I can go take a shower and get myself ready for church....we are practicing a Christmas Puppet show for the Christmas Program.  So much going on during December....Wow.  Time to slow down and take a deep breath. 

Ephesians 6:17 "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

The Bible says that the devil doesn’t stand a chance because the Spirit, who is in us, is greater than he is (1 John 4:4). Christ came to destroy the works of the devil through His life, ministry, and sacrifice (3:8). At the cross, He disarmed and triumphed over the devil (Col. 1:13-14; 2:15).

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
The only ticket to heaven goes to those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross as payment for their sin.

Some offer other ways. But those tickets are worthless. To make sure you’re going to heaven, trust Jesus. He’s the only way.
Jesus took my place on the cross and gave me a place in heaven.

KEEP THE FAITH

Read Hebrews 10: 1-25
     Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.   Hebrews 10:22 NKJV

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Ecclesiastes 4:12 By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.
Jesus called the twelve apostles to help him with his work on earth. Eleven of them modeled the value of relationships. Three became Christ's best friends. Read Matthew 10:1-8. What efforts have you made to be surrounded by best friends?

1 Thessalonians 1:8 The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it.
Each of us has a “frontier” where friends, relatives, and neighbors are our mission field. Can you think of someone today who needs to hear the good news?

Those who love Christ have a love for the lost.

I was feeling just a little bit desperate to try weaving. I wanted a loom! And I didn't want to wait. But then reason set in. Why would I need to spend a bunch of money to try weaving? Couldn't it be done in a simple way? Without a lot of fuss? When I posted a question on Ravelry, a kind weaver suggested I try backstrap weaving, so I checked out the book "Backstrap Weaving," by Barbara Taber and Marilyn Anderson. A few hours after I opened the first page of this 1975 classic, I had assembled everything I needed to weave: some dowels, twine, yarn, and a ruler. I was ready! And I was hooked!

The first picture on the left is of the warp. I decided to start by making the first project in the book, a backstrap, but I chose the worst kind of yarn possible--100%, scratchy, sticky wool. I bought it second-hand for $1 and the label said Icelandic wool. It looks nice in the pictures, doesn't it? I flipped over a footstool and did the figure eight warp which I then transferred to the dowels. Everything was going smoothly--I even attached the string heddle, which pulls up one set of the warp thread to create the shed, or the space between the bottom and top warp.

See that big hunk of wood in the third picture? That was my sad attempt to find a beater, or the piece of wood that beats the weft in place. It didn't work because it was too blocky, so I swapped to a ruler, which makes a fine beater.

I felt creative that day so I braided some hemp twine and made the strings that tie the entire backstrap loom into place--or in my case, onto the radiator. After struggling a little bit with the loom flipping over a few times, I braided another "holder." This time two separate braids that hold the sides independently. (It works great, but I still use the first one at times.)

At this point, I realized that using wool was best left to experts. Because the warp is wound rather tightly, each thread rubs against the one next to it, causing little snags. I think mine started felting! So, I reluctantly took the entire project apart before weaving one row and searched for some cotton. I found this crazy green and orange, sport-weight, mercerized cotton at Hobby Lobby. It's Sinfonia Melon. This time around, it was easier to wind the warp to get started, and I wound 50 ends. Since I had actually done a string heddle before, the second time was a breeze, especially since I used a long piece of mercerized cotton. And then came time to try to weave. I was stumped again. It just didn't seem to "work" when I tried to open the sheds. The nearest one, with the string heddle, was easy. It was the back one that confused me. How do you get the bottom strands to come up to the top? Finally, I turned to the Internet and discovered the all-time best article on backstrap weaving EVER! It's called "Backstrap Basics" by Laverne Waddington, published in the September 16, 2009 edition of the online magazine Weavezine. Here's the link: http://www.weavezine.com/content/backstrap-basics.

Not only does Laverne clearly outline how to assemble and use a backstrap loom, she includes videos! When I saw how someone weaves on a little loom like mine, I knew I could do it on my own.

With my new yarn, everything was easier. It's the only advice I can pass along at this early state: use a nice, slick yarn if you can! The weft can be thicker and woolier, but I chose to stick with cotton, again Sinfonia sport weight, this time the color is Olive. After several hours of studying, thinking, attempting, and tearing apart and putting back together, it "only" took me three hours to weave the backstrap, and then another thirty minutes to braid the ends. If you look at my edges, you'll see what is the most difficult part--keeping the selvedges even, but I noticed a lot of improvement as my project neared its end. I've already started my second project which I'll post about soon. 

As for the "What is this?" post from last week--I'll share with you my very basic rigid heddle later on when I use it with the backstrap loom.

A PERFECT MEDIATOR

Read Hebrews 7 – 8

       ...He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25 NKJV

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