Practice shawl
Joanna’s sheep-to-shawl team will travel to the Pennsylvania Farm Show this week. The team has been planning for the competition since the moment after last year’s competition ended. The theme for this year’s entry is Basket of Apples and the highlight of the shawl is a name-drafted twill in shades of red on a gray, basket-weave ground. A name draft uses the same strategy as the cryptogram that you’ve seen in the puzzle section of your local paper. The most common sort is the substitution cipher in which each letter of the alphabet is replaced by a different letter. Once the pattern of replacements is determined the puzzle may be solved. In a name draft each letter of the alphabet is assigned to one of the four harnesses which are involved in the process. There are many ways to do this, for example: ABIJQRYZ = 1, CDKLST = 2, EFMNUV = 3, and GHOPWX = 4. By substituting the harness number for each letter of the draft (1-4-4-2-3 for the word Apple, for example) an unusual design of significance may be created. In preparation for the competition the team has produced several shawls as trial runs. Such practice allows the team members to work on the efficiency of all aspects of shawl production including carding, spinning, plying, weaving, and finishing. Because Joanna is the backup weaver she thought it would a good idea to produce one of these competition shawls in the unlikely event that the team’s lead weaver would be unable to participate on the day of the competition. Sometime shortly after the Solstice Joanna began spinning the darker gray warp. Then she produced the lighter gray weft. She warped the loom this past Wednesday and was weaving on-and-off on Thursday and Friday. She finished the shawl early on Saturday afternoon. She’s pleased with the result.
Oh Dave, you have done a wonderful job of photographing this, the images are just beautiful, The shawl looks wonderful too.
Thanks very much Leanne. As always your good opinion means lots. I should point out that the quality of the images is due, in part, to your good influence. The teams which take part in the competition are roped off from the public. Because I don’t have press credentials I have never been able to get in close to the teams. This year, due to your good work and commentary about the criterium races (and all the talk about access), I got up my courage and told the organizers that I was ‘a photoblogger’ and might they consider giving me access to the competition venue. They kind of looked me up and down … and eventually said ‘sure.’ I was delighted … and boy, did it make getting good photos that much easier. I did everything with the 14-24 and 24-85 … no need for anything longer. The FX sensor went a very long way to allowing good, crisp, images … even at an ISO of between 3000-5000 … amazing. So … you see, you’re a very good influence even over these many, many miles. D
I missed the show today, but it’s airing again at 2:00 AM! I saw that The Dream Weavers’ shearer said his sheep wiggled and was hard to shear. One team ran out of time. I saw photos of several weavers on the FB page, but didn’t see Joanna. I know they had a fine time. It is incredible that wool from sheep-to-shawl can be done in 2 1/2 hours! There are some beautiful photos of the sheep on PCN’s FB page. Thank you for sharing all of this with me. I enjoyed reading about it.
It’s great to have a fan club of sorts George! Check back this evening … . I hope to post a gallery of images from the competition. We placed fourth and Joanna was just happy to have finished. We’re recovering today … I think I’m gonna be taking a nap very shortly! D
Can’t wait to watch this! I’ve put a reminder on my calendar/phone to alert me to the computer at the proper time! How cool! And I was wondering, do you/does she dye her own red as well? And how so? With natural dyes or other? I love the colors. I intend to weave someday, too … on my bucket list with improving my spinning and knitting skills. Meanwhile, living vicariously through Joanna’s astonishing talent! Just exquisite! Thank you for really gorgeous photography and prose that definitely does justice to this art.
Joanna says these were dyed in the team dye pot this time around. When she does do her own stuff it’s with a variety of materials (natural and otherwise). She uses small amounts of Jacquard and Procion dyes but tries to keep those to a minimum. We raise Shetlands because we both prefer the naturally colored palette they produce to anything that can come out of a dye pot! Thanks for both of your thoughtful comments today … I know it takes time and I very much appreciate it … always have. D
If I had a working printer, I’d get this down in ink! Meanwhile I’ll count on the old internet to preserve the information so that one day I can experiment.
If you ever need help in real time simply get in touch via regular email at Pairodox.Farm@gmail.com … Joanna’s always happy to help where and when she can. D
Thank you for that. You’ll probably hear from me one day.
This is that much more special owing to the fact that you two control the production of the beautiful shawls from end to end …
You’ve hit the proverbial ‘nail on the head’ Maurice. Joanna and I get special satisfaction from lambing the little ones, raising them up, shearing them, and producing wearable garments from the wool. That’s what what we’re all about – thanks for recognizing it. D + J
I miss my looms! That grey on grey makes a wonderful fabric and I bet the hand was lovely on finishing. Thanks for the information on live streaming … I may grade papers and watch the sheep-to-shawl
What kind of loom? The photographs are wonderful. I must figure out how to watch the competition video. Good luck on Wednesday!
I’ll have to get back to you concerning the specifics about the looms – Joanna is the expert and she’s unavailable at the moment. If you’re really interested in viewing the competition you can try clicking in to http://www.pcntv.com and searching around for the sheep-to-shawl live stream sometime around 3PM on Wednesday. Joanna’s team is the Dream Weavers … they’ll be the ones dressed in black and red. Wish us luck. D
Yes, I found the live stream location last night. I’m glad to know which team is Joanna’s. My dad made cotton rag rugs on an old Draper loom during his retirement. Sold a ton of the things which I thought were ugly. I laugh when I see them still being sold now. It was something of a booming cottage industry back then. Thanks for the information, and good luck on Wednesday!
Thanks. You can be sure that I’ll be posting about the competition when it’s all over. D
The loom in the photos is a 6-harness Jack Loom that was hand built. Friends of ours found it languishing in an attic when we lived in Indiana. The other is an 8-harness countermarche loom built by Thought Products of Somerset, PA. Neither of these is anything much out-of-the-ordinary. Joanna loves both of them however for the unique qualities they bring to her work. D
Awesome!
Thanks Rexlin. D
Your pics are so clear and sharp! Love all the interesting angles you shoot from. Joanna has certainly become an expert weaver! The whole name draft explanation totally confused me. I think I’d better stick to my knitting!
Joanna is looking forward to the competition … I’m looking forward to one of the best DD shops on the area which is on the way. Also, on the way back we typically make our annual trip for fast-food burgers! Can’t wait! D
So it’s a win-win for everyone!
Good luck on Wednesday! We’ll be looking for you on PCN. Beautiful shawl.
Thanks. Keep an eye out for the obnoxious guy with the camera .. that’ll be me! It was nice to see the kids the other day … wish I could have stayed longer to talk. D
I very much admire the skill, craftsmanship, planning and patience that this requires. The results (pictures included) speak to both of your talents and abilities. The pictures are dramatic and remind me of the bold and powerful shots of the Amish welder. I love the shadows. It is all very effective. Nice work, nice shots and a beautiful product. Winners, for sure.
Yup … Joanna does beautiful work. She was very pleased with the result. The images were easy to take with the little bit of late-afternoon sun that we had yesterday. Wish us luck at the Farm Show. D
This looks awesome! I’d love to catch one of the sheep to shawl competitions sometime, I always get such a kick out of the pictures.
Check out the PCN network online sometime after 3PM on Wednesday … I think they stream the competition. Thanks for the positive comment – you made Joanna’s day! D