unbiased
changed my mind on the kitchen curtains – feeling pretty happy about it
however…
made a mistake early on in the process of making bias tape for finishing them
here’s how it went:
first things first: fabric grain
the lengthwise grain (warp) runs the length of the fabric and crosswise grain (weft) runs the short direction with selvedges along both lengths
the bias runs 45-degrees to the warp and weft grains and provides stretch
here’s where i messed up
folded the fabric in half along the cross grain (weft) to cut strips instead of on the bias grain
pappardelle nest of 1-inch muslin strips
next: sewed strips together to make a single, continuous ribbon of fabric
since the strips weren’t cut on the bias they lack stretchiness
and, what they lacked in stretchiness they more than made up for in frayed threads…
after sewing i trimmed, hand creased, and ironed the nearly 20-foot length of fabric into 1/4-inch double fold unbiased tape
for good measure, here’s one possible approach to preparing fabric for actual-factual bias tape
lived and learned…
along with becoming re-acquainted with autumnal sunlight
afternoon light can be real pretty, but wasn’t quite what i was looking for when photographing the spool of unbiased tape yesterday
got up early this morning for the sunrise light
s’pretty nice
et voilà!
baby steps
notes from a visit to The Caning Shop – several of which may no longer apply… !
weaving Danish cord on a project for a furniture designer and carpenter friend.
learned a good deal so far about weaving Danish cord, communication, time management, and developing a process.
bookmarking a few reference videos to come back to as i get going on the weaving:
steadily working through this. weaving is in my wheelhouse, woodwork isn’t.
taking baby steps – starting with weaving diagrams and nailing templates.
1 inch warp spacing with typical 1/2 inch weft spacing. most conventional approach resulting in ~ 4 wraps between each warp pair.
1-1/4 inch warp spacing
i like the proportions of this – a bit more frame wrapping between warps (~ 6) and less weaving, seems alright.
1-1/4 inch warp spacing along the frame stiles – kinda neat. may not be the pattern for this, tho.
need to locate and drill pilot holes for the “L” shaped Danish nails to get tacked into.
that’s a measure twice drill once type deal. so imma measure a few times more…
made nail templates indicating 1/2” weft (top/cyan) and 1-1/4” warp (bottom/magenta) spacing. first and last warps are a double pair – hence the 1/2” spaced pair at either end.
staggering the nails to help prevent the wood from splitting – a tip first picked up from The Caning Shop.
nail template taped to the inside face of the rails (warp) and stiles (weft).
seeing the template on the frame i’m thinking the orientation of the weft nails should flip. or – could eliminate the farthest weft and warp nails at the inside corners and tack down to start and finish.
goal for this week is to drill pilots, tack “L” nails, and weave at least one frame.
remember: take time to brainstorm, ask for help*, mock things up, take care of your body, document, and enjoy… !
(*thank you, Sam, for your help and support along the way)
sidenote: reminded of Broken Social Scene’s OG version of “Lover’s Spit” via “… (Redux)” off ‘Bee Hives’ played by Rare Earth on KALX last week.
sparked a trip through ‘Spirit If…’ yesterday, from rooter to tooter – *chef’s kiss*
ok, bye bye… !
signs
one of the better M. Night Shyamalan movies, i think.
i recall chatting about Signs at work recently. or maybe that was something else…
take a look at these two trailers for Signs: low quality vs. high-er quality. low quality looks like a ’90s Chris Columbus flick – new Culkin.
i digress…
inspired by Sam’s hand diagrams and reminded of sign language diagrams, namely the ASL alphabet.
first sign learned from The Lady: “i love you”
trying stuff with color – “yes, that’s happening!”
Youtube got me again… more signs (p.s. don’t beat your kids… !)
fooled around with Dust Devil while sorting a bungled purchase.
s’alright – but maybe not my cuppa.