Another Blog

I've started another blog. Why? Because this way I can have a place to yammer on about my crafts and SCA research without boring my friends and family to tears, and also have a place with my research on SCA stuff I can refer other people to without knowing they'll also see my blog entries about my daily life. Not that one group can't seek out the other blog, but at least you'll know what you're getting yourself into if you do.

Here it is, rashly named Playing With String before I thought about including research on things like Pictish names as well. But, in truth, it will probably mostly be about string projects, so I think it'll be fine. You'll notice the url is actually "kitten with string," a nice little reference back to this blog (especially since playingwithstring.blogger.com was taken).

Anyway, feel free to follow both if you want to continue to hear my adventures with string and wire and twine and whatnot.

More String: Ram's Horn and Vines

I've finally got some pictures up to share the tablet weaving I've been doing. Both of these shots are of the bands still on the loom. The one in purple, red, white and gold was my first attempt at this kind of pattern, the one I mentioned earlier where the tension bar broke in the middle. I'd taken a whole sequence of shots during the stringing mishaps and the process of getting it going, but most of them are blurry so I'll spare you unless someone has a burning desire to see the before and after shots.

The black band with green and blue and cream is a variant on the pattern frequently called the "vine" or "flame" (depending primarily, it seems, on whether the weaver is using warm or cool colors...mine therefore being a vine pattern :P ). I was rather inordinately pleased that it came out just the way I wanted on the first try. I did spend most of a day stringing it up, as usual. I made one threading error I caught at once and fixed quickly. And one stringing miscalculation which has introduced an interesting "flaw" in the band. The last card of black has only three strands of string instead of the usual four. This means that that side is slightly more thin and loose than the other side, and it means that card tries to "fall" out of position quite routinely. That aside, it is hardly noticeable and I'm fairly pleased with the experiment. If I'd been more patient I could have added in some of the crochet yarn I bought for weft, but I was too excited about beginning to weave!

I've been getting lots of compliments about these recent bands and the last belt, and I think I am opening myself to paid commissions. Now I just have to figure out a fair asking price. They do take a lot of hours...but I can't charge the moon either. Bah!

Off now to weave some more... Bwahahaha! String!!!