"To Keep Them Sweet": Progress, of a sort.

The ribbon is proceeding slowly onward. I encountered some serious problems (mostly tension, although a couple of missed turns also contributed) and had to start the ribbon over. It hurt, but it was truly for the best. At this point, I’ve gotten through most of page 7 out of 15 pages of chart (plus a moth on each end) – I had stopped the first one after four pages. It’s definitely taking on the feel that I’m aiming for – the lettering looks much more regular this time around, and the brocade looks a little more fully covered because of the changes in tension.


I like the effect of the beads. They’re strung onto the silk weft and carried on the shuttle, and pushed forward as needed. I’m using gold-plated seed beads, and it frustrates me that the gold wears off. They still look good, but just not the same.

It’s fairly legible, once you get past the weird letters… the tall S, and the half-r, and the et – ancestor of the &. The book was actually typeset in something similar to Garamond, and the & looks like a & – but it doesn’t translate to tablet-weaving all that well.

Oh, and the spelling… that’s “drougues”. Drugs, of course. Odoriferous ones, like storax and beniemin (Gum Benjamin = Benzoin). Some clever type-setter managed to spell “shall” two different ways in the same sentence – I decided to keep the spelling true to the original.

Here, you can see some of the tension flaws in the first part. I’m trying to just forget it’s there, for now… it keeps mocking me. If I had kept plugging along, I would be around page 11 of the graphs… instead of 7.

This is the corrected version.

This is the first version. The difference isn’t all that much – but can you see how this one doesn’t show as much of the brocade silk? The proportion is a little crushed sideways, too. You can see it when you compare to the graph:

18 replies
  1. cgronlund
    cgronlund says:

    I’m always amazed at the stuff you create, but no longer surprised.

    You’re incredibly talented (and patient); everything you weave or make is incredible!

  2. admin
    admin says:

    Thanks! For some reason, this one is totally kicking my butt… I don’t know whether it’s the width, or the amount of charting, or what… but I’ll be VERY glad when it’s all done and off the loom.

  3. martelvonc
    martelvonc says:

    Wow! Thank you for showing us newbs the length you were dissatisfied with. It greatly helps to see the difference so we can compare and learn.

    I’m interested in your frame… is that copper tubing? Can you show us a bigger picture?

  4. elmsley_rose
    elmsley_rose says:

    I know exactly what it’s like *having* to fix a bit, otherwise it’s all you see of the piece – maddening tho it is.

    And you are going great guns!

  5. monkeybung
    monkeybung says:

    Good gods! The muse must have been drinking absinthe when she hit you upside the head 🙂

    It’s really an amazing project! The charting is insane, you know that, right? Be-YOU-tee-ful! Thanks for sharing!

  6. admin
    admin says:

    The big frustrating thing, is that it was clearly impossible / not feasible to work back and correct it… it so sucked to have to start all over! But, it’s very pleasing to see it growing forward in the right way.

  7. admin
    admin says:

    Hee. Have I mentioned that I really LOOOVE this PatternMaker software? I can copy-and-paste the letters in to make phrases, and even copy words when I use them again… it still takes quite a while, but NOTHING like doing it by hand.

  8. monkeybung
    monkeybung says:

    I’m sure it’s da bomb! It’s nice to be able to see it and tweak it before you commit. There’s some really nice software at the weaving studio I used to go to. You could mess with weave, color, sett etc. It rawked!

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