One goal I had set for myself after my trip to CNCH was to make a sturdy flute bag. I had one false start with all cotton that ended up as two little bags (got some good practice sewing the bag shape – picture at the end of this post). Then my adventure with mixed cotton and linen (in 20/2 and 16/1) ended up purposed as something totally different than what I had intended. So I decided to up the ante and go back to the 14/2 to get the sturdiness that I wanted for the flute bag cover. Jane Stafford Textiles has a great color selection, and in no time at all I had the linen and a warped loom.
Linen so far is my favorite fiber to use with deflected doubleweave. There is something about the crispness while weaving that keeps me thinking that the project will turn out ok, no matter what happens in the meantime. Euroflax 14/2 is a great weight to use if you want to make something sturdy, like a flute cover, for example. It holds the structure really well, with the added benefit of getting softer but not less strong over time. One thing that surprised me about this project was, after washing and sewing, there was still a bit of a drape to the fabric. A nice surprise!
This is the basic pattern I used. You can tell it was from a book, and now I can’t find it to tell you the name. It’s in a pile somewhere…….
Warping had its challenges. I managed to get all the color alternation correct except for that one twisted section. I did unwind that section and rewound it, but made the same mistake. The funny thing is that it didn’t impact my weaving, although I did add an S hook towards the end of the warp.
No accounting for color truth when taking pictures – the lighting in my room is much different between daytime and evening, with no natural light. But you can see the openness of the weave on the loom. It fills in quite nicely after finishing, even with a hand washing.
This was warped at 24 epi – two per dent on a twelve dent reed. 364 ends, roughly 15 inches wide on the loom. I measured a four yard length, and wove about 60 inches, adding plain weave hems. After weaving, I had enough left over for another piece. To my horror, I had made a mistake smack in the middle of the extra piece. Not to worry, it sewed up perfectly into a cowl where the mistake is not noticeable. You could even call it a design separation.
Finished flute cover, with its owner just waiting to jump in. The flute is a Gm made by Charles Littleleaf from Warm Springs, Oregon.
Ignore the woman behind the curtain – this is the finished cowl. I’m really happy about the drape!
As promised, here is the picture of the cotton “little bag” experiment. I had started at 12 epi, one per dent in a 12 dent reed, then ended up re-sleying to two per dent. End count was 144. I had thought an open sett would work, but I have to re-think the approach on a twill with a plain weave stripe. You can imagine that they are sturdy.
There are so many weaving drafts out on the internet, whether through social media or dedicated websites it’s overwhelming at times. Some people like to “design” their own weaving drafts – and I have weaving buddies that do some incredible designing. My needs are pretty basic ( and on an 8 shaft loom). Most times I can take a basic pattern and just by the choice of fiber make it a different animal.
Vairarenbeth's Blog 
Woodpeckers Don’t Get Concussions
Sometimes small truths put life in perspective and help us get through the day. For Leo Kottke, who played a smoking concert at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix last night, the title remark was his concert opening.
Leo Kottke has been at the fringe of my musical attention for many years, but I never had an obvious and realistic opportunity to see him play in person. Let’s face it – going to a concert these days is an assault on the senses. It seems most venues continually find ways to amplify music to the point of hearing oblivion, with lights and flashes to amplify the pain to the infinite level. I don’t appreciate walking out of a concert not being able to hear for three days afterwards. That said, thank god for performers like Leo Kottke, and venues like the MIM, to bring music back to the level where it can be experienced and appreciated in full resonance, enhancing your mind instead of crushing it in your body.
There is something magical in finding a lone musician on stage, instruments at the ready, plying the craft and producing a personal experience. Back in the day, in Jersey (New Jersey), my high school friends and I would find ways to get tickets to performers at the Capital Theater in Passaic, NJ. It was a triple X theater by day, so you can imagine parental reaction to that factoid. It was there that we saw Melanie, Jackson Brown, New Orleans, Elvis Costello, among others. But it was in that creaky, stale-smelling old theater that I learned the appreciation of listening to musicians tell and sing their stories, with music being the main attraction, in what could idealogically be described as an elegant and intimate space.
I am sure that there are other modern venues like the MIM throughout the country. My hats off to them, because it’s that experience that will keep real music alive, at least in my life.
And thank you, Leo Kottke, for helping to keep these venues viable. Enjoyed the performance. And that “song from the 60’s” you hadn’t played in a while but played last night – it was my favorite of the evening. To quote a former boss of mine, if the past memory is bad, go back and change the memory to the present.
Life is good.
Share this: