blog posts | Barbara Schutzgruber - Storyteller & Weaver | Every weaving tells a story…….

Posted by: bschutzgruber | January 2, 2013

7.5 inches

7 1/2 inches down…. 17 to go!
Now that the holidays are over need to be weaving everyday!

Posted by: bschutzgruber | December 18, 2012

Weaving the Green Man

Now that the loom is warped and ready to go, the next step is dealing with the cartoon. (Click on the pictures to enlarge)

A. B.
Starting image (A) is lightened or outlined (B) to show general color changes.

That paper is slid behind the warp threads so I can see when to change colors for the weft yarns.

Keeping the starting picture near by for reference is helpful!!

3 1/2 inches completed. It takes a couple of hours to weave 1″.

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Posted in Projects, tapestry, weaving

Posted by: bschutzgruber | December 12, 2012

Cinderella meets Sleeping Beauty…..
This is an amazing blend of Art & Craft and IS a working spinning wheel!!!
Click on this link Andy Paiko Glass Spinning Wheel to see it in action.
It is spellbinding!!!

Alas, this wheel is one of a kind and has already been sold, but if you’re lucky enough to be in Washington, D.C. before 3 Feb then you can see it in the Craft Futures exhibition at the Renwick Gallery.

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Posted in Interesting stuff | Tags: Art, cinderella, paiko, renwick gallery, sleeping beauty, spinning wheel

Posted by: bschutzgruber | December 10, 2012

OLG Festival Exchange bag arrived!!

My Festive Exchange bag arrived today!!
It was made by Brigitte Liebig a weaver from Germany – near the Swiss border.

The ‘walls’ are woven with cotton warp and handspun linen weft and the towers are woven in a shadow weave pattern to represent the very narrow spiral staircases in three of the towers. She used commercial fabric for the sky (blue) and the bottom/base (brick pattern)

Her inspiration came from a visit to Castel de Monte in South Italy. The guidebook suggested taking a photo from the ground of the inner courtyard up to the sky.

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Posted in Interesting stuff, Projects, weaving | Tags: architecture, clothing, fashion, style

Posted by: bschutzgruber | December 8, 2012

Preparing the loom….

I spent this week getting my loom warped and ready for weaving.

I’m using a simple frame loom with nails to hold the warp.

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1. The nails are set so I will have 8 warp ends per inch (8 epi)

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2. A support devise holds the heddle bars. Since the weaving starts at the bottom and moves upward the heddle bar support is only clamped to the frame this way I can move it higher when needed.

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3. Next I looped string around every other warp thread.
Using as second bar I looped the remain warps.

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4. When the heddle bars are in the neutral position the warp is at rest.

9_heddle rod at rest

When I raise a bar, the heddles lift every other warp thread creating the ‘shed’.
This way I don’t have to lift each warp individually = weaving is much faster!!!

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5. Now let the weaving begin……

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Posted in Projects, tapestry, weaving | Tags: loom, tapestry, warp thread, weaving

Posted by: bschutzgruber | December 1, 2012

Catching up…..

October was a sad time with the death of my mother-in-law, Gertrude Margaret Marion Gruber (1927-2012).

Marge Gruber

Marge was gentle spirit and an amazing fiber person – knitting, embroidery, and sewing many of her own outfits as well an amazing Santa suit, plus so many Halloween costumes.

November was spent on the road with storytelling events and getting ready for the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild Holiday sale so again… not much time to be posting. Here’s a look at the new scarves & purses. If you’re still looking for that ‘one-of-kind’ gift for the holidays…. let me know!!

At the Holiday Sale I had a blast giving a 2 hr felting demo:

If you have group that might be interested in having me come and talk about felting and fibers…. let me know!!

The final days of November were spent making a small bag for the annual ‘Festive Exchange’ with the OnLine Guild. This is something fun for our members to be part of, to show off our love of all things fibre, and especially to get to know a few more members of the guild better since we come from all around the world. This year’s theme is a Bag.

I made a bag for knitter, spinner and dyer (natural dyes) who lives on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Since she lives on Prince Edward Island and I’m in Michigan, the water and waves of the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes were my inspiration with different shades of blue and the froth of whitecaps. The button reminded me of a compass rose from the old nautical charts.

To make the fabric for the bag I wet felted carded wool fibers and used a variety of wool and synthetic fibers as embellishment with wool yarn representing her knitting and spinning and a bit of red to for her dye work. The bag is long enough to hold knitting needles or maybe even a drop spindle.

The bag that is coming to me is being made by a weaver (floor loom & tablet) and Kumihimo braider who lives in Germany near the Swiss border. I’ve just gotten an email letting me know that the bag is on it’s way here = I’m excited!! I’ll post a photo once it arrives.

And now December begins…..

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Posted in felt, Interesting stuff, Projects, weaving | Tags: clothing, shopping, style

Posted by: bschutzgruber | November 8, 2012

AAFG – Holiday Sale

Working on finishing touches for items to have at the AAFG Holiday Sale THIS Saturday – Nov 10th (10a-4p) at Washtenaw Community College. I’m doing demos = Felting (10-12) and Weaving (12-2).

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Posted in Projects | Tags: Events

Posted by: bschutzgruber | October 2, 2012

Getting ready for AAFG’s Holiday Sale

AAFG Holiday Sale is coming up on Nov 10th (10-4 at Washtenaw Community College) so I’ll be weaving & felting from now until then! Over the next weeks I’ll be posting some of the items I’ll have at the sale.