ladyelewys.carpevinumpdx.comLady Elewys of Finchingefeld, JdL, GdS – My creative SCA journey on stuff I make and research I

do…mostly in fibers (wool prep, spinning, weaving, tablet weaving) and glass beads, but could also include costumes, camping, cooking, and any other creative things that strike my fancy. Lady Elewys of Finchingefeld, JdL, GdS My creative SCA journey on stuff I make and research I do…mostly in fibers (wool prep, spinning, weaving, tablet weaving) and glass beads, but could also include costumes, camping, cooking, and any other creative things that strike my fancy. Dublin Dragons 4-hole Just a pattern post for another option to the well-loved Dublin Dragons pattern. This one uses 4 threads per card rather than just 2, and is a great beginner’s pattern using only 12 picks and is twist-neutral. Author Karen Ostheller Posted on October 6, 2023 October 6, 2023 Categories Uncategorized Easy Laurel Leaves Somehow I forgot to post (or the post was lost) on the pattern for the Easy Laurel Leaves. GTT option… Or to translate into TDD TDD version I hope you find this as fun to weave as I did! If you want to use swivels, you may tie them onto cards 1, 5, 10, and 14 to make this a twist-neutral pattern. Have fun! Author Karen Ostheller Posted on September 6, 2023 September 7, 2023 Categories Tablet Weaving Tags Laurel Leaves , Weave Along Athenaeum 2020 Teaching Tablet Weaving During the Plague and Beyond And A Deep Dive into One Oseberg Pattern My Year in Review In the last year, I have done more research on tablet weaving patterns–finding new ones to explore, create, and share, as well as trying to use more period materials of the correct size to recreate tablet woven bands more in line with the extant finds. I have begun using technology during this age of plague to share my weaving skills with others, teaching across the miles and over seas. I have also started re-exploring interests in fiber processing and spinning as well as woodworking, and of course, spending some time enhancing my wardrobe. Teaching at Home & Abroad Tablet weaving, like other arts, is not something that is easy to learn from a book, and some people simply learn a technique better by watching rather than reading and experimenting. Over the years, I had been looking for videos about tablet weaving to learn a technique or a pattern, and so many of them are missing one or more elements to the instruction, and fail to walk the viewer through the process, step by step. There was one very long instructional (nearly three hours) where the viewer is sitting in on a class, but the video quality is rather poor, the room is dark, and there are virtually no close ups to doing each step. Most of the other videos already had the loom warped, which is a significant gap in the learning of the craft, and leaves weavers wondering about threading the cards, the difference between S and Z threading (which can be different in various parts of the world), the history of the pattern (which may not be the purpose, but for SCA tablet weavers, this is of interest)–and one of the biggest issues–how to read the patterns. To make things even more complicated, there are several different ways that weavers draw up patterns, and knowing how to determine which ways the cards face, how to thread correctly and how to turn the cards in sequence between one system and the next is a HUGE learning curve and can be profoundly discouraging to new weavers. Even experienced weavers may think, I got this,” then find that their pattern is appearing on the underside of the band and they’ve got gobbledygook on the top. Enter Weave Along With Elewys” In order to fill that void, I decided to make a YouTube video series on how to do tablet weaving from start to finish. I made a list of things that students need to learn the craft in video form–which would be true for any art: Start simple. Use a pattern/project that anyone could do. Use easily accessible tools and materials. Keep investment costs low. Explain each step clearly and demonstrate the techniques. Do close ups, and work slowly. Repeat complex processes. Have good lighting and sound, and use a tripod if you don’t have an assistant. For history nerds, add some background information to the piece. Make it entertaining and not too long. Smile and have fun! Also important, make sure you’re in a quiet, organized space…I’ve been contending with loud neighbors with pressure washers & lawn mowers …and roommates”… With those points in mind, I set out to make tablet weaving more accessible to the beginning weaver who may not have a teacher nearby (or may not be able to get to classes during this pandemic) and showing others how easy it is to create beautiful, period tablet woven pieces, even as a beginner. I discuss yarns to use, threading the cards, tying a secure knot, reading the pattern, turning cards, advancing the warp, and most importantly, the satisfying snip as you remove your finished project off the loom. It was my dearest friend, HL Aenor de Pessac, who initially suggested it, although I was thinking about doing something very similar, just not sure how to execute it myself. In discussion with her, we developed the idea further and came up with a plan. She not only encouraged me to make the videos, but has been instrumental with editing and movie magic, which I had no idea how to do (I’m learning!). I owe her a great deal of credit and thanks. Weave Along with Elewys – Episode 1 Oseberg (variation) Building Skills The first video is a very easy pattern and each subsequent video builds on the skills learned, and my emphasis is using period patterns or designs. As a fun side project, each new piece will be done in the colors of the 20 SCA Laurel Kingdoms, in chronological order of creation, starting with the West Kingdom. There are also a couple short videos with quick weaving tips and tutorials on adding new weft thread and weaving a pattern in reverse to untwist the warp. More tutorials will be added in the future as they occur to me or if I get requests from viewers. In the first month, I added 50 subscribers to my YouTube channel after releasing just one full video, and 50 more more since then. Feedback I’ve gotten so far is that this is something people had been looking for, and I’m delighted! In addition, and as a supplement to the videos, I have made use of my blog to post the patterns and add additional details and instructions for students. Links are provided in the videos for the patterns and the products I use if anyone is interested in finding them. A Close Look at Oseberg 12L1, 834 AD Extant Oseberg tablet woven band, 12L1 Two of the videos focused on one piece in particular: Oseberg 12L1, one of at least 10 tablet woven bands found in a large burial mound that was discovered at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway in 1904. The Oseberg dig, as it is known today, had finds which date to around 834 AD. The burial mound contained two female skeletons–the ages of which are estimated to be about 80 years old and 50-55 years. The ship and some of its contents are displayed at the Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy, Oslo, others are located at the nearby Historical Museum. Among its finds were a loom (commonly called the Oseberg loom), weaving tablets, several narrow bands, a wooden cart, woolen textiles, imported silks, and narrow tapestries. Earlier grave robbers took valuables, but in my opinion, they left the good stuff behind! Goal To recreate the tablet woven trim known as Oseberg 12L1. The original was made of silk (or silk & linen) and measured only 5 mm wide, and I have done several experiments to get the correct size of the woven piece using various silk and cotton threads that I can acquire from commercially made goods. Extant Object Photo by Eirik Irgens Jørgensen in 1998. Kindly provided by Bente Skogsaas, author of Oseberg Tablet Weave – Book II, which will be released next month. The piece itself has few images available, and the museum keeps it in a dark room to prevent further decay and no photographs are allowed. Materials Original...