About me
I am a weaver and spinner based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I have a strong passion for textiles and fibres which extends to the people and cultures that make, wear, and use the textiles. My passion is fueled by a strong curiosity about why and how textiles developed historically, how textiles are being used today, and what the future might bring. Recently I am enjoying the opportunity to travel to other parts of the world. Through this blog I hope to share my impressions of people I meet and places I go, and how my travels influence and inform my own weaverly works.
spinweaverbarbara 
Nice blog- hope to read more !!
purchased your work at the Harmony Arts Festival – truly a work of art, I love it!
Thanks Gin for your kind comments.
Love your work. Do you ever sell scarves?
Thanks for your question and your interest. Weaving is very labour intensive and I don’t make enough to sell widely. Some of my work I give as gifts, or use as examples for workshops I teach. Some pieces I do sell at our annual Guild sale in November. (Peace Arch Weavers and Spinners Guild, in Surrey, BC) I’m not sure what is going to happen this year, with Covid, we probably will be unable to host an indoor sale. Most pieces are unique and one of a kind. If there is something specific you are interested in, let me know.
Hi, I am writing about your scarf design in the latest Handwoven magazine ‘Shifting Shadows’. I have been weaving for 7 years and weave scarves – many scarves for friends and occasionally sell one. It is a retirement project for me. I have woven a few shadow weave scarves usually in Bambu7. Jane Stafford seems to be out of this product but in any case I have ordered a number of cones of Bambu12 for your scarf design. I have an 8 shaft Ashford loom and usually weave with 8 or 10 dent reed. For your scarf, a 12 dent reed is specified. Do I need to buy one or can I get by with a 10 dent reed? Thanks
Allan Amey, Victoria, BC
allanamey@gmail.com
Hi Allan, glad you like the scarf. The set is 24 ends per inch, so if you use your 8 dent reed, and sley 3 ends per dent, this will give you the right sett of 24 ends per inch. Happy weaving.
Hi Barbara,
I unfortunately had to abandon my Shifting Shadows scarf. After 8 broken warp threads, I gave up. The first time I have given up on a project. I have woven extensively in Bambu 7. The Bambu 12 from Jane Stafford did not seem to like me. Threads broke without much tension.
Allan
Hi Barbara, I also am dazzled by your Color and Weave scarf in Handwoven, and have my loom warped for two. I’m about half way through the first one. My question is, do you have any suggestions for how to handle tucking in the the weft ends so that you don’t get a huge build up on the margins? Also, how to change weft colors (esp with the log cabin motif) without altering the pattern. So far I’ve either added a bit more to the log cabin (with weft ends) or gotten one horizontal line that is fatter than the others. Thanks,
Wendy-Marie
Hi Wendy,
I start my two colours with one on the left and one on the right, so that the build up is happening equally on both sides. When you switch the orientation of the log cabin by weaving two dark ends in a row, you might get a darker line, but that is part of the pattern. Try to maintain an even beat that matches the ends per inch. I hope your scarves work out!
I, too, saw your Shifting Shadows scarf in Handwoven Magazine (HW) and LOVE it! I’d really appreciate your thoughts on the best epi for Shifting Shadows using 8/2 Tencel instead of Bambu 12.
The Handwoven Master Yarn Chart says that setts for Bambu 12 are “20, 30, 36,” and 8/2 Tencel are “16, 20, 24.” Your epi (24) is somewhere between the “lace” and “plain” setts for Bambu 12. That has me wondering if the epi for Tencel should be as loose as 18. I don’t want the end result to be stiff as a board, but neither do I want it to be loose and flimsy.
Thank you in advance!
Hi Carolyn,
With Tencel I have worked with 20 epi/20 ppi which is good for twills, and 18 epi/18 ppi which works for plain weave for scarves. You still want the scarves to have some drape. Tencel feels very stiff and board-like when you first take it off the loom. The way I finish the scarves is to wash in the washing machine, smooth them out and let air dry until slightly damp. Then I press the scarves while they are still a little damp, and then put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes, which really softens them up. The reason that I don’t put them in the dryer straight out of the washing machine is that Tencel can sometimes get a big crease from the washing process, that can’t be pressed out if you put them in the dryer right away. Anyway, this is what happens with my machines!
I have fallen in love with your Shifting Shadows scarf featured in the May/June Handwoven magazine, but I’m confused about the number of weft colors and the number of shuttles.
The required equipment includes 4 shuttles
Directions say to wind bobbins of each of the weft colors
There are 8 colors
Will you please help me figure out the weft color situation–I can’t wait to start on this beauty!
Hi Linda,
The trick is to only focus on the section you are working on. So, if you are working on the log cabin frames, you need two boat shuttles In my scarf, one dark brown and one natural. Weave this section, then cut these colours and tuck in the ends. Then you can use the same two shuttles and load the two bobbins for the next section. So if you are weaving the blue twill square, you will need to load your dark blue and your light blue. Weave the square, then cut and tuck your ends in, then weave the next log cabin frame by loading your two shuttles with dark brown and natural. The next twill section load your shuttles with the dark green and light green bobbins. And so on, as you work your way through the scarf.
In all cases you are only working with two colours at a time! If you have four shuttles, I would leave the brown and natural in two shuttles, as these repeat after each twill block, and then use the second two shuttles by inserting the bobbins with the colours you need for each twill section. One bobbin of each colour can pretty much do the whole scarf.
This pattern assumes you are using boat shuttles and bobbins that can be moved in and out of the shuttles without having to rewind the bobbins. If, however, you are using stick shuttles you will need one for each colour, or you will end up doing a lot of winding and unwinding!
I hope this clears up your confusion.
Barbara