Megado Sorted

Dorothy has pointed out to me that I never reported on the end of the Megado problem. A quote was indeed forthcoming from Louet. It was very large indeed. A substantial fraction of the cost of a new Megado. So Alan suggested he have a go at repairing it and came and fetched it one Monday. It was returned the following Sunday - working!!!!!. Apparently at some point in its life a repair had been done in the control box and the solder had given up with age. So he cleaned it up and replaced the solder and VOILA - one working Megado. I wove about six inches, wound on and discovered, to my grief that I had tied the warp on very badly so attempted to repair it and made the warp tension worse. I cut off the newly woven section, pulled through all the faulty threads, tied on again (VERY CAREFULLY) and wove a section again, then wound on. All is well. How stupid can you be! Quite is the answer if you are me!!

And he charged less than 10% of Louet's quote.

I also ought to say that my sick days seem to be behind us. I was sick for the day on average, one day in six or seven. The medication was changed. Not only do I not have sick days but I am much more energetic. I have completed all sorts of deadlines. I even found time and energy to go and clean up in the garden today. It feels good to have joined the human race again!

The Meyer - Problems

I have just had a very odd experience which took 24 hours to resolve. Later this month I am going to stay with my daughter and thought I would take my small loom, the 12 shaft Meyer, to occupy myself while the others were at work. So I designed a draft which used Bateman on 8 shafts, wound the warp for it and dug the Meyer out of its cupboard. I was quite shocked. It had a white and blue wool warp on it already and about 8 inches was woven in a  complicated pattern. I remember nothing about this and between us (Dorothy and me) we could not even remember when it was done - except that it was some time ago. I investigated  the threading - complex and on 8 shafts. No notes on it anywhere. In the end I tried tabby which looks okay but rather dull to weave. There is by the way quite a length of unwoven warp on the loom. So I retired for the night. Got up this morning determined to sort this out and eventually found the threading plus the rest of the draft in Melanie Venes handout of Autumn 2018!! And then remembered. Melanie came to do a two day course at the Guild and I did a sample draft from her selection of Deflected Double Weaves but I did not like what I had chosen and, when I got home, I cut off the sample, re-threaded with another draft and started out - and instead of starting a new entry in my notes, I wrote a few cryptic remarks in pencil on Melanie's handout!!!!. So all is now well. The only problem that I have now is that the weft is brown wool quite thick with some thinner blue. And I can see me running out of brown. Some where in the house is some more brown. I would not have started weaving with those colours unless I had enough yarn.

And on the topic of photos, our garden is showing signs of life. So I have been out with the camera.

More on the Megado

I got round to opening up the box of electronics on the Megado. Inspection showed that it was surprisingly undusty and that the capacitors in the power supply were okay. I am not expert enough to carry out more tests so I consulted with Alan at Handweavers Studio and it was clear that lots of testing would be required. It also turned out that buying a completely new box was nothing like as expensive as I expected and that would have some definite advantages. So Alan is going to get a formal quote from Louet. But this is clearly going to take some weeks to get the Megado up and running again. So I am getting on with the red cashmere scarf I described in my last blog. Warp is wound. And when I have finished a spot of framing photos, I will install the warp on the Schacht.

I have finished binding `Amusements in Mathematics. It is shown below.

Megado, Megado

Last time I blogged, I was saying that the Megado was about to be brought into use. The last time I wove on it was October 2018. Since then I was ill for 6 months, then took some more months to get better while coping with getting the Jeremiah Fielding book printed and on the market. Well, the Megado does not work. It was quite adamant about this. It does not work. My first thought was the device to get a serial port speaking to a modern day computer. And I got in an expert but he thought that bit was fine. So I turned to the unthinkable - the Louet itself. And suddenly realised that when I switched it on, there was no satisfying loud Clunk. Eventually, after consulting Cally Booker, I called Handweavers Studio and talked to Alan who was most helpful. So I have to take off the side of the relay box and check the power supply. After all, I bought it in 2004 so it is a bit elderly. I can manage this operation/inspection myself BUT on Thursday I managed to turn my ankle (excoriating) and have been limping about the house with a wrapped up ankle. But it was not serious and I will be fit enough to uncover the works tomorrow. So all in all, an eventful few days.

Because it is clear that I will not be working on the Megado for a week or two, I am working on a new project on the Schacht. I am taking the opportunity to use some of my stash. This time 2 skeins of  cashmere from Just Our Yarns, space dyed in red and dark red. I am doing a variant  of a Bateman weave.

So now I need to wind the warp!

I am also about finished binding another book for The Bookbinders annual do in July. Called `Amusements in Mathematics`. And when that is done I shall start on a Coptic Book and a book, as yet undefined or designed but to hold one print of each lino-cut I have done in the last few years.

Starting back on the Megado

I have caught with lots of deadlines recently and gone back to bookbinding classes with Lori Sauer where I am enjoying myself enormously. I managed to finish the binding of Curlew Coast when at Lori`s. This is a book written by Judith Ellis about East Anglia. She wrote `Two Points East`  and my binding of that book was one of those exhibited all over Norfolk last summer. For the cover of this one, I managed to get two photos of curlews from an RSPB warden and processed them in Photoshop, then printed it on canvas and bound the book.

But more important, someone at the bookbinding class said she was into Coptic books after seeing mine and she was just about to start on a new one. At which point, I remembered that years ago, I had obtained from a furniture maker three sets of wooden covers for Coptic books, all A5 size and all gorgeous black walnut. So this Wednesday, I start on a Coptic book. I have prepared the paper (130 gsm) for the text block (A2 cartridge paper under the spare room bed!!!!!). If you detect an air of glee, you would be right.

So what else? Well I decided that I could do with some cards for notes and thank you letters and so on. I found a nice suitable lino block for a card of caladium leaves and practised last Friday. This week, I will have solved the registration problem and we will set out to print 20 or so.

And what about the Megado? It is all ready to go but I need to see to the IT side of things. Tomorrow is laid aside for that. I have a lot of other ideas for weaving. I listened to a talk by Sue Hiley Harris last Saturday and it did spark a number of ideas. I will be warping up the Meyer to do some experiments.

The new website is coming along nicely. Next week I think it will be up and running.

Cars, illness and the Megado

I have been ill which as removed two weeks of my life - generalised bug going about according to my GP. And the car behaved very badly and had to be taken into the nearest garage where they changed the spark plugs but aroused alarm and despondency by saying you must take it into the nearest Ford garage because we think your (automatic) gearbox may need replacing. so I was in fear and  trepidation about the bill. However when the car was collected, the service man said `Oh that`s a common fault with Bmaxes, no trouble at all to fix`. It was delivered back at 1600 hours with a bill for £105.00. Was I relieved!!!!! Since then I have driven to Malvern and back and it ran without any funny behaviour, and very smoothly as it usually is.

What that, being ill and trying deliver all the text for the new website, there has not been much time for anything although I did go to a Linocut class and start on a new project - a row of beach huts on the Dorset coast. I have however tied on the Megado double warp and it is ready for weaving which I hope to start tomorrow. I also took the Megado`s photo for the website. It is so big it has always been difficult to photograph but this time I needed the photo so I stood on chairs, knelt on chairs, moved furniture and yarn and achieved one in the end (see below) It is not wonderful but it will do.
And just to keep you up to date, a photo of Jerry and me in our garden

Christmas Eve 2019

I have finished editing the new website and sent off the files. No doubt when the web designer, she will scream with rage and want lots of changes. So today I carefully checked the proof of my three pages in the Complex Weaver celebration of being 40 book.  I cannot say that anyone would be able to extract the draft from the photo shown. It is double sided  Biederwand on 16 shafts. I wonder if they will have the wifs available?

My sister Dorothy has complained a lot about my last blog entry. Her objection is my complaining about how little I have woven in the last four years. She reminded me quite correctly, that six months was out being ill and the rest of the four years was spent organising/writing the Jeremiah Fielding book. Both comments are correct but I have to admit that I have such good intentions for 2020. I have one major project to complete on the Megado and two more lined up after that. Let`s see if I can do these three in 2020!!