Wow, I haven't posted for a while. I have been tablet-weaving, though!
I finished the backstrap-woven band. I still need to work on how to rig up the backstrap so that I can weave comfortably and also advance the warp without too much hassle (and remove excess twist every now and then). I do want to have a portable way to weave, so I'm motivated to keep practicing.
Next up are a couple of brick patterns. Above is a pattern I've done before and will no doubt do again. I do like this simple two-hole spot band, though I have a tendency to give them away. This one is white with dark purple edges and spots. I need to make a few more in different color combinations.
This blue/green one is from a post on the Karisto/Pasanen Lautanauhat/Tablet weaving Facebook page from August 19, 2021. Mine isn't as cute, sadly. Instead of lining up the speckles, I offset the middle speckles from the edge speckles. This improved things a bit. I'm not sure why I don't like mine as much as the one on the Facebook page. I'm going to blame wool vs cotton even though that's probably not it.
This next one (above) is a cotton version of a wool band that was found in a grave. The actual pattern is in a newly published book along with other details of clothing from the person in the grave. I used a version of the chart that I found on Aisling's blog/website, but added back in the tubular edges that Karisto/Pasanen show on Facebook in their re-creation for the book. The grave is from 13th century Finland. It is known as the Ravattula Ristimäki grave 41/2016. This particular band (or two of them, actually) had attractive tassels and were used as garters. I made one band and it has no fancy finishes. Anyway, I like it and I'll probably make it again, possibly in different colors, either with or without tubular edges.
There's one more band that I wove in April. I saw it as a piece of trim on someone else's clothing and took a quick (and blurry) photo, then reverse-engineered it from the photo. I eventually talked to the weaver who told me it was a variation on one of the Oseberg bands. It also looks very similar to one of the Staraja Ladoga patterns.
So.... that was fun to weave. The above photo is the result, and it looks very similar to the band that inspired it. The motifs are a little bit elongated since apparently I can't beat quite tight enough to squoosh the lines into right angles, but that's OK. Also, the band that inspired me has green zigzags while mine are dark purple.
Eventually I did my usual poking around and found a couple of versions of the Staraja Ladoga pattern, including a few two-hole versions. I charted them up and played around for a bit, creating some variations as well as a version that looks very similar to the band I reverse engineered, except that it is two-hole, of course. I'm almost done with the two-hole version I settled on and will do a write-up on the blog after it's finished. I'm still going to look at the Oseberg band that might have been the original weaver's inspiration and see how that looks. I might try a few variations, too, because it's an attractive motif.
I'm also feeling the urge to make cordage and knots and braids. We'll see what happens there.
Another thing I did in April was to finally buy the Latvian tablet-weaving book. It is full of swoon-worthy two-hole patterns to blast my two-hole tablet-weaving obsession to new heights. There are also lots of other great patterns and motifs and techniques to inspire me in addition to the two-hole bands. I know not one word of Latvian (except for some doily-knitting terminology) but that's OK. There are apps and programs to translate important things. I can puzzle out a few words. And the charts and photos are sufficient to keep me learning and playing for quite a while. I'm very glad I bought it. Balticsmith, the etsy seller who sometimes has them in stock, is sold out again.
