Santa was very good to us this year. Since about 2003 when I started the weaving thing, Santa's helper (my older sister) has been tasked with driving over to The Mannings because she lives not so far away and pick up the Christmas loot for me. Tee-hee. I don't know who I should feel sorry for her or the Manning's staff. Ha, ha, ha! Love ya Sis!
Anyway, Good Saint Nick and Helper gifted me with these:
I've watched them both and here's the scoop.
Peggy Osterkamp's: Warping the Loom Back to Front
I give it a 10. She has a quiet voice but it didn't put me to sleep, she was very calming. Peggy was very informative and soothing, you know, motherly. You get a vibe that this back to front warping thing isn't so bad -- which is what I need. I was initially taught front to back warping, with back to front I always forget steps and I even have Peggy's book on warps but I need to see it. I mean you do have to be into weaving to sit through such a video, but it's a no-nonsense, practical and anybody starting out can follow along and will be able to warp a loom in no time.
Yarn Barn of Kansas Presentation:
Doubleweave with Clotilde Barrett
This is a longer video than Peggy's and it should be because it goes into so much more. I mean there is so much you can do with doubleweave -- tubes, folded cloth, quilting, etc.
It's an older production. The video quality is good until Clotilde goes over charts on white paper at the start of each section and you can't see them because they're all washed out until she runs her hand over them and creates a shadow on the paper and you can get a glimpse of what it is that she's trying to show you how the yarn goes on the harnesses.
They did include instruction sheets with the DVD that has some of the charts she goes over in the video but not all. And I'm not sure if that's an issue with the lighting or years of being copied. I will ask Mr. Man when he gets home from the store. I love a man who grocery shops and loves to cook. Right, back to Clotilde.
I should also say I am interested in doubleweave right now and one reason is that I still take a class about once a month with the woman who started me down the weaving path and we have doubleweave samples due Jan. 19th. So I have been reading about it, but wanted to see some doubleweave in action. Sometimes I have to see a technique for it to really sink in and click with me.
Right. First off I was thinking that with this video you were going to see how they dress the loom to prepare for doubleweave. Nope. They tell you to turn off the video, dress your loom and gather your supplies and weave along with Clotilde. Mm-kay, thanks.
Clotilde is a bit stiff and not as calming as Peggy, but she gets the job done. She rocks the loom in that skirt. She is totally old school.
I think I would give this DVD a 10 if the video quality wasn't washed out on the really important charts and maybe if they cleared up some questions I have about dressing the loom. So I think I'm going to give it a 7. Not being able to see those harness charts is very frustrating because not all of the charts are included with the instruction sheets and if you are a beginner you should really read a lot about doubleweave then watch the video.
Price-wise, these puppies aren't cheap ($34.95 a piece) but they do make a very valuable contribution to your weaving library even without the blinking harness charts which you can find in literature elsewhere.
On a sad political note, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today.
