It has been almost five months since we moved into our new bigger place and sorting our home out has more or less slowed down, however, I am still cracking my brains on new/better ways to store/display my things in my work room.

With my new work room, I had the chance to upgrade my desk size to a 160cm long Bekant from Ikea. It allows me to have a side for graphic design on my iMac and another side to accommodate desktop easel usage/weaving/entertaining friends during craft parties. It is quite an ample sized personal desk, so to say I have small desk space is an understatement. However, I only wanted to use a small part of my desk to store stationery, so I have been looking around.

I previously had acrylic pen/stationery holders from Muji and one of them is still on my desk but it looks haphazard. I also know I didn't want bulky drawers to store my incoming set of 60 coloured pencils. So with an open mind, I made a trip to Muji again to see what ideas I can find and indeed it didn't disappoint.

I chanced upon the Muji PP File Box series with coordinating Pen Pocket holders (those little compartments on the inside of my file box, and the larger one hanging outside). I found this system incredibly versatile because I can choose to hang stationery inside or outside the box.

Also because I bought a book on washi tape x coloured pencil art, I was also looking out for steel edged plastic rulers and was so stoked to find one at Muji! The author suggested getting a clear ruler with a steel edge so you can see where you are cutting.

I've also had the habit of keeping my journal, planner and sketchbook on the desk standing against the wall next to my desk so having a large holder to store those seems to click immediately.

So here is the 'storage caddy' in use at the very edge of my desk. I love how clean it looks and can't wait to have my new pencils sorted in as well, together with a pop up colour chart for easy reference. I didn't plan to have my multi liners there but found it's so much better having them displayed instead of kept hidden in a pencil case all but forgotten. Yes, this stage in my life I have been forgetting to use my drawing materials. :(

Before this trip to Muji I also visited Tokyu Hands to get ideas, but was so disappointed by their lack of stationery holders. :/ Stationery galore, but storage there was only some overpriced round tin can and a set of colourful wooden holders. However, I did come across the King Jim Masking Tape Case and got it to store incoming washi tapes for future projects. It looks like the below.

It is made of sturdy hard paper and opens and closes like a box with 4 'shelves' to store 60 washi tapes. I currently only have the first row filled but with the free agent fee promotion at Ezbuy I've ordered 35 more rolls because the prices were so low! Will share better photos of my storage and display soon!

Hi everyone, I've been wanting to share more information on the various types of frame looms out in the market so people who are new to weaving can understand their differences and how to get the weaving outcomes they want.

I may not explain all the basic terms enough assuming everyone knows the basic terms like warp and weft, so do feel free to Google them up or ask me in the comments section.

First up are these two styles of frame looms most popular around here:
The notched frame loom with heddle bar on the left commonly sold by Kaliko Co. and Funem Studio and the simpler loom with raddle segments/plastic teeth with pick up stick sold by Schacht Spindle and Louet.

THE NOTCHED LOOM
The notched loom was my first loom and I got a lap-sized one to try and here are some of its parts explained.

• Adjustable Tension
  This loom has screws on the top and bottom notched bars to allow for adjustment of the warp tension which I find very useful over time, as the longer you leave your piece on the loom, the warp threads will slacken from the constant stretching. You can easily tighten or loosen your warp threads before, during and after your weaving!
• Adjustable Length
  Another useful thing to note about these screws is, with the help of some table clamps, one is able to take one side of the notched bar as long as you want on a table and do an extended length of work longer than the loom itself. You can also work on this like a rigid heddle loom. See how Kalico Co did it!
• Heddle Bar
  Another useful point is the heddle bar (that angled piece of wood with notches in the middle). It helps you separate the 'over' and 'under' warp threads for super easy tabby weaving. This item would relate much to the Rigid Heddle Loom's reeds, which are also much like the heddle bar, allowing easy separation of the alternate rows of warp threads for efficient weaving.

These looms are usually limited to a wide 7 epi/threads per inch, which is suitable for thicker weft yarns like worsted, rovings, bulky etc. If you want to weave with finer yarn, you may need to bundle up a few strands to form a thicker weft.

This is the tutorial I referred to on how to warp this type of loom. And it's a high density warp which I find keeps my weavings intact. I usually weave non shaggy pieces and tapestries on this loom as the gaps between the warp threads are larger.

THE SIMPLE LOOM
The simple loom was something I got after watching Allyson Rousseau's tutorials on the way she weaves and how she achieves tufted shapes. She showed how she made her looms using nails and canvas stretcher bars, which I also tried, but was not satisfied by my own imperfections (inaccurate spacing of nails, nails falling out etc.).

These looms allow for warping up to 11/12 epi, making the warp threads closer to each other and allowing for weaving with finer yarns and you can also preserve the warp ends to use as ready-made fringe. I initially didn't want to use this loom because it felt like a lot of work to weave tabby stitches without the help of a heddle bar. Below are some of its parts explained.

• Pick up Stick
  You can choose to weave without this tool, as it acts like half of a heddle bar. It lets you pick up one alternate row of warp threads when standing only. When you weave the opposite direction, the shed stick needs to be flattened.
• Raddle Segments/Plastic Teeth
  These allow for two different setts. You can use either a 6 or a 12 epi on the Schacht Lilli loom.  I have not experienced slackening of my warp threads on my Louet Extra Large Lisa loom so perhaps that's why there was no need for any adjustment mechanisms?

TYPES OF WARPING
Even within these two types of looms, there are various ways to warp your loom for either a low or high density warp, see how A Pretty Fix explains it.

As I weave more projects, I have found that each loom has its advantages over another based on the final piece you want to achieve. I'm still not that clear on how different they can be but will hope to find out as I weave some more. :)

20 Feb 2019

We welcomed the birth of our firstborn in May 2017 and I have since forgotten about this blog and what I had set out to do in terms of my art and crafts. Recently, I found a new craft that I love, which is weaving! Compared to painting, which had been a cause of stress in the past few months, I could still create colourful 'art' through weaving on a frame loom and touch them, too!

I would like to continue sharing this journey in fulfilling my destiny. May He reign in all I do, Amen!

Here's a picture of Ralph from November 2017, our little cherub. With his arrival, I have also delved into sewing baby drool bibs and pillows! That will come under a sub brand: Mihon & Co.