I am underway with the third iteration of the Rock Creek piece, and I noticed something. One of my Swedish shuttles was often nose-diving--going under ends in the lower shed. Aside from being annoying, it leads to mistakes in the cloth. After some thought I switched the shuttle I was using (seen below at top) for the lighter model below it. It made a lot of difference. Curious about the shuttles' respective weights, I took them to the grocery store and weighed them empty. The top one is 5 oz. and the bottom one is 3 oz. Not much of a difference except in percentage terms, but it seems to have made all the difference in terms of smooth weaving.
The other detail I noticed was in the beat of number one Rock Creek weaving and number two weaving. The second was almost 10% longer than the original. I don't think that the looser beat enhances the design, so this time I am trying to beat harder. I am also putting more tension on the warp and moving it forward more often. Vibeke always tells me that I forget to do this often enough; I hope she is now pleased. And it has helped to make the design clearer to keep the beat more vigorous and the tension higher.
The choice of shuttle can make all the difference! I used to use my Swedish shuttles (identical to your 5-oz version) but now I'm addicted to the Schacht and Bluster Bay end-delivery shuttles. I've found that my weaving goes faster if I don't have to fuss with the weft at the selvedges, which I always did with the Swedish shuttles. But to each her own - if they work happily for you, they're the "right" shuttles. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Rock Creek piece, v3.
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