Wednesday Weaving: Get This Off My Loom Edition

A few weeks back I heard of a search for a weaving demonstrator at a local elementary school as a part of their Youth Art Month celebration. The first thing I did was get the details, because I wanted to be sure that they were looking for something I could do. Since they only needed me to weave and I would not have to give a presentation, it seemed like something I could agree to do without taking on too much. Figuring out what to weave was the next step.

I could have left the current project on my Ashford, but I did not want to do that. I probably never showed this piece when I first started it. The plan was to make a blanket by weaving two panels and sewing them together. I had received a bag of yarns that I might not have bought on my own, and was stumped with how to use them, and this blanket seemed to be the answer. I used the plain, smooth, acrylic yarns for the warp, and then alternated blocks of two different textured yarns for the weft. When I was about 90% done with the first panel, I lost confidence. I worried that it was not going to work out the way I had planned, so I set it aside and could not make myself return to it. The decision to demonstrate weaving was just what I needed to make myself finish the blanket. I figured that if it worked well, I would have one more piece to display my weaving. If it did not, I would know and be done with it.

Now that it is done, I am glad that I stuck it out and finished the blanket. This will probably be a gift, but I have not decided on the recipient just yet. It is nice and soft, and the different textures add to its touchability. My nephew was even able to overlook the fact that it is not in his favorite colors and declare that he wanted to be the first to fall asleep under the blanket.