Put Them to the Test

I wove these a while back.  They've just been waiting to be hemmed.  I could probably ctrl-c, ctrl-v those first two sentences into my draft folder and use them over and over again because I am terrible about getting to the hemming.  I could try to build up excuses for me by saying that I had to buy matching thread, but it's not much of an excuse.  If I did offer that up, I would immediately have to follow up with the fact that I bought the thread in October, and I just got around to hemming these recently.  

Anyway, these are new washcloths.  I was inspired to weave them after the linen facecloth WAL over on Yarnworker.  Yes, that was a while ago.  The yarn is Red Heart Scrubby Cotton.  I'm not too proud to admit it.  The weaving went well.  They washed up fine.  I had a little trouble hemming them.  Some of that was due to the fabric, but mostly it was due to me.  I improved as I kept going with it, so the last hem is better than the first, and I'm OK with that.  

Now it is time to put them through their paces and see how they hold up to use.  I have hopes--not high hopes, but just hopes.  I like making things we can use, and it would be nice to make a new pile of washcloths, but I won't weave any more of these until I see how this batch wears.      

Raggged

I did another WAL over on Yarnworker, and I felt like I was behind from the start.  We wove rugs and covered two different patterns.  The two selections from Handwoven Home are the Two-Color Krokbragd Rug and the Fabric Stash Rag Rug.  Well, I didn't have all the materials for the Krokbragd, so I went for the Fabric Stash Rag Rug.

It was a fun weave.  My biggest stresses came from my own error following the pattern, but it worked out just fine.  Then I had another oopsy and could not continue weaving, and it actually made my previous mistake something that worked very well.  I like it so much, that I haven't put this on the floor to be used.  I need to get over that. 

 As always, I learned a lot through this process.  I want to weave more rugs, and maybe even get a temple.  I enjoyed this weave-along so much and learned enough that I decided to tackle a bit of Krokbragd, but that's a story for another day.   

Better in Real Life

Before Washing

So, in keeping with catching up on some of the things I did during my blogging absence, I present some of the least-impressive-looking weaving I did.  These are the linen face cloths from Handwoven Home.  

After Washing

After Washing

It was another WAL over on Yarnworker.  I was not particularly interested in the pattern as I looked at it in the book, and I considered skipping it, but I am glad I did not, for several reasons.  First off, I always learn so much doing her weave-alongs.  Second, the more I weave, the more I improve.
Third, I have never woven with linen and was happy to have the support.   Linen may never become my favorite fiber to weave with, but the effort was worth it, to me.
   

Anyway, these are not particularly impressive looking pieces.  They do look better in person, as I just could not take a decent photo.  Washing them transformed the pieces so much.  They softened a lot and have been put into use here at home.  That makes them a success in my book, and I think I might weave more of these.

 

Swatchy-Swatchy!

I've been weaving more this year, and learning so much.  Just like knitting, over and over, weavers are advised to swatch with new yarns and colors before starting a large piece.  Similar to the whole, "Take time to save time; check gauge."  Well, now I have these new tools to help me follow that wisdom.  

The gauge will be a quick way to check yarn for sett.  The Swatch Maker Weaving Looms will be great for sampling, trying out colors, and, well, swatching.  I can't wait to try them. 

Twill Be Done Done

Ta-to-the-dah!  I finished the Twill Be Done weave-along.  I tried something new and learned a lot.  If you're on the fence about joining in on one of Liz Gipson's weave-alongs over on her Yarnworker site, I would encourage you to give it a go.  I like the answer she gave about the schedule.  Basically, she said that some people weave ahead, some follow the schedule to the letter, and some weave in their heads.  For me, weaving the pattern helped me to learn even more, but I think I could have learned quite a bit weaving in my head.     

The pattern is for a table runner, but instead, I used my warp to weave two placemats because I think that it will get more use that way.  I certainly see the errors and where I need to improve.  I might want to try using a temple to help me with draw-in, or maybe more experience will be enough.  The changes that happen throughout the process from having the woven piece under tension on the loom, to off the loom, and all the way through washing and drying cannot be underestimated.  I like these pretty well.  Now I just need to make the move from looking at them to using them.

    

Not Great, But Maybe Not As Horrible As I Think It Is

It's not looking great for the home team on the Twill Be Done piece, but I reserve judgment for now.  I've made it through the twill-y bits and clove-hitch knots at the beginning and am now chugging along on the plain weave center portion.  So far, I see a few problems, but some may be less problematic after finishing.  Possible problem one is that I think my beating in the twill-y bits is not wonderful.  I'm a little less concerned about that as things look different under tension.  Also, I am learning something new, and that is likely to show.  Another problem is that my twill-y bits didn't seem to show up very well so far.  The color mix might not work well.  I don't find it to be ugly, but rather unfortunate to go through the effort only to not be able to see it well.  It actually looks better in this progress picture, I think, so maybe it's not so bad.  However, looking at the picture, I'm pretty sure I also have some outright mistakes in my pick-up, but I'm moving on and just trying to get something done.

Besides, that, it is going well, I think.  I had a nice rhythm going working the clove-hitch knots, and am glad to have learned another edge treatment.  I might make placemats or towels instead of the runner.  I guess I'd better check the warp length and make some decisions.  After all that, the plain weave seems a bit boring now, and I'm ready to get back to the pick-up sections and see if I'm improving.    

It Might Help if I Could Stay Awake...

...but catching up on sleep probably needs to happen first.  Life has been very busy lately.  If I cannot figure out a better way to take care of some of the new stuff on the list, I'm going to have to find a new way to do everything else.  Until then, the "everything else" is suffering a bit.  Today was a bit of a breather, and that was nice.  I managed to tackle some things around the house, weave a little, and play with markers and pens a bit, too.
Something else I thought would be good for today was watching weaving DVDs.  My collection grew by two during birthday season, but I haven't had the chance to watch them.  The problem is that when I sit down to watch most anything, my eyelids get very heavy.  Since I'm trying to get my sleep schedule back on track, I am avoiding naps for now.  That means I need to set these aside for now.  I'll get to them eventually, and then I will be an expert, for sure, eh?  

Warped and Waiting on a Wednesday

Perhaps you noticed my stalling on the start of my Twill Be Done.  You would be forgiven for thinking it was just a poor attempt at trying to stretch a small amount of content into several blog posts. Sure, that's certainly a plus, (ok, not the poor part, but that's kind of how it goes around here) but it's not what was happening.  I was just trying to finish the last project and life was not cooperating, but I finally made it happen.  I now have a new cloth for the coffee table, and I think I like it.  It was also nice that I finally got around to using the 15 dpi reed, and although I do need to try out some different, smooth yarns with it, that will have to be later.   

Anyway, I finally have the warp on the loom.  After the last project, setting this up with the 7.5 dpi reed seemed super-quick.  I hope to get weaving on it soon, but for now, it must wait and wonder whether the colors will work.  I really don't know if they will, but I've made it this far, and I'm going for it.  The blue will be the main weft and the yellow will be the twill-y bits and clove-hitch knots (yes, more new stuff!).  My picture is still a bit off on the color, but not by tons.  Really, it's the variegated warp that has me wondering, but worse case scenario, I only learn new things and have ugly cloth.  Stacked up against everything else in life, how is that even a concern, eh? 

Ah-ha! (I hope)

As I mentioned previously, I'm participating in a weave-along over on Liz Gipson's site, Yarnworker. We are weaving Twill Be Done from Handwoven Home.  Some of the terminology and skills were intimidating to me when I read the description, but the opportunity to learn grabbed me.  The first bits were simple--things I already knew.  Then I began to feel rather stupid.  It was time to learn to read a draft for a floor loom and create a drawdown chart.  I knew what the first thing was, in that I had not really understood how to do it and only felt more confused each time I tried.  The second thing could have been anything, but I hoped to learn.  When it came to reading the drafts, it all seemed counterintuitive, upside down, and backwards.  Now might be the time to confess my rather poor sense of direction.  I think there is a connection.   

Finally, after several viewings of the video lessons and reading of the passages, I think I had a breakthrough.  Once I understood that the drawdown is like a charted representation of what the weaving pattern will look like--kind of like a colorwork chart, I was on my way.  Then I had to get out of my head and try to just follow along step-by-step without understanding what I was doing.  About halfway through the first twill pattern, I could follow what I was to do, and then coloring in the next was a breeze.  

I like the relaxed format of this weave-along and feel like I can keep up with each week without too much pressure.  We'll see what happens--next week looks to be a doozy.  

Annual Occurrences are Annual

Yes, once again, it's National Spinning and Weaving Week.  That seems like as good a time as any to make a plan, but first I'll show a bit of my spinning and weaving from this year.  I played with cotton for a bit.  I had an idea and read in my books to try making it happen.  Then I sampled.  What?  Yeah, it was the right thing to do, and I'm glad I did it.  I'm not too disappointed with the results and feel that I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do differently.  Then I returned to spinning the cotton singles.  It is not my favorite to spin, though I do feel a sense of accomplishment when I do spin cotton.  Anyway, the plan is to spin more of the textured cotton yarn and weave with it.  

Then, I got into the silk hankies and spun some more.  I had plans for weaving with them, but I don't think what I have right now will work.  I have other hankies that I might be able to add to this pile and then maybe I can.  

The other spinning was a getting-to-know-you spin for my Electric Eel Wheel 5.  I do love that little machine.  Anyway, I grabbed eight ounces of wool and spun for ages.  The plying was a breeze.  Plying on an e-wheel is wonderful.  Winding off the skein nearly did me in, but I made it, and it seems like I made some decent yarn.  I was proud that I only had a small amount of singles leftover on one bobbin to ply back on itself, so maybe I am improving.

As for weaving, I got out the inkle loom and tablet weaving cards and book and played a bit.  It was about time, as I bought the cards and book a few years ago, and they mostly just sat all that time.  Anyway, I now have some new lanyards and a bit of experience with tablet weaving.  

The other weaving was a birthday gift for my niece.  She loves little blankets for covering dolls, stuffed animals, and pets.  So I made a long, random, textured warp on the Ashford and wove the blankies for her.  I'm pleased to learn that she has been using them, so I consider it a success.   

Now for the plan--I want to try out my new 15 d.p.i. reed for my Ashford rigid heddle loom.  I have an idea but do not know if it will work, but I am ready to try.  My other plan is to weave some towels on the Cricket because I need more.  As for the spinning, I don't have a real plan, other than to spin some.  I could return to the cotton, or maybe try something new.  Who knows?  So, what's your plan for the week?

Wednesday Weaving: SurpriseBlameStaceyEdition

Long ago, (not really, I just don't remember, and if I look it up, the blogging will never happen) Stacey mentioned weaving kits from Spunky Eclectic and that they have a club.  I loved what she had woven, and for the first time, the idea of a club appealed to me.  I'm still new to weaving, and the club is for the rigid heddle loom.  I looked at kits.  I thought about joining the club.  I considered colors.  Then, I bought nothing.  I looked again and convinced myself not to get anything.  I made some sort of comment about the budget.  Stacey responded that $33 every-other-month probably wouldn't break the budget.  Still, I had to think about it.  Then I decided to go for it.  I decided to really go for it by not selecting a color family, but instead, choosing the Surprise option.  Then, I waited.  

Finally, the day arrived, and I had my first club shipment.  I looked at its bright loveliness, and worked to clear a spot on life and loom to weave it.  Then, life was in full swing, and it was, well, it was kind of killing me.  But we're not talking about that, and really, that kind of stuff is boring.  

Anyway, let's just fast-forward to the weaving part.  I loved playing with this kit.  It is not something I would have chosen on my own; not the pairing of yarns, not the colors, but it was perfect.  To me, it is candy corn, autumn, and sunshine.  I decided to not make it a scarf as the pattern intended, but instead I turned it into a möbius cowl.  I later found what would probably be a better way to do this, but I still think it turned out well.  The weaving was fast with the big, lumpy, bumpy, thick-and-thin, this-will-not-be-even-so-no-need-to-try yarn for the weft that was so freeing.  Then of course, there was the fun of the silver sparkle in the warp yarn that I just loved.

This is going to be either a birthday or Christmas present for the daughter, (she's a Christmas Eve baby) depending on the wrapping paper situation. 

Now, I wait patiently for the next club shipment.  Being open to whatever arrives is a good thing.   

Weaving Wednesday

What do we talk about on Wednesdays?  That's right, weaving.  Do I have it in me to carry on a weekly blog topic for the foreseeable future?  Have you been here before?  So, no, I probably won't have weaving to show every Wednesday, but that's what day it is today, and as it happens, I have weaving to show.  

 
Today I have a scarf to show.  I wove this for my brother mostly from the yarn he brought back from Iceland last year.  To add a bit more color, I also used some Lion Brand Amazing in the Arcadia colorway.  I like the scarf, and had it ready to go for my brother's birthday and his trip with his family to Shenandoah.  The yellow bit is probably my favorite, and it was totally unplanned.  That might be what makes it best.  I just loaded up the warping board and then moved it to the loom, and when I saw that yellow, I knew it would be good.  After that, I just wound stick shuttles and wove, changing colors randomly until I reached the end.  I think my brother liked it, and that is the best of all!  

Weft Behind

The poor wittle blog, all by itself, so lonesome, waiting so long for new posts and comment love.  So, I decide to return to it, and as soon as I begin adding tags for the first post, there is eye rolling and an exasperated sigh.  The blog wants to protest the manner of my return, but fears another long silence, abandonment, or, deletion.  Still, I hear the sullen mutterings.  It wonders whether I deliberately chose the return post topic deliberately in an attempt to find out if we will truly hear crickets chirping in the silence after clicking the publish button.  It wonders if I had considered less popular, more repelling topics such as religion, politics, crafting my own reusable LadyDays products, or an extreme frugality that eschews toilet paper.  

Ah, but this space has never been about popularity, so I carry on with the topic lying at my feet.  What, not the topic at hand?  No, that will have to wait for me to finish some mittens.  I'm talking about weaving, and not just any weaving, but rugs.  I decided to try out weft-faced (though I keep embarrassingly and erroneously typing warp-faced, even though I do know the difference) weaving.  The purple and navy rug goes in the downstairs bathroom.  The other one goes beside Bruce's side of the bed because he has wanted a rug there and he likes this one. 

I ended up with two rugs because I was both stupid and lucky.  I was stupid to charge ahead with something new without carefully reading the directions.  What was my mistake?  I was supposed to thread every other slot/hole spot on the reed instead of every slot/hole across.  I remedied that by clipping the extra warp ends and tossing them over the back.  Then when I finished the first rug, I re-threaded the reed as well as I could, and wove the second rug.  That I was able to weave two rugs is the lucky part.  

As far as the yarn deets, the purple yarn is Cascade Pastaza (discontinued yarn, and longtime stash resident) and I think the navy is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride and Manos del Uruguay.  That I was able to use up the Pastaza and some leftover random navy yarns is another way I was lucky.  The other rug is Lion Brand Amazing in Glacier Bay.  Perhaps we will talk more about that yarn later, but it may be one of those things that we will declare never happened.  Anyway, now I just have to work up the nerve to put these rugs on the floor and use them.  Actually, that does not bother me too much.  I have made them to be used, I enjoyed making them, and if they need replacing, I will make more.  I do have some yarn.         

Twenty-Four

Our former neighbors called us a few days ago to alert me to an estate sale nearby they thought would interest me.  I could see some weaving looms and coned yarn in the photos, so I decided to have a look this morning.  Some things I was interested in checking out were already gone.  There was still an enormous Harrisville Designs million (or maybe just ten--counting is hard) treadle floor loom.  Even if I thought I really wanted it, it is out of my budget and is enormous.  

I came across a binder of lesson plans for teaching weaving.  I believe I spotted the name of someone I know in the class list from 20-25 years ago.  I found several large boxes of loom waste.  I chuckled to myself about that feeling of being unable to throw away yarn like that, knowing it is useless but convincing yourself it is good and you will figure out something for it.  I don't think anyone else knew what I was talking about, but I was able to identify what they had in those boxes.  I saw a bee smoker, at least five children's sewing machines, and the same bathtub toy kayak my older brother used to own.  

So, with such bountiful treasures, you're probably wondering how I got it all home, eh?  Well, I managed to limit my purchases to a few things that fit in a Rubbermaid shoebox.  I think I found a few useful treasures. 

             

Twenty

Well, I am still not quite sure what I will do with this, but learning something new is always good. 

Coming Out of the Dark

Well, Stacey certainly had it right when she commented on the darkness of the yarn for my Celestarium.  It is not a project I work on in low-light settings or when my eyes are tired, but I think it will all be worth it when I am done.  I am hoping to finish it by the end of the month, but that is not a deadline.  However, I do have some deadlines approaching, so I am trying to keep going on those projects.  I call myself over 50% done with the Christmas knitting, but I cannot rest on those accomplishments.  

Besides Christmas knitting, I have decided to take on making things for a couple of birthdays.  I have almost completed sewing a blanket for Eva's first birthday next month, and I am weaving a blanket for Katie's birthday in December.  As it has been National Spinning and Weaving Week, it seemed the perfect time to get the yarn on the loom for her blanket.  

I didn't quite need sunglasses for this, but almost.  I think it should turn out to be interesting and something she will really love.  The blanket will be two woven panels sewn together, so it should be a nice size for her.  I have some ideas for adding some visual and textural interest beyond the bumpity yarn, but I have not decided anything just yet.  For now, I am just glad to have the loom set up and ready to weave.  

It is so nice to have a room for crafting, especially when it comes to weaving.  I could get started on it without worrying about being in the way of anything else, and being able to stop and come back to it if needed and it not being an issue.  

Sweet Three-Toed Sloth of Ice Planet Hoth

Ah, it is another of those weather-induced opportunities to dig through your bin of handknits and wear them all.  Some of us are so bundled up in handknits that we could make those fiber festival goers look like their special ensembles of everything they've made in the past year is really just the secret wink to other knitters that they think it is.  

We are staying warm and doing our best to take it easy here.  The cold temperatures are probably helping us take a break from things since the best choice is just to stay home and wait for the weather to change.  

Life has continued to be full.  We traveled a bit last month on a journey that was too long and too short all at once.  Being home is good.  I am finding myself a bit unsettled with what to knit, so I am working on different things here and there in hopes of completing something soon.  

Anyway, I did manage to finish a number of knits and weaves for gifts, (don't want to steal credit--the purple blanket under baby Eva was knit by my grandma, not me) on time, even.  You can spy some of them here amongst my photo collage of some bits of life from the past six weeks or so.  

          

Maybe I Need That Video

Getting it on the warping board was just one step; getting it on the loom takes a bit longer.  Perhaps the new video from Interweave, Life After Warping is what I need.  I have had this on the warping board for weeks now, just waiting for the time and concentration needed for the next step.  Well, those perfect circumstances are not going to just present themselves, so I need to grab some time that I think will work and get going.      

Learning is its Own Reward

At least that is what I am telling myself, but it feels a bit hollow.  I tackled some new-to-me weaving techniques, and in many ways, the venture was a success.  However, my efforts fell short, quite literally.  On the upside, my grandma gets a new scarf.  On the downside, that was not what I was trying to weave.  

This was my first attempt at indirect warping and using a warping board.  I actually need a real warping board, because my inkle loom does not accommodate a warp long enough for, oh, let's say, a full sized scarf, but I thought it did.  I think I had calculated correctly, but that was when I was winding the warp incorrectly, and I did not re-check measurements when I fixed that error.  At least that is what I think happened.  Maybe I made some other mistake, but that does not change the fact that I need a real warping board.  I researched them and considered diy-ing it, but figured that between any equipment needed and the time and materials, I would probably be better off buying one.  Then I found a used one for a reasonable price, but just before I had saved enough pennies, someone else bought it.  So, I went back to my other choices, and I think I might have a winner.  

Anyway, now that the scarf has been off the loom for a bit, I do feel better about it all.  I did well with the indirect warping method, and am glad to understand it so that I can use it for other weaving projects.  This was also my first time using two heddles to weave, and that went quite well.  It allowed me to use some beautiful laceweight alpaca to create some wonderfully fine, drape-y cloth.  It also helps that I was able to give the scarf to my grandma, and I think she likes it.      

More Than a Little, Less Than a Lot

You probably guessed that I did not make all of the things for Christmas that I planned to make. Some plans changed, and when I re-assessed others, I saw that I was going overboard, so I crossed them off the list, too.  Overall, I did well with completion and went into the New Year with only one incomplete.  Yeah, it was the one I mentioned in the last post, but that was enough to motivate me to finish it.  

The last of the Christmas presents completed is a scarf I wove.  It is an easy-peasy plain weave with Knit Picks Imagination in the colorway Looking Glass.  The scarf is so soft and pretty and I think it is just right for my ever-cold sister-in-law.  I hope she likes it.  

You may recognize this yarn from my Color Affliction.  I do have a complaint about this yarn--it sheds like mad.  As in, wearing something made from it makes it look like you have too many pets.  Multiple cycles of tumble dry, no heat, yield full lint traps.  It is really rather ridiculous, but at least I knew what I was in for after the Color Affliction adventure, and I pretty much used up all of the yarn.   

Something else to tell you about the weaving of this scarf--I was able to use new tools!  I bought the boat shuttle at SAFF, then I bought this cheap little drink mixer, and now I have a bobbin winder.  It works so well, I love using the boat shuttle, and I feel super-smart because real bobbin winders are expensive.

Next up, we have the garter-stitch-scarf-of-never-ending-ness.  Of course, all garter stitch scarves feel that way to me, but I really like this and enjoyed knitting with my handspun.  The sister-in-law liked it, too, and her husband liked his new socks.  I knew he had been wearing the pair I gave him in October, so I felt confident in this gift choice.

Then one of them pulled a stunt that makes me feel like I might never knit for either of them ever again, but it happened during a time of stress, so I am just trying to let it go and not think about it.  If I do find myself thinking about it, I am trying to reframe it and put a more positive spin on it all, but time might be the best treatment.  Feeling like I might never knit for someone again sometimes just means that I have not finished processing an event, and that is the best way I can think of to deal with the negative feelings.  It is really a much better option than telling someone whatever pops into my head.  This makes it all sound much bigger and serious than it is, and I have gotten way off-topic, but that is nothing new around here.        

Maybe we can bring this post back in order a bit with something cute.  I knit this sweet hat for my niece.  The pattern is Ruffled Cloche from 60 Quick Baby Knits, and if you knit this pattern, I will note that you can work this in the round from the start.  It was hard to get a picture of her wearing the hat, but it was a hit with everyone.  Her mom hopes it will still fit at Easter.  If it does not, I am probably willing to knit another, but I am not making any promises today.  

Finally, we have the gift that tried to kill me, but that will have to wait for another post.