I'm so excited! The wonderful Judy at the Weaver listserv is sending me an inkle loom she no longer needs, just for the cost of postage, which came to under $10! I'll post pics of the loom and more weaving soon, IY"H!
Showing posts with label weaving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weaving. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Triangle loom weaving
I've been so obsessively weaving on my new 3' triangle loom that I haven't had time to do almost any knitting or spinning, both of which I really need to get done. I'm about 1/2 done with my kimono sweater, had to reorder yarn for the slow-bee shawl knit-along (which started this last week so I'll be at least a week behind) when my first yarn turned out to have been sold knotted in the skein. I wasn't willing to hand-wind and untangle 1533 yards of black lace weight merino/silk yarn, go figure; I didn't even bother to check the second or third skeins I bought, I'm just returning them all. They're being replaced by the seller (Woodland Woolworks, who are wonderful) with a coned tencel lace weight yarn, and I'll probably use the rest of my $$ credit to buy some recycled silk or rayon for my wonderful new loom.
So far I've woven a black and grey scarf for mom; 2 grey wool (yummy) triangles I'm going to seam and embroider for myself in shades of white, grey, and blue; and now this great ladder yarn scarf:
I know, somehow the lighting gets way off when I import into blogger, so here's stitch detail, with slightly better photography and color definition:
Really, the colors are brighter jewel tones, but this will have to do. It's lovely and drapey, and the kids say I should send it to Aunt Hedy.
So far I've woven a black and grey scarf for mom; 2 grey wool (yummy) triangles I'm going to seam and embroider for myself in shades of white, grey, and blue; and now this great ladder yarn scarf:
I know, somehow the lighting gets way off when I import into blogger, so here's stitch detail, with slightly better photography and color definition:
Really, the colors are brighter jewel tones, but this will have to do. It's lovely and drapey, and the kids say I should send it to Aunt Hedy.
Notes from a Soggy Weekend
It is wet. Wet as a frog's bathtub. A ducky paradise. Boy is it wet.
For Mother's Day, Tirtze and Gilad gave me cards they picked out with Oma; Kayla made me a card and gave me a little crystal rose she had saved from a friend's bas mitzvah. We went over to Mom and Dad's for a little brunch. Our gift to Mom was the first scarf I made on my ever-wonderful new 3' triangle loom, done in a fuzzy black, grey and white wool/acrylic blend. It is quite lovely and she seems to like it.
My other weaving on the loom includes 2 grey wool triangles which I hope to seam and then embroider in whites, greys, and blues; and the piece I'm working on now which is difficult but wonderful: a jewel-toned ladder yarn. Kayla has suggested I give this to Aunt Hedy, since Kayla insists it's beautiful but that I don't usually wear such bright jewel tones. Ladder yarns when woven look like strung beads, so I can't wait to take it off the loom; I'll try to be sure to take photos.
In other fibery news, Interweave's Piecework magazine published a pattern for filet crochet based on historical research of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and works; it's a large doily or dresser scarf with birds on a branch (note to anyone considering working the piece: there are pattern corrections to the symbol listing). I don't do filet crochet (well, I could, I suppose, but I haven't crocheted in years and I just don't have time to start something else new), so I just cut the article and pattern out and mailed it to Julie; maybe she has a friend who can replicate it for her.
Everyone at home has a bit of a cold or virus; runny noses and sore throats. Addie seems to have had it first and is feeling better already; I'm still feeling a bit miserable and run-down but it's not too nasty. Feivel had bug bites from Friday and was convinced he had chicken pox again; not only that, but he was checking his brothers out and insisting that every little spot or bump on their bodies must be chicken pox too.
The only other real news is that before the rain came pouring down, Jeffrey was able to go pick up a desk from a freecycler, so now we have the small desk we needed. Thanks, freecycle.
For Mother's Day, Tirtze and Gilad gave me cards they picked out with Oma; Kayla made me a card and gave me a little crystal rose she had saved from a friend's bas mitzvah. We went over to Mom and Dad's for a little brunch. Our gift to Mom was the first scarf I made on my ever-wonderful new 3' triangle loom, done in a fuzzy black, grey and white wool/acrylic blend. It is quite lovely and she seems to like it.
My other weaving on the loom includes 2 grey wool triangles which I hope to seam and then embroider in whites, greys, and blues; and the piece I'm working on now which is difficult but wonderful: a jewel-toned ladder yarn. Kayla has suggested I give this to Aunt Hedy, since Kayla insists it's beautiful but that I don't usually wear such bright jewel tones. Ladder yarns when woven look like strung beads, so I can't wait to take it off the loom; I'll try to be sure to take photos.
In other fibery news, Interweave's Piecework magazine published a pattern for filet crochet based on historical research of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and works; it's a large doily or dresser scarf with birds on a branch (note to anyone considering working the piece: there are pattern corrections to the symbol listing). I don't do filet crochet (well, I could, I suppose, but I haven't crocheted in years and I just don't have time to start something else new), so I just cut the article and pattern out and mailed it to Julie; maybe she has a friend who can replicate it for her.
Everyone at home has a bit of a cold or virus; runny noses and sore throats. Addie seems to have had it first and is feeling better already; I'm still feeling a bit miserable and run-down but it's not too nasty. Feivel had bug bites from Friday and was convinced he had chicken pox again; not only that, but he was checking his brothers out and insisting that every little spot or bump on their bodies must be chicken pox too.
The only other real news is that before the rain came pouring down, Jeffrey was able to go pick up a desk from a freecycler, so now we have the small desk we needed. Thanks, freecycle.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Bah, hum (and whatever angora bunnies say)
Where have I been for the last week? At the world-famous Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! I actually got to take a fabulous 3 day class with Robin Russo, on fiber preparation for spinning, and I now can actually comb and card and my spinning is SO much better too.
I can now produce an honest-to-goodness real hand-carded rolag:
We mostly used combs and drum carders, though. We worked with something like 10 different breeds worth of sheep wool, plus alpaca, llama, quiviut (!), angora, silk, mohair, and then blends.
Here are a few shots of my classmates; note all the different wheels. We had everything from a Merlin Hitchhiker to a classic Great (Walking) wheel.
Having learned all that, of course I had to shop for combs (I had already bought hand cards in the hopes of getting into a class with Judith Mackenzie McCuin which was full, but that worked out anyway). I wound up buying the Indigo Hound English combs, though I'd like to get either the Louet Dutch combs or the MajaCraft handcombs, both of which are quite dull. I know that sounds silly when I now have a set of lovely double-pitch sharp combs, but in a child-intensive household such as this I feel like I can only use the Indigo Hound combs when no one else is home, for fear that one or another of the kids (read: Feivel or Gilad) will seriously hurt himself).
I also got...drumroll...a 3' triangle loom from Carol Leigh. I've really wanted one for a while and figured this was my chance.
The best thing is that after all this time of focusing on fibers and spinning techniques most suitable for fine knitwear, I now have a hunger for fibers like Churro and Jacob which I would weave. You know, because I need more fiber obsession.
I also bought assorted dizzes and other little odds and ends, and a little fiber and about 1500 yds of medium weight yarn, nothing too much in that area.
Overall, it was, as always, fabulous!
I can now produce an honest-to-goodness real hand-carded rolag:
We mostly used combs and drum carders, though. We worked with something like 10 different breeds worth of sheep wool, plus alpaca, llama, quiviut (!), angora, silk, mohair, and then blends.
Here are a few shots of my classmates; note all the different wheels. We had everything from a Merlin Hitchhiker to a classic Great (Walking) wheel.
Having learned all that, of course I had to shop for combs (I had already bought hand cards in the hopes of getting into a class with Judith Mackenzie McCuin which was full, but that worked out anyway). I wound up buying the Indigo Hound English combs, though I'd like to get either the Louet Dutch combs or the MajaCraft handcombs, both of which are quite dull. I know that sounds silly when I now have a set of lovely double-pitch sharp combs, but in a child-intensive household such as this I feel like I can only use the Indigo Hound combs when no one else is home, for fear that one or another of the kids (read: Feivel or Gilad) will seriously hurt himself).
I also got...drumroll...a 3' triangle loom from Carol Leigh. I've really wanted one for a while and figured this was my chance.
The best thing is that after all this time of focusing on fibers and spinning techniques most suitable for fine knitwear, I now have a hunger for fibers like Churro and Jacob which I would weave. You know, because I need more fiber obsession.
I also bought assorted dizzes and other little odds and ends, and a little fiber and about 1500 yds of medium weight yarn, nothing too much in that area.
Overall, it was, as always, fabulous!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)