Guatamalan Backstrap Weavers

Here's one of the instruction pages, and
a close up of the diagram. It's very simple,
a smaller scale of the Guatamalan backstrap weavers I
saw at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. (close
up) If we wait for me to actually make something on it, rather than just
TALK about it, you would never see pictures.

Okay, I didn't start any NEW socks, but I have been working on my socks-in-progress.
You know, I have some really nice socks I've made, but for some reason I haven't
completed a pair in the last couple of years. Maybe dream analysis will bring
out my latent sock fears.

I dragged out this loom I bought in the late 70s.
I guess it's a backstrap loom. It came in a long cotton drawstring bag that
you are supposed to put around your back (see where I got that idea?) and then
attach to a door knob. It has a plastic 4 dent reed, about 10" wide. Anyone
ever use one before? Back then I had three kids under four years old. The thought
of closing a door and strapping on a loom sounded pretty good. Of course, that's
probably also why I never got to use it! Can you imagine three kids in diapers
and I'm strapped to a door knob trying to weave? Elaine's
musings about inkle weaves has got me thinking about trying it again.

I finally found a ladder the right length to finish painting my shed. Our backyard
slopes down and there's about a six by four area on one side that I couldn't
reach. I felt like Goldilocks - this ladder is too short, this ladder is too
long. My friend had one the right size, but I've spent the last two mornings
in an Excel class and the afternoon's have been TOO HOT to get up on a ladder.
Well, he call's tonight and needs the ladder back, so I guess I'll be getting
up early while it's still cool (ya know, under 90), and finish painting. If
this is my last blog entry, you'll know why.....(and no you can't have my stash,
I'm taking it with me - at least I'll have the time)

Backstrap Loom

Okay, I didn't start any NEW socks, but I have been working on my socks-in-progress.
You know, I have some really nice socks I've made, but for some reason I haven't
completed a pair in the last couple of years. Maybe dream analysis will bring
out my latent sock fears.

I dragged out this loom I bought in the late 70s.
I guess it's a backstrap loom. It came in a long cotton drawstring bag that
you are supposed to put around your back (see where I got that idea?) and then
attach to a door knob. It has a plastic 4 dent reed, about 10" wide. Anyone
ever use one before? Back then I had three kids under four years old. The thought
of closing a door and strapping on a loom sounded pretty good. Of course, that's
probably also why I never got to use it! Can you imagine three kids in diapers
and I'm strapped to a door knob trying to weave? Elaine's
musings about inkle weaves has got me thinking about trying it again.

I finally found a ladder the right length to finish painting my shed. Our
backyard slopes down and there's about a six by four area on one side that I
couldn't reach. I felt like Goldilocks - this ladder is too short, this ladder
is too long. My friend had one the right size, but I've spent the last two mornings
in an Excel class and the afternoon's have been TOO HOT to get up on a ladder.
Well, he's going to need the ladder back, so I guess I'll be getting up early
while it's still cool (ya know, under 90), and finish painting. If this is my
last blog entry, you'll know why.....(and no you can't have my stash, I'm taking
it with me - at least I'll have the time)

Not a very productive day, in terms of finishing projects, but I got a start on organizing my weaving stash. How could I have THAT many cones when I just started weaving? I tagged each cone with type of yarn, ypp, wpi, and remaining weight. They take up so much room, I may have to build some shelves downstairs to keep them.

Cotton socks - I just visited Claudia's blog and I want to start cotton socks now. That's my problem, I love starting socks, just never finish them :-) Oh well, I probably don't have any #1 DPNs free anyway. And I should be getting those baby sweaters done before the kids are too big for them - guess I'll work on one them while I watch Sex and the City.

I finished about 1400 yards of romney for my barn jacket. I was whining about how all of my yarn looks the same - here's an example. It always turns out about 8-9 wpi. There will be no need for me to post any more pictures of my spinning. I'll just let you know what color and you will be able to picture it!

What to weave next? I have six weeks left before school starts, and want to try as many different techniques as I can. I had thought about dishtowels, but think maybe I'll play around with some little blankets. There was a baby explosion in our department this spring. The younger teachers were having them and the older teachers were becoming grandparents. Any suggestions? I was thinking about honeycomb for one - we did a little Atwater-Bronson in my intro class and that was cool. At least I don't have to worry about my loom while I ponder these questions. Since Catherine posted pictures of Max guarding her stash, I thought it only fair to show you my vicious loom guard, Skids. Nothing gets by him. Just remember, you've been WARNED!!

<i>My</i> Yarn

I finished about 1400 yards of romney for my barn jacket. I was whining about how all of my yarn looks the same - here's an example. It always turns out about 8-9 wpi. There will be no need for me to post any more pictures of my spinning. I'll just let you know what color and you will be able to picture it!

What to weave next? I have six weeks left before school starts, and want to
try as many different techniques as I can. I had thought about dishtowels, but
think maybe I'll play around with some little blankets. There was a baby explosion
in our department this spring. The younger teachers were having them and the
older teachers were becoming grandparents. Any suggestions? I was thinking about
honeycomb for one - we did a little Atwater-Bronson in my intro class and that
was cool. At least I don't have to worry about my loom while I ponder these
questions. Since Catherine posted pictures of Max guarding her stash, I thought
it only fair to show you my vicious loom guard, Skids.
Nothing gets by him. Just remember, you've been WARNED!!

The whole idea of this Fiber Blog has had a ripple effect for me. Yesterday I did absolutely NO fiber activities as I fiddled with this site! I've used Dreamweaver for my school page for the last couple of years, and what little I knew about html coding was hiding in the recesses of my mind. Why I was so obsessed with cell padding, why my archives are showing up three times, etc. is beyond me. But today - back to fiber. This is where it stays. (at least for a little while)

Spinning - I've got one more bobbin to spin for my Mixed Bag Barn Jacket. I sent tons of wool to Ohio Valley last summer when I realized I can't do everything, so I'm going to do the things I love. This particular batch (7#'s) is a mixture of romney from three fleeces. I thought it would be fun to make a couple of really different things from this one huge container. Yeah, right!

I can't wait to go to Claudia's class at Countrywool. I've been spinning the same yarn. I swear no matter what fiber you give me, it comes out looking the same. I guess that's good during the school year, when I might go weeks between spinning, but when you want to spread your wings a little it can be depressing.

Tan and Green Throw, 38x56

My first attempt at doubleweave. Here's what I learned.....When planning vertical stripes, make sure you remember that it will be twice as wide at the fold (duh!). I didn't use floating selvedges, so I had a very dense area. I pulled out 4 ends, and when I washed it, everything looked great. It's still a little wider right down the middle, but you only see it when it's spread out flat. Since my family does NOT believe in folding up throws when they are finished, we aren't going to have any problem there. It was 46 by 72 on the loom. I really lost a lot when I took it off and washed it, but it's still wider than my 40" Macomber would do in one layer. I also measured the length while under tension, so I should have realized that it would relax a bit.

First Doubleweave

Tan and Green Throw, 38x56

My first attempt at doubleweave. Here's what I learned.....When planning vertical stripes, make sure you remember that it will be twice as wide at the fold (duh!). I didn't use floating selvedges, so I had a very dense area. I pulled out 4 ends, and when I washed it, everything looked great. It's still a little wider right down the middle, but you only see it when it's spread out flat. Since my family does NOT believe in folding up throws when they are finished, we aren't going to have any problem there. It was 46 by 72 on the loom. I really lost a lot when I took it off and washed it, but it's still wider than my 40" Macomber would do in one layer. I also measured the length while under tension, so I should have realized that it would relax a bit.

I've caved in too! I had a terrible time with blogger so I found this software. Hopefully it will work, but I haven't figured out how others can add comments.

Here is a picture of my mohair throw close up and on my deck railing. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. This was my first "real" project. Since it went so well, I thought I'd try using other handknitting yarn.


I worked up a plan for double weave, 24" in the reed. The yarn I picked however was not as strong as the Cherry Tree worsted and mohair that I used before. Yarns were popping and pinging all over the place. It began to look like a sad Christmas tree with fishing weights and washers hanging all over the place :-( However, the doubleweave process went really well, so I'll be trying that again. I'm weaving in ends, and repairing broken threads, and hopefully will have a picture up tomorrow. It was really a great learning experience however, and after the repair work, will be a nice throw.


What's next???? I'm thinking of huck lace towels, maybe 8/2 unmercerized cotton.