I don't have much to play with here, so I've got to make my decision after just throwing a few picks of the single and doubled 8/2 purple. I think it's going to be a pain using two strands. I have to wind a ball off the cone and then two threads want to go their own way when I'm winding the bobbin.
However, I do think that the doubled is the way to go. The weft is going to shrink more than the warp as it didn't go through the same dyeing/washing cycle. Speak now or forever hold your peace. If I can knock this sinus headache I want to start weaving tonight.
I was finally able to get a pretty good representation of the colors in the roving.
The close up is even better.
Now, Sara, about my neat sewing area ..... sorry, I had to catch my breath after laughing hysterically. No one has ever this Gemini a neat worker before. Pictures really can be deceiving. Turn a few degrees to the left (did you see your warp painting video on the chair?) or a few degrees to the right and you can see the mess that always surrounds me.
I do clean up after each weaving project, running the shop vac around the treadles and picking up all the little pieces I tend to toss every which way. And truthfully, I do like clean windows. Unfortunately, this basement slider with its broken vaporlock always seems to lose out to another home improvement project.
LOL...of course I had to click on those links. I feel so much better now! Charleen, you should be a photo stylist!
ReplyDeleteRE: weaving w/ doubled weft...part of the difficulty in winding the bobbin is that you have 2 threads coming from two different "packages". I'm guessing one is a cone and the other is a center pull ball? It will go easier if you can wind your bobbin w/ both ends from the same kind of "package". Also, it wouldn't hurt to have some sort of tensioning device for both yarns to feed through while you are winding bobbins. Something like the yarn 'tensioner/supports' on a knitting machine or the serger. Or it could even be your fingers, set them up the same way that you do when plying. As you know, well wound bobbins = better selveges. The colors in the blanket are lovely!
PS...sinus headache? Guafenisein....either liquid form in one of the Robitussin line, or Mucinex. Works like a charm in Michigan...the birthplace of sinus headaches!
ReplyDeleteIf you were closer, I'd lend you my two bobbin shuttle, bought precisely because I hate winding two strands onto a bobbin.
ReplyDeleteYou might try winding two bobbins separately, put them into shuttles, and then wind the doubled bobbin from the two shuttles.
LOL! Thanks for sharing more studio pics!
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you try a large shuttle which will hold two bobbins, one in each color. It would be a quick and efficient way to acheive your goal. It might be expensive however, if you need to buy a new shuttle!
ReplyDeleteWell, I feel *much* better, thank you! You are a brave woman.
ReplyDeleteWeft? How about running them onto a bobbin in your spinning wheel, just slightly plying them together? Might they then be more manageable? Even the two-bobbins-in-one-shuttle thing can leave loops at the edges, it's a tension issue.
Ok, your work area and my work area are twins today :-)
ReplyDeleteThat will be one beautiful blanket. Great info in the comments on winding double, especially for a newby to weaving like me.
Your weaving/sewing room looks just like my whole house at the moment. Each person at my house has their place that they like to sit and their own nest around that spot. I hope you're feeling better. What did you decide to do about the weft?
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing your work area. I'm glad to see that I'm not in the boat alone! Your weaving is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove these photos of the weaving in progress. I also use a double spool shuttle to weave with a doubled thread but I had forgotten completely that I even had one! Looks wonderful.
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