The Party's Over

Now that school is done and Laura's party is over it's time to move on to summer projects. I had been thinking about using my table loom, still warped from my class with Tom Knisely at Creative Strands two years ago, and some generic roving to make a pad for my loom bench. The roving wasn't doing anything for me but I remembered that I had several skeins of fat, chunky yarn made from Brown Sheep Beast.



The loom was warped 6 (doubled) epi. I wove an inch or so with the carpet warp, then about an inch of tabby, 1-3, 2-4. The rest will be woven 1-2, 3-4. If I were making a rug I would weave the last 4 threads with carpet warp to protect the sides of the warp.



I still have the roving, which is not anything I want to spin, so I brought up my Louet and spun it putting in as little twist as possible. Basically what I was doing was a long draw but not holding it to allow the twist to even out. This is definitely speed spinning - I was able to spin two gigantic Louet bobbins in about an hour. I'll weave with the singles and wind the shuttle right off the bobbins. I have enough for two more white and two gray which will give me enough to sample for some Navajo style rugs.

Working with Handwovens

It's taken me a long time to get the nerve to cut into my handwoven fabric and make a garment. Finally I took the plunge began to cut.





The fabric didn't fall apart when I cut and it held up well as I serged the raw edges. The flat band didn't lay correctly around the neck and I started to take it off. Unfortunately, I attacked with my usual vengance and found that I pulled the fabric apart.



Oops! It wasn't really a problem because the fabric was wider than it should have been. So I just serged off the old band and applied a new piece.



That looks much better, but the jacket is still too big. There's too much fabric under the sleeves and the raw silk doesn't have much drape. I'll probably only wear it around the house, but I still consider it a success. It was the first thing I made from handwoven fabric and I've overcome my fear of slicing into it.

After looking at Carolyn's pattern suggestions, I started thinking about patterns that would work with handwoven fabric. I think the Cathay vest would be appropriate. View C of another Lois Erickson pattern is a possibility. Linda Kubik's Elements Jacket 001 certainly fits the bill. As do two patterns from Cutting Line Designs: Butterflies and Bees and Less is More. Loes Hinse's new pattern, The Garbo Jacket that might be good too.

Sounds like a good time for a Weave-along to me!

Kimono

I painted this warp at a dye day hosted by Claudia in 2003. After I realized how short and narrow the warp was I knew I wouldn't be able to use it. So I dyed some more raw silk and made this fabric to coordinate.

Now almost three years later I finally cut into the fabric and started making the kimono featured in Sara Lamb and Molly Freeman's Warp Painting video. The rather plain fabric was a good choice for the test drive. No stripes to worry about getting straight. I got the sleeves attached and after three tries got the neckline the way I want. I cut a band from the violet/scarlet/golden yellow painted warp. Tomorrow I'll interface and attach it. I didn't put any pleats over the shoulders but it's apparent that I need to.

I was able to wrangle some spinning time too. My new Lendrum Saxony can really spin up a storm. In just a little time I was on my second (big) bobbin of lovely grey corrie. This is from the stash c. 2004. I decided to spin it before dyeing as I'm waiting for Claudia's new design - a Norwegian sweater done in natural yarns.

The Beginning of the End

I only have eight more days of school and since this summer I only have a couple of fairly easy online classes and one week long AP Psych class I'm looking forward to a real summer vacation. Yes, folks, I'll be weaving, sewing, spinning, dyeing, knitting, gardening, kitchen organizing, hell - I'll even throw in some attic and garage cleaning.

Despite writing exams (for my students) and papers (for my instructors) I still had some time to work on my Northcott Rib.



The other big news since I posted last was my mother's 90th birthday.



She thought only my one sister was taking her out for lunch but the rest of us took off work and met them there. Later all the grandkids and spouses stopped by for pizza and cake. Not the grandest party, but it's what she wanted.

Our present to her was to put a new roof on her house. She lives alone and would feel uncomfortable with lots of people she didn't know working on the roof. My brother has rehabbed several homes, including the one he lives in now, and thought this would be a good solution. Of course we had to pick Memorial Day weekend when the temperature was in the 90s.



The old man is in front, one of my nephews to the right, and my brother (the job foreman) on the ridge.



My oldest son, Dan, and my brother-in-law scrape the old layers of the kitchen my father added to the little ranch I grew up in.



I tried to go on the roof but punked out. My job, along with food prep, was to cut these sets so the pieces were staggered. Reminded me of strip quilting.



The supervisor watched over everthing. Yes, it was 90° but some of her meds make her feel cold. Funny, when I was growing up I never saw her wear a sweater unless she was using it as a coat.



Just in case it wasn't crazy enough, we had two little ankle biters running around the house. My daughter and niece thought it would be cute if their new dogs got to know each other. Looks like they did! (Don't worry, no damage done! My daughter's partner protected their little Bella from big, bad Marley!)

I Think I Like It

I'm on the second one of the not quite log cabin towels. My tension is wonderful and the selvedges are looking pretty good, too. Usually my sides get a little loose as I work my way through the warp, but this trapeze method really helps with even tension throughout.



I've got quite a list for this summer's weaving, including placemats, runners and a couple of rugs for the kitchen. I think this technique is going to save me a lot of fiddling with the warp.

Northcott Rib (scroll down the page to cardigans) is coming along well. I love the yarn and the pattern, but my hand and wrist are bothering me. Could it be because the yarn is bulkier and I need a longer needle? I feel like it's all scrunched up and I'm always pushing the stitches away from the ends. I'll have to see if I have a 40" around here.

Doh!

This is what happens when you don't have much time, but you want to get something on the loom.



Apparently when I read that you could thread log cabin DLDLDLDLDLDL I didn't realize that they were talking about a ONE BLOCK log cabin draft. So this is what I'm left with. Here I thought I was saving a little time! Hey, I'm so happy I have a warp on and can throw a shuttle that I don't care. I found some slubbed cotton that I'll use for a couple of the towels and I like the effect with just the moss green weft below. It has an almost rep look.



Sara talked about why we do what we do. I can't explain it as well as Sara did, but all I know is that I haven't woven since I took the painted warp baby blanket off the loom back in January and when I sat down tonight and finally started weaving it felt like I was where I belong!

Back to the Grind

Back to school and back to weekend classes, so the loom sits - still partially threaded. I have been able to finish one sleeve on Whitby and I'm heading down the other.



I ended up spinning all the tussah on one bobbin



and I'll ply it with some lovely purple corriedale.



I should have enough for a scarf and I have some green and purple beads that would look cool with it.