This blanket project consists of four warps. We are now coming to the end of the first warp.
The finished weaving is winding on the cloth beam. Every time I pass the loom I give the cloth a friendly pat. So does everyone else who passes by. There's something about wool that makes people want to touch it.
I got out pretty early yesterday, and my reward was the especially wonderful morning light. The Muhly grass at the gardens exploded with pink.
A few last coneflowers bobbed their heads.
Stripes, anyone?
Or perhaps these:
Now on the the stashbusting. My accumulation of handspun wools and wool blends has grown to alarming proportions over the past 50 years. I'm embarrassed to even show you a picture.
So here's what I did. I'm going to weave a blanket in four strips, each one composed of two 4-yard warp chains, all handspun. Here are the eight warps:
The first two chains on the left in the above picture were warped onto my Nilus II loom.
I plan to weave them off in plain weave, in random shuttles-full of handspun weft.
The weights I was using on my tarp-clip temples were too heavy, so I substituted smaller weights:
And now all is well. The clips are holding the web out to the exact width of the warp in the reed. Selvedge bliss!
So far, I haven't had any warp breakage and the actual weaving is very pleasant.
I hope your weaving is going well today. I'll be thinking of you.
Do you call these WIPs or UFOs? I'm not sure. I started the lavender neck scarf over three years ago as a project to tide me over the rough spots during our move to smaller quarters. I finished knitting it last year and it languished in a box in my closet until this week, when I washed it and blocked it. It's one of those asymmetric thingies. All it needs now is a darning in of the ends, and it will be ready to wear on these nice fall days.
The hat is my go-to project for handspun, a simple watch cap with a roll-up brim. It's great for variegated yarns. I've knit dozens of these. I think I can knit it in the dark.
And speaking of fall days, the Sustainability Center is a fall haven for walkers. Every turn of the path reveals more wonders, especially in the slanting early morning light.
There are a few late Black-eyed Susans.
A new crop of chard - how about those juicy red stems?
And in front of the Student Center, a yarn bomb! My walk is complete.
Back in the studio, I have finished the halvdräll towels in linen and hemp, and they are now hemmed and washed. They softened up beautifully in the washer.
Here's a closer look. The tabby weft is a different color in each one, otherwise they are identical.