Weaverly

A Few Messages From the Universe

It seems there are some messages for me out there. Now to decode them. The first was in the parking lot when I went for groceries.

Then, on my walk, I saw this tidy pile of sod in front of my neighbor's house. It looks a little like a dessert recipe in my file. Then again, maybe the beginning of a fiber project, with bolts of fabric assembled. What exactly is the message here? Requires further study.

Later on my walk. A proto-newspaper. Trying to read the fine print.

Meanwhile, downstairs, a sample of two-heddle weaving, with a ground and tiedowns. Stay tuned.

And finally, a sneak peek at my new studio. 

All in all, I would say that the news is good.

 

Washed & Mended & Washed Again

A sad tale with a happy ending. I washed the shawl, hung it out to dry on a breezy day, and look at what I found--a weaving error! Right smack in the middle. 

But we don't give up around here. I pulled out the offending row, bit by bit, and darned in a new weft. The trouble is, the shawl is washed and the replacement weft is still in its raw state and sticks out a mile. Nothing for it but to wash it again. 

All done. I really love it, and will keep this one to use myself. The face (the side uppermost while I was weaving) is shown on the left, and the reverse is one the right. Both are equally interesting.

Details: warp is a handprinted singles sock yarn I bought a few years ago at a famers' market in Nova Scotia, combined end-and-end with a silk noil knitting yarn from my stash. Weft is my lavender handspun plied wool/bamboo. Woven on a rigid heddle loom. Click to enlarge.

Cut Off

Living in this strange half-world of house showings and keeping everything tidy (a habit that is foreign to me), I do manage to snag a few minutes of weaving here and there. This morning I finished weaving the shawl on my rigid heddle loom, did the final hemstitching, and cut it off (ta-dah!). While I have seen only the face, the so-called right side, I can now see the reverse as well. And guess what? I think I like the reverse better. But it's early days, as the fabric will have to be washed first, and anything can happen. The textured pickup pattern will become more textured, and the yarns will do their thing; the hands-on wool/bamboo weft was not washed & blocked after spinning, so I expect it will move around quite a bit. Here are face and reverse so far. Click to enlarge.

But before washing, I have to deal with the fringe. I'm twisting it in bunches while responding to special requests from upstairs (it takes a village) and guess what, I plied one bunch widdershins. So what. I'm a handweaver, not a machine. Let it be.