Weaverly

Observations, and a New Warp

Many of the areas around the lake are left rough to encourage local plants and wildlife. 

Leaves like this always tempt me to apply my old Photoshop techniques, even though my TC-1 is long gone. I'll just have to find other ways to weave them. More about this later.

This morning there was en entire bush covered with butterflies. It took my breath away. Here's a blurry snapshot of one of them with my phone.

I pass this field every morning. Yesterday the men's lacrosse team was practicing. The wildflowers run rampant along the edge of the field.

The past few weeks I have been noticing an interesting yarn at my LYS. It's linen & cotton wrapped tightly around a core. I couldn't resist touching it at every visit. I finally relented and bought a few skeins. My loom was empty at the moment, so I warped up and gave it a try. Surprisingly difficult to work with, has a mind of its own. At 12 epi it's a bit stiff. I'm hoping it softens up after washing. But I do love the look of it. It's intended to be a scarf. But there is always Plan B...

Three-Run Home Run

It was that kind of day. First there was a black swan who followed me part of the way around the lake this morning. 

Then this wonderful book arrived in my mailbox. It was actually stuck in the mailbox, and I had to exercise great restraint in prying it loose. No damage done. I have no idea how the mail person got it in there in the first place. 

I am sorry Erica de Ruiter is no longer with us. What genius! 

Many of these techniques will adapt easily to rigid heddle weaving. I can't wait to try some of them.

The third home run is that I finished weaving this scarf, cut it off, twisted the fringes, washed & dried it, and wore it to dinner this evening. Cotton & linen. Plain weave with a little bit of leno.

I probably could have made it longer, but at least it won't drag in my soup.

Cut Off and Tidied Up

Cut off day before yesterday and tidied up. You know the drill, snip off loose tails, twist the fringes, etc. Here's the whole Theo Moorman sample laid out on the bed. If I weren't so lazy, I'd have gone down three flights of stairs and photographed this on the grass, but...

As I can't stand to look at a naked loom, I warped this little fellow up again yesterday. I have a limited stock of colors with me now (you may have noticed), so I used the same yarns in a striped configuration, and went for a little leno this time. I tried setting it up with string heddles, but that was a dismal failure. So this is one twist at a time. Pretty fast, actually, once you get in the rhythm. 

After it's washed, I expect it will be a drapey little scarf. Cotton & linen.

Ducks and Mosquitos

How lucky I am to have this beautiful lake to encircle every day on my walk. It's almost two miles according to MapMyRide.

The scenery is ever changing, and there is plenty of wildlife.

Meanwhile, back at the loom, we now have mosquitos. Yes, that's what they're called. You can complete a mosquito in three picks (well, six picks including the ground weave). Click to enlarge.

And more than one mosquito equals a scourge. Other collective nouns I have found for mosquitoes are swarm and cloud. I believe I prefer scourge, actually. 

Check

Getting better at the diagonals. Check.

Speed Weaving – Not

In the afternoons, the window light here is wonderful. And there is a view of Paris Mountain, should I chance to look up from the loom. Here is today's progress on the brocade sampler. Theo Moorman, pick up stick, string heddles, design as you go, loving it all.

Click to enlarge.

And On and On

The sampler on the rigid heddle loom goes on and on. How long is this warp anyway? No matter. I'm happy enough to have a loom to weave on while I wait for the next chapter in my weaving life.

A rectangle within another rectangle. Check.

I'm becoming very agile with the string heddles. Once I get in the zone, this technique is intoxicating. 

Observations

An outdoor weekend, for a change. Sunrift was having a big sale, so we checked it out. This display looked like Tent City, except it had no residents. 

All paddles on sale! No excuse to be up the creek without one now.

An evening trip to the gardens to find a new walking trail. Done.

And back home, waiting for the elevator, a jacquard sighting.

Intersection

The two diagonals have met, intersected, and then gone their separate ways. Dr. Livingstone, I presume? 

Here's another view.

And now on the absolutely opposite side of the color wheel, I would like you to see this amazing tree bark I spotted on my walk yesterday evening at dusk. Yes, those were the actual colors! The evening light had something to do with it, but still...

On a Collision Course

The joy of diagonals. These two will soon collide. Will they overlap one another? Which one will be on top? Or will they merge?

Who knows? That will be tomorrow's excitement.