Weaverly

Leftovers

I came to the end of my stash of Black Welsh Mountain handspun and had to conclude the Dalldräll project I first wrote about in this post. There was still plenty of warp left, so I dug into my basket of scraps and found enough leftovers to weave another small project. I came up with a new treadling for this one, too. This piece will be enough for a cushion cover, perhaps, or maybe part of a vest. We'll see.

The tabby weft here is a very fine black wool/tencel blend. 

Click to enlarge.

In the Department of Books: Just finished reading The Guest by Emma Cline. 

An Attraction to Sparkly Things

On a whim I bought this merino/Stellina blend to spin. It is very sparkly and I find it hard to photograph so that you can see the sparkles. I've just finished spinning up this batch, washed it and hung it up to dry.

It's plied, and about light DK weight.

Very squishy, too.

I've got a third (fourth?) lampas warp tied onto the original one. This version is a combination of brown cotton and Tencel in the ground warp, pink silk in the pattern warp, burgundy bamboo in the ground weft, and my sparkly blue yarn as pattern weft.

The blue takes on different shades according to the lighting.

Click on any of these to enlarge. 

Eight shafts, three pattern blocks.

 

The View From Here

Did you ever get so stuck that it's just better to start over?

That's what happened to my beloved Monstera. She was my companion for four years, but it was just time to move on.

I need a weaving break. Today is spinning day. This will eventually be plied.

It's wool and Stellina from Paradise Fibers. Quite a bit of glitter. 

And in the kitchen, a loaf of multigrain bread, just out of the oven. Wheat, rye, oats, millet, & a variety of seeds. Olive oil. Sugar. It's totally vegan. Just sayin'.

Also on the kitchen counter, I'm saving these for the nice person who gave me the flowers. He wants the seeds for next year. 

And in the Department of Books:

Just finished reading I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai.

Local Color and a Taste of Sweden

Some recent colors of the season out our way. Not fall yet, but almost. 

We have an unusually large waterfowl population this year. They are quite tame, and vocal too.

If soft and fluffy is your game, you only have to look up.

In the studio, some spinning activity this week. Wensleydale yarn hanging to dry.

At the loom, I was unhappy with a project on my 4-shaft loom and decided to rethread. Two days later, here is the result. It's a modification of a draft I found in a Swedish weaving book, (Daldräll, Thomasson/Andersson, translated by Becky Ashenden, Vävstuga Press). The original draft goes by the name of Dalkülla. 

Daldräll is what we English-speakers call overshot. My warp is natural cotton, pattern weft handspun Black Welsh Mountain wool, tabby weft is turquoise cottolin. Click to enlarge.

Organized Chaos

Weavers: it all depends on your point of view. Are you a color person?

Or are you a structure person?

I'm a little bit of both. 

Here is my latest warp. I call this organized chaos. I have faith that it will all straighten out in the end. 

And it does.

I'm sampling this lampas threading with a variety of pattern wefts.

Fuzzy ones.

Smooth ones.

Stay tuned.

_______________________

Department of Books:

I have finished reading The Peacock and the Sparrow by I. S. Berry and Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt.

Loom Migration

It's time for this wonderful loom to find a new home. I need more space!

It's a Louet Megado 16 shaft loom with electronic dobby. Weaving width 16", just perfect for scarves and sampling. I've used it and loved it for 16 years, and it's in tip-top working condition. 

The dobby box connects via USB to Mac or Windows computers. 

For pick-up only at my studio in Upstate South Carolina. I will not ship it. 

Includes Louet bench, 3 reeds, lease sticks, warping sticks, and extra TexSolv heddles. Please email me at aschlein [at] att [dot] net for more information or for an appointment to try out the loom.