Weaverly

Apples and Other Things

It's apple season a little way up the mountain.

We drove up to an orchard yesterday and brought home a bag of Honey Crisp apples. Apples morning, noon, and night for a few days now. Good stuff.

I finished spinning the qiviut/Shetland blend. Here it is before washing…

…and after. Much squishier now. 

I used a tiny bit of it in a rigid heddle scarf made of scraps from the stash. The rest is truly bits and pieces. 

Last week I got a start on this spinning project.

It's all spun up now, and here is the result after washing:

Now there are calculations under way for a rather complicated multicolor warp. Some things I still do in the pre-computer fashion. It's crazy, I know.

Six yarns, two warping paddles.

Here's the first of the two resulting warp chains. Next week: will tie on to an existing lampas warp.

But first, some R & R.

Cut Off Time

A recent walk in a nearby nature preserve to celebrate a welcome break in the weather:

 

If you're looking for a new color scheme, this is the place to find it.

But today the temp is up again, to the normal seasonal heat and mugginess, so I am grateful for the AC in my studio.

This morning I cut off the most recent lampas piece and hemmed it. It hasn't been washed yet, but here is a quick snapshot on the floor. That funky green border is what happens when you are in a hurry and weaving from stash. I had hoped I would get away with it, but ???

Handspun beige-ish pattern weft. I think it will do well as a pillow. 13.5" x 39".

In the Department of Books, I have finally finished reading Bleak House. It was a long slog, but I'm glad I stuck with it. A scathing indictment of the Chancery Court system in 19th century England. 

Lampas Yet Again

Another lampas warp, this time plain/plain (plain weave ground, plain weave pattern), ratio of ground to pattern 2/1. It was an easy setup, and I used up a number of 10/2 cottons in random color order in the ground warp. Pattern warp is 60/2 silk, of which I have several lifetimes' supply.

As weft, I'm using a handspun merino blend with bits of multicolor sparkly glitz added to the roving.

This is all happening on an 8-shaft loom, which leaves me enough shafts for 3 pattern blocks of plain/plain lampas (1,2 for ground, remaining shafts for plain weave pattern, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8). Working out the rhythm of the blocks in the draft was an interesting game, and I spent a couple of days on it. I finally came up with a combination I liked.

Click to enlarge. 

In the Department of Spinning, the qiviut was combined with Shetland roving on the blending board, and I am spinning the resulting blend a little bit at a time while watching baseball on TV. There's a whole lot more left to process. A little qiviut goes a long way.

More Lampas

With no ceremony (I usually like to round up anyone nearby and have a glass of wine), I just took the scissors to the warp and voilà: 

I guess this qualifies as a selfie, as those are my very own feet. At this distance, the color choices look a little better than they did on the loom. I will hem them, put them on the wall, and then look at them from the next county. Then perhaps I'll feel better about the colors.

Here we are at the sewing machine, and a view of the lampas on the wrong side. That sinister looking tool is very handy for keeping my fingers out of harm's way while sewing. 

I'm now weaving a third lampas piece on this warp. I've added ties to the areas that previously had double weave. This will become more apparent when the piece is off the loom and washed. 

The colors change dramatically at different times of day.

Cut Off!

At last. It's not as long as I had planned, but I ran out of the handspun yarn I was using for one of the pattern wefts, so that was the limiting factor. We had an impromptu cutting off ceremony this morning, with wee glasses of Scotch whiskey (not my usual morning beverage). Feeling good!

Here is a first quick photo on the porch floor (unswept). As frequently happens, I am not certain which side is the "right" side. They are both nice, in my opinion.

This is the face (weaver's view):

And the reverse:

The warp is a random mixture of pale cottons from my stash. Tabby is gold cottolin. Pattern weft (wheels) is handspun wool/recycled sari silk in warm brown, pattern weft (tables) is Harrisville shetland, dark brown. There's also an accent weft of bright pink handspun wool.

The draft is my personal variation of the traditional Conestoga draft, found in many sources. Help yourself. Add tabby.


For context, today's cutoff is the fifth and final piece in the series. Four previous versions:

Glad to have that behind me. It was interesting to design, and I like the results (mostly) but it was a bear to weave. After a lifetime of computer-assisted weaving I find that I am not cut out for non-computer-assisted overshot. Three cheers for our ancestors who wove this as their daily diet. I don't have the accuracy gene. I did almost as much unweaving as weaving.

Now on to other projects. Here's a candid look at my workstation. In spite of all my "devices" I find I still depend on my sticky notes and fountain pens. A conundrum. 

Conestoga Again

We'll put aside the circles dilemma on the Dobby loom for a while, and return to a different circle, the Conestoga overshot pattern for four shafts.

For this runner (wallhanging? pillow top?) I changed things up a bit, and instead of treadling as drawn in, overshot style, I took a previously invented overshot and used it as a treadling. So this is a hybrid, and I haven't named it yet. This has been washed. Pattern weft is handspun wool & lotus.

And a peek at the reverse:

Now, if you're still with me...

The next piece on the Conestoga threading, this time in classical as-drawn-in style. The weft this time is a combination of handspun wool/silk/rayon (for the wheels) and dk brown Harrisville shetland (the tables). I wove and unwoven this three times today until I got it just the way I wanted. I think this will be the final version. There's just enough warp left for a sizable runner. 

But wait, there's more! 

Here's my lovely Mother's Day supper. Thank you!

And a magazine sighting at the checkout line. Would you have guessed there's an entire magazine devoted to Avocado? I sure didn't.

My favorite critter on my morning walks. This fellow is totally tame and I am convinced he actually poses for photographers. This was a couple of days ago.

Department of Books

I just finished reading William Maxwell's So Long, See You Tomorrow. This book is so good that I don't have words for it. Just read it. 

Blue

It's not the New Mexico sky but I'll take it. Happy Spring. Who says blue is a sad color?

The blue heron grows bolder every day. I turn a corner and there she is.  I am allowed to get up close. 

Indoors, there is this. On the other side of the world, but right here in my living room. Formula 1.

And by pure coincidence, this is my current spin. Corriedale (75%) and lotus fiber (25%) from Hilltop Cloud. I will eventually ply it and use it in a warp.

Assorted Treasures

I believe a Bunched Arrowhead has been sighted. Very excited to have seen this.

Also on this morning's walk at the Preserve a fine display of tree fungi. Stripes anyone?

This past Wednesday I had the good fortune to accompany friends for a stroll at the garden of Jane and Boris Bauer. These gardeners have in 40+ years started and nurtured the most marvelous display of magnolias, over one hundred varieties, as well as other regional plants.

 

The array of colors and subtle differences in tone & shade among all these plants was inspiring to me. I am very grateful to have seen this wonderful garden.

Also inspiring, although totally unexpected, was an array of "expired" camellias under a bush. You never know when a new color scheme will jump out at you.

Back in the studio I stitched a label onto a recently completed blanket. It's just in time for the 21st birthday of a super terrific person.

In the Department of Books: finished reading Hugo Hamilton's The Speckled People. Recommended!

New Beginnings

"New beginnings" is too many words, or, as Bruce suggests, superfluous, or again, redundant. Just plain "beginnings" would be better. But Typepad doesn't charge me extra for too many words. So I"ll leave it for now.

My favorite story of the week: Fernando Alonso, at age 41, has just signed with Aston Martin in Formula 1 racing, and achieved a podium position in Sunday's race in Bahrain. It's never too late to begin again! 

Bridges can take you somewhere new. Here are two of my favorites.

I saw this fellow from the bridge. Think circles. More to come.

Back at the studio, another beginning. A new warp. A collection of 10/2 cottons from my ever-dwindling stash

My adaptation of "Conestoga," a traditional overshot draft. Four shafts. Tabby weft is brown 16/2 cotton. Pattern weft is handspun 2-ply Icelandic wool from my stash.

Circles. I never get tired of the surprise of being able to produce circles from a 4-shaft loom. Click to enlarge. The Icelandic yarn is poufing out nicely. Click to enlarge,

Complete change of topic. In the Department of Books, I just finished reading The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland.

Another Cutting Off

On a morning walk at Bunched Arrowhead Preserve, we were surprised to see the meadow areas burned off. The burn was recent, as there were barely signs of green shoots emerging from the affected places and the smell of smoke was strong.

We plan to check again in a week or two, and by then the picture will be totally changed. 

Down at the lake the usual complement of strollers was multiplied fourfold. I don't know if it was a special meeting, or if the moms & children were just taking advantage of the good weather. I guess you could call it a Parliament of Strollers.

Back in the studio, the double woven blanket warp is finally approaching its end.

Yup. Time to cut off.

There was enough for two blankets, so I just cut it in half and hemmed both pieces. No fringe. Surprisingly there was only small area that needed mending. No other blips. No broken warps in the entire project. Warp 100% handspun wool and wool blends. Weft is Harrisville shetland yarn, purchased. Here is a back porch snapshot after washing.

Take-up & shrinkage warpwise and weftwise 8%. Finished size of each blanket 58"x50".

I love seeing yarn pictures blown up really big, so here are a couple of pictures from my scanner, at 1200% of actual size.

Don't you just love wool?

And by pure chance, I promise, I have just finished reading Peggy Orenstein's Unraveling: What I learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater.