THE FESTIVAL OF SCARVES

I was going to call this--A SCARF A DAY-- but after 4 days, my back said to slow down. But let me tell you how difficult it is... The yarn is so beautiful! Thank you Mountain Colors!

And a weft of 3 shades of recycled cashmere (hereafter to be known as "Outstanding Moral Fiber")

 I am sorry I don't have pictures of the Missoula Weavers Guild visits Mountain Colors. But I do have some of the results. So I actually dyed this warp (although I dyed it in a 100 gram skein and wound the warp after).

Yes, you can make a 7" wide, 3 yard warp with one skein of Weavers Wool. Below are the 4 scarves I wove this week.

CLEARING THE PALLETTE

Yes, it's true! I can weave without color. I call it clearing the palette. It is quite refreshing, actually.


Many years ago, a lovey gentleman gave me 50 cashmere sweaters to recycle. In exchange I was to weave him scarves. I had woven him 3 scarves, but there was still one remaining. He wanted a gray and back herringbone. So FINALLY! I am on my way. It was pointed out to me that I was not actualy weaving herringbone, but rather zigzag. So long story---I looked up herringbone in "The Handweavers Pattern Book" (I've had this book since 1960!) It was actually rather dusty since I only do plain weave (grin). So below is the actual herringbone. Now I am waiting to hear from the client which he prefers.

Meanwhile on Grace I am finally weaving another rendition of my own horoscope, this time in tencel from WEBS (soon to be a new kit offering from Cotton Clouds)

FINISHED SCARF POSING IN THE GARDEN

I couldn't decide which image I liked the best, so here they all are.  The Buddha was the only model I could find. Please click here for previous details of scarf.

 Posing with blooming chives.

WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT. WHEN YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT

It has been a mighty long time since I've done anything on the computer except for hanging out on FB and nothing much on the loom. Sometimes our journeys take us in unexpected directions.  So FINALLY I got out my purply and neutrally un-knitted cashmere and picked out 4 that worked for me. Better color below.

 To test out some beautiful yarn I got from Mountain Colors. (some months ago) Most of their yarn is knitting yarn, but there is this Weaver's Wool. sett 12 epi. This is my first test scarf. I am very pleased so far. Almost Ikat works really well with their space-dyed yarn. (well actually it is hand-painted.) I know this is true because I had the pleasure of visiting Diana and Leslie's wonderful dyeroom and observing how it's done.





I can't wait to feel how the cashmere combines with Weaver's Wool. I don't think this will be the only post about working with this yarn. I am taking it slow.

TA DA!

The weather has greatly improved, and TA DA, the tencel/cashmere shawl is completed and delivered.

And I already got a jump on the next Color Horoscope Weaving.

 Once again I am using tencel. I had some tension problems on the last piece, so we'll see if I managed to iron out that little kink on this warp.

AS THE BLIZZARD, SO THE SHUTTLE

 Amazing weather out there, so what's a gal to do? Weave, of course!

This is my first Color Horoscope Weaving with Tencel warp (and recycled cashmere weft). I have done a few sample pieces wanting to see if I am able to launder in the washing machine and dry in the dryer. The samples were most promising.

 The one thing I noticed is that the tencel is slipperier than the bamboo, cotton, or wool. It behaves much more like silk than the bamboo yarns I had been using. I had several loose threads. Next time, I will pay more careful attention to my tension while dressing the loom.

 Image below I wove a sample with variegated tencel at the end  just to see what it would look like. I really love the look!

 And yes, one of my most favorite moments in weaving! Now let the finishing begin (grin)

WEAVING RETREAT

Perhaps Weaving Marathon would have been a better name for this event. After months of playing around with color wrappings, a palette was settled upon and I began winding a warp for a Blessing Blanket for a, soon to be, six year old.
I thought, perhaps, the girl was old enough to participate in the color selection. I gathered up a couple dozen samples of cashmere, placed them in a plastic bag and send them off to Seattle.


I anxiously awaited their return. As soon as I got the samples, I packed a suitcase and the yarn and went across town to Gary, my Fireside Loom. It is a long story, but Gary and I have been trying a trial separation. On Sunday, I warped the loom. I wove all day Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon.......

I cut the blanket off the loom! Wednesday night I tied the fringe. Thursday morning I tossed it in the wash and dryer.


At midday, a friend came by and snapped a couple of pictures, and then off to FedEx and overnight express to Seattle. It was picked up on Friday just in time for the birthday party on Saturday. It was perfect!!

Everything was perfect except for my back which did not appreciate being worked so hard. I think I will not push myself quite so hard in the future, but it sure was exciting.

PS: Gary and I have reconciled, but that is another story for another day

Weave, Cut, Knot, Trim, Wash, Dry

Oops, no picture of me weaving, but you get the idea. Taking up the scissors is always so exciting!

Yes, so very exciting! And a little scarey too.



And then the first look...

The lighting in my place doesn't always cooperate with my schedule.


ah, the knotting is done, but it's a little late to run the washer, so I will wait until tomorrow to do the last part.

I promised myself I would finish this before the end of the year. It feels good to keep at least one promise.

A Personal Weaving Retreat

On Christmas morning I will begin weaving a Blessing Blanket

With all of the free flowing joy and celebration happening, I decided to use the energy to weave at this time. I have never spent Christmas in a personal weaving retreat, but it will surely be a joyous celebration. Take a moment to send a prayer if you think of it. Reports along the way to follow.



I always say the power of weaving is that there is no mistake I cannot fix---if I take the time. I certainly have had the opportunity to prove this several times over today. I don't remember the last time I made multiple threading errors, but I happily re-threaded (twice).

Have days of joy, peace and balance!

in whatever you do....

Cuttin' Off Missoula

GOOD NEWS! The downstairs neighbor cannot hear me weaving !
MORE GOOD NEWS! Another weaving off the loom!

What can I say?!
Like bubbles, the cashmere yarn rises up to celebrate!

A Fabulous Big Blanket for an Amazing Little Person

What a wonderful way to celebrate a day of gratitude!

I don't really have words, but I just had to share this picture with you. Imagine sleeping wrapped in the blessings of your family.

Parents report that Maya goes right to sleep as soon as she is wrapped up in her blanket.

Blessing Baby Blanket Complete and Shipped

For some reason, the computer would not let me make a post last night, but here is the blanket moments before I raced off to FedEx for a Monday delivery on the East Coast.

The finished measurements are 40" x 64" plus fringe. My plan had been to hem the fringed edges and cut the length down to finish at 48" as requested by mother. I wove the extra length because there was extra warp. I was planning to present a small woven strip to each of the grandmothers. However, everyone who saw the blanket insisted I send it as is---at least for now with the idea that I could always cut and hem it later and the parents should see the whole piece.

The picture was taken by my new across the street neighbor--

Now to unpack and set up my "office", work on back orders, and get ready for a Turned Weft Ikat Workshop in 2 weeks in Ohio.

And of course---weave

First Weaving in my New Home

I don't have the energy to write much. I feel like I have been running a marathon.

Ah, the thrill of victory.....
The dimensions before washing---44.5" x 72". I wove some extra which I planned to trim off when I hemmed the blanket after washing and drying in the machine. I usually get about 10" shrinkage in the length.

Yes, it is true, bamboo/cashmere washes nicely on gentle in the machine and dries in the dryer on low. It is really quite miraculous. I'll have a picture for you tomorrow before I race off to FedEx to ship before noon, so it will arrive on the East Coast on Monday.

Weaving With Intention

The focus is on "intention". The blessings I receive from the client are qualities they desire to wrap around the baby in a permanent "hug" rather than something for the baby to grow into.



I was going to tell you all about how I was 60 heddles short when I was threading the loom and that I had to have the only person I could think of with a Fireside loom FedEx a hundred heddles from Arizona. I was going to tell you about how I then proceeded to miscalculate the number of dents and had to re-sley---but I won't bore you with the details.

Instead see the cashmere I selected to use in the weft. Each different color and shade represents a cashmere sweater my mom and I unknitted together. (By the way, on my last visit to my mother, we decided that we had taken apart just the right amount of sweaters. I am no longer collecting cashmere.)


It looks like plaid---who would have guessed.


I just looked up the definition of plaid---interesting
A fabric in which bands of color running horizontally and vertically intersect to form squares.


Here's another definition:
Wide and multicolored stripes on different colored backgrounds for creating various patterns.

And another:
a plain or twill-weave cloth with a pattern of intersecting stripes.

I just have a few more inches to go, and I will cut it off tomorrow.