Moving Spirit

A lush experiment completed
From left to right:
All the warps are Bambu 12 (each end doubled)
1. Sett 24 epi (before wash) 7 1/4 x 72 (after wash) 7 x 63
2. Sett 20 epi (before wash) 8 1/2 x 76 3/4 (after wash) 7 3/8 x 66
3. Sett 18 epi (before wash) 12 3/4 x 76 (after wash) 11 1/2 x 67

I know I wondered if the shrinkage would be greater with a looser sett, but I didn't notice a great difference. Anyone good enough at advanced calculations could figure out the relative shrinkage.

All the wefts are un-knitted cashmere sweaters tripled. I am sorry you can't feel them. I know you would agree with me that the 20 epi feels the very best. (soft, resilient, and loft)

I'm almost finished weaving Jane's words LOVE, HEALTH, GRATITUDE. I decided to sett at 20 epi

Meanwhile I am trying to decide on the weft for Marjorie's words LOVE, HUMOR, NATURE

Concerning my impending move: I signed a lease yesterday. Here is the floor plan of my future home. It is quite a bit smaller than where I am living now, but this will be my opportunity to simplify.

Condominiums include studios, live-work spaces, lofts, and one- and two-bedroom condos. There are 153 units ranging in size from 340 to 1,066 square feet. There’s also 8,800 square feet of street-level commercial space housing 5 businesses.

To encourage social interaction, there is a 14-seat theater, fitness center, library/lounge with gourmet kitchen, several gardens with rooftop views and waterfalls, an art studio/hobby room, Pea Patch and a billiards room.

Moving--Step 1--Virtual Yard Sale

I had to start somewhere, so I just went through all of my weaving and crafty type books. These are the ones that will not make the move with me. I just looked each one up on Amazon to get the bottom and top price for all of these used titles. I thought I would give you first pick in my first ever Virtual Yard Sale.

Terms: Negotiable. Buyer pays shipping.

Taking Stock and Loose Ends

As I was thinking about packing, I started to wonder about what all of the cashmere would look like in a big pile on the floor. The big red ball in the lower left is a little bigger than a baseball. I have already used the cashmere to weave 11 pieces. My mother sure like to keep her hands busy (grin). I have 16 more sweaters ready and waiting for my next visit.

Oops, I accidentally erased the picture show the next Woven Words off the loom. I will show you more on this, but I kind of liked this picture. Here we see 3 different setts: left 18 epi (unwashed), top right 20 epi (washed), lower right 24 epi (washed)

It is too late for me to wash and dry the 18 epi piece, but I can't wait to do that tomorrow. I will wash and dry it exactly like I did the other two.

Ta Dah!

It's really real! I looked out my window today and saw the sold sign. I knew it was in the works, but until you actually see the sign....I couldn't bring myself to give you a blow by blow account. All I could do was go back to the looms and begin to weave off everything on my "to do" list.

Stay tuned for the next segment---where will I be living a month from now? Will Grace and Gary be happy in their new home? How much will I have to dematerialize?

Who Knew?

Forgive and Forget in 2 colorways
Only the one on the left has been washed in the picture above. When I washed the pink one, WOW! I am sold.
I tried to take some pictures that would show just how fantastically soft and more supple the 20 epi. cloth is. It feels just like the most wonderful cashmere. Imagine hoping for cold weather.

Peg and Ames both encouraged me to try out 18 epi. I have this piece on the loom all ready to go at 24 epi, but I rethreaded through the 12 dent reed in a 2,1,2,1, pattern with even more wonderful result. Thanks, you guys! I still don't think I have quite a 50/50 though. I also used the same 3 colors of cashmere tripled for the weft. You can really see the double strands of bamboo.

So What Have You Be Up To

Which weft to use ? Blue? Lavender? Pink?I couldn't decide, so I used all three. I'm just about ready to cut this off the loom. (Here I am using the close-up feature on my new camera)

Someone ordered 16 greeting cards, so I fished out my supplies and made them this evening. These are from collages I made several years ago.

Gaining Momentum

The look, feel and drape of the Bambu 12 doubled and sett at 20 epi is just heavenly. Farewell to 24 epi. Do I have the courage to give 18 epi a try? I'll let you know.
Another feature on the plus side is that the fabric wrinkles less and the wrinkles hang out. Here are some stats of interest: Before washing in warm and drying on medium 19"x 84 1/2". After wash and dry, 17 1/4"x 76"
Remember my FORGIVE AND FORGET scarf? Bambu 12 doubled, sett 24 epi with triple strand un-knitted cashmere weft. My mother selected the colors for the words on the right.

My ex-cousin in law selected her favorite 11 colors to weave up the same words to the left. It's amazing how different they look. Plus I decided to change the sett on the second one to 20 epi. I believe the scarf will feel even better, but I will let you know.

Meanwhile I am playing around with some different colors of cashmere for the weft. If you have an opinion, let me know. Pink? Blue?

A couple of you have emailed me to design a warp using your own words. I must say it is working out quite well. I will show you the results once I receive them. I will continue to extend the invitation, especially to those who had questions about the Woven Words concept.