Progress
I've been trying to squeeze in weaving whenever possible, but life sure does get in the way sometimes! Busy at work means brain dead at home, unfortunately. Despite that and an added mandatory training this week, I've just managed to finish the weaving portion of my snowflake shawl.
Here is a photo of it near the beginning, after a pattern or two:
I had planned on sampling at the beginning, using both the deeply purple "Eggplant" color as warp and weft, and then trying the red-purple as weft to see which I preferred. Unfortunately, after winding the warp with the Eggplant, it looked as if I wouldn't have enough of that yarn left to use as weft, so red-purple it is! I really like how it turned out. The pattern is clearly visible, even if the actual cloth is a bit less bright and pinkish in person than it is in the above photo.
I just finished the last of the weaving before lunch, and managed to get the hemstitching done as well.
This is a process that I do not cherish. It is very time consuming, and the actual twisting of the fringe drives me over the edge! I'll post photos once I start, but basically I have to pin the cloth to a foam board, pinning every 1/16 of an inch of so, to make sure the cloth is straight, then I have to take 3 of those little bunches of yarn you can just make out to the right of the needle in the above photo, clip them to a small contraption that has 3 alligator clips, turn those clips 35-40 times to the right, then take the twisted bits out of the clips CAREFULLY, clip them all into one clip, and twist it 35-40 times in the other direction. Again, carefully remove the yarn from the clip, tie a knot, insert a pin into the knot, and pin on a straight line 8" from the cloth edge. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat, repeat, repeat, until I'm ready to pull my hair out. It is just so tedious, and the cat wants to "help," of course. I have to weigh the board down with many encyclopediae, (I knew they were good for something!), but because of my furry friend, I have to lug everything upstairs to a locked room when it is not being worked on, so I don't end up with a shredded shawl. Now doesn't that all sound like fun???
I think if I could do it more casually, like pick it up and work on it here and there, while having a cup of coffee, or watching the news, I wouldn't mind so much, but it plants me at the kitchen table for hours, which bothers my back, as well as my backside. The end result is wonderful, but since I don't personally like fringe, I have to make a concerted effort to remember that alot of people do. Lately, I've only been weaving hemmed scarves, which I enjoy tremendously.
Anyway, back to the sampling issue. I won't be able to take the warp off the loom right away, since I wound extra length of warp for sampling, so once I account for the extra length for the fringe, I will weave a sample or two to have for my shop, so I can show people things that I've woven, even if I no longer have that item. I've started to accumulate quite a few samples, although I've not had a chance/need to show them to anyone yet.
Other than that, I've gotten quite a bit of yarn in the mail this week (meaning I ordered it all last week - yay shopping!).
One order was for chenille"
I've never tried weaving with this - I wonder what it will be???
I also received some unmercerized cotton:
They are destined for some towels someday.
I'm off to start my sampling. I'll be sure to post photos of the fringe twisting in progress next time!
Here is a photo of it near the beginning, after a pattern or two:
I had planned on sampling at the beginning, using both the deeply purple "Eggplant" color as warp and weft, and then trying the red-purple as weft to see which I preferred. Unfortunately, after winding the warp with the Eggplant, it looked as if I wouldn't have enough of that yarn left to use as weft, so red-purple it is! I really like how it turned out. The pattern is clearly visible, even if the actual cloth is a bit less bright and pinkish in person than it is in the above photo.
I just finished the last of the weaving before lunch, and managed to get the hemstitching done as well.
This is a process that I do not cherish. It is very time consuming, and the actual twisting of the fringe drives me over the edge! I'll post photos once I start, but basically I have to pin the cloth to a foam board, pinning every 1/16 of an inch of so, to make sure the cloth is straight, then I have to take 3 of those little bunches of yarn you can just make out to the right of the needle in the above photo, clip them to a small contraption that has 3 alligator clips, turn those clips 35-40 times to the right, then take the twisted bits out of the clips CAREFULLY, clip them all into one clip, and twist it 35-40 times in the other direction. Again, carefully remove the yarn from the clip, tie a knot, insert a pin into the knot, and pin on a straight line 8" from the cloth edge. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat, repeat, repeat, until I'm ready to pull my hair out. It is just so tedious, and the cat wants to "help," of course. I have to weigh the board down with many encyclopediae, (I knew they were good for something!), but because of my furry friend, I have to lug everything upstairs to a locked room when it is not being worked on, so I don't end up with a shredded shawl. Now doesn't that all sound like fun???
I think if I could do it more casually, like pick it up and work on it here and there, while having a cup of coffee, or watching the news, I wouldn't mind so much, but it plants me at the kitchen table for hours, which bothers my back, as well as my backside. The end result is wonderful, but since I don't personally like fringe, I have to make a concerted effort to remember that alot of people do. Lately, I've only been weaving hemmed scarves, which I enjoy tremendously.
Anyway, back to the sampling issue. I won't be able to take the warp off the loom right away, since I wound extra length of warp for sampling, so once I account for the extra length for the fringe, I will weave a sample or two to have for my shop, so I can show people things that I've woven, even if I no longer have that item. I've started to accumulate quite a few samples, although I've not had a chance/need to show them to anyone yet.
Other than that, I've gotten quite a bit of yarn in the mail this week (meaning I ordered it all last week - yay shopping!).
One order was for chenille"
I've never tried weaving with this - I wonder what it will be???
I also received some unmercerized cotton:
They are destined for some towels someday.
I'm off to start my sampling. I'll be sure to post photos of the fringe twisting in progress next time!
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