Such a Slacker
At least in the "literary" sense. No blog for how many weeks?!? Believe me, I haven't been sitting on my...laurels and doing nothing. Lots of work at work. And a fair bit here at home. Both have been partially to blame for the delay, as has a bit of indecision. But more on that later.
The Iris tabby scarves were woven off with little fanfare. I now have 3 scarves ready for my shop, or any consignment shops that need inventory. It is always amusing (and a bit exasperating) to measure them after they've dried and see the wild differences in length, given the same measurement they all had on the loom. I wove them to ~78," after easing off on the tension to make sure that the final size was an unstretched 78 inches. What I ended up with were 66, 68, and 68.5 inch scarves. I assume that the warp relaxed to different degrees, but a 2.5 inch difference?
While working on these quick weaves, I was still mulling how to proceed with my next baby wrap. I got the custom dyed yarn, and thought I would use my sectional equipment to manipulate the colors, but the older yardage counter that I have won't mount on the LeClerc tension device (the one attached to the electric bobbin winder) the way it is supposed to. Instead of mounting to the left of the tensioning piece, it will have to be screwed onto the horizontal surface in order to get the measuring wheel oriented correctly. It will attached to the tensioner that mounts onto the loom, though. So I hemmed. And I hawed (what the heck does that mean anyway??). And I finally admitted to myself that the only way to get the kind of handpainted effect I was looking for for my second wrap, is to measure out the yarn first, then dye it myself. Since I'm not set up for that yet, I chose to just wind the warp on my mill and let the colors fall where they may, instead of doing it sectionally. I feel a lot of anxiety when trying new things, and sectional warping is no exception, but I WILL warp my next project on the big loom that way. I think I'll make it monochromatic, so I don't have to think about yarn placement, although I will still have to solve the counter issue.
So, here is a shot of the last bout on the mill.
Beautiful turquoise and eggplant tones - just not the design in my head. Now to find some kind of weighting thingies so I can use the warping trapeze that Hubs made me to ease the process of dressing the loom. I have one empty milk jug saved - he crushed the others - so I need 3 more things I can attach to the warp.
And here are a few shots of the tabby tencel scarves.
I also happen to be on vacation right now (thank goodness!), so I spent the better part of two days staining the railing on our porch. It was one of those things that we always thought we'd get to, but so many years have flown by and nothing's been done, so the railings got REALLY weathered. I decided that staining them a solid, French vanilla ice cream shade would make them match the painted trim. I also am going to paint the flower boxes a rich shade of red. Our house is such a wreck anyway, what with 2 different kinds of siding and a bunch of incomplete projects, I decided I needed to do a quick job that would make me feel better about the house every time I went out the door. I'll be sure to post a photo once the boxes are done, but right now they need sanding before I can paint them.
I hope everyone out there had a great Mother's Day! Mine was spent painting, with a long walk thrown in there for good measure. Hubs and Son #2 got the garden dug up, so it was a productive day, which is a great day in my book. Let's see how much more I can get done before I return to work. Who said vacations were for relaxing, anyway?!?
The Iris tabby scarves were woven off with little fanfare. I now have 3 scarves ready for my shop, or any consignment shops that need inventory. It is always amusing (and a bit exasperating) to measure them after they've dried and see the wild differences in length, given the same measurement they all had on the loom. I wove them to ~78," after easing off on the tension to make sure that the final size was an unstretched 78 inches. What I ended up with were 66, 68, and 68.5 inch scarves. I assume that the warp relaxed to different degrees, but a 2.5 inch difference?
While working on these quick weaves, I was still mulling how to proceed with my next baby wrap. I got the custom dyed yarn, and thought I would use my sectional equipment to manipulate the colors, but the older yardage counter that I have won't mount on the LeClerc tension device (the one attached to the electric bobbin winder) the way it is supposed to. Instead of mounting to the left of the tensioning piece, it will have to be screwed onto the horizontal surface in order to get the measuring wheel oriented correctly. It will attached to the tensioner that mounts onto the loom, though. So I hemmed. And I hawed (what the heck does that mean anyway??). And I finally admitted to myself that the only way to get the kind of handpainted effect I was looking for for my second wrap, is to measure out the yarn first, then dye it myself. Since I'm not set up for that yet, I chose to just wind the warp on my mill and let the colors fall where they may, instead of doing it sectionally. I feel a lot of anxiety when trying new things, and sectional warping is no exception, but I WILL warp my next project on the big loom that way. I think I'll make it monochromatic, so I don't have to think about yarn placement, although I will still have to solve the counter issue.
So, here is a shot of the last bout on the mill.
Beautiful turquoise and eggplant tones - just not the design in my head. Now to find some kind of weighting thingies so I can use the warping trapeze that Hubs made me to ease the process of dressing the loom. I have one empty milk jug saved - he crushed the others - so I need 3 more things I can attach to the warp.
And here are a few shots of the tabby tencel scarves.
I also happen to be on vacation right now (thank goodness!), so I spent the better part of two days staining the railing on our porch. It was one of those things that we always thought we'd get to, but so many years have flown by and nothing's been done, so the railings got REALLY weathered. I decided that staining them a solid, French vanilla ice cream shade would make them match the painted trim. I also am going to paint the flower boxes a rich shade of red. Our house is such a wreck anyway, what with 2 different kinds of siding and a bunch of incomplete projects, I decided I needed to do a quick job that would make me feel better about the house every time I went out the door. I'll be sure to post a photo once the boxes are done, but right now they need sanding before I can paint them.
I hope everyone out there had a great Mother's Day! Mine was spent painting, with a long walk thrown in there for good measure. Hubs and Son #2 got the garden dug up, so it was a productive day, which is a great day in my book. Let's see how much more I can get done before I return to work. Who said vacations were for relaxing, anyway?!?
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