weaving projects

Since going on my weaving course I have been busy experimenting with my small four-shaft table loom (with varying degrees of success).  Almost as soon as I got back,  I got my first warp properly wound and beamed on - a white herdwick wool and started playing with some luxury yarns - bamboo, recycled silk, and tweedy wool.

My first warp (3.5m) produced enough to make 2 or 3 cushions and an iphone holder (which has now sold, woo hoo!) though it took some nerve to actually cut it up to make something out of it!

Here is one of my cushions - currently for sale over at folksy

My next warp, I wanted to be charcoal grey, and to be used to make Christmas presents.  I struggled to find a yarn that was strong enough, so had the bright idea of using sock wool, which has nylon in it to make it more durable.  £20 later, I had some that looked the business.... wound it and attempted to get it onto the loom.

BIG mistake...

The wool was IMPOSSIBLE - after spending hours getting it into the raddle etc, beaming it on turned into a complete nightmare - the yarn had a lot of static in it, and worse still, the fibres rubbing together as they ran through the cross sticks made them stick together in big clumps.  After the second attempt I abandoned it, and turned my attention to another project.  I will go back to my original idea, but will probably use a mercerised cotton for the warp instead.

My latest project was to make a scarf using the tencel I bought earlier last year.  I got it all warped up - it moves through the cross sticks really easily - but again I had problems.  This time I had got one section of the warp tighter than the other, so the pattern took more easily in that section - but I got a 'sticky shed' (where the shed doesn't clear properly as the threads aren't tight enough).  I quickly abandoned my first twill pattern as this was happening underneath:

This is a mixed twill of 2/2, 1/3 and 3/1 and it was having difficulty with the 3/1 twill. 

So I decided to go for a broken 2/2 twill instead and got this pattern, which I rather like

This was fine, apart from the fact that the threads in the tightest part of the warp then began to snap... one by one.  Argh!

So, I decided to cut these two bits off and keep them as samples, and I am hoping that I can keep the warp on the loom, but just rewind it so that it has an even tension all the way across.  

I wet finished the samples and the cloth feels lovely - drapey and soft - so all being well I will one day be able to weave a lovely scarf out of it :-)

They both got a bit creased in my bag, but you get the general idea!

Next step is to get myself a better loom - I have my eye on an Ashford 8 shaft table loom, so I think I will wait until I get that to do my next warp.  Here's hoping!

Katie x

yummy yarns

My yarn arrived this morning from the Handweavers Studio unfortunately I must have messed up the order, so only got 25g of each - so I've just had to ring them to order 200g of each.

But, aren't the colours yummy?  The extra yarn will be slightly different - straw instead of gold and blue ming instead of dark teal, but hopefully they will still work...

Now I just need to work out some designs!  Can you tell I'm excited??

sewing and weaving update

Argh its been one of those busy weeks where everyday I have thought 'I must post some more stuff on the blog' and then haven't had access to my pictures, or the time to compose my thoughts.

I had a productive day's sewing over the bank holiday weekend.  I bought myself a SciPhone (the Chinese version of the iphone) so thought I would sew myself a cosy for it in the meantime whilst I was waiting for it to arrive in the post.  I am really pleased with the phone cosy... I was a little less pleased with the phone (in fact I have sent it back as its rubbish), so the holder is now up for grabs on Etsy.... I do love the Alexander Henry spotted owl print :-)

I also thought I would have a go at customising the phone holder for a small laptop or netbook.  Here is the finished result, I think it works quite well, and matches a camera or small phone holder I made a while ago.

Next on the list was a peg bag, as ours is a horrible brown thing from the dreaded Tesco and has been left out in the rain a few too many times.  I need a better pattern for this - I think the bag bit that holds the pegs needs to be a lot deeper and I had to fudge the edges.  However, I do like the fabric, and was even inspired to embroider a peg on the front!  Excuse the fuzzy photo, I need to take better ones :-s.

Last, but not least, I would like to introduce Lucy - my pretty hen doorstop or paperweight.  I was inspired by my own hens and wanted something which was decorative, but also functional in some ways.  The material is from an old top that no longer fits me (ooh how liberating it was to cut into!) and she now happily sits on my desk.  I'm really, really pleased with her, so hopefully there will be some more in the pipeline soon for sale :-)

On the loom front, it has arrived!  She's now called Millicent (aptly meaning hard worker) and was taken to pieces and put together again in our top room.  She is a 4 shaft counterbalance floor loom, made locally in the 1970s from solid beams of mahogany.  I spent the day on Sunday cleaning her up and linseed oiling her, and she now looks a beauty.  Hopefully, if my yarn arrives on time I will be threading her up and starting to weave some samples later this week... hoorah!

This photo was taken pre-cleaning and oiling, I hasten to add ;-)

Bye for now,

Kx