Rocky Top Weaver

Today was an exciting day!  I was able to get to the studio to work on my sampler piece that I have on my loom.  It is a basic sampler with 4 shaft setup.  The piece is about 72" long and 10 inches wide.  The goal is to weave about 50 different 4-shaft treadle tie ups.  This will help me get familiar with the tie up process and the look of the weave because of the new tie ups.  The colors I chose were not the best either, but they will do for a sampler.  I used a Natural 8/2 unmercerized cotton for the warp and the weft started out with a Sunflower yellow, then switched to a Moss green.  The green is a better contrast choice.

My new Mighty Wolf loom is beautiful!  It is the natural maple wood and it sits so proud in my office that is day by day becoming my "loom room".  I was able to get my smaller loom to the weaving studio last week and get setup to start my Friday sessions. Excitement is a good way to term this adventure.  I can't wait to be able to produce quailty weaving projects, along with explore the different possibilites that weaving can bring into my life.  I haven't gotten too far on the setup of the loom, just because life gets in the way.  The strollers are on so what is left is floor work with the tie ups.  Then the heddles which I already think I will need to order some more.  The loom came with 1000 heddles but with 8 shafts that is only 125 per shaft.  We will see.  Another yarn order came today.  I splurged and ordered a scarf kit with Alpaca fiber that is dyed in beautiful blues and purples for the weft and then black silk to use for ...

It has been a while since the last blog entry, but I am back on track again. My life this last few weeks has been devoted to finishing a major house project and a bathroom renovation. They are done and now to more important news. The last post was about getting my new spools of yarn. Well, since then I have ordered even more yarn but the BIGGER news is that I purchased a Mighty Wolf loom (new) and it came this week !!! It is beautiful! This will allow me to take my Leclerc table loom (with treadles) down to the studio and get busy with learning how to weave from the professionals. The Mighty Wolf will be my home loom with full intention of becoming a professional myself someday. The loom came mostly assembled but I have a few things to still attach to it. At the recommendation of my girlfriend who has a Baby Wolf, I bought the stroller kit so that needs installed along with the tie ups for the treadles and also the heddles. There are 1000 heddles, WOW!!! Also, bought a Wolf Tra...

Well today I was anxious because I knew my yarn was supposed to be delivered. It was there on the front porch when I got home. I had ordered about 15 cones of various colors of 8/2 unmercerized cotton. My thinking behind getting lots of colors is that I should never not have a color combination to choose from. Since I am a beginner weaver this is a good yarn to work with and inexpensive compared to others. After I am able to master the basics with the 8/2 cotton then I would move onto other types of yarn and some of the fancier fiber to make special things. I don't want to spend too much time blogging tonight because I have to pick out a pattern/sampler to get measured out on the warping board. If I can get that done tonight then I will be fresh in the morning to start dressing the loom. So not much more for now other than my yarn shelf looks like spring flowers with all the colors mixed together. Off to the warping board !

I know this will sound weird but I bought a Mighty Wolf loom today ! I haven't even gotten my first completed project off my first loom. This is a crazy move on my part but that is what makes it fun. It won't be here for a couple of weeks so I have time to get at least one project done on my other loom. The Mighty Loom is about as big as I can go without adding on another room to the house. I would love to have a "Studio" of my own that isn't just office size. Someday. So in summary, I am crazy but am trying to be prepared but excited all at once. My yarn order is supposed to be here tomorrow, so I can't wait to see all the beautiful colors. I am well on my way !

Over the last couple of days I have been reviewing my DVD's and trying to wrap my head around the concept of warping correctly and dressing a loom. What I am learning is that there are alot of different ways that weavers do things to reach the same goal. I just need to find what works for me and I am sure as I progress I will discover new ways of doing things. Tonight I will spend a little more time reviewing some Deborah Chandler books I have and take some notes to try to get started this weekend if at all possible. I am so anxious to get started but don't want to run into a rat's nest for my warp like before. Trying to cover all my bases. Also, this weekend I went to an Art Festival and ran into a fellow weaver that had a booth with handwovens for sale. She specializes in towels, scarfs and other items. She has been weaving for 30 years and her work is beautiful. I was able to visit with her and it was wonderful. I purchased a couple of her towels for more inspirati...

It has been a little over a year since I became interested in weaving. My friend of 20 years has been weaving for about 5 years. I have always admired her projects and thought how beautiful they were. I didn't think it was something that I would be interested in but over time my curiosity got the best of me. As I visited with her more and more about her craft my interest grew and I decided to start acting on it. Last summer I bought a used Leclerc Nilus table loom with stand and treadles from the local guild. Excited was an understatement. I then began collecting all sorts of things to help me get my supplies built up to be able to handle the new projects that I wanted to try. The art of building a stash of things is something that I have been very good at over the years with my other hobbies.   Deborah Chandler's video on Beginning Four Harness Weaving was were I started. I also have her Learning to Weave book so I was on my way. Warping my first warp was fun and educationa...