Rocky Top Weaver

Spring Break To Me ~~  take a weaving class! Scottish Tartans are a beautiful example of color and weave.  Also, it teaches you how to be precise in your sett and your epi.   This is my sample scarf and now that this is done, I can work on the "real" scarf.  Hopefully I have learned from my mistakes and the next one will be perfect.  (one can always hope)   For an extra challenge, I decided to learn this new technique on my "new to me" Glimakra loom. Having never woven on a Countermarche loom before, it added to the learning curve. Warp threads - lots of color! Sample - close up on the loom

This is where I spend my time in the winter.  My little loom room (once an office) is a perfect place to stay warm and busy weaving.  It is not a big place, but enough room for my Mighty Wolf, winding/warping station, stash cubbies and a computer desk.  It is right next to the propane stove, so things can get quite toasty in here.   This loom is a close as I will get to a computer loom for a while, hence the Apple logo on it. It looks like my stash cubbies need some more yarn to fill them up.  That will be fun gathering more yarn. During the summer, I have another weaving "studio" room which has more yarn stashed and a couple of more looms.  Both rooms have plenty of space for my "loom dogs" who keep me company while weaving.  They love being next to me no matter what I am doing.  Sydney, Jack Dog and Rocky.....crazy, happy dogs!  I call them The 3 Amigos :-)

As I weave along in life, sometimes you run across a find that is too good to pass up.   Such was the case last weekend and now I am in possession of a Glimakra weaving loom.  This loom was made in 1972 and has only had one owner.  I am now the 2nd owner and a VERY proud one.   Despite that the size of this loom 53" weaving width is daunting, moving it wasn't as daunting.   These looms are held together with wood pegs and a few long bolts.  When it is unassembled, it is a pile of lumber literally. I spent my time at the weaving studio assembling it.  One of my fellow weavers in our studio also has one, so she was a wonderful help and a wealth of knowledge.  She was a life saver.  The cotton tie ups for the lamms and the harnesses are all going to be replaced with Texslov.  This will make it easier to change settings and also help the loom to last another 30 years. More pictures to come as things progress.............

I actually got some weaving done today ! These are a classified as a Canvas weave, but look more like a Basket Weave to me.  They are place mats that are made with carpet warp for both warp & weft.  Also, new to me is using a double bobbin shuttle.  It really goes fast!    It is nice to weave and not have to think about it too much for a change. There is enough warp on for about 4 - 6 place mats.  I am very curious how they will look after they are washed.   The hem is already done with twining at each end, so there won' t be much left to do after I cut them off the loom, but finish the fringe. They are complete and turned out nice.  Great for everyday place mats that are very thick and just plain cotton.  A closer look.....

This weekend I traveled across the state to a special class in Eugene, Oregon at the Eugene Textile Center.  It was worth it, and then some. Jason Collingwood taught a class on 4-end Block Weave with Summer & Winter. WOW, what a class.  Needless to say sitting for 3 days is something that would challenge anyone, but also taxing your brain cells was also something that was in store for us.  We had a group of about 15 weavers anxious to learn all we could from him.   He is a wonderful teacher, who is very visual, methodical and VERY patient.  We all came away with a sample rug with all types of different patterns.  This is my attempt.....  I learned alot and am ready to sign up for his Twill Rug class next year.   I would recommend if you ever have an interest in learning block weaves and rugs, you should take a class from him. Front of Sample Various Patterns Back of Sample

This was my first experience weaving with Tencel.  It is wonderful to weave, though a bit slippery.  After it is wet finished, it is so soft and drapes exceptionally well.  This was a hand painted yarn and the pattern was an undulating twill.  Not quite sure how the plaid happened, but that was a bonus!!

Time again for some more Fiesta towels.   They were such fun to weave before, so I thought I would whip some up again.  Enough warp for 8 towels.  Should be on the loom by tomorrow, to start the mad weaving frenzy!

These towels were a lesson in sett for me.  I typically don't pay attention to sett, I just weave what looks good.  The towels turned out beautiful and are ready for use.  A total of 6 towels were completed, but I gave away the navy blue and light blue as a gift before I remembered to take a picture.  Sad  :-( For a challenge, I decided to do a Natural weft on a Natural warp. How crazy is that?  In order to keep track of things, I needed to put in the contrast thread and count my repeats and mark them.  Life has lots of distractions, so this is my way of keeping the pattern on task. One more towel to go for this warp.

Navy blue is the next color choice. It is really bold and pops beautifully against the Natural warp. Choosing the best colors for this has been a challenge.  Can't wait to see what color I come up with next.  Stay tuned!

Finally, the towels are started.  This will keep me occupied for the next few nights. There should be enough here for 6, plus a sample. Each towel will be a different color. 

Looks like I will be busy for a while.  These will eventually be towels, but there are alot of threads...more than I care to count, again. So, my reward to myself for getting all of these on the loom.....LUNATIC FRINGE retail therapy.  What did I get???  Yarn and more yarn!  One can never have enough yarn. Just a hint, there is a color gamp in my future.

Something quick and fun was on the menu for this project.  It is made of Angora and Pygora.  Super soft and drapes beautifully.   I kept this one for myself, since I gift alot of my creations to others.  This picture does not do it justice...as soon as I get another picture taken that is decent, I will post it.

Rag rugs are something everyone should do, at least once.  This was a fun project that used up some extra warp left over from an Alpaca rug.  With the price of cotton yarn these days, it helps not to waste good warp. Plus, Sydney thinks it will be a good rug to take a nap on. On to the next project.

This didn't take long.  Now onto another one, just for kicks!

A lesson in Doubleweave (my first) was taken from Handwoven as a nice small project, to get the idea behind Doubleweave and also how pickup fits into the picture.  I apologize for the colors, I just used scrap yarn to try to get as close as I could to the Handwoven project colors.   The reverse side in progress. Finally done!

The cherries are in season now. This is my second round on one tree. Probably will pick another round tomorrow night. These are Stella cherries and come on a little bit earlier than the Bings. They are wonderful for snacks.

There are a group of deer that hang out on the property on a regular basis.  They are quite at home and don't seem to be in any hurry to leave.  This morning as I was out on the deck admiring the beautiful weather, when they decided to come in for a morning snack. There is a dwarf peach tree that they all seem to like.  They hung around until I walked over to them and made them leave. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a flowerbed left. the ringleader 2nd in command the gang is all here! you talkin' to me?

A weaver friend gave me some organic cotton yarn as a gift, with the intention of working up a scarf from the latest Handwoven.  The scarf is a pattern by Suzie Liles from Eugene, Oregon (my home town).  The scarf is very soft and was a quick project to do before summer and life got in the way.  Can't wait to wear it this winter. 

The kitchen towels are finally done.  They were fun to make and went rather quickly.  A simple twill but with color variation that makes them pop! Having finished the white / blue towels, now the blue / white towels are starting to come into view.  They are a lot more vivid than the white ones and the twill shows up very well.   Tension has been an issue with this project, but I have learned something new about my Mighty Wolf loom because of it.  Problem solved and now finishing the last towel.  Also, I have been using my end delivery shuttles with this project and I am hooked!  The difference is amazing.  The towels have been easy to weave but the pattern sure looks more complicated when it is worked up.  I like easy sometimes!