Q1'24 Finished List (6)

I'm late posting this... I left just before the end of the quarter for a 3 week trip around Greece. More on that later!

These are the things I finished in Q1:

A wool scarf from Graceful yarn that has been donated to a charity auction. What's exceptionally cool about the piece is that I now know what I need to know to weave up some fabric for a shirt.

Who doesn't need color on their loom bench?

Two baby blankets from Cotton Classic knitting yarn, one of which has gone to live at one of G's niece's houses.

The sheep shirt and a shirt in aqua Malay batik (which went on vacation with me)

A rug sample from Nancy Kennedy's rug weaving class, which is on my loom bench.

Not done: 

• There are two towels somewhere in Studio that just need hemming. I can't find them.
• Shiny sweater: I have one sleeve to go, and I need to reknit the bottom hem.
• Two spinning projects: the goat is still not plied, nor is the brown and multicolored singles from the roving I bought at KAFF. 
• The double huck scarf is almost done, I just need to finish the fancy multicolored end.
• I also started a cowl while on my trip but didn't get very far.

When I bought a handmade rug in Greece, I tried to tell the shopkeeper to let the weaver know the rug was going to the home of a weaver. I showed him the loom bench photo and told him it was mine, and he understood. 

It occurs to me with all of the travel I have planned for this year, I'm going to have a tough time getting anything done....

Some Q2 goals:

• Finish some of the unfinished stuff from Q1; maybe even find those two towels!
• Install upgrade on sewing machine and take this class: https://sewing-mastery.teachable.com/p/bernina-pinpoint-placement-master-class
• Finish the Shiny sweater.
• Make a cute grocery bag from the embroidered panels.
• Double weave pillows x 4.
• Yardage in Bronson lace.

Rug weaving class with Nancy Kennedy

Wow! Just got back from a 4 day rug weaving class taught by Nancy Kennedy and my mind is blown!

I made a couple of summer and winter rugs a few months back and was either not bubbling in enough weft or bubbling in too much weft... I also tried a card woven edge on one of them, and it rotated to one side making it a one sided rug. Then I didn't want fringe but my finished edges were awful. The rugs are a lovely color, nice and squishy to step on but they're not pleasing for me to look at and I decided I needed a class.

Less than a month later, I identified a class at the Pacific Textile Arts Center in Fort Bragg that unfortunately was taking place less than a week before we're heading out on a major vacation. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend 5 days in Ft Bragg right before leaving town... DH agreed that I get fussy about these things... but then decided I Don't Want to Be That Kind of Person (fussy) and I booked the class. My dear friend K. came with me; she's a great travelling companion!

One of Nancy's class examples

Nancy does her rug finishing in a way I've never seen before. She weaves a plain weave hem, accented by two color twining, then folds the hem over to create a beautiful, decorative, clean finished edge. The rugs are woven in Summer and Winter polychrome with no tabby, with a card woven edge ala Martha Stanley. The threads from the twining are braided or bound and create playful pigtails on the sides of the rugs.  She weaves her rugs on a loom set up for shaft switching but demoed a horribly fussy way that it would be done on a regular loom; there are other methods and I'm going to be investigating. The key here is that I finally understand shaft switching.

My cute little ruglet

I've got notes in my binder so will not add them here but there are a few deets I didn't capture there.

• The yarn she uses in Vevgarn Frid tynt, made by Norsk Fjord Fiber; it's distributed by Sidsel Mereb (yarns@norskfjordfiber.com) in North Carolina. She prefers this wool because the colors are true.  The color card is outstanding.
• One skein is about 3.5 oz and 328 yards (300m in 100g) which should give me a YPP if I calculate it. It's pretty thin but she uses multiple strands for most parts of the rug. 
• She uses waxed polyester thread to sew the hems together; I'm not sure if she was using the fine or the coarse but I suspect the coarse.

I had some issues with the other color feathering in on the edges... She handles the card woven selvedges by going over on one side and through on the other. I wonder if I did over-over/thru-thru if that would be better?

I did write this down in my binder but I will do so again... when you put down a shuttle, put it down on the outside; then pick up the shuttle on the inside for the next pick. That keeps the edges consistent.

As for the shaft switching, Wendy had taken a class with Peter Collingwood and they'd used cordlocks to move the thread between shafts. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. There are good examples/methods for shaft switching in Peter C's 2nd book (the thin one), as well as A Rug Weavers Sourcebook. I've also seen stuff in Handwoven.

Nancy does all of her designing on paper (including colors) and has a detailed plan before she starts; she uses cash register tape that she marks with her plan to track it while she's weaving.

Speaking of Handwoven, Michael Rohde has a pattern in Handwoven called the Caribbean Windows Rug which has some fun inlay in it; I want to try this for the next rug. I think I'd like to stay and do something straightforward like this before I try shaft switching.

Some logisitics: We stayed at the Seadog, an AirBnB just south of town; it ended up being cheaper than a hotel plus we had a kitchen, coffee maker, and living room for hanging out in the evening. It was about 10 minutes from the weaving center and a bit rustic but lovely. We had a pleasant meal at Princess Seafood Restaurant on the harbor; a so-so meal at Mayan Fusion, and two great dinner at Cucina Verona, good GF pastas and risotto, plus a great wine list.... On the way home, we stopped at Los Moles in San Rafael. All of these are places I'd like to remember.

UFOS: a list? The beginnings of a plan?

Today I decided to identify my UFOs (UnFinished Objects), and maybe what state they are in. I'd like to pick a few per quarter and work through them, hoping NOT to be the crazy lady with piles of unfinished projects. If I can't figure out what to do with the finished objects, I can always donate them...

Knitting: 

• Shiny Sweater- I'm making headway on this 
• Anna Zilboorg Sweater- I need to fish it out and make a plan 
• A Capella- frog and return the yarn to the yarn pool 
• That other vest that's not right- frog and knit it correctly 
• Sunset and Sand- needs a decision frog or finish! 
• The jacket with the embroidery that needs rework. If I recall correctly there's an issue with the collar, and the sleeves, and I'm not sure what else...

Weaving:

• This is super easy, since it's either on the loom or not...  and there are projects on both looms. 
• However, there are two hand towels that need hemming. I can't find them.
• I do have four ikat warps (one I dyed, two from Indonesia, and one from a friend) that need weaving. 

Quilting (Can the list really still be this long?):

• Fan blocks: I've been dithering about what to do with them for 20 years or so.
• The first Judy Niemeyer quilt (straighter pieces): I may need to figure out setting strips but otherwise I think I photoed a layout and I should be ready to finish the top.
• The second Judy Niemeyer class (curved pieces): I stopped while piecing the top together but I did photo the layout; so I need to remember what I was doing and do it.
• Judy Niemeyer place mat kit: it's in the bookshelf, waiting to be made.
• Chili pepper quilt: Ick
• Around the Twist quilt: It's done except I think a couple of the corners need sewing? This'll probably go to donation
• One or two Hawaiians (small) that need quilting
• A cute but fussy quilt that I started in pinks and blues but I'm not sure I'm precise enough to finish

Sewing:

• The shirt I just cut out (aqua camp shirt), just do it
• I have all the pieces ready for a big grocery bag, just do it

Spinning:

• Honestly I have no idea.

Mosaic:

• A table: Unsure of how I want the background to be
• A stepping stone: there's an area I made that needs rework.

Clearly I'm not counting raw materials (quilting fabric, knitting yarn, weaving yarn, tiles, sewing fabric). Let's not go there.

Sheep Shirt is promoted to the closet!!!

Lots of sheeps roaming
this shirt...

I'd put the sheep shirt away for awhile... The lovely soft double gauze was moving around a bit and I was too scared to sew the sleeves in. I finally finished it, and sewed on plain white shirt buttons from my button box. I sewed them on twice, as the first time they were too high. I think the trick with buttons is to test the first one you put on so it's in the right spot... Anyways, here's a photo of it handing in the laundry room door; it fits the same way as the paper shirt I finished last summer.

Which leaves me with a pile of fabric and no plan. I need a plan. Without a plan, I've cut out another Natalie shirt (like the sheep shirt) in a Malaysian batik I bought in Singapore. I also sorted all my fabric and brought out a rayon I bought a few years ago in Santa Cruz; I am planning on the #1 Shirt or Seamwork's Hansie, both fairly modern unstructured type garments.

I'm stalled on weaving for a couple of silly reasons. On the double huck, I finally embraced the class as a buffet (the teacher presented it as such); taste what you want and don't feel obligated to finish any one variation. I think I've seen enough and it's time to start a project (there's enough warp) but I need to fix one error and I may resley the reed. I'm mentally working through some ideas. The warp for testing the Bronson lace is beamed on the other loom and needs threading, put I can't bring myself to count the heddles.

I did try paper marbling again, after the last run that didn't work. The airbrush paint I tried didn't sink but it didn't spread well and was frustrating; so I mixed up some acrylic paint and water, and that floated and spread nicely. Printing was an issue; the paint didn't adhere well and seemed to slide off the page. WTF? Out of 4 papers there's only one I'd consider usable. So I stopped. I'm going to re-alum the paper (and try some other paper as well), maybe next week. It would. be nice to have a working "recipe".  I did have a lot of fun with it and if I can get it working, I'll pick up some additional colors.

We spent the night up in Napa last night to see Garuda Blue at the Blue Note; it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the trip. We had breakfast this morning at Grace's Table; great food, fun menu, I would definitely go back.

I've been posting more updates lately... I suspect that'll tail off in a bit...

Two Baby Blankets

The two baby blankets are finished! They've been off the loom for a couple of weeks but I've been pissed at them so finally hemmed them last night.

I usually don't weave with thick cotton (knitting DK weight)... I started the first one (with brown, no blue) and just happily used my normal heavy beat and happily wove along until I was about 1/2 way through and realized I was beating WAY too hard; so that one is a little heavier, and a little weft dominant. 

The one with the blue, I decided I better beat lighter, but I didn't beat heavy enough so it's on the edge of being sleazy (I've linked to it's weaving meaning, so go on and take a look). So it's lighter and a little warp dominant. I suspect the threads will eventually snag and pull a bit and it won't be as durable as the other blanket, but it's cuddlier...

If I'd put enough warp on for 3 blankets, the third one would be the Baby Bear blanket, Just Right.

Papa Bear and Mama Bear Blankets; 
I'll replace this with a better photo!

The other thing I don't like about the blankets is where I had to add more weft yarns. I was taught to overlap by 2-3 inches and just keep weaving. This works well with wool yarns, and thinner cotton yarns (I've had no issues with doing that to 8/2 and even 8/4 cotton). The DK weight knitting yarn is MUCH thicker and it interrupts the look of the weave and I don't think it's as stable. I asked about the best way to do this (albeit with thinner yarn) at MvdH's class and was told the best place to do this is always near the selvedge. I thought about this while doing blanket #2 but by that time it was too late to make it consistent.

Would I make blankets from this yarn again? No.  But overall, I'm happy with the blankets and very glad I made them. I like the way I chose to put the 4 different warp colors (scarlett, fuschia, light pink, and bright yellow), and I like my weft choices (brown and white, and blue and white). I had to buy the blue, and some white yarn to accomplish this but worked mostly from stash. 

Inspired by finishing something, I went looking for the other two towels that I wove in 2021. I cannot find them. So I sat down to finish spinning the 3 ply goat, and one of the footman on the wheel broke! I'd replaced the other footman late last year, and had a spare somewhere in the studio... After 30 minutes of searching I gave up but then found it after dinner. I should be able to finish up the plying this week, after my wheel Wrench replaces the footman for me.

CringeWorthy

I'm stuck on the stepping stone, and was debating whether to go on (it's just a stepping stone) or remake the part I don't like (circled in red). It's a plant. I'm unhappy enough with the red circled area to where I cringe when I look at it, so I'll be reworking that area. It's just a stepping stone, but it's MY stepping stone, and I want it right. I'll rework the design for the 2nd one.

Churning, and Cat Echo

I'm at a bit of a standstill... I think I've hit the point where I have too many hobbies and I'm context switching too much. It's been Studio time (weaving, spinning, sewing), some mosaic, piano, Greek language, and hiking plus some social time. I feel like I'm churning.

The two Baby Blankets are finished weeks ago and waiting for hemming... I'd like to finish them this week.  Incidentally the rest of the cotton classic will be great for some stashbuster Summer and Winter baby blankets!

The double huck class is coming along slowly; it's complicated; and I got stuck by thinking I had a threading error but it was really a treadling error. I think I'm going to do 4 repeats of each of her patterns for a sampler then work out something fun to do for the rest of the warp; hoping to start on that tomorrow.

I've been knitting on the Shiny sweater and am finally done with the body! I tried it on and it fits, though I'd like a longer band... we'll see what's left when I finish the sweaters. I have 2 balls and they're wound and I started one sleeve already.  Honestly am thrilled that it fits... 

I also did some work on one of the mosaic stepping stones but I don't like the result I'm debating whether to let it be a learning experience and go on to the next one or rework the area I don't like.

I need to add Christmas towels to my todo list. I have green, red, and white cotton and some excellent star patterns here and here. And maybe some mittens as Christmas presents.

I have a 2024 goal of getting all the fiber from the surfaces into the cabinets (or made into objects).  So I fluffed my yarn and established some order... And not only got more yarn back into the cabinets, but it's orderly; especially on the weaving side. My Housekeeper has noticed the studio is in better shape.

The cats... Echo or Shadow?

Here is a photo of the cats to distract me from being productive.

Here's an incomplete list of what is still homeless. Really, this is progress.

• A sweater's quantity of dark blue cashmere in a box under the desk.
• A random selection of mostly 18/2 wool as well as some linen and an interesting bulky yarn in a box under the desk.
• The 18/2 wool and Zephyr currently living on the shelves across from the laundry room.
• The big basket of yarn that wants to be fabric on the desk.
• The goat that I need to finish plying, then store all together, on the wheel and the cat tree.
• Some random piles of fabrics or yarns or fibers here and there. 
• There's wool in the garage...
• Oh yeah, and there's the collection of 8/2 cotton on top of the cabinet looking decorative.

It's probably worthwhile making a list of things I can finish quickly and get out of the studio: the baby blankets, the goat yarn, the sheep shirt, and there are two hand towels that wanted to be hemmed 3 years ago. Let's get these done!!

Project update...

The baby blankets are flying off the loom... I didn't get them finished during today's massive storm but they'll be done this week.. I also beamed the warp for the Double Huck class and have started winding a sample for yardage in Bronson lace (pine green 20/2 cotton).  On the Shiny sweater, I'm working through endless rounds of stockinette and am honestly not enjoying it a bit. 

Close up of blanket #2

It's time to start thinking of the OTHER neglected crafts for a bit. Just not sure what my plan of attack is.

Meanwhile, I cooked the other half of the 18 pound Thanksgiving Turkey that's been in the freezer since November... I got in my head that the turkey would benefit from the same spices as Peruvian roast chicken with cilantro sauce. It certainly worked but I think that chicken is the right bird for those flavors. Still, it was good; we had sauteed spinach and roasted potatoes with it.

DH was dead set on a red; so I brought out a Brouilly, which was pretty light but still red. Turns out he thought the cilantro sauce would be a red sauce. We think a lively white (Sauvignon Blanc? Albarino? Grüner?) would have been a better choice...

I also have my eye on this drop dead recipe for baked apple roses; I'm waiting to see if I can find wheat I can get along with for ruff puff; I have some (oddly enough) Turkey Red wheat flour coming later this week.

One thing that was bugging me that I finished was a large printing job for the Guild Library. It was a larger task than I thought it would be!

Loom schedule

This is currently cracking me up but between wanting to do major stash-reduction pieces and an upcoming class I feel like I'm having to book time on my looms! 

I do not need another loom, and I repeat, I do not need another loom. Just to be clear.

What's the schedule look like? The Baby Mac is free and waiting for the double Huck class I'm taking with Callie Booker that started today. The two baby blankets on the Gilmore are in progress and should finish quickly.

I suspect the Mac will be occupied with double huck through the end of March.

Next up on the Gilmore will be some yardage in Bronson lace for my study group; I'm working on specs now.  I'd like to use up some of the 40/2 or 48/2 linen I have (I need to McMorran it again) but I don't want a new structure and a new fiber at the same time so I'm going to use the red or the green or the blue 20/2 cotton that I have; I think it'll be lovely. 

What else do I have lined up?

• I have three cones of very fine linen that I'd like to play with; I think more fabric for summer shirts. The benefit to working on this during the winter is the humidity makes linen weaving easier.

• I have 5 or 6 more skeins of Graceful, in two colorways. I'd like to use some of it as warp and that slubby silk, dyed a darker color as weft to make yardage for a woven sweatshirt. 
• I have a undulating twill Scarf Kit that was Kathy's; that would be pretty easy and would free up one of the bins plus but a couple of scarves into the Finished Object state.
• This ikat warp (mentioned last post) would like to be towels. Turns out I have a small amount of hand dyed  8/2 cotton in dark purple, green, and yellow that I would use sparingly to pop the purple...

Tale of Two Scarves

Photos of the two scarves needed!!!

I've done a couple of posts about plans for the Graceful yarn, in particular, wanting to get the sett right in weaving with it. I did samples at 30 and 35 EPI; the 30 was popular with my study group, although I thought it bordered on sleazy, and the 35 was stiffer... I decided on the 35 and then left for vacation in Japan.

I bring this up because my DH brought along 3 of my hand crafting scarves on the

trip, and his favorite was the black and white crackle scarf I showed in progress here. I ended up disappointed in the scarf due to bad selvedges and an uneven beat and tossed it in the closet for a few years; I offered it to him as it was going in the goodwill bag and he loves that scarf.  Sadly, it kept getting caught on his zipper and snagging.... he felt bad but I don't think it was his fault.  The crackles scarf is loosely woven to the point of being sleazy; I can see the threads moving as I twist the scarf back and forth. Had I sett it closer, it would have been a little more cohesive and I think less likely to snag.  I used this to justify my decision to make the Graceful scarf a little denser.

So it's a 11.5 inch wide scarf, 80 inches long, in plain weave. There are a number of  doubled threads to give it a little texture; I also broke 5 threads and decided not to repair them so they're effectively doubled too. I will note I de-tensioned the warp when I stopped weaving most of the time to minimize stretching; I think the broken threads came when I forgot to do this. (ETA, it could also be that I wasn't advancing the warp enough.)

It took me a bit to get the hand of working with the yarn; it's very thin and very light; I had to learn to catch the loop as I threw the shuttle to make sure the selvedge fit in smoothly.  

I also very carefully double-wound the weft yarn (wound if off onto a storage bobbin, then from the storage bobbin onto a pirn) to preserve the color run. This worked fabulously, of course, until the point in the yarn where the manufacturer had tied on a new thread and the color change abruptly. This only happened once.

The color gradation is from purple to green, going through browns and golds... since I'm using the same yarn in warp and weft the color is a little muddy where colors opposite on the color wheel cross (i.e. purple and green, or  blue and orange), but it's a nice comfortable mud.  I think for the next project using this yarn I'll consider using a solid 20/2 cotton or that singles slubby silk (dyed?) for weft.

The scarf has a great hand, good drape, and feels like fabric; it will soften with use. I'm pleased.

Other projects: 

1. I'm starting to thread baby blankets; it's beamed and ready to go.
2. The shiny sweater is getting longer; I think I'm 12" down from the armholes with 4" more to go!
3. I started cutting tile for the mosaic succulent stepping stones... First, I put the design next to the paver, and it's too big for the stones by about 1/2" inch; not a big deal as I can shrink the background accordingly. The bigger issue is my artistic swoopy leaf designs which just isn't got to be practical with high fire tile.  I've moved the design back to the studio for rework.
4.  I tied an warp I've had for awhile and dyed it in 20 year old (ish) Lapis procion dye. The color was gorgeous! Until I went to wash it out. Needless to say the purple (instead of Lapis) was a disappointment and the blue that was there migrated under the ties... I was significantly upset about it until it dried; now it reminds me of a Aurora Borealis. I have to redesign the towels but I'm pretty excited about it.

   

5. I checked out and read two books from the library on linocuts; I will try to find one of them to add to my library. I'm thinking of carving up a lino of a friend... I think I could do a 3 colors reduction print if I simplified it some. 
   
   

Q4 '23 Finished List (4/21)

What's on the finished list for Q4?

• Two summer and winter rugs (see next blog post
• 8 Christmas cards (simple yet lovely)
• Ikat class piece
• Test pieces for Graceful yarn. Do I count test pieces? Sure. It was a 2 yard warp, and completely separate from a project. Kind of like a mini-project. I'm counting it. 

I've already started on the 2024 Stashdown... I have the Graceful warp ready for threading, and half of a warp wound for two Very Bright baby blankets in Tahki Yarns Cotton Classic. I'll have to buy some weft to go with the blankets, but it'll put a major hole in my Cotton Classic stash!  I'm also boiling an ikat to get dyed today or tomorrow which will be towels; that gets rid of an already-pulled warp and will use up some more of my 8/2 cotton stash.

As for the rest of the crafts I aspire too, I'd like to touch on each of them in Q1. I haven't identified a list yet (and I may not)... There is some low hanging fruit:

• The shopping bag with the embroidered panels.
• The two additional towels that just need hemming.
• The sheep shirt.

Things I'd like to finish/do:

• The mosaic table in studio b.
• Upgrading my sewing machine and trying some more embroidery (maybe that class?)
• A new shirt pattern.
• A shirt pattern for Scott.
• The Shiny sweater
• A project for the study group: I would like to take a profile draft and implement the design in bronson lace; maybe snail trail? In 18/2 cotton OR Graceful.

And I'd like to continue to use some of the images I picked up on my trips this year. Not this one. But I thought the post needed a photo!

Blue bedside rug wrap-up

Turns out weft faced wool rug weaving is a new skill, or at least a skill that eludes me.  Let me begin by saying I love the feel of the rugs; they look more attractive on the floor than on my lap; and I'll love getting out of bed and stepping on them for many years to come. But they're not to my standards and I will own needing to work on technique for further rugs. 

First of two

What's right:

• Color choice is pleasing to me.
• Learning opportunities were great!
• The feel of the rugs is wonderful!

What's not right:

• I missed a warp thread on one of the selvedges so one side has larger loops than the other. 
• My selvedges need some practice.
• I tried a cardwoven selvedge on the 2nd rug and I like the outcome; but I used the same color as the warp (white) and it would have been better in the rug border color. Also, I missed the part in the book where it said to pull the card weaving to the absolute edge so my runs along the back, immediately adjacent to the edge, making that rug onesided.
• Determining how much weft to lay was difficult for me, so parts of the rug are bumpy (too much weft) and parts a bit sparse (you can see the background weft). 

• 

  They're actually different

  What to do with the warp selvedges? On one rug, I just darned the ends into an adjacent warp channel; on the other end, I had 2 picks of warp yarn at the end of the weaving, so I darned in the ends around that. It looks slightly better.
• On the other rug, I tried a half damascus edge, darning the ends in as well... I think I got the knotting wrong. For it's 2nd end, I watched a lovely youtube video on the process and got the half damacus knots correct and the edge looks much better.
• I found it difficult to get the feel of the darning correct so there are spots where it shows through and I suspect I could have cut my knots closer. I think steaming the rugs (still to be done) might help fluff the yarn and make it more attractive. 
• Some of the darning pulls in more than other so the end of the rug is not straight.

All in all, I enjoyed the process and would like to make more rugs. However, I think I need to acknowledge that I don't effectively learn techniques from books and a class would help a lot. I found this online class that looks interesting:

https://www.balfourand.co/rug-weaving-on-a-floor-loom

And have noted this other two places for online classes:

https://tanzersfiberworks.com/category/weaving_classes/

Tierra wool