Another Off the 4-Shaft Leclerc

I've had this scarf finished for a while now but kept forgetting to photograph it.



So here you go, the sister scarf to the "tails" scarf I presented awhile ago.



This one measures 78" x 5 3/4" and was woven entirely with the novelty yarn for the weft.

First Project Completed

In only one day I was able to warp, weave, and cut the first scarf off the new Ashford Sample-It loom.



I wet finished it and twisted the fringes the next day.



Although the yarn has the thick and thin look of handspun it's actually acrylic, and true to the nature of acrylic yarns it resisted blocking and wet setting of the weave structure.



So I intentionally "killed" the acrylic with steam, improving the drape of the yarn immensely.



The yarn is "Bernat Mosaic" sett at 5epi. It required less than one 100g ball for a scarf that measures 55" x 6.25" not including the fringe.

ASIL Is Ready For Warping

She's been sanded, stained with "English Chestnut", Varathaned, hand painted with free hand flowers, finished off with a couple more protective coats of Varathane and then assembled.



She's finally done and ready for weaving!



I even decorated the heddles to match.



All four sizes.

Staining a New Acquisition

A tiny new rigid heddle loom just arrived today.



It requires assembly, but that gives me the opportunity to customize it with wood stain and Varathane. The colour I chose is "English Chestnut" by Minwax.

I hope to not only use this tiny loom to make narrow items like scarves, but also to teach my six year old  granddaughter another form of weaving. She's already doing very well at Inkle band weaving.

Scarf of Many Tails

First scarf from the mixed warp is now complete.



I liked the look of the tails from the novelty yarn hanging out along the selvedge where I changed wefts.



So using larks head knots I added a few more along the centre of the scarf as well to make it a "design feature".



With the mixed warp the twisted fringe came out with an interesting, textured, thick and thin effect.



I'm very happy with the way it turned out!

The second scarf from the warp was done a little differently, with the weaving done only in the novelty yarn and with a very light beat to make it a loose, light, effect. I'm still twisting the fringe and doing the finishing on that one.

The Broken Circle

What a wonderful surprise! I just finished reading the first book of, "The Potluck Yarn Trilogy", "The Broken Circle: Yarns of the Knitting Witches". I knew the story revolved around my favourite hobby, knitting, and I expected to at least be amused and somewhat entertained by that aspect, but what I did not expect was to thoroughly enjoy the story itself. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!

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The author, Cheryl Potter, is already widely known in knitting communities as the founder of Cherry Tree Hill Yarn, and as the talented fibre artist that creates such lovely colourways and teaches hand painting of yarn. I've now discovered that she is also a great fiction writer!

In this first book Cheryl introduces us to the motley bunch that comprise the circle of Twelve. With magic outlawed The Knitting Witches have been in hiding and have not met around the dye pot in twenty years. Now an urgent call comes forth from the founder and dyemistress and her undeniable sign in the sky is compelling them to return for a simmer.

Definitely a worthwhile read!