Back at the Loom

After a long hiatus my Creative Muse has finally led me back to the loom.

My weaving room was a mess so I had been avoiding going in there even though a deadline for a guild year end challenge to "use a photo as inspiration for a project" was getting closer. I could have spent hours looking for just the right traditionally "pretty" photo for the challenge, but in an effort to tidy my weaving space I came across this calendar picture given to me by my youngest granddaughter for my last birthday. Spontaneously I thought, "Sure, why not?", and selected it as my inspiration photo for the guild challenge.

That was yesterday. That evening I chose yarns from my stash using colours from the photo to guide my selection and then wound a warp. Today I got the warp sleyed and threaded and then beamed and tensioned on the loom.

This afternoon I wove the entire length for a mobius scarf. Even I was surprised at how fast that went!

I'm not yet finished the weaving. There is still the "catch and turn" to do. That's an interesting little maneuver where the  beginning of the warp is freed, the warp is caught under the apron rod and  retensioned, and then all those beginning warp ends are woven into the end as weft. Tricky, but turns out great. I'll be doing that tomorrow.

Once the project is cut from the loom it still must be "wet set" (washed and pressed), and all the little end tails trimmed, inclusions tacked down, and fringe twisted. I'll be back in a few days to show you the finished scarf. Although the soft greys, beiges, cream and soft gold look lovely together they are not "my" colours at all so it will eventually be for sale. 

Stash Diving

I dug through my yarn stash this afternoon with the crayons for the guild challenge in hand. Coming up with a basket of suitable yarns wasn't as tough as I expected and I'm kind of looking forward to getting started.

Initially I thought I'd have to go predominantly with the goldenrod, but after checking my bin of greens I found I had quite a lot of the exact "spring green" I needed. Once I added in a chocolate brown I was able to ditch much of the goldenrod which I didn't really care for. I still have a touch of it though -- challenge rules require it. 

Listening to the comments here and on Ravelry I'm going to add in an orange-red for zing.

Souvenir of a Different Sort

For many years now I haven’t been able to be away from home for long due to other commitments, but a recent change in that situation meant I was able to spend a 4 day weekend away. Not much of a “vacation”, but even a 9 hour car drive north to see relatives (some I hadn't even met yet!) is a break from the norm for me and well appreciated.

Once at our destination my sister-in-law was kind enough to drive me around to see how much our old home town has changed (28 years since we moved). There were locations that have changed so much that I didn’t even realize right away where we were!

I had no intention of shopping on this trip but my sister-in-law took me to visit a tiny little yarn shop hidden away in behind another business on the top floor of what was an old, old building even when I lived there. Not being one to accumulate knickknacks and other useless souvenirs I jumped on the chance to spend a little “holiday money” on a souvenir of a sort I know I will truly enjoy. ;-)

Inspired by another weaver’s project that used clasped weft with Zauberball on one side and a plain, solid colour on the other, I’ve always wanted to give the idea a go. I’ve just never been able to justify paying so much for a single ball of yarn! With my little splurge, now's my chance!

Stash Busting

As if I didn't have enough projects on the go! I'm next in line to use the guild loom for a Stash Busting Rug (aka "Twice Woven Rug"). I'm not a big stash hoarder so it's difficult for me to gather enough yarn up to do any sort of colour scheme.

This represents about half of my total stash. For the most part it's bits and pieces of leftovers from old projects, although there is a fair bit of handspun in there (wool that is too scratchy or in too short of supply to do much with). I think I'll go with a "lights, dull/darks, brights" division of the yarn. Hopefully it won't come off as too hideous in the final rug. With this type of rug it is really hard to guess what the end result will be.

Curious? Take a peek at my last one. ---> 1 2 3 4 5

The remainder of my stash is a bit of laceweight, enough handspun in large enough amounts for a few warm vests, and a basket of complete balls of sock yarn.