Better Late Than Never …

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I starting planning this project in July, I think. This is 6 harness Deflected Double Weave in the pattern Deflect Circles by Janet Phillips. I found it in the first issue of Weft Magazine (highly recommend!), and thought to myself that I should finally try this technique.

The warp and weft I chose for this project is 2/10 Merino/Tencel from WEBS. I had enough of this yarn from previous projects. (Unfortunately, this yarn is completely out of stock now, and my hopes are dimming of there being any more in the future. Shame. It is a fabulous yarn.)

Weaving went well. At this point what I expected would turn into circles (eventually) were merely lacy looking rectangles. I hemstitched at the start and at the end, leaving about 3 inches of fringe hanging loose (a mistake). Also, I had a few missteps at the beginning with the selvedge. Apparently, most everybody does, when they first try this weave structure. I left my mistakes as is and quickly changed tack, after referring to this video by Elisabeth Hill.

I have some back issues when weaving, and usually can only do about an hour per day, so it went at a leisurely pace :-). When I took the piece off the loom, I gave it a 5 minute wash by hand in a tub, moving it around vigorously, a technique I gleaned from yet another video. By observing how it was transforming right in my hands (!) I stopped when the “rectangles” became “ovals”.

After giving the scarf a spin in the washer, I hung it over a rack to dry. The result is luxuriously soft and squishy, and I am smitten.

What I learned:

  • The sett for this project was too close. I sett it at 20 epi, when I should have made it more open, probably at 16 epi. (next time) Hopefully that sett will yield a rounder, shorter circle.
  • Leave a longer fringe and twist it before fulling. I had to separate the strands one by one because they had started felting together. Not a good look.

Next up will be another Janet Phillips Deflected Doubleweave design, Cosmopolitan Cobblestones.

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What’s Up

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The summer has been a series of random projects, doing what amuses me, instead of trying too hard to feed the Etsy shop. Below, you will find my Mosaic Knitting Sampler. It seems that mosaic knitting is where it’s at, for the present at least. These designs are taken from Barbara G. Walker’s book Mosaic Knitting. I used two colors of Berrocco Ultra Alpaca, and just kept knitting until the piece got really out of hand. After I washed and dried it, I had to lay it out on the floor to photograph, and only then could I shoot it in sections. Don’t have a clue what I will do with it. It is much too long for a scarf. Ideas?

On the sewing front, I made this jeans jacket style jacket from some cotton/linen fabric I picked up about 3 years ago. I took the picture before I had buttons to put on it. Now, I do, and it’s all done. Many mistakes were made, but it still looks fine!

As for weaving, I wove two chenille scarfs using my new colorway Sand Dunes.

As is my habit, I supplemented the space dyed yarn with solid colors: light blue, azure blue, and camel. Look for these in my Etsy shop soon!

I am putting a new warp on the Ashford loom now, a 6 harness Deflected Double Weave design I found in the first issue of Weft Magazine by Janet Phillips. This is strictly a learning experience, my first time around with this technique. No pictures yet. Hoping for the best!

What’s on the Loom?

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This is a scarf for which I tied a new warp on to the previous warp on my Ashford Table Loom, a 16 harness point twill threading. I am using up balls of hand dyed 8/2 rayon, and the effect I am getting is nicely iridescent. I am using the same design as in the scarf below.

(This design is not shareable, as it was given to me by another weaver.)

It’s been rather slow going, as I am having a bit of trouble getting the height of my weaving bench just right. My back doesn’t like weaving sessions to go on too long. The challenge is getting the beat just right so the circles are as round as possible, not the easiest thing to do!

Diversified Plain Weave Circles Scarf Pattern

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New pattern now available on Etsy! Here is a fun new scarf pattern in Diversified Plain Weave, now available in my Etsy shop. The pattern is my ubiquitous circles woven on 8 harnesses in 8/2 rayon and 1450 ypp rayon chenille.

I have published two projects in Handwoven magazine many years ago, in Diversified Plain Weave, and this is a new version of that technique.

Please visit my shop to check it out!

Just Off the Loom

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Just off the Ashford loom, I have two 16 harness point twill scarves woven on a variegated 8/2 tencel warp from WEBS. They are different takes on circles and examples of the amazing versatility of that weaving draft.

The first one, above, is from Ingrid Boesel’s Thrilling Twills collection, from the 16sF Fancy Twills folder. I used some hand dyed 8/2 Tencel in Baby Blue for weft. The warp is sett 24 epi, and is 10″ wide.

The second one, above, is a draft that was sent to me by a very nice reader of my blog about 5 years ago. For this one I used some hand dyed 8/2 tencel in Shitake Mushroom for weft.

Look for both in my Etsy shop soon! Cheers!

New in my Etsy Shop: Custom Handpainted Yarns

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From now on, I will be doing handpainted yarns to order in my Etsy shop. Instead of painting yarns and waiting for the public to notice them, I will be offering a selection of handpainted colorways which will always be available to order! I will also be offering each colorway in a selection of fiber types.

Currently, I have 8/2 Tencel, 8/2 Rayon, 12/2 Rayon, and 1450 ypp Rayon Chenille in stock and ready to paint. So, please visit my shop and have a look. Is there a colorway you are missing? Let me know!

Thanks!