Weaving Class

Weaving has been encroaching on my knitting recently. I'm attending a 4 Harness Weaving Class at The Craft Center at UCSD. Week One was how to warp our rental looms. Week Two was weaving (in my case TRYING to weave) 14 different Twill patterns with varying success.



It's amazing how easily I got confused about what pattern row I was on! Even when there were only four rows to the design!!

Week Three we finished our sampler and warped again. This time I'm doing a hounds tooth two-color pattern. Turns out for me the hardest part is counting (who would have thought). Anyway, after several mistakes, pulling warp out, string everywhere and re-doing I got the loom warped and the pattern started. If I sound surprised that's because I can't believe I got it to work.



I'm enjoying the 'learning something new' part of this class but I don't think weaving will ever replace knitting as my craft of choice; my need to do it so I don't go crazy and take everyone along with me. There really is something in my brain that is soothed with knitting; if I have to wait in line or on the phone I can remain calm if I have my knitting otherwise by the time I get to the head of the line I'm really not fit to be talking to anyone let alone trying to solve a problem.

Speaking of Knitting, only two finished objects this past week. The first is a Pinwheel pillow, a sample for the Shop. It's a pattern from the current issue of Knitscene Magazine out of Marble Chunky. (BTW this is a great 100% acrylic chunky yarn. It really sells well, everyone seems to like it as much as I did.)



And Saartje's Baby Booties made for my niece who's expecting a girl this May.


Oh - I should tell you it's been raining off and on this week and should continue through Monday and Tuesday - YEAH! It's been fun seeing the reaction to our mini-summer in winter from Bloggers talking about TNNA. (Great pictures from Anne on Knitspot. Mid-January entries)

The Photographer passed along a couple of photos of Sam and Annie from Christmas:

Sam trying out all the extra chairs around the table


Annie with her stuffed chick present. She always knows there's a present for her; we have to hide it because she can smell which one is hers out of all the other wrapped presents.

continued warm, sunny and VERY dry

I haven't been doing much to blog about. It's been warm for weeks (very little winter here, which means a third year of drought) although nice outdoor spinning weather.

Do you see that huge bag of fleece? That's 6.5 pounds of Corriedale that I've been working on for the last few weeks. Bought it at Black Sheep Gathering 2007. Seems to have marinated nicely in the fiber stash. I'm spinning modified long draw; this method fills a bobbin faster than me doing short draw.

I've nearly filled all my bobbins, time to start plying. Since I have no idea what I'm going to make with the yarn I've made a few samples to see what it wants to be. I'm lazy; it's too hard to spin to specification. I spin the yarn then find a pattern that calls for that weight of yarn.

Here's a two ply knit on size 7 needles on the left and 3 ply knit on size 9 needles on the right.

Singles


2-ply


3-ply


So now I'm ready for a worsted or chunky weight pattern. Time to go and check out my Ravelry Queue and see what might work with this yarn. I'm open to suggestions.

I've also been working on my Barn Raising Squares. I'm still enjoying watching each square's design emerge as I knit. It's a slow version of that Spin Art they use to have at the Fair. Remember you squirted paint on a spinning paper.


Last Saturday I started taking a 4-Harness Weaving class at UCSD's Craft Center. Mostly we're still getting all the looms warped.

So many people in the class it's slow going waiting for help but I'm liking it so far. Who knew that weaving would be so popular right now?

Here's a picture of my friends at Two Sisters and Ewe where I work.

left to right, Karen, Jessica (who also works there), Marie and Carol; they all make Open Knitting on Wednesday afternoons so much fun. All week I look forward to our time together. There are others that drop in but these Ladies are our hard-core knitters! It took the whole group to help me figure out where I was on my Curlicue Afghan. Turns out there was no mistake I'd just gotten lost. Thanks Ladies! In the future I'm going to have to write down exactly where I am each time I put that project down. It's either that or I'll have to keep pulling into the Yarn Shop to ask for directions.

Weaving & Fiber Festival

Sunday last The Photographer and I drove up to Torrance (just North of LAX) to attend The Southern California Handweavers' Guild "Weaving & Fiber Festival"
It's been two years since I attended and they've grown. I much prefer this show to the FiberFest held in Santa Monica in August. The Weaving and Fiber Festival in Torrance is aimed directly at the Weaver, Spinner and Knitter while FiberFest in Santa Monica has a very loose definition of "fiber."

Newton's was there

I didn't buy anything but was really tempted by their cashmere blends at really good prices.
The green cashmere I bought from them several years ago at Stitches West, that's still in my stash, held me in check but it was a close call. They had a gorgeous Navy I really wanted.

I did buy this (top of the picture Teal and Orange) incredibly soft Silk and Merino Roving.

from Red Fish Dyeworks.

More of the fiber at the Red Fish Dyeworks Booth


A weaving demo on a nice folding Japanese loom.


I wish there had been more weaving demos but the show has expanded to fill all the rooms now, I'm not complaining about that - more Vendors is a Good Thing! Just as a beginner weaver I can't get enough of watching people weave.

There was lots of handdyed yarn. Here's Chameleon Dye Works Booth


and a local dyer, Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio.

I bought two skeins of sock yarn for a pair of socks.

We had a great time. I enjoyed the show while The Photographer did his usual thing. And we stopped at one of our favorites restaurants on the way home. Fritto Misto in Santa Monica.

Here's a look at my current scarf project


I bought the yarn and pattern at the Taos Wool Festival.
The yarn is from Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Company. It's a hand dyed sport weight single. Actually more blue than it looks in the photo. And the pattern is "Grayce's Scarf" from The Pearly Queen. (No link for either but I do have email addresses if anyone wants them.)

That's all I have, too much work this week not enough knitting time. So, what else is new!

OH YEAH! I am so glad the election is over! Can you believe it went on for 22 months? There has to be a better way!

Weaving First Steps

I've joined the San Diego Creative Weaver's Guild last week just so I can rent a Rigid Heddle Loom - the Ashford Knitter's Loom. While paging through an old Spin-off Magazine (Winter 2002) I came across a scarf that I HAD to make. I've no idea how this scarf possessed me; it's nothing super special but after being haunted by it all weekend I surrendered. We had several weaving demonstrations in my Spinning Class that never mad me want to ever try Weaving so this insistent urge was a real surprise to me.

Monday I contacted my Spinning Teacher, Margaret Tyler, for some guidance in beginning weaving books and boy, she ran with just the hint I was interested in weaving. Seventeen days letter I'd joined the Weavers' Guild, arranged to rent the Knitter's Loom and Margaret invited me to her house to teach me how to warp the loom and the rudiments of weaving. Two hours later I walked out with a project that was very similar to the scarf in the magazine. (True it was woven on a 4 harness loom but as close as you can get with a Rigid Heddle.)





This is the scarf. Gray is Cascade 220 Heather color 9491. The Black is a 1/2 inch nylon ribbon yarn with no tag I bought in the $3 basket at 2 Sisters and Ewe, where I work. It's rough and very homespun but I'm so proud of it. Between work and errands I finished Sunday morning and had the loom warped again (with help from daughter #2) by dinner time.


A close-up of my weaving and a true image of the colors .

The second scarf that's now on the loom uses homespun (Merino, Alpaca & silk) that was overspun so I thought it would make a good strong warp yarn. And the weft is (75% acrylic/ 25% wool) Plymouth Encore ColorSpun #7172. I'm such an ignorant weaver that I have no idea how this fiber combination will work together but I think the combination is really cool. The bright oranges of the warp seems to change the marled look of the brownish/oranges of the Encore.



When I wash what will happen? Haven't a clue but it's fun to see how the colors combine - this combination really surprised me.

Fair Warning: if this post looks different or the pictures don't post of whatever, I'm trying out making an entry by email rather than on Blogger directly.
Fingers Crossed when I hit send!
And the answer, YES, I will be getting a loom of my own!!

Edited to add: email posting was 50/50. Words came through find - no pictures just HTML. Had to go back and post them same as usual on Blogger.