Andean Pebbles

Finally I tried warp-faced band weaving.
I went though first two lessons of Andean Pebble Weave e-book by Laverne Waddington as well as studied numerous tutorials on her Backstrap Weaving site.

Although I cannot call my first attempt a success, at least I understood how warp-faced weaving works.

Paper mug rug. First year with Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom 5/9

Another experiment.
I bought some paper twine and tried to weave with it.
It was very stiff and only spraying it with water helped to finish two small mug rugs. Although a lot of warp was wasted, the result was rather cheerful!

5 May 2012

Kitchen towels. First year with Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom 4/9

Next project - more additions: second heddle, thinner yarn, twill.
I used two 10 dent heddles (20 epi) and 16/2 unmercerised natural cotton plus 10/2 cotton for borders, all doubled.

Again it was more of a training than real product weaving.
I wanted to check what kind of twill my rigid heddle loom can produce.

The idea was to weave two small towels alternating 20 picks of plain weave and 20 picks of 1/3 twill.

I love the result, especially softness of the unmercerised cotton.

Finished April 2012

As usual I had some extra warp left, so I decided to weave till the very end with plain weave.

As at that period I was learning Huck embroidery on Monk cloth, and I noticed that doubled ends of the towels produced similar structure.

Huck Embroidery. March-April 2012

Why not check whether it is possible to embroider on my fresh-from-loom towel?

It worked!

Bathroom rug. First year with Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom 3/9

In between some serious weaving I made this simple 50x50 cm bathroom rug using rayon silk from an old crochet sleeveless top for warp and 16/8 cotton mop for weft.

Crochet edging was added to secure warp.

When brand new the rug looked so nice that we used it as table top for some time (it was hard to start walking on it right away).

If I decide to make another rug using the same mop, I may use more colourful warp.

Woven February 2013

Charlemont lace scarf. First year with Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom 2/9

Moving on with Rigid heddle loom.
It was time to try something more complicated than just plain weave.
After I received a parcel from WEBS with Charlemont yarns and downloaded Charlemont lace scarf draft from their site, I hurried up to warp the loom with Mulberry colour. Purple passion - for the weft.

The draft required usage of a pick-up stick for weft floats.

Pick-up stick can be seen in the shed (it is actually another shuttle).

The best feeling - you are doing something you could not do the day before, and it turns out OK; not perfect but definitely beautiful.

And we are ready for a winter stroll dressed in a very soft and cozy scarf.

Finished January 2012

Spinning wool...

As soon as my first spinning kit arrived I ventured into new realm.
First day I just studied the book and top whorl spindle and was gathering my courage.

Next day - spinning of the wool top.
My first result is 'perfect' novelty yarn - all bumps and uneven thickness.

'Novelty' single

My first 6g of wool plied

Skein wound

Skein washed

First attempt commemorated in a knitted sample:

PS. Yesterday I started to spin a new batch. This time all attention is given to even thickness. 

My Mom's tulips

Spring Ladybirds

I cross-stitched this table runner from Zweigart leaflet on Newport fabric in April 2013.

I dreaded to hand hemstitch the runner; thought it was too complicated and would take me ages. Turned out it was the best part of the project. From now on NO sewing machine, just hand work!

Finished April 2013

Wool plaid scarf. First year with Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom 1/9

I was dreaming about a loom since I saw Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom in WEBS waving catalog.
In December 2011 the dream finally came true. My first ever loom arrived.

I did not know yet how to use it but still I decided to give it a try not with some easy sample but with something that could really be used in case of a success.

This was supposed to become a scarf for my husband. I tried to duplicate the plaid of his old well-used one.
I warped the loom with some knitting wool yarn I found in a local store and my adventure began.
I carefully calculated the warp length for a 1.30 m scarf - 2.30 m. and put it into 12 epi reed.

And I started to weave. It was rather easy and fun.
I was weaving, and weaving, and weaving....
1.30 m later I realized that I still have some warp left. I did not want to wast it, so, I was weaving and weaving more until I could not weave anymore. After all it was just a practice scarf.
Finally, when I finished, I ended up with 1.75 m scarf (without fringe).
I was very happy and proud of myself, but somehow I forgot to take a picture of the finished piece.

Here is how it looks now. The yarn was not if very good quality, it was a tiny bit scratchy and after washing dark colors bled immensely changing white and yellow into something quite different. But it was a good practice and one year later I produced another scarf with the same pattern to replace this first attempt.

Finished December 2011

Cafe Grande Mug Rugs

I am advancing on my table loom mastering four shafts.
Time for more complicated staff.
My second project - Cafe Grande Mug rugs from Handwoven Issue 130.

I used all of my 3/2 cotton stash and some available Noho colours to weave multicoloured coasters.
My warp for eight rugs miraculously produced ten, but... I do not complain.
It took less than two weeks from start to finish - 11-23 April 2013.

April 2013