Sampler City

My sampler is growing! And my experience is too!

Today I was using a tan chenille as my thread of interest. The bottom of the picture has it alternating with a gold boucle type of yarn (one shot chenille, two shots gold). The upper sections have it alternating with a fine red thread.

The interplay of the different yarns is mind-boggling! I like the gold/chenille part. I wasn't sure I would. I also like the pattern that developed with the use of the fine thread and the chenille.

Go Samplers!

Variations in weft

This is the same warp as my last few posts. I've been playing with weft threads and treddling changes. These two have the same treddling (but different from earlier posts) and different wefts. The grey, the same yarn as the warp, looks airy, almost like curtains. The blue and orange (two separate yarns) create a solid fabric with a bit of bumpy texture.

Weaving is awesome!

The Learning Process

I had a friend over and we warped my 4-shaft jack loom with a twill pattern. The pattern is a neat looking structure, but it was not exactly what I thought I'd see. It turns out I had reversed the tie-up and thus changed the pattern! Oops!






A little later, with the tie-up corrected I discovered this wiggle.

I'm not sure where it came from, and I'm not sure where it went, but it eventually evened itself out! It may have been that the plastic bag strips I used for spacers were uneven. Had the wiggle continued I would have gotten a chance to try modifying the tension on just a few warp threads.... I'm glad it went away! :)

Finished Handspun Object

This shawl came off the needles this week. It's small--just big enough to tie over my shoulders--but it felt wonderful with the cool weather we've been having.

The yarn is handspun from a roving I purchased from Julie at the Spinner's Flock up in Michigan. I miss my spinner's guild. As a group they are an incredible body of knowledge!

But, blogs help! Check out this article at Knitty.com for a cool twist on knitting socks-- www.knitty.com /ISSUEfall06 /FEATextreme2in1.html

A full bobbin

I got caught with a bad case of "Fiber Fever" a few years ago. It started with a baby sweater, progressed to spinning my own yarn, and has spread to the extent that my parents now have a small flock of sheep which provide much of my wool.

Fiber Fever is one of those "cool" illnesses. People stop by and chat (or stare) if I spin out of doors. They want to know how it works and if the spin stays in the wool. It looks deceptively easy to do--the foot just goes up and down on the pedal, the fingers just seem to effortlessly pull the wool apart for the spin to catch it. You should have seen my first yarn! Thick as my fingers, then thin, then thick again! I still have it. Believe me it's not pretty! But the spinning has become as effortless as it appears. I spun the bobbin of blue Romney in two evenings. It should be plenty for a pair of socks for a friend!