Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The "Almost's" and the "Are's"

This purple hat has had a hard time deciding what it it going to be in life. A hat? Yes, definitely! A big enough for my head hat? Well, that required ripping out 2-4" of hat and casting on more stitches. A cool, zig-zag patterned hat to go with my new zig-zag scarf? Well, that required ripping out 1-2" of hat...and now I'm working in plain stockinette. A hat. Yes, I am knitting a hat!





Pretty yarn.

See pretty yarn. Think dark blue warp with light blue stripe. Wind warp. Dark blue yarn (both are singles) is not spun evenly enough to withstand simple tension of the warping board. Yarn pulls apart after three passes.

Pretty yarn.

See pretty yarn back in the yarn box awaiting either plying or a project that needs a pretty weft!








Finished project. After the pretty blue yarns failed the warping board test I pulled out an old yarn that was intended (how many Christmases ago?) to be spun and knit into a new hat and scarf for me. Hmm. The two ply on the cone said "~412 yds". Quick calculations: 60 ends at 10 ends per inch. A scarf needs about 2yds, add in one yard waste...3yds x 60 ends = 180 yds. That leaves more than half the yardage for weft. Should work!

And with that, I wound the warp, sleyed the reed, threaded the heddles, tied on and began to weave! This scarf is part of my handspun exploration series. This one is plain weave (and I like how it looks!). I spent my free time this morning sorting beads for the fringe, only to decide that I liked the plain and simple look better.

The fiber is a Cotswold, mohair, and ?silk? blend. I may try brushing it after it dries and see if I can get a halo effect on the scarf.

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