In Memory

I always called her Grandma. I still remember her old phone number and the way to her house in Anaheim. I remember her stories. Sometimes she would tell me one I had already heard, stop and say, "But I've told you that one before." But she often added a tiny bit that wasn't in the original telling.

I am wearing the "last of the sweaters" that she knit for me. It's an acrylic/wool/camel yarn. The sleeves and back were knit on her knitting machine. The cabled fronts were done by hand. The sleeves can unbutton to turn the sweater into a vest. This sweater is...well, not new. I've tried to retire it many times now. It's slightly felted. It has a stain on the front. It still finds its way to the top of my sweater drawer.

Of all the things my Grandmother taught me, I think I'll always remember that she loved me.

Searching

Searching for the right weft!

This warp is based on Dianah Rose's "Sturdy Rag Totes" (a variation of warp rep) from Handwoven, Sept./Oct. 2007.

The plan was to use fabric strips as weft, but the patterns on the fabric made it hard to see the differences between the green and yellow sections of warp. So, I began the process of finding the right weft.

Three attempts are visible in the photo--at the top, pin drafted roving. This turned out to be a successful weft. The red is a strip of sweatshirt fleece. The white at the bottom is a boucle type yarn.

I like the feel of the boucle type weft--the piece is soft and flexible--but I can't see the yellow/green transitions unless I squint really hard, and that just won't work for this!

Ahh, the lessons we learn by doing something new! :)

Three Scarves

Thanksgiving brought four of my nieces and their parents to our home. I thought it would be fun to let each of the girls design their own scarf.

The preparation: wind a 10 yd. warp of white acrylic. Sett= 12 epi. Threading: straight twill on four harnesses.

Scarf #1. The four year old (almost five) chose three colors for her scarf. Pink, purple, and brown. I said ok. After all, she is five (almost!) and has her own ideas of fashion and color...and you never know what you might learn from a five year old's color choices! Most of the scarf was woven in blocks of single colors, but there were two or three places where I combined the brown with the other colors for an interesting effect. --I had the treadles tied up for a 2/2 twill and tabby.

Scarf #2. The thirteen year old chose a cream colored novelty yarn (thick and bumpy) and a fine tan. I used one of the twill treadles for the cream, followed by a tabby shot of the tan. It worked very well and the overall effect showed more cream than the picture does.

Scarf #3. The eight year old wanted blue, but I was short on blue and asked if we could supplement it with white. Approval was granted, and I ended up weaving a straight 2/2 twill with 3 shots of white and 1 shot of blue.

Scarf #4. Scarf #4 didn't get woven over the holiday. I didn't start soon enough and didn't have enough time. However, I had previously woven a child's scarf out of handspun and it had a matching tam. (Hat & Scarf) It's just been sitting in my finished pile. So, out came the scarf and tam, and the two year old was as happy as a clam!

And so was I!