A chenille shawl and some special yardage

Last month you saw this on the loom.  Gus is modeling her latest creation which you may remember was a handpainted chenille warp in a color gradation from dark to light.  She used a couple of yarns in the weft; aqua cotton and an aqua rayon.  Gus wanted to use both wefts at the same time, but finally had to resort to two shuttles thrown one after the other because the rayon didn't behave very well! 

Sue Habegger brought in her finished yardage for a jacket.  She ordered Navajo Churro yarn in charcoal to go with odds and ends of colored wool she had on hand for this fantastic piece of plaid yardage.  The material for the sleeves is not plaid but stripes because of the logistics of plaid matching.  She may even cut them on the bias which would be very interesting. 

Three of us decided it would make a wonderful lap blanket!  There is about five pounds of wool in this piece - what a stash buster project!  Can't wait to see the finished jacket, but that may take a bit longer according to Sue.  She wants to find some synthetic shearling (nice quality) for the lining.  If any of our readers knows good sources, please let us know.

Cane weaving and a tale about a scarf

Sue Robertson attended a cane weaving class at CNCH in Sutter Creek.  The instructor was Thomas Holtkamp who taught himself  by reading instructions from a library book.  Sue says the process wasn't hard  and that she wove most of the top in about 12 hours. She is just about done with the top of the bench seat and plans to add a more open woven piece on the rectangle below the seat.  A tip that Sue learned in class is that when you have a cane woven seat that is sagging badly, set the chair upside down and get a sopping wet towel.  Place the towel on the seat so that the cane can absorb the water for 30 minutes or so.  Then, let the seat dry.  Like magic, the seat will restore to a taut condition.

Marcy had a tale to tell about her beautiful tweedy scarf.  A women's group asked her to attend their meeting to give a presentation on handweaving.  Marcy brought in a table loom and many of the group tried their hand at the process and asked a good many pertinent questions.  Marcy invited those who were interested to visit her home to weave on the big floor loom.  Marcy put on a wool warp and had a weft boucle yarn of wool and probably mohair.  Two ladies showed up to weave and between the three of them, they wove this wonderfully soft scarf.  It is plain weave and the boucle yarn makes a lovely selvedge edge.  Marcy is much more pleased with this scarf than the one she brought to the April meeting.  She thinks that one of the differences is the soft beat she used when weaving her May scarf.

PLaying Catch Up

I really should write all of my blog posts right after the meeting so that I don't forget the details.  I like to spread posts out a bit so that they aren't gigantic and because everything at show and tell is wonderful I want to get the most mileage out of it that I can.   This is a catch up post from the April meeting; I'll start getting my thoughts and posts organized for the May meeting sooner this month I hope.

Jackie is most generous in giving her handwovens to family and friends.  She brought a wonderful alpaca/rayon scarf to the meeting and was looking to place it in a good home.  She wasn't fond of the color and some of the other details didn't please her.  When Ingrid joking said that it would look good with her coloring, the scarf found a new home immediately.  You can see from the photo that the scarf and Ingrid are a good match!

While we are on the scarf topic, during the meeting Carol was twisting the fringe on her scarf woven from a sock yarn called  Tofutsie.  It is a strange combination of superwash wool, soy silk, cotton and chitin (from shrimp shells I think).  This is a self striping yarn, used in warp and weft for an interesting all over design.

Gus was inspired by some towels in Handwoven Issue 154 (Mar/Apr 2011 see page 38).  They are a combination of twill and basketweave stripes.  The draft shown in the magazine is for four shafts but  Gus has eight shafts and decided to put together her own version for the project using PCW software.  Here is the draft and a photo of the towels, in which Gus used up some odds and ends of yarn for the stripes along with the lovely lavender main color which is also the weft yarn. 

And now we are all caught up with April - on to the May meeting in the next post.

Out of the Comfort Zone

One of the challenges our group set up for this year, was to weave something out of our comfort zone.  Marcy and Betsy both decided to weave with colors they normally don't use.

First up - Marcy's scarf was woven with blues and pinks in a variety of wools. 

Marcy was concerned that her scarf was a bit too scratchy to be worn next to the skin and the group decided that perhaps some of the yarns were rug wools or more suitable for outer garment weaving.  However, there were suggestions about using a fabric softner or a creme rinse for hair to soften the fibers. We all agreed that the scarf would be stunning over a winter coat and that the softness wouldn't matter at all in that case.

Betsy brought three new pieces - two long, slender shawls in teals and one in a brilliant orange (which was outside her comfort zone).  The orange shawl was fantastic with the teal  and purple yarns making a perfect contrast for the bright color.

Sue Habegger decided that there were potential garments in the two blue shawls, and did a trial draping using each shawl as half of a garment.

And, outside of my comfort zone is a warp faced piece of 600 ends and 8 inches wide, woven on Gilmore's "Big Wave" loom.  Read more about it here on my personal blog.

It's All About Chenille

There is chenille and then again there is chenille.  Sue Robertson was shopping through magazines for weaving project ideas and kept coming upon articles that showed you how to weave chenille yarns for another project. It almost seemed like a "sign" that she should undertake this task. She and her mother are both quilters - so there were abundant fabric scraps and Sue had this and that leftovers of acrylic yarns.  So the first step was to cut everything into strips and put on a widely spaced warp.  Sue said the threading for the warp wasn't a straight draw, but she didn't have her original draft, so we will have to guess what it was.  The weaving is straight forward and the results are in the photo below.  

This photo is a good one to enlarge to look at the details of the weft in this rather solid and weighty piece.

The next step is to cut lengthwise  between the warps with a rotary cutter and voila, you have chenille yarns.

The last step will be to weave this handwoven chenille into a rug.  Twice woven and twice the fun.

Because I was interested in finding articles about this process, I went through my stash of Handwoven, Weaver's and Praire Wool Companion magazines.  I'll bet the directions can be found in Spindle, Shuttle and Dyepot, but I didn't get those out to look.  Here is a little bibliography for those of you who may find yourself with stash that is too good to throw away, but not good enough to weave with. Turn it into chenille!

Beck, Ulrike. "A Pile Rug in Handwoven Chenille". Handwoven. Jan/Feb. 2008: pp 36-39.
Gaustad, Stephenie. "Do-It-Yourself Chenille". Handwoven. Sept./Oct. 1992: pp.62-64.
Piroch, Sigrid. "A Plushy Mat for a Cat". Handwoven. Sept./Oct. 1996: pp. 53-55.
Xenakis, David. "Yarn for the Weaving". Prairie Wool Companion. Issue 7: p21.

While we are on the subject of chenille, Gus Young showed us her masterpiece in progress.  She had two different weights of white rayon chenille yarn.  After winding warp chains alternating both yarns, she soaked them in soda ash and painted them with fiber reactive dyes.  The darkest threads are teal - then she just kept added more water to get a lighter and lighter color.  This is the backbone of a chenille shawl - weft will be teal rayon and cotton.  The loom is a Gilmore (of course)!

An interesting feature of this photo is the way Gus has tied bouts of her warp to the back beam using texolve heddles.  She loops texolve around a dowel tied to the back beam and then knots bouts of her chenille and forms a larks head  around that knot to secure it to the back beam. 

During the meeting we talked about fringes on a chenille piece.  Most people twist them first before washing.  We are always on the lookout for good ideas, so if you (reader) have any good tips, please add them to our comment section. 

It's April and we had lots to talk about!

So much went on in the April meeting, that it may take a while to put it all in blog posts.  We did a fair amount of discussion about selvedges - weighting them, floating, doubling ends, etc.  And, we talked about chenille - what to do about the fringe and how to protect it during wet finishing; using it in the warp - the weft, both warp and weft.  Then, there were cures for scratchy wool (is there a cure?), tofu and shellfish yarn?? and what to do when you absolutely don't like the scarf you have just finished. Weaving outside of your comfort zone is our theme for the year and several of us took plunges.  All will be told in good time.

Ingrid has been raiding her husband's t-shirt drawer and carefully replacing what she takes from a stash of new ones so that he won't notice the thefts.  She cuts the tubular shirts into one long strip, one inch wide for weaving in a log cabin type design.  Each t-shirt makes one large ball so there aren't many joins and the knit curls on itself making a nice tidy weft.  The warp is white and purple and the idea was to make a bathroom rug to replace one that is worn out.  (See her blog post here).  She miscalculated the length, and didn't get the first rug long enough; has resigned herself to having to go out and buy t shirts and start over with a new rug.  One of our discussions was about how to cut the shirts into one long continuous piece.  Her reference is Rag Rug Handbook by Janet Meany and Paula Pfaff - page 18 "tube method".  We were wondering if there is a source for tubular knit in yardage stores, so that t-shirts might not be needed.

Someone mentioned that t-shirts can be cut in rings and used like sock loopers.  Just knot them together to weave.  Some people didn't like the idea of the knot bumps, but it really sounded like an intriguing idea to me.

Jackie brought her copy of Favorite Rag Rug: 45 Inspiring Weave Designs by Tina Ignell.  Nice book and lots of great rag rug ideas.

Stay tuned for handwoven chenille for rugs in our next post.

Textures

Betsy Abrams wove this great rag rug using a rose path threading and treadling.  She doubled the cotton rug warp and sett it at 6 ends per inch.  Something really colorful for the kitchen.

There is quite a story to this shawl, woven from handspun yarns. Sue Robertson (pictured) thinks that the wool yarns were spun by Dee Jones. The shawl was originally started at a public event (maybe the fair) and left unfinished on the triangle loom. Someone in the guild wanted to borrow the loom, so Sue carefully removed it in its unfinished state and when the triangle loom was again available, replaced it on the loom. This is a feat in itself! She set about finishing up the shawl, but found that she was getting short of colors for the fringe. So she had to set up crock pots for dyeing and discharging (in the middle of the winter) and she managed to get enough wool that matched to finish the shawl. And, it is a beauty.

From 24 shafts to Plain Weave!

Ingrid is branching out and starting to design  drafts to use on her 24 shaft AVL loom.  She is a member of Complex Weavers and has joined the study group called "24 More or Less".  This group exchanges woven samples and drafts once a year.  The criteria is that draft and cloth must use at least 17 shafts; no limit to the maximum number of shafts.  Here is the sample that Ingrid wove for the exchange.  The warp and weft are 10/2 cotton and the warp has two colors - champagne and natural which gives the cloth an extra  visual depth.  The draft is an Ingrid original. 

In order to weave the exchange samples, Ingrid needed to weave off the warp that had been on the loom for an extended period of time (months, a year?)  There was enough warp for a table runner in snow white.  Won't this look great on someone's dining table!  I believe that this is a 16 shaft design.

Jackie is fond of using Alpaca in shawls and scarves.  In her stash she had an array of odd balls from previous projects so she  set out to combine them into scarves.  Using a 2/2 twill, she designed these two lovely pieces.  They were almost feather weight - but will be so very warm because of the Alpaca fiber.

Sue Habegger spent several years in Espanola, New Mexico, studying Chimayó-Style weaving.  She built  her own walking loom that was sturdy enough for the weft faced rugs and wall hangings she was learning to weave.  This type of weaving is somewhat more strenuous than Sue likes to do these days, but she managed to finish up this wonderful wall hanging with a design inspired by a textile seen on the internet. Black is not a color Sue usually uses, but it is quite effective in this piece. 

 

There are still several  more things to share in my next post about March's meeting.  As I write this, it snows.  Nevada county has certainly had its share of winter this year and we can hardly wait for spring!

Handwoven towels make the best gifts!

March found us tucked inside and warm with the rain pouring down outside.  We had lots of people from our group that braved the rain and it was nice to see everyone after having skipped our February meeting.

Several weavers had been busy weaving towels.  (There is simply nothing better than a handwoven towel.) Marcy had a commission to weave towels for a friend who likes having them on hand to give as gifts.  She has a favorite draft of point twill and basketweave, and this time she wove her towels in a neutral color 10/2 cotton and colorful stripes for the twill.  The sett is 24 epi. The draft is in Weaver's Craft issue #17.

Diana also brought a selection of towels that she will be giving away as gifts as she travels this summer.  Waffle weave, plaids, stripes.  I love the textures and colors.

Diana also brought a place mat that she wove from natural colored tow linen.  The design is somewhat hard to see in the photo.  She said that before washing, the mats were really stiff.  After washing they have softened up a bit.  Now, she is looking for more linen.  I have promised to check my stash to see what I have that is similar to the yarn she used.

Gus found a block twill draft for the towels she recently wove.  She had a stack with different weft colors. Don't you love how the colors reverse on each side.

Much more to come in the next posts.

This Year's Weaving Challenges

It's always fun to have some weaving challenges for the coming year.  Our group decided on two for this year.  Number one - weave something outside your comfort zone.  Number two - weave lap robes for seniors in need.  We have decided that 36" or 40" x 60" will work and we should have them done by late November for delivery during the holidays.

We don't have far to look in weaving something outside of our comfort zone.  In our group, everyone seems to have their individual talents and strong points - so we could just look to the weaving at show and tell to choose a new technique.  Here are photos of pillows woven by Jackie Hervey using the Theo Moorman technique.   It's a wonderful skill to have in your weaving bag of tricks and Jackie is very good at it.

Sue Habegger wants to use up some favorite yarns from her stash.  This is a sample using Navajo Churro wool yarns.  Unfortunately, her stash didn't contain enough yarn for yardage for a jacket, but through the marvel of the internet, she has found a supplier and will be able to buy more of a similar grist. 

The Luxury of Handwoven Wearable - Scarves and Shawls

The January meeting brought many of us out to share a bountiful supply of Handwoven magazines, donated by Barbara to the members of our group.  I think everyone went home with a few treasures.  But our members also had treasures for Show and Tell.  Above is Diana's braided twill scarf.  The draft for this scarf is #356 from A Weaver's Book of 8- Shaft Patterns.  If you are lucky enough to own a copy of this book, you will see the draft shows lifting 7 shafts on treadles one and two.  Diana wisely reversed her tie up and wove the weft faced fabric on the upper side.  The yarns used in the scarf were two rayons from Diana's stash and the sett is 20epi.

Betsy had a couple of shawls that she wove on a cotton warp.  The shawl shown above used Alpaca weft yarns for a lovely Southwestern look.  The shawl below used a variety of yarns from Betsy's stash, including a variegated yarn that makes an intriguing little pattern of its own.  Enlarge the photo to get a good look.

Dee broke out of her traditional color mode and wove a two block twill in dark wools.  The spark of color comes from the weft sock yarn in oranges and browns.  The warp is two colors - the first a very dark charcoal and the other dark green.  The difference in warp colors isn't obvious to the eye, but lends a depth to the shawl that probably wouldn't have been achieved with just one color. 

There will be more show and tell items in the next blog post.  Stay tuned with information about our group challenge for 2011 weaving.

December's Meeting Part II

Jackie has been devloping her skills in rug weaving and almost met her match with a design from Swedish Rag Rugs. The English version of the book is out of print - and what a shame, because it has some lovely  rugs and ideas in it.  Back to Jackie's rug.  She tried this tied weave draft which the book calls "tied triple weave".


For each block (there were three in Jackie's rug) you thread every other thread on the shaft assigned for that block and alternate them with the tie down warps on shafts 1-2-3.  Notice that Jackie wove a three color sequence in this part of the draft.  She used a skeleton tie up and a countermarche loom, but I used  the jack loom tie up here.  I really want to try this draft out with lighter yarns to see how it looks and works in a more flexible textile.

 Jackie's rug is wider than she expected - but it is a real beauty. Notice the difference between the solid color front face and the less defined pattern on the back.  I like both equally well.   Jackie said that it was a very slow weave and she only accomplished several inches a day. 

Not being able to waste a bit of warp, Jackie wove off it off with this short piece of rug and made a case for the load levelers on her travel trailer. Isn't that a spiffy idea.

Ingrid has been working on ideas for more towels with rosepath borders.  She worked out this design on her computer - but not with weaving software.  She uses Excel! 

We have a member (Sharon) who doesn't get to come to meetings very often because she lives in Nevada State - not Nevada County!  But Sharon weaves a lot and recently completed a baby blanket with lots of color and great design.  She bought the yarn and pattern as a kit, but the skill in weaving is all hers.  Click here to see pictures and read all about it.  If you keep on reading the blog, you will also come to baby all wrapped up in the splendor of a handwoven blanket. 

At the January meeting, we will have a big Handwoven magazine give away.  Barbara has parted with her collection and some of us are filling in the holes in our personal hoard.  What a wonderful group we have.

Winter meeting at Ingrid's

December found many of us without a project to show for our monthly meeting - maybe because the weather has been pretty awful, but mostly because it seemed like a good time to do other things than weave.   But, there were some nice pieces and lots of conversation to keep the ball rolling anyway.  Gus brought her latest shawl which is featured at Shawlsunlimited.  She recently purchased weaving software  from PCW Fiberworks and was pleased when what she designed on the computer closely resembled the finished woven piece. 

Gus had been given a yarn store gift certificate and found some luxurious Merino/bamboo yarn which she combined with a bamboo ribbon, making an ever so soft and warm shawl. 

Diana also used the same bamboo ribbon as one of the warp threads in her Christmas scarf.  She used a Swedish lace draft for texture, some very fine gold metallic thread and threads of red and green for the Christmas touch.

This scarf has a wonderful sparkle, mostly because of the Henry's Attic Sarafina yarn of rayon and cotton  which was used in the warp and weft.  The gold metallic yarn effect is very subtle.