The Monster Project

So I decided I needed a super soft blanket for myself like I made for my sweet girl. I know many people with smaller looms make double length blankets and then cut in 1/2 and sew the 2 panels together to make the correct width. The only problem with this is....for an adult sized blanket...that is a horrendously long warp. 

Rigid heddle looms are fantastic, but not really if yardage is what you're after. Tension is a nightmare and you're limited by the front beam with any large projects. So I decided I would try to spend as little money as possible, find sale yarn just in case this whole notion goes to pot. 

I found some bulk skiens of a soild black acrylic on sale at Micheals. I bought 2 of the 1 lb skeins. I knew if I ever had hopes of actually finishing this project I wanted to use a chunky yarn for the weft to keep it moving along. I found a pretty, oh so soft, twisty, chunky, I don't know how else to decribe it chenille that was on sale 2 for $6. Excellent. 

So I got home and did my math. Yes I realize that was poor planning on my part, math should be done prior to shopping, but well...eh I have no real excuse. From my measurements, including waste I was going to need a 214in warp. Holy crap. That's nearly 6 yards. As panic of how big this actually was going to be sank in, I figured....I might as well give this a go. Who knows, if it turns out halfway decent maybe it will inspire others....and plus I had an evening with the kids out to eat with Nana and Pops so if there was ever a time to sprawl out 6 yards of yard x 240 ends I guess this was it. 

So I fashioned up a poor girls warping board (aka my dining room table with my 6 chairs turned up side down on top) and got to work. 

It moved pretty quickly since I was just using a solid color warp. 

The came the fun...or something. Winding this beast on...I had my husbands help, but really needed like 2 more people, really. We kept tension the best we could and got it all on...first big step...completed. 

 This is the massive back beam once I was finished. 

Despite some tension issues on the right hand side (being remmidied with extra cardboard strips when needed) weaving has been going really smoothly. Tonight I think I am close to the halfway mark (I need to make a note to mark the middle next time...well if there is a next time). I am excited to see how this project progresses. Here are a few pics so far.
 

This picture was from a couple of days ago of the front beam...so obviously I wasn't half way here.

 

Stay tuned!

Houndstooth Pattern Scarf

Creating patterns on a rigid heddle loom is often a challenge as you have to modify or add to your loom to be able to accomplish things that are written for a 4 shaft loom. I am hoping that one day in the near future I will be able to buy a floor loom to use in addition to a rigid heddle, but for now I wanted to try an easy starter pattern that didn't require much thought on the loom that I currently own. Enter the beautiful houndstooth! This pattern is also often called a pinwheel pattern and is easily accomplished on a rigid heddle loom with no special sorcery.

I direct warped using my warping peg. The idea is 2 colors x2 stands (one in the slot, one in the hole) across the width of you weave. Then you weave in the same pattern, 2 picks of one color, then 2 picks of the other. That's it! I was amazed that such a complex looking pattern is so easy to accomplish. after the first few picks, I was so giddy when the pattern started to appear. I swayed a bit from the traditional 2 solid colors because, well I had left over yarn from my towels. So I used a solid black with a variegated yarn. I was thrilled with the result, a scarf for me!

 

All washed up and ready to wear!

A blanket for a sweet little one

I wanted to tackle a project using the full width of my loom. I knew even tension would be an issue, I knew even beat would be an issue, and I was ready to take them on.

I wondered into Hobby Lobby with all 3 kids in tow. Lets just stop right there. I am a momma to 3 kiddos ages 5, 3 and at that time 7 months (9 months now). Take it from me when I say getting through a store like Hobby Lobby with a plethora of visually stimulating treasures at every turn is not just a challenge, but nearly an Olympic event. Now, my kids love going shopping with me. They love to look and have input on the things I buy. So why should I have been surprised that a trip down the yarn isle would have been any different. My 5 year old was walking, 3 year old in the cart seat (he's a runner), and the baby in a wrap. It was so sweet to see their little eyes light up and want to point out their favorite colors, textures and patterns. Every step was "ooh look at this green one!" "This one has sparkles!" "Oh this one is my new favorite!".

Finally we came to the Hobby Lobby house brand "I Love This...". I had used some of their wool blend for diaper covers in the past so I figured I would look at their cotton/acrylic blends. They had a large section of variegated skiens and the big kids both had their picks narrowed down. They knew I was picking yarn for a baby blanket and both just knew baby would like theirs best. After my cotton towels (I used a variegated yarn for those as well) I was excited to see how the random colors would play out of a larger scale. So with zero tears (I know right?!?!) the colors were decided and I picked up I believe 5 skiens which ran me around $15 with a coupon.

I warped the entire 32 inches across my Ashford Rigid Heddle loom using a direct warp method to 2 dinning room chairs. I weaved the entirety in a plain weave using the same yarn for both warp and weft. The finished dimensions after wash are 31x34 in.

My sweet littlest loves her blanket and I was so happy to check this learning experience off of my list!

 

 

I even broke out the big camera and got some shots of my little model :)

Cotton hand towels

I talked with a local weaver/spinner about if there was any yarn I could easily find locally to make up some hand towels. She suggested using Sugar and Creme or Peaches and Creme brand that you can pick up at any local craft store.

While breezing through Wal-Mart the next day I wandered over through the yarn section and low and behold there was Peaches and Creme in several solid colors and even more to my surprise huge cones of pretty variegated yarn! Now Peaches/Sugar and Creme is 100% un-mercinized cotton so it is good for any project where absorbency is needed. I picked up a few skiens of solid black and 2 cones of a pretty variegated with shades of white, green and blue. 

I warped up enough length for 4 hand towels measuring 10x18 in each. I used my 7.5 epi heddle which is commonly recommended for this yarn. 

These were such an easy project. The yarn was so easy to work with and the way the colors laid out was just amazing. 

One off of the loom I serged the raw ends and then washed. 

After that I cut them in 4 equal sections, serged, then hemmed. 

It's a .........

After my frustration in my last project I was anxious to weave up something...anything. I used some tan solid colored acrylic for a warp and a blue variegated hand spun wool for weft.

Ok so here's my confession....I think I have been doomed to hate wool. When my middle child was in diapers I used wool diaper covers and loved them. However, any time I would wash, or mess with them beyond just sliding them on his butt...I would sneeze. And my eyes would water....and itch. I was in denial because I loved them all so much. Heck, I had even learned to knit with the sole purpose of knitting longies for him. Finally, when my youngest was born...I had to realize the fact that I just couldn't handle it.

I say all of that to say...why did I touch this wool yarn!? It was beautiful....and a gift and I wanted to make use of it. So on I wove....watering eyes a blazing.

I have no idea what I wove. Too wide and short to be a scarf. It is pretty. One of these days I'll Zyrtec up and sew it into something pretty...and then sell it so it can leave my house.

Pretty yarn...

My next project was an experience in failure....well not really failure, but learning what not to do. I had hand dyed some wool yarn a couple of years back and had never put it to use for anything. I figured I would use it as warp with some plain 8/2 weaving cotton yarn as weft. Yeah...I should have reversed that notion. About 8 inches into the project I had broken 5 warp threads and was tired of dealing with a super sticky shed. So...off the loom it came. I serged around the edges of my tiny sample and braided up the remaining warp to use another day. I'll break it out to use as weft at some point....or I'll just stare at it the bucket....either way....

 

All for me :)

This past Christmas my husband bought me my first loom to call my own. It is a 32 inch Ashford Rigid Heddle loom. I wanted something to basic to start with, but large enough to accommodate some bigger projects. It assembled easily and I had a warp on that night :) I threw together some bits and piece leftover from some knitting projects and made a cute little table runner. It was a bit rough feeling tension and getting to know my new equipment, but I learned and it kept getting easier and easier.