Two new shawls & stash sale yarn update

I finally got the shawls recently woven finished up - they needed to be washed and have the fringes twisted. These are woven in an undulating twill pattern in rayon, rayon slub, bamboo, rayon cotton novelty and rayon seed novelty yarn. These make me think beach wedding or beach/cruise vacation.

There are shades of taupe, peach, off white and pale mint green in the warp.  In this one I used a white novelty rayon for the weft. This shawl is so light and lovely, almost fly away......

.....this one I used a heavier weft in a peach rayon seed yarn - it's a heavier shawl but still perfect for cool summer nights.  Both are available in my etsy shop in the Shawls - Handwoven section of the shop.

There's an update to the Stuff for Sale section of this blog - more destashing of yarns. Details can be found in the Stash Sale Section of my other Etsy Shop.

New shawl warp on the loom

Finally a new warp on the loom for summer shawls. It's an undulating twill in cotton, rayon and bamboo. Next one up will probably have a peach weft. But I won't get to it for a bit, still trying to get photos taken of stash yarn to sell and also need to do our taxes now that I have all personal and business pulled together........will be glad to get that done, I do not like tax season, too much administrivia for my blood.........

Stash Sale - Yarn

New updates in my fiber etsy shop with a yarn stash sale - they can be found in the stash sale section of my shop. See the details there or on the other stuff for sale page of this blog.

Incredible bamboo

Yesterday after coming home from my spinning group I got around finishing weighing, bagging, labeling a big fiber order - it's been sitting for weeks waiting for me to get around to it. It's not one of my favorite jobs so I chose to ignore it but the roving won't sell if it's not listed in my shop. Out of this order there are 5 colors of bamboo roving/top (in addition to the natural and black) - it is incredible. It's a special offering by Ashland Bay which means it won't be around forever - I'm not quite sure why I hadn't already ordered it. I've set aside some for myself to blend in with other fibers on my blending board or on the drum carder. The colors are so intense and beautiful.

Today, after I put away all the roving weighed out yesterday that is covering the floor of the studio, is my day to be at home to weave. So far this morning I've spent time packing up orders and relisting roving in my shop. As soon as Bailey and I go for our walk I'll be heading to the loom - whoo hoo.

Finally time to weave...........

 Finally I got back to that bamboo warp yesterday - here is scarf #2 on the warp using a purple weft.....

 ......and here's scarf #3 using a black weft......Unfortunately none of my photos of this scarf were good - it's much prettier than it looks here.

I picked up these 2 skeins of sock yarn at The Wool Co in Bandon on Saturday. Whoo hoo - look at those bright colors, the socks will brighten up any dreary winter day. I'm almost tempted to start both pair so I can see how they'll look but since I've got another pair of socks on needles and a hat I'll restrain myself. Hmm, wonder if they'll glow in the dark..........

Bamboo

I did get one hand-painted (dyed) bamboo scarf woven today in-between everything else I needed to do. I think this run of scarves will look great worn with blue jeans, not to mention blue, purple or black slacks or dresses. I used a navy bamboo weft on this scarf, next one I'll use purple, maybe black on the final scarf.

Huh???

Yep, that's what I said "huh???" as I was trying out wefts for a painted warp. Draft chosen was the simple 4 harness Wall of Troy (which I love) but as I was auditioning wefts I could see a problem in the treadling - can you see it in the black and purple weft areas?  I double checked, triple checked my tie-up - it was correct, treadling was correct, threading was correct although I knew it wasn't a threading error........it all matched up to the book (Davison's). So, out comes my own weaving records to look at what I had written down for some other scarves I had woven in this draft - the tie-up is different on my records. Obviously I discovered the error in the book back then but neglected to make a note in the book.....notation now made......tie-up corrected and the navy blue sample is what the weave structure should look like.

No weaving happened today other than getting the warp on the loom, wefts auditioned and error fixed - it was time to spend time with Mom. Hoping to get to the loom tomorrow although there are a couple other things on the schedule.

Finally......

finally I've twisted the fringe on these 3 bamboo scarves, they've been sitting around here for quite a while waiting to be finished up. Phew, tags on, ready to photograph (who knows when) and sell......

Weaving away........

I've been itching to get back to the loom, way too much time away from it for someone who loves to sit in front of the loom for hours every day......putting the dyepots away has freed up my time again. Above is a faux ikat bamboo scarf warp. This first scarf I'm using purple bamboo for the weft, next one might be black, third one I'll audition different colors before deciding.

Yesterday I put on a warp of green/blue/purple handspun wool for 2 scarves, wove them off and washed them last night. Oh my gosh, they are horrible, I've never had such a failure, even in my beginning weaving. Looking at them again just a bit ago I realize that others may like them but they don't represent my weaving so off to the washer they'll go for a bit of felting. This will be an experiment - maybe they'll be slightly felted scarves which would improve them, or maybe they'll just become felted fabric to be used later in a project.

It started raining here over the weekend, finally fire season is officially over - hurray!

Fun package arrived today!

Remember when my friend Kathy made me a felted beaded bling tiara for winning best use of handspun at the nwrsa conference? Well, while at the conference I told the powers to be that a tiara would be much more fun than a plaque. Guess what arrived in the mail today? A sparkley needlefelted tiara. I did my best to get a picture of it complete with little dangley sparkley sheep. Is this fun or what! This does have to be passed on to next year's winner along with the rolled parchment paper proclamation that arrived with it...the good part of that is that I'll keep the one Kathy made for me rather than donate that one to the cause. Oh I should have mentioned that Diane of We Bee Felting made the tiara!

This is the beautiful hat box it arrived in - wow!

On the fiber front - I finally finished the scarf warp I started last month, got them washed last night, they still need the fringes twisted. These started out to be a two block twill using the variegated bamboo warp. I started to weave and wasn't happy with the results so I switched to plain weave which I rarely do other than when weaving chenille. I like the end result much better. I crossed each scarf with a different color bamboo; black, sage, purple. I've got a chenille scarf warp going on the loom next, I'm running low on scarves and must get weaving.....I've been goofing off lately.

And here's the fair display I've been working on. Jury is still out on how I attached the photos - I used a double stick carpet tape that's supposedly permanent. Well, already one of the pictures fell off. I'm hoping after they sit on the canvas a while they'll stay but I might have to come up with a backup plan in the meantime. All our skeins, handwovens, crocheted or knitted items in the display this year will be the result of one of the 4 colorways we've done in the garden party the past few years.

On the loom today........

This is the last painted warp I had hanging in the studio - it's been hanging there for a reason, I haven't been thrilled with the colors. I almost hung it back out of sight but decided to put it on the loom. I've had a few warps like this in the past and once I wove them I loved the resulting scarves.......jury still out on this one. The warp is tencel, the weft is a golden bamboo. The second scarf on the warp I'll use a dusty rose bamboo, I sampled at the beginning of the warp with several colors and like the dusty rose. Since I hadn't tired of this undulating twill pattern from the last scarf I decided to use it for this one too.  Can't wait for it to warm up so I can get outside to dye more warps. I can do the dyeing in the garage in bad weather but I like the natural light much better so I dye enough during the summer to weave on all year. I don't have a plan as I wind warps - I wind enough for scarves but sometimes end up mixing them with solid colors on the loom to make shawls or yardage.

A wintery day of play.........

Yes, I said wintery day of play......what happened to spring??? I remember having 3 or 4 days of it and then we went back to winter - today torrential rains, wind, big hail and tonight the snow level will fall to 2500 ft and freeze warnings in the valley. Guess I'll need to pull all those planters on the deck up against the house or lose all.

So, here's the finished scarf of my handspun merino/tencel warp crossed with a commercial bamboo weft. I had been undecided on the sett and ended up changing it from 15 epi to 18 epi. It turned out beautiful but in hindsight I wish I had left it at 15 epi. The feel of this is 'like butter'. I added some beading in-between the twisted fringes, it doesn't show much which is planned, I didn't want a lot of added color to pop out, I just wanted sparkle. I'm happy with this.

So here was the beginning of my play day.....surface design. I never shop at Penney's but the other night some cute women's t's with cap sleeves caught my eye in the sale ad (sale is still on for a few days). How could I resist? Only $5.99, regular $14.00, just calling out to be embellished. I did keep a couple plain but had to play with the rest. Although not pictured many have a little embellishment on the sleeve or on the back shoulder. I could have gone crazy with the stenciling and silk screening but in reality I don't like that much design, much prefer simple and understated. First was the chartruese t that I bought to wear under this great rayon piece. I used stencils and Shiva Paintstiks - love the way it turned out.

Next was the brown t where I used a ginko stencil sheet and gold, copper and yellow gold paintstiks. The second picture is of the back shoulder.

Then a cute little flower in white paintstik on purple

The lotus blossom is one of the silkscreens I made last year - I used chartruese Lumiere paint. This also has a cute little chinese knot on each sleeve and the back shoulder

And finally on the black t a neat little abstract design in white paintstik with dragonflies in lavendar, green and blue

paintstiks. The second picture is the back shoulder. Since I'm not an experienced photographer I'm not sure why the wavy lines turn up on the body of the t-shirts in these photos. Sometimes it happens when photographing handwovens on the loom too.

Ok, big decision - do I head back to Penney's for more little t's...

Today's weaving

This morning I woke up and decided to put some of my handspun merino/tencel on the loom to weave a scarf in an undulating twill. The handspun is beautiful, it has a sheen I will never be able to catch with the camera. I used black Bambu 7 (bamboo) for the weft. I went back and forth on what to sett the warp at, first thinking 12 epi because of the wool, but then knew that would be too open so I opted for 15 epi. I started weaving some waste yarn to check it out and found it was too loose so out of the reed it came and resleyed to 18 epi. I never have this indecision on sett but then I don't weave as often with wool, my fiber of choice is usually tencel, bamboo, rayon, silk and cotton. It came off the loom a bit ago and wow did the merino/tencel puff up once there was no tension on it - hope my decision to sett at 18epi was a good one. It's now soaking, will hang to dry. Not sure about the fringe until I see it dry but first thought is to twist it and add black sparkley glass beads as embellishment in-between.

It's been a good day.......

Today was a good day in spite of it feeling like winter once again - morning walk with Bailey found torrential rains and hail, snow dusting the hills just above us. After my shoulders recovered from morning yoga practice, phew instructors are working us harder lately, I put minestrone in the crockpot, got laundry started (never ending, isn't it?) and finally got to putting a painted warp on the loom.

This is one of the last two painted warps that's been sitting around waiting for me to weave. Just about time to start thinking about winding many new warps in different fibers to dye for future projects. My favorite fibers for painted warps are bamboo, tencel, rayon and silk. The fiber here is Bambu 7 (bamboo). The weave structure is basically a twill, a two tie unit based on a draft in the book '60 Scarves, 60 Years' published by the Baltimore Weaver's Guild recently. I took liberties with the draft - after putting it into my weaving computer program, WeaveIt Pro, I started manipulating it to make it my own. This is what I came up with. There's enough warp for 2 scarves, this first one I'm crossing with a bamboo weft in purple. At the beginning of the warp I also tried an inch using a silver grey bamboo - haven't decided yet if I'll use that for the second warp or not. Using a light color like that may wash out the scarf....will think on it.

So, when Bailey wasn't laying in the studio snoozing while I was weaving he was laying on 'his' bed in the guest room. He loves the big picture window where he can survey part of his property and keep watch on those turkeys, deer and the hated squirrels.

More devore samples, chenille scarf............

I finished up the devore samples. I like the way the pink one turned out - it's soysilk and bamboo - the bamboo was burned out in the shape of a gingko leaf. This blend of fibers yielded a bit more definition.

The green sample above was merino and tencel. This is my second sample using tencel as the fiber to burn out and I'm as displeased with this sample as the first - the tencel looks too frayed on the burn out edges. I was playing with sett on this sample too - 36 epi, a bit too stiff. Getting the sett just perfect so it's not too sleazy in the burn out areas but not too stiff in the rest of the piece is key, the previous samples from last month with setts ranging from 24 epi to 30 epi had much nicer drape to them. The scarf off this green warp will have big areas burnt out to create the drape that's missing.

The white sample is T-105, a commercial sewing thread, cotton covered polyester. Since this is all one thread when it burns out it just gets thinner. This fiber will yield the more detailed burn out designs. All the other samples I've done I also wove a scarf on the warp (still need to burn out all those) but since I read that T-105 lacked drape I didn't weave a scarf but another length thinking I could make a window hanging with a snowflake design. Well, it turns out it has wonderful drape, wish I had woven a scarf instead, I do have more of the thread so it may happen in the future. The only downside to this thread is that it's only available in white, it can be dyed using disperse dyes though. There are a few yellowed (burnt) areas on this sample - I ironed the Fiber Etch gel a bit too much, hasn't been a problem on other fibers but was on this so I'll be extra careful on the bigger piece.

Finally, here's the chenille scarf warp that went on the loom and came off yesterday......washed last night, waiting to have fringe twisted. Next warp to go on the loom is for fingertip towels for a multi-guild towel exchange - these are due by April 30th so I have to quit procrastinating and get them done and out of the way. And next week I need to finish up on the devore so I have that presentation ready to go for April 10.

Wool Bamboo Devore

Here's the second devore sample - the purple is 2/24 merino wool, the black is Bambu 12. The design isn't really a design, just a shape I cut out to make the stencil, it's a sample afterall.

Bamboo scarf warp & mp3

Here's the same scarf warp I posted yesterday only this scarf I'm using a navy weft instead of black. Thought I'd add to the picture my new little mp3 player that Sam surprised me with last week. It's not the kind of thing I'd usually use but I thought it would be great for listening to podcasts while weaving. So far I've listened to two of the Weavecasts, I'm starting with the newest ones moving back in time. Today was on computers & weaving - it was great, especially since I'm thinking about buying an AVL 24 harness compu-dobby loom in the not too distant future, I hope. So far I've learned how to download the weavecasts off the site, Weavecast a part of Weavezine, and load onto the player......eventually I'll have to learn how to put music on it. Sam put a few albums on so I rocked to Foriegner after the weavecast.

Back to my first love..........

It's time to start spending more time at the loom, weaving is my first love. The dyeing is great fun but sitting at the loom with feet dancing on the treadles and the shuttle flying to and fro is what makes my heart sing. I put one of my painted warps on the loom today and got the first scarf woven (above). It's Bambu 7 warp & weft. This first scarf I'm using a black weft, the second scarf I'll use a navy weft. The weave structure is an advancing twill.

These 3 scarves are from the rayon chenille warp I just cut off the loom yesterday and washed last night. I wish pictures could convey how soft & yummy chenille feels. I still have to twist the fringes - those will wait for a time when I need a break from something else. I did get weft ends trimmed and pulled the waste yarn out of the fringe today.

Bamboo scarves finished

Here are the two bamboo scarves finished. I knew the drape on the one with the black bamboo weft (foreground) would be incredible after washing but wasn't sure about the drape on the other one that I used a red purple tencel on (background) but it was just as lovely. I know tencel has beautiful silk like qualities but it was a bit thicker than my warp so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I'm happy with both scarves!

On the loom today

I got a painted warp on the loom today and started weaving. This one is Bambu 12 (bamboo) in a plaited twill design sett at 30 epi. I paint my warps (all except wool) with Procion MX Fiber Reactive Dyes - they're so easy although rinsing out the warp after batching isn't always fun since this dye doesn't exhaust, usually several rinsings are necessary. I'm using the same Bambu 12 for the weft in black. I'm thinking for the second scarf on the warp I might use a deep purple tencel for the weft, will give it a try when I get there and then decide.

I did get the pictures taken of sock yarns that I dyed last week, will post them after I spend some time resizing them.