Third Warp on with some Drama

I had a couple of things not work out as planned with the third warp.  

I started winding for 2 more scarves and about half way through winding, I realized that I was running out of yarn.  I had enough yarn for just the warp on two scarves, or warp and weft for one scarf.  I unwound the warp into a ball and started again with a shorter warp for just one more scarf.  This time it worked.

I cut the two finished scarves off the loom, leaving the yarn threaded through the heddles and reed,  and I started tying the new warp to the old ends.  I am worried about the knots holding on this slippery alpaca yarn, so I tied them tight.  The warp wound on easily and I wove about an inch.  That is when I noticed that the pattern did not match up with the warp stripes.  It is one thread off!

Sixth Scarf in a point twill.

Because these scarves have a due date hanging like the sword of Damocles, I did not undo anything.  I adjusted the treadling slightly to make a fancier twill and continued weaving scarf number 6.  The pattern will still make a beautiful scarf, it is just disappointing that my plan did not work.  

As I have been weaving I have been thinking about where I went wrong in my planning.  I drew out the threading, with a full draft, and colored the stripes where I needed them.  I wound the warp following that plan.  But I realized when I started tying on, I started at the wrong end.  My threading is not balanced, I am on a straight draw (shafts 1 through 8) so my threading starts on a 1 and ends on an 8.  Usually when I thread for a point twill I thread, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 so that it ends on the one, also since this is on 8 shafts, the twill would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2...a repeat over the eight shafts.  

So when I started tying on the new warp, I started tying the left side of the new warp on the right side of the  old warp.  I was tying thread one to thread eight and thread two to thread seven, and so on.  

None of this really matters in the short run, I will have a beautiful scarf, but if I want to repeat this method of weaving scarves (tying on the warp instead of re-threading everything) I need to remember that there is a up and a down side on that new warp.  I have to start working with the correct side up!

Another Day, Another Warp

I managed to finish weaving the second scarf warp today...a day late, but now it is done and I need to decide how to do the last warp.

The yarn I have left.

It's obvious that I will be using the fawn (lightest brown) in the warp.  The first warp had the fawn with the dark brown, so I am thinking fawn with stripes of gray.  I think I will do a straight twill and a point twill on the scarves.  Because I am tying the new warp on the old, it will be using the same threading...a straight draw through eight shafts.  I need to plan the stripes to fall with the point in the middle of them...then I could do some diamonds in the design.  That should work well.  I will have to think about that because the number of warp threads in each stripe will be critical.  I can mess with that on the worksheet tonight.  

Second scarf on the second warp.

 The second warp is the brown with gray stripes.  I wove one scarf with the brown and one with the gray.  On the third warp there will probably need to be a couple of colors in the weft to use up all the yarn.  Do I have enough to weave most of one scarf in one color?  We'll see...


I started the narrow lace on my little traveling pillow.  I like that pillow and I can sit anywhere and work on it.  

First try on the left, new one in the middle and matching lace on the right,

I'm not sure how much smaller the new lace is from the original first try, but the ground looks better.  I probably could have reduced it further, but I am not going the change now.  This will have to do.  So now I will have a frill, a wide lace and a narrow lace that all coordinate. Nice idea, but I have already started looking at another yardage lace to trim a dress I want to make from some handwoven fabric.  But on an everyday dress for me, the lace needs to be smaller than the narrow one here.  This one is just over half an inch.  I don't think I can wear that much lace.  I'm thinking something about a quarter of an inch.  No...don't think about the "next" one, just enjoy the work on this one.  Enjoy the work you are doing and finish it up instead of jumping to the next one.

The trees are by the front door, but the lights are not connected yet.

I've been thinking

I decided that I do great at ideas, but I am no good at the follow through.  I guess that explains the many partially finished projects that I have.  I am a process person, not a project person...I like the process, but am less concerned about finishing the project or the plan or the idea.  

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  I will need to think about it some more.  

My Santa mug, I got it 60 years ago.

I do get lots of things done, I feel a great satisfaction in this.  Maybe I push myself too much that I don't get all the ideas done.  Maybe those ideas need to pass on to someone else to finish.  Maybe they all get finished, just not my way.

The Advent tree I made 30 years ago.

There are so many wonderful things to do and think about this time of year.  So many things to decide about.

My December tea towels

Watching Christmas Shoppers

I had errands to run and spent some time in shops and stores today.  I did buy some things, but I didn't have the heart for the shopping.  I enjoyed watching others, mostly they seemed happy and enjoying the excursion.  It is usually a fun time of year to watch shoppers. 

A week ago today, I attended a funeral for the baby grandson of my sister.  Thinking about that, I am less inclined to buy things and more wanting to spend time with my family, both my immediate family and my extended family.  That experience makes the rush for presents seem shallow.  I know many are looking forward to the presents and enjoying shopping for them, I don't want to put them down, but I don't seem to have the heart for it.  I am still seeing life as fleeting, and you don't know when it will be taken away.

On the weaving front, I got half way through the first scarf on the second warp.  

Weaving along...

The washed scarves from the first warp did not "bloom" as much as I though they should.  Maybe it is the alpaca yarn.  I may try fulling them more tomorrow.  But I think I will put the third warp on at 10 epi instead of the 8 epi these two warps are woven on.  

Other than that, the weaving is going well.  But I will not be able to finish it tonight.  We have tickets to the symphony.  There is a newly written piece and Beethoven's 9th.  Should be a great time.

Oh, and the bobbin lace is improving.  Like I said the graph was too open for the yarn, so I went to the copy shop and reduced it.

It's hard to see, but the center is the 2" wide pattern for the 3 yard piece I finished.  On the right is the pattern that I started and on the left is the new pattern.  (Yeah, I should have done it in pen instead of pencil, it's a little light.)  But you can see how the grid is too big on the one on the right and much closer to the correct grid on the left.  (Try looking just at the ground pattern - the dotted area.)

Towels & Scarves...Yes, Bobbin Lace...No

I finished sleying and lashing the towels on the Gilmore.  The colors are pretty wild for me.  I brought several bobbins of weft to audition which ones I will use for the towels and got started.  I like the rust, beige and orange and I will use the dusty rose because I have so much of it, but I don't think I will use yellow.

I was having trouble with the end feed shuttle.  I tightened the tension, but was still getting loops on the right side...the left side looked pretty good.  I will work on it when I start the first towel.  It may be a warp tension problem.  I think I am going to like the towels even if they are a little wild for my taste.  I love the structure and the little "v" shapes that appear on the Bumberet threading.

I also managed to wind the second scarf warp.  I tied it on to the first warp and wound it on in under 30 minutes.  That is a good thing since I need to get it off and the third needs to be put on this week.  

You can see the lease sticks and cross in front in the wolf trap (tray) on my loom and the knots just below the shuttle race on the beater.  The new warp is fawn with a couple of grey stripes.  I just used an overhand knot to join them, it is faster and it was holding well on this slippery alpaca.

lashed on and ready to weave

Do you think I can get the first scarf started tonight?

Warp One fresh off the loom

I got three scarves on the first warp.  Two of them are dornik twill and one is point twill.  I think they look good.  I need to burl them (correct errors and cut threads) and wash them tonight.  I'm pleased with the first warp of the scarves.

My bobbin lace is not doing as well.  I took off the 3 yards of 2" lace trim and I wanted to make a narrower lace to match it.  I found a lace in Cook's book that seemed to fit, but when I started the lace it looked so open.  I compared the size of the grid and the 2" lace is much finer.  Since I am using the same yarn (90/2 linen) I need to change the size of the new pricking.  I looked in my bobbin lace notes and found the grid that I made the 2" lace on...it had a note "reduced by 25%".  So I am going to re-draft the narrower lace on the grid then visit the copy shop to reduce the size, finally I should have the needed picking!

Things I learned today

Well, if I am going to have a post every day this month, I need to start carrying my camera with me.  I was working at the studio trying to get the tea towel warp on and I had no camera to take a picture.  I took a couple with my phone, but I don't know how to transfer from phone to computer.  The second thing I need to learn.

The towels are looking great.  I am threading bumberet, and I wound three threads of each color.  Well...when I was threading I found that I counted 4 threads once and 2 threads once.  Then I found that instead of the 9 thread color repeat, I only wound 3 threads.  So, I was adding threads as I threaded to get the pattern right, there should be 4 or 5 weights hanging on the back of the loom during weaving. 

Here is the back of the loom.

You can see the raddle at the top of the picture, but the warp is going to be fun to weave.  (I figured how to put the picture here from Instagram.)  I will go to the studio again tomorrow and, hopefully, finish the sleying the reed and start to audition some weft colors.  

I finished the first scarf warp on the alpaca, but need to measure the second one.  I am going to try to tie it on to the first warp.  I need to speed up the process as much as possible to get these scarves done.  

And I found my contact paper, so I can make the bobbin lace pricking to do the next piece of yardage!  I decided that I had to find mine and not go buy another roll.  Actually, I found two rolls, because, I guess, last time I bought the second rather than finding the first.

So I started a new Challenge

I joined a new challenge...blog every day in December.  This will be hard to blog 31 times, I don't think I've done that many in a year.

I finished the bobbin lace I have had on my travel pillow.  I hardly remember what I started it for, I think for a period demonstration outfit.  I know I did a frill for around my neck (Elizabethan style) and this yardage lace was designed to go with it.  I also wanted a narrow matching lace.  I don't know if this is what will happen to this lace, but I designed a matching narrow lace yesterday and made a copy of it.  I need to find the contact paper so that I can prick the lace pattern and start working.  I will be using the same linen thread, because I have so many bobbins with that thread on them.

I ended up with just over three yards of lace.

It is fun to see a big length of lace.  If you look close there are lots of strings hanging on to it.  I broke threads several times, and when a bobbin ran out of thread I worked in another.  I

need to get out the high power magnifiers and repair the lace before I put it away.

I also started a tea towel warp for my class, but I did not get it on the loom in time.  I need to thread the heddles and sley the reed.  So that the class members can come in and weave some, I want them to experience an end feed shuttle.  
I decided to use the pattern for the towels on the cover of the recent Handwoven magazine.  I love the name of the threading, "Bumberet".  I have woven a sample of it before in a workshop and looked up the pattern in the old weaver's book from the 1700's. 

I picked out a big cone of 8/2 cotton yarn I want to get rid of and added odds and ends to give a very warm (hot) color scheme.  

I did add some beige to the collection, but you can see the big pink dusty rose that is the main color.  I like all the rust tones that I have.  I hope I can empty some of the little bits so there is less to put away after the towels are done.