Fiber Reactive Dye Class: A Rainbow of Possibilities!

 I signed up for another fabulous class at Contemporary Handweavers of Houston (CHH). This time it was Tracy Kaestner's Come and Dye Day. Boy, did we dye!!! :)

Their classes are the perfect size. And it's always been such a great group of classmates. SQUIRREL!! 

This dyeing class worked with fiber reactive dyes. I'm still not sure what that means but it has lots of pretty colors!

We had an issue. A water issue. That's a problem when you're dying. A repair crew worked on it while our class persevered. Thank goodness Tracy brought jugs and jugs of water to use.

 

I brought a couple of skeins of white superwash merino and a couple yards of gray rayon (that's the only color I could find) to dye. I had absolutely no perceived notions about how or what I was going to do...I was just going to wing it. SQUIRREL!

While our stuff soaked, we picked out 5-6 colors and mixed them up. I went with a sort of water theme. Navy, bright blue, purple, lime green and a violet.

Then the fun begins. Well, it had already begun but now we got down to business. We got to hand-paint our stuff. There were warps and yarn and silk hankies and lots of pretty things getting dyed. I started to soak my yarn with the dye. This can be messy. I already see things I would have done differently. It was definitely a learning experience. I was very interested in how the dye wicked into the adjacent colors. It didn't do like I thought it would. I need to do some more experimenting. 

I had two skeins that I dyed the same way. I'm thinking I'll weave a scarf or something with them. The blues and purples and greens will be nice together.

The color was pretty intense and saturated. Nothing like what I had imagined. I ended up adding some yellow/gold to lighten up this VERY dark jeweled toned sopping mess I had on the table. Not sure I totally understood how this all works. It is a great hands on class...and that's how I learn the best. I only hope that this lightens up and my colors work. We're suppose to wash out our pieces 24-48 hours after we're done...I'm not going to wait. I think this is a learning moment. LOL

SQUIRREL!!

So, today, less than 24 hours later, I'm washing and rinsing my handpainted yarn. I have no idea what's going to happen. I might lose ALL the color. Fingers crossed! Here I go!!!

 

YAY!!!! It DID lighten up some. It's not this dark intense blob. I am SOOOOOO relieved!! The only thing, I'm not happy with my color. I wanted blues and greens. I got Mardi Gras instead. UGH!!! The colors do not look anything like my swatches. Oh well. I do have 2 lovely skeins of Mardi Gras superwash merino that will weave up nicely.

NOW.... Drum roll, please!!!

I took 2 yards of gray rayon to dye. Having no clue, again, I am going to wing it. Tracy suggests tie dyeing it. OK...sounds like a plan. I start tying it up with rubber bands and end up with a voodoo looking like doll that I'm going to drown in tons of purple and blue dyes. Bwahahahahahaa!! 

It's a juicy mess.

I can't wait to unfurl it so it gets washed less than 24 hours later. 

O.M.G.

O.M.G.

I. Love. It.
CHECK IT OUT!!! Those were the colors I wanted on my yarn!!! Dammit!!!

The gray is great with this.

Now...what am I going to do with it? Scarves? Pillows? My bedroom is gray but I'm not sure it will go.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out.

Overall, I really did like the class. Great hands on experience. I was exhausted and hurting before the class ended. It's hard for my neck to work bent over. Recovery is slow and steady. I'm just anxious to get back to normal. What is normal? SQUIRREL!!

It's summertime and CHH doesn't have as many classes. Guess I'll get to work on my Rock-A-Bye Blankie. The baby is due in 4 weeks and I'm only halfway done! SQUIRREL!!

Thanks, Tracy!!! Great job!!!

Just Call Me Smurfette.

I'm still on restrictions since my neck surgery. I'm not weaving much...if any. And definitely no lifting! But before my surgery I had signed up for a couple of dyeing classes at CHH Guild House. (FYI...This is a GREAT place for fiber classes!!) I should be able to lift fabric in and out of colored water. (oh boy! what an understatement!)

The first class was this weekend. It was Indigo Dye Day with Connie Elliott. I had no clue what this class was going to be like. I signed up because it sounded like something fun and different. Boy, was I right!!! This class was AWESOME!!! Connie is a great resource. She knows her dyeing. I was totally amazed. My head is still spinning from all the stuff we learned. It was a fantastic hands on and experiment with textiles. A bit messy...but hell, if you don't get messy, then you don't learn...that's my motto. What's a little indigo dye under your fingernails or on your clothes or up your elbows or or in your hair? It washes!

We tried out both the natural indigo dye and mixed in lye and Ritz Color Remover. Then we tried out the new fangled freeze-dried indigo. VEEEEEWY INTEWESTING. We had to be careful not to add more air (oxygen) into the vat as we moved our pieces in to dye and out to dry. When you first take your piece out it's green! But as soon as the air hit it...it starts to oxidize and turns that beautiful indigo. Way cool!!

We got lots of textile samples to try out...cotton, linen, rayon, silk, and yarn. We did folding and tying and clamping and resisting techniques. My head is still spinning. The possibilities are endless.

I see pillows and scarves and napkins in my future. Merry Christmas in advance!! Avoid the rush...get your gift requests in now!! LOL

Here's some of my sample pieces.

I pleated this then tied it up. 

This is a large cotton towel. I grabbed the corners together and then started tying.  One of my classmates said she saw tulips. And she's right! See in the bottom left corner...a tulip!

Some classic tie-dye. I wrapped sections with string and hoped for the best.

This one was fun to do. I folded the square diagonally then started pleating it from the corner point at the fold on one side. From the opposite corner point I rolled the material. Then I folded and tied it up.

This is a piece of silk that I did an accordion braid with it then clamped it tight.

I took a skein of superwash merino to try. I love the color. It's like a nice faded denim. The small twist of yarn is some cotton that we got in the class. They both will weave up nicely!

 

Would I recommend this class?
HELL YES!!

Will I take more drugs next time?
Damn straight!!

Was the pain worth it?
DEFINITELY!!!

Did I sleep good last night?
The neighborhood redneck firework show did not wake me up.

My next class is in a couple of weeks. We'll be using fiber reactive dyes to color our warps and yarn and fabric. OOOOOOOOOOOOH MY!!!! We'll be applying the dyes...no immersing. This could dangerously fun!!! I'll let you know how it turns out. 

Thanks, Connie, for a fantastic day!!

I'm Grounded.

The doctor took away my playthings and all my pretties. :(

He has grounded me from everything I enjoy doing with my hands for a couple of weeks... weaving... knitting... crocheting... drawing... If it involves bending my head over to see what I'm doing; it's a no-no. <pout>

So basically I can spend ALL day surfing the internet, playing on Pinterest, having Netflix marathons, and sleeping. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! splat.

Over on Pinterest I'm known as whimzeenator.
Some of my boards that might be of interest are...
Dream Weaver – woven stuff that I found pretty or interesting or just liked
Plarntopia – Making yarn with fabric, plastic or whatever and making looms
Inkle Dee Doo – Inkle loom stuff
Bag Lady – I think this one has to do with bags... /snort

I've got lots of other boards depending on my addiction of the moment...zentangles, knitting, crochet, cowboys, Texans... poke around, stay awhile, follow me.

Time to start a Netflix marathon... maybe I'll catch up on Scandal.

Rock-A-Bye Blankie

*** N E W S   F L A S H ***
I'm breaking away from weaving scarves to try to weave a baby blanket.

That's right folks! You heard it here first. I am going to try to see if I can weave a baby blanket and create my own pattern.  OOOPS! I mean draft. Weavers draft. That sounds so wishy-washy to me. Why is it draft? Drafts aren't final. It is still in the works. A pattern is final. It's written. A draft is still being written. No wonder weavers are warped!!

I have a friend who's having a Summer baby in Texas. No need for wool or anything heavy here! I'm using 3/2 cotton from Valley Yarns...Sherbert Combo, White, and Mediterranean Blue... on a 10-dent heddle.

My plan is to weave five 8-inch panels then sew them together some how or another then come in and crochet a pretty little border around it. We'll see how this works out.

The two outside panels are warped with 91 ends and in one long continuous 110-inch warp. I did
7 White | 80 Sherbert Combo | 4 White

Now for the weft... There will be 7-inch "blocks" with 5 rows of white in between each block alternating up the panel starting with Sherbert Combo then Mediterranean Blue.

For the pattern, each Sherbert block will be a 5/1 spot lace with weft floats. The Mediterranean Blue blocks will be a 5/1 warp float.

If I figure this out correctly, I should end up with a 38- to 40-inch-square woven blanket. So far...so good. I have my two outside panels done. I just need to warp the three inside panels. I'm not sure if I can get a 130-inch warp on my little Cricket.

The inside panels will be warped with 88 ends.
4 White | 80 Sherbert Combo | 4 White

It will follow a similar pattern but when the panels are sewn together, the colors will be alternating.

It's going pretty fast. It's funny, the slowest part of this will be the portion that takes up the least amount of space...the crocheted border. I'm not sure what color I will do that in. Probably white with maybe a color stripe somewhere in it.

This concludes our news flash. Stay tuned for any updates.
*** E N D ***

French Nipple Twisters

They're here!!!!

My French Nipple Twisters!!!

I can't wait to try them out! My fingers get exhausted and sore when I do it by hand. These will be a lifesaver!

I'm in the middle of a scarf I'm making with mmmmmMalabrigo. It makes such wonderfully soft scarves. This will be a perfect one to test out my new Leclerc Fringe Twister.

I've got another scarf warped in a houndstooth pattern (I got it right this time!). One yarn is a gold Malabrigo sock yarn; the other is a variegated striping sock yarn in desert colors. The colors aren't working in the pattern like I envisioned in my head but I like how it's turning out.

The scarf ended up being 68-inches-long and 8-inches-wide (96 ends). Nice!

Time for the French Nipple Twister!!

Load up your pinchers.

It took me a couple of times to figure out the nuances of this gadget. It sent a thrill up my leg once I got a good rhythm going.

Get it good and kinky.

See...
First you've got to load up your pinchers. I just did one per clamp this time. Be sure the fringe is about the same length.

Then you twist. Twist it good. Twist it real good!! You want it good and kinky!!!

Once I got it good and kinky, I carefully removed two of the strands. Now the fun part... try to tie a not in the two kinky strands without losing your twist. It reminded me of trying to tie a knot in an inflated balloon.

After knotting it, just let the twisted strands pop back and twist upon themselves.

Instant fringe!

I ran my fingers down each fringe piece to straighten out the curl.

It took less than half the time if I had done this totally by hand and my fingers weren't ready to fall off either!!

It's a wonderful investment!

And...Voila!!! My French Nipple Twisted Scarf!!

How to Weave Air

How to Weave Air...it's easy!

Step 1:
Purchase some  Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Lace at  WC Mercantile.

Step 2:
Fondle your newly purchased Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Lace. Feel it squish in your hands. Hold it softly against your cheek. Snuggle against it.

Step 3:
Warp your loom in the squishy soft goodness of your Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Lace. I used a 12-dent on my Cricket loom. I had 96 ends for an 8-inch-wide scarf of lusciousness. I used two colors of ultra soft goodness to make a 4x4 plaid.  (It was supposed to be a houndstooth but I goofed. I forgot 1 = 2 and 2 = 4 ends. Silly me!)

Step 4:
Start weaving. Remember you're weaving with uber scrumptiousness that must be handled delicately. Never beat your alpaca. Be nice and kind and it will be nice and kind in return. Tapping might even be too physical. Gently suggest to your alpaca weft to get close to the previous weft. Try to maintain 12 alpacas per inch.

Step 5:
Once your alpaca has reached his maturity, release him from his confines of your loom so he can run free. Maybe decorate his fringe with sparkly Delica beads.

Step 6:
Before totally setting your alpaca free, he needs a good bath to be presentable. I used Soak. Let your alpaca dry.

Now your alpaca is free to let the wind blow through it. It will come alive. It's so light to the touch you won't believe you're holding your alpaca. It feels like air.

Woven Air.

Beautiful, squishy soft, delicate scrumptiousness to hold against your cheek.

Woven Air.

mmmmmmmmm
You won't believe you're petting air.
 

Pick Up Schticks

Yay!! I've got another class! My second at CHH in two weeks. I'm extra excited because DeeDee will be teaching this class, too. She's a great teacher. I learn a lot from her.

This class is Rigid Heddle 2: A Plethora of PickUps.

We're going to learn how to use a pickup stick with the rigid heddle. It creates lace patterns. We're going to make a sampler scarf with lots of different patterns.

AWESOME!!!

Again, it's the perfect sized class. Only five people in it. A couple of noobies like me. A couple of more experienced ones.

With the class we got yarn AND a pickup stick to take home. SQUEEEE!

I'm still not sure how it exactly works but somehow or another by putting this stick in back behind the heddle and raising it up at certain times and positions when you're weaving, you get this really cool patterns. We learned 3/1 warp floats and 3/1 lace weft floats and window pane and 5/1 lace and 5/1 spot lace and honeycomb and lino lace and brooks lace and stuff I've already forgotten! LOL

You've got to keep track of where you are. Lots of counting rows. That's hard when you've got someone talking CONSTANTLY! and especially when they can't count to themselves. UGH!!! Then if you ask a question they talk over you. There was a couple of times I wanted to chunk my shuttle at her but I behaved. I wish I had been as smart as her. /snark

But once it was all through, we had a really nice sampler scarf that we can refer back to later.

I heart the classes at CHH!!! Again, DeeDee is TERRIFIC!!!!

You should check out classes at CHH! They're fun and you learn lots.

I'm totally motivated now. I just want to stay at home and weave. Just wish I could make a living at it. But first I need a bigger loom. Maybe an Ashford Knitter's Loom 28-inch or the Schacht Flip Loom 25-inch. I really like the Ashford's knobs – they're round and not a peg that my yarn always get hung on. But Schacht is made in America. I'll have to think on this. Pros and cons for each.

So in the meantime, I gotta get started on all my Christmas presents. Guess what you're getting?! LOL

Basic Rigid Heddle at CHH is da Bomb!!!

I'm a noob. I admit it. I don't know much about weaving. The one thing I do know is that I LOVE IT!!!
I'm eager to learn more. I want to know how this works. My first class was blah. A 3-hour class that spent 1 hour putting their looms together. So I was ecstatic when Contemporary Handweavers of Houston (CHH) started offering classes again after their move. I couldn't wait.

The class was an Introduction to Rigid Heddle Weaving. A 6-hour course that provided a Cricket 10-inch loom and set-up to use for a month plus yarn for your class project. Awesome! The class size was perfect. There were only 4 of us in it. So we were able to ask questions and work things out.

Our instructor, DeeDee, was the best!! She was so helpful and extremely knowledgeable.

The class was in their new location just east of downtown Houston in a renovated building with gorgeous hardwood floors. I love those loft-styled buildings. Makes me want to move down there!

We started out learning about the loom then went to work direct warping our loom with some worsted weight yarn. I have no idea how that translates into weaver talk. 3/2...8/4... but for my knitter brain it's worsted weight. LOL

We learned technique while she encouraged us to explore how the warp and the weft work together. Our warp was 6-feet-long and 7-inches-wide. I choose a beige warp then had a teal weft. I wasn't sure how they were going to work together. I'm still trying to figure out how the warp and the weft "talk" to each other.

I worked really hard on my edges. I wanted to master how to have a better and straighter edge so it wouldn't be all wonky and crooked. Though, freeform is pretty cool!!! LOL (I keep telling myself that because mine are wonky. Guess it's a Design Element!)  I did throw in a couple of stripes for good measure.

DeeDee's class was awesome. I'm definitely hooked...warped...knotted and tied up. I even signed up for the next rigid heddle class that's during the week. I'm actually going to take off a day from work to take a weaving class! How cool is that!!!

When I left CHH after our class, I went home and finished the class project. Signed up for the Rigid Heddle 2: A Plethora of PickUps. Joined the CHH guild. What can I say?! I liked it!

My finished class project was pretty short. It finished out at 5-feet-long. I gave it to my mom to see if she can make something out of it. Maybe it will be a purse or a part of a mixed media piece.

I liked knitting but I'm terribly slow at it. Enjoy crocheting but there's only so much you can do with crochet before it starts looking dated. But with weaving, I love it! It's fast. The fabric you make is wonderful! And the yarn really is the focus in your piece. I can't wait for the next rigid heddle class.

Thanks, DeeDee, for feeding a new addiction for me. You rock!! I totally enjoyed the class and I can't wait to see what else I can learn at CHH.

:D

Schacht...You Dropped the Ball.

Maybe you remember about a week ago I rang up Schacht to see if there was anyway to retrofit my Schacht 10-inch Cricket Loom. (see March 21 post)

I get the distinct impression that they've been asked this question a lot because they were a little bit snarky in their reply.

I had HIGH hopes based on my first phone call. The person who answered the phone was very friendly and outgoing. She promised me someone would be back with me on the next Monday. Well that Monday came and went. Then Tuesday. Then Wednesday. So I called back on Thursday. I got a different person who promised me someone would get back to me. I've heard that before.

Finally an email came in that said they had left a voice mail (which I never got) and they also said ...

"...An older style Cricket loom cannot be retro-fitted to have the gears on the outside because the measurements and loom elements of the redesign changed and will not allow this."

Well, of course, I want to know more. I wonder if you can just switch out the back bar and ratchet gears with the new one. Makes sense to me...so I asked. And here's her response...

"I wish I could tell  you otherwise, but every element on the loom but the apron cords was redesigned. If you want the gears on the outside your best option is to get a new style loom."

Somebody hadn't had their coffee yet. Maybe she needs chocolate. But I think she sounded a little snarky.

I'm thinking about buying a new larger loom in the next few months and I have seriously been considering either the Schacht or the Ashford flip looms. Makes me wonder about the customer support offered.

I'm curious why Schacht didn't consider the owners when they realized there was a flaw in the original Cricket loom design. How hard would it have been to offer a kit to the owners to change their loom so the gears wouldn't interfere with the warp? After spending $150 on a loom then the company redesigns it because of a design flaw, it seems logical to me that the company should be considerate of all those loom owners. Not tell them they should buy a different loom if they don't like it.

That's just bad customer relations.

Fail.

One Ringy Dingy!

Original Cricket design with interior ratchet.

Keep your fingers crossed! I rang up Schacht Friday to ask about retrofitting my Cricket 10-inch. They are super nice and helpful!!!

My mom "regifted" the Schacht 10-inch Cricket Loom she bought about 5 years ago to me at Christmas. I was thrilled!!! This Cricket is the original design with the ratchet on the inside at the back beam. It gets in the way when you warp every slot of the heddle. If you're not careful, it eat s your warp edge. That's bad!!! Really bad. I truly think that's why I'm having trouble with my tension. I have a tendency to warp wide and every slot.

Wide and long. Scarves! Get your mind out of the gutter!! :)

Revised Cricket design with exterior ratchet.

When I called Schacht, she said they've had that question before but the person I should talk to was out. She promised to call me back with an answer. WOW! I can't wait to hear. I've got my fingers crossed there is a solution on how to retrofit – somehow move the ratchet to the outside.

I know I'm already thinking about a bigger loom but I like the size of this one. It's perfect for scarves. So I'd like to be able to use it better and without the tension problem.

Stay tuned. I'll let you know what I find out.

Woven Audio File

I must be addicted. As soon as I finish a project on my loom, I'm warping another project. I'm loving this!!

I've been seeing some pictures of a scarf that has weft zigzag color bands through it. I've been thinking of trying that...not too sure how it's done but I think I have an idea to try. In my yarn extravaganza at WC Mercantile, I bought a couple of spools of cotton. Of course, I didn't have anything else in my stash so I had to get some. /snort So I pulled out the 3/2 black cotton and went to town warping 110 inches on my Cricket 10-inch using a 12-dent.

This is going to be cool! My first one with "real" weaving thread. WOOHOO!!! :)  Well, the weft will be using Schachenmayr Tahiti yarn. I have to do this in baby steps. The Tahiti yarn is 99% cotton and 1% polyester but has vibrant colors that gradually change to another color. I'm thinking I'm going to have cool shades on one side and warm shades on the other side. Fingers crossed this turns out like how I see it in my head. (oh, you should see some of the images in there!!)

With the loom warped, I went to town. It was trial and error at first. I wrapped my shuttles and rewapped and rewrapped trying to get the right color to go on first and thinking about how the shade would end. The idea I have is that I will have two shuttles coming in from both sides that meet in the middle of the shed, interlock, and then go back out the way they came in. Make sense? I don't understand it either. But here it goes...

DANG IT! I missed a slot!!! I am not rewarping this thing. Out comes my black spool of thread and pull through a piece and tie it on. I'll just weight it down in the back. Not sure if this is kosher or not but it's going to have to work.

I gave up on using shuttles. Ended up taking the yarn off and balling it. /snicker It was easier to handle when I pushed the yarn through the shed with an empty shuttle and then interlocking the threads together.

Then my warp started slipping. Huh? It's tight in the middle but the edges are droopy. It didn't start out that way. I try to make adjustments but I can't get it to tighten up. So, I frog what I've got done and try to tighten up the warp again. Got it tight and started again.

WHAT!? It starts doing it again? What gives?!?! Why do I have a droopy warp? It's tight when I start weaving but then it loosens up. I don't understand. Dang, I want a better class on weaving! CRAP! I frog again. But this time I'm going to really redo it by pairing up starts and ends of each thread so they're not twisted up and make sure it's straight on the back beam. I've been using paper to make sure everything was even. Maybe I'll use thicker paper this time.

Third time's the charm, right?!? It's all straight and tight now. Off I go! It seems to be working now! YAY!!!

Look how the colors are working! This is cool! It reminds me of a sound wave file.

I still have a little bit of tension problems but they're not as bad as earlier. My warp keeps getting tangled up on the ratchet inside the loom. That sure is a pain there. It's almost like a design flaw. hmmmmm....

I find some of the colors don't change as often as I would like them to. I help them along. I'm liking how this is turning out.

During one of my many breaks, I check out Contemporary Handweavers of Houston. Man, I want a real class. Lookie!!! They're back open!!! HALLELUJAH!!!! Sign me up!!!

I was able to get into the Beginning Rigid Heddle class. It's a 6-hour class where we'll learn the basics about our rigid heddle looms. And guess what, it's only two weeks away!! I better get busy finishing this scarf so I can have an empty loom to take. 

Finally, it's done! This had a lot of frustrating moments with the edges slipping and not maintaining tension. I really think it has to do with the ratchet on the inside. Weaving took a little longer because of interlocking the yarns and then adjusting where they met in the shed. (everybody should have a friend they meet in the shed!)  I'm tickled pink with the outcome.

It ended up 96 inches long and 9 inches wide plus 6 inches of fringe.

I wet finished it by soaking it in some Soak then hung it outside to dry draped over a thick hanger. I did toss it in the dry on low with a Bounce sheet. It's uber soft!!

Look how the colors change. I do wish they turned out a little more vibrant. Maybe the next one I try with a white warp.

I finished just in time for my next weaving class at CHH.
 Not sure what we'll make there but I'm excited!

Somebody Teach Me!!

I am an eager studant. I want to learn and push my rigid heddle to the limits. Just how far can I take my Schacht 10-inch Cricket Loom?

Professor YouTube has done a decent job so far but I need a class where I can  ask questions and make sure I'm doing this correctly. I searched and searched for local classes. Nada. Zilch. A big fat zero. I found the Contemporary Handweavers of Houston but they were in the middle of a huge move. They weren't scheduling any classes until late February. ARGH! It's late January and I want a class! All I could think about was all the scarves I could make between now and late February. I'm sick. I know.  I left messages and emails thinking I could sign up for a private class but never heard back from anyone. Guess everyone was tied up with the move and the holidays. DAMN!!! I don't want to let my momentum die. So I keep searching.

SUCCESS!! I found the WC Mercantile in Navasota!! They have a beginner's rigid heddle class in one week. YAY!!! I'm sooooo excited!!! I call. fail. It's full. Did that many people get looms for Christmas this year?!? ::pout::  But she puts me on a wait list for sometime in February. damn.

I twiddle my thumbs. And twiddle. And twiddle.

RING! RING! RING!!
Hello?
This is WC Mercantile. We've had a huge demand for rigid heddle classes that we have another class scheduled in two weeks. Are you still interested?
HELL YEAH!!! Sign me up!!

click.

::begins happy dance::
(__/__)  (__|__)  (__\__)  (__/__)  (__|__)  (__\__)  (__/__)  (__|__)  (__\__)

I'm taking a rigid heddle class at WC Mercantile!!!

Finally the day is here. I've been looking forward to this for what seems like an eternity. It's been rainy and cold and today is going to be a gorgeous drive. I've been looking forward to the 1.5 hour drive to Navasota. Gonna crank my music up, take my favorite windy road, and enjoy the drive there.

DAMMIT!!! I get to my favorite stretch and they're having a bloomin' dang bicycle race. Crap!

 

WC Mercantile is in historic downtown Navasota, Texas. It's in a wonderful old building with gorgeous hardwood floors. It has the typical big display windows like the old stores used to have. Love it all!

But what's inside is magical. Lots and lots of wonderful squishy soft yarn and roving and supplies for weaving and knitting and crocheting and spinning. It's a fabulous store!

The class size was perfect. Only three of us. We were suppose to come with our loom and two skeins of worsted weight yarn and all the other supplies. I had ordered some fabulous all American yarn from Swans Island up in Maine to use. (I love this yarn! Check out their story here.) I'm ready to get started.

Pause.

The other two people in the class had bought new looms. Cool. But had failed to put them together before class started. SOOOO...I had to kill an hour while they assembled their looms. ARGH!!! That was frustrating.

So how does one kill time in a yarn store?
Hmmmmmmm....I don't know?!?!?! /snark
They go yarn shopping of course!!!!!

They have all sorts of beautiful yarn. They carry yarn from a local alpaca farm, Bluebonnet Hills. SQUEEEE! I've been wanting to go there and get some. Well...here it is!! Some how or another four skeins jumped into my arms plus some mmmmmmMalabrigo. And some warp thread and a new #5 dent heddle. I have a sickness.

Finally, class started...only an hour late. We got right to work learning how to warp and tie it on to the loom. We are going to make a pattern from the Cricket manual that was in the box. We did the direct warp method similar to what I learned on YouTube but without the lashing. I like this better. For waist yarn, the teacher suggested a shoestring. It's easy to reuse and usually will be larger than your weft yarn.

We worked a bunch on getting our weft rows even. I learned you never beat your row...you tap. Oooospie!! No more Zip! Zoom! Beat!

The class was over pretty quick (especially since we started late).

The drive back was uneventful. No bikers to run over. drats!

When I made it home, I frogged all the weft I had done and started over. I wasn't happy with it.

I love how fast this goes. I finished the 5 foot scarf in about 4-5 hours. Got it in to soak with some Soak and hung it out to dry.

I love this stuff!!! I'm ready for a bigger loom now. Maybe a 25- to 30-inch Ashford or Kromski or Schacht folding rigid heddle. I want one that can do double heddles.

What's your preference?

One Scarf, Blue Scarf

Can't say I always let grass grow under my feet...when it comes to weaving. As soon as I had my first scarf hanging up to dry, I was warping my next project. I want to get this right! I want to weave something that the warp is not always breaking in. DOH!!

I found some beautiful superwash Merino in my stash in gorgeous shades of blue, green, and teal. My warp was some luscious mmmmmMalabrigo sock yarn. My plan is to use Sundara Water Study sock yarn with maybe some Tofutsies stripes. We'll see how it goes. With my luck...anything goes!! LOL

Since I'm still learning, I stuck with basic weaving. Nothing fancy. Maybe a stripe here and there. 

My original plan was to have a LONG solid blue scarf with the variegated yarn. I warped another 100+ inches with the mmmmmMalabrigo. I love the blues and greens. Got all set up and away I went!! Zip! Zoom! Beat! Gotta have that nice tight fabric!! HA!! 

I quickly realized I was not going to have enough of my weft yarn (Sundara) to make my LONG scarf. How does one figure out the gauge on a weaving project?! Again, I'm an uber tight knitter...and appear to be an uber tight weaver. LOL So I figure I'll add a stripe in the Tofutsies to help extend the Sundara. 

Well...that ain't going to be enough! I get close to halfway and start thinking I need more Sundara. Hi ho! Hi ho! Off to search I go! Through tubs full with lots of wool! Hi ho! Oh crap!! I can't find another matching skein of Sundara. Oh crap! Maybe I can find some online. ::headdesk:: Has everybody already used their skeins of Water Study from Sundara? :(  C'est une farce!  I did find one skein of Sundara that is a Water Study but it's a different number...same colorway but different shade. I think it will work.

NOW my plan is to switch out the two shades of Sundara and continue the turquoise Tofutsie stripe throughout the whole scarf. See?! Me and plans don't go together. Gotta stay flexibile!!

I really worked on my edges this time. My warp never did break!!! And my edges are really nice. My left side is much nicer than my right. Every now and then the right side gets a little loose and wants to slip up and down the warp. 

I did 3 inches of blue then 5 rows of turquoise. 

The variegated yarn is fabulous!! You get the striping effect with the warp and weft. Love how it works together. 

I finished with 110 inches!! Got it soaked and hung to dry. This time I spent the afternoon watching Californication as I twisted fringe. Got to get that fringe twister!!

Don't panic!! The scarf is not laying on the ground. It's laying across an arch on my patio. It looks like it's on the damp leaves but it's safe.

This one feels maaaaaaaaaaahvelous!!

Next week I finally have a class to learn what I'm doing wrong!! I can't wait!