4 edge scarf - warping

I started the warp for the next project. I am using a hand made warping frame made from bamboo bought from the garden shop for $3.00. These are six foot long and my cross pieces are a few inches from each end so I have a five and a half foot long piece. I am using an acrylic microfiber (Oralon) with very little stretch and no fuzziness. I am hoping it will work well on a back strap piece.

In this picture you can see the lashing done on the corners. The lashing doesn't take long at all. After I lash my warp to the end beams I'll untie the corners. Next time I'll try to avoid the knots at the joints of the bamboo because the yarn hang up on it. Some sandpaper helps, but I need to look for smoother sections of bamboo next time.

That's all for tonight.
Have a good day!

Four Selvedge Backstrap

This is a project I started a couple of months ago. It's about 11 inch wide by 24 inch long. I need to get it finished so I can start the next one. I twined the edge of my warp and tied it to the beams so I could have a finished edge when I was done. The main yarn is white with pale red and blue color spots. I tried weaving some yellow/orange/white weft to make it more exciting, but it really wasn't a good combination, so I went back to usinge white/red/blue.

The piece of yardstick and two clamps is my temple to help keep the edges from pulling in. It is definitely helping. It is easy to set and to move.

Above I started from one end then turned it around and started again toward the middle. As I get closer to the middle there is less room so I start using narrow shed sticks made by cutting a paint stick lengthwise and sanding it. I am using a thin dowel as a shuttle stick. Soon it will be too narrow for those sticks.

When it gets too narrow, I pulled the sticks and I am using an afghan hook (a long crochet hook) to weave through and pull through. As you see there is some uneven weaving leaving a bigger gap on the right than on the left.

As I pull the yarn through I use a fork to beat the weft. After the last yarn is pulled through, I start shifting the weft down to spread out and fill the weft gap.

Here I am untying the beam so we can see the finished edge. You can see a little bit of the twining I used where I first started the edge. The edges are a little bit "loopy" but it should tighten up on the wet finishing (machine wash and dry).

Here is the piece off the loom. There is some loose threads to be woven in with a needlepoint needle. There is a lot of rough edges on the sides. There is some narrowing in the middle where I finished. I am not especially happy with it. The goal was to have 4 finished edges.And I did that.

Now to move onto the next one.

Have a good day!

PS: Here is a picture of the bottom side of the temple so you can see how it holds edges.

Andean Tunic at the Met - NYC

Found this link on a Weaving Today Ad:  Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is hosting an exhibit entitled “The Andean Tunic 400 BCE-1800 CE” where thirty exquisitely woven tunics (the traditional clothing worn by Andean men) will be on display. 

Great pictures of Andean woven clothing. Click here for Musuem link
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={EC9E0213-9C5B-4B59-B9B9-B50881E10617}

Have a good day!

Such A Deal!

Such a deal I found at the neighbor's yard sale and at the thrift store in last couple of weeks. I bought this bag of fiber stuff for 75 cents at the neighbor's yard sale. It looked interesting and so I grabbed.


All this stuff was in the bag. The papers are pattern notes for knitting and crochet items. Some round crochet patches that probably would be for some kind of blanket. A big handful of embroidery floss. A small knitted swatch. Also some cross stitch needles. A knitting needle, a crochet hook.



Also in the bag was a couple of hairpin lace frames! Which is why I bought the bag when I saw the frames sticking out. So now I am closer to trying out the craft of hairpin lace which is on my "to-do" list. I bought the six sided peg frame loom for 25 cents at the yard sale. I found instructions for the six sided loom on the internet.

I bought the clipboards for 49 cents each at the thrift store to turn them into little weaving frame looms. I like using old clipboards because they are inexpensive, the pressboard is very sturdy but cuts easily with a hand saw.

Two dollars for all this stuff! Like I said, such a deal!

Have a good day!

My Corner Of The World - July 2011

It's a bright, sunny day in Sacramento, Calif, with expected 100F temperature today. I think I need a plastic kayak to play on the American River.

Here are some California Black Walnuts growing along the river.


This is a Yellow Billed Magpie, a little bigger than a Blue Jay, and almost as noisy.


This noisy red bird is the Sacramento County Fire Department helicopter patrolling the river looking for people in trouble in the river. There were over 80 rescues in the last week.




This butterfly is called Buckeye and is common in this area.


The chihuahuas are getting up close and personal with a couple of Canadian Geese that live here year 'round.

And that's my corner of the world!
Have a good day!

Saturday Guild Jun 18 2011

At the Saturday meeting of the Sacramento Weaving and Spinning Guild on June 18. From left: Ken and Betsy, Loren, Linda, other Linda, Kathy,


From left: Connie, Rita, Stephanie, Janet, Monica


Here is Franco demonstrating a backstrap loom.


The piece is being woven with cotton yarn. This will be a small cotton towel. The loom can be rolled up for easy transport.


This is Linda talking about knots and some of the small weaving pieces she brought to show. Although she looks very serious in the picture, she smiles a lot when she talks about weaving.



Linda brought a mini-inkle, some weavette looms, some nail looms, a card loom and a FastSam.



This is a FastSam. It's a small frame loom for testing patterns. You warp it to the sett you want (like 12 ends per inch). Use an elastic band that fits in the grooves around the FastSam to hold the warp in place. Then use a tapestry needle to weave the weft.


Here Susan is showing us how she spins newspaper. She is making a gift for a friend from the library, hence the paper theme.

That's it for this month. Next meeting is July 23, 10 am to 12 pm

For more info visit
http://www.sacweavespin.org/saturday

It was a good day!

More Crios

On Facebook, Niamh Trua, Crios Weaver has a great gallery of woven bands
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niamh-Trua-Crios-Weaver/174736452554905

She also has a website
http://niamhtrua.com/

Have a good day!