Sunday, September 27, 2009

A Baby Blanket on Flip Loom

I've started a baby blanket on my 20" Flip Loom.

The blanket measures about 17 inches wide and about 8 feet long. I'm gonna cut it in half when done and then sew the two halves together making the blanket about 34" wide and maybe about 34"long.

I THINK I may sew some silky blanket binding on it when totally done. My kids always loved that silky edging.

So anyway, who is the baby blanket for?? No one... it's just a generic baby blanket for someone someday.

Hey... That reminds me of an old jumprope rhyme we used to say:

Fudge, fudge,
Call the judge.
Momma had a new born baby.
It isn't a boy
It isn't a girl
It's just an ordinary baby.
Wrap it up in tissue paper
Send it down the elevator,
First floor STOP.
Second floor MISS.
Third floor TURN AROUND.
Fourth floor TOUCH THE GROUND.
Fifth floor SKEDADDLE.

What the heck did all that mean??? LOL.
Just an ordinary baby??? Ummm... do tell..

Ok, here is the blanket in the works... for that 'ordinary baby'....

Friday, September 25, 2009

Finally.... a scarf woven with some of my handspun!

I bought this BEAUTIFUL hand-dyed Corriedale fiber from Caron at Freehaven Farm. I'll tell ya what...this fiber is RICH. I mean it... it is R.I.C.H. Love it, LOVE it!!

Anyway, I spun the yarn thick and thin so as to have lots of texture in my scarf.

I used my handspun as weft and Patton's Silk Bamboo for the warp.

I used my Cricket (8 dent heddle).

After weaving I gently washed the scarf in Eucalan and then put it out on the railing on my deck to dry. (I want it to dry quickly!)

PS. Do ya see my pup? She slept for about 20 minutes with her bone in her mouth. I have NEVER seen a dog sleep with her mouth half open and her bone hangin' out of it, have you?????



Thursday, September 24, 2009

Yet another scarf done on Cricket Loom

The colors of this are a bit different in person... the reddish brown color is actually a light tan.

At first I HATED the way this scarf was turning out... I mean the plaid reminds me of a pant suit I had back in the early 70's. I was stylin' then ;) but I'm not so sure this plaid is stylin' now LOLLOL.

Well, as the weaving progressed I liked it more and more.... maybe my eyes were just getting used to it. BTW, hub said it looked like something his GRANDPA woulda worn. Thanks, hub.

Anyway, as time went on I thought...hmmmm...this scarf would look great with a brown turtle neck and blue jeans. Yep, it really would!! I hope the colors come through well enough that you can 'see' how that would 'work'. :)

Once again for this experiment, I've used cheap Hobby Lobby yarn.
8 dent heddle
Scarf width prior to weaving 6"
Scarf length prior to weaving 72"
This scarf from warp to finished product took less than 4 hours.


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Clearance Yarn from Hobby Lobby Makes BEAUTIFUL Scarf

I bought some sale yarn at Hobby Lobby the other day and used it for both the warp and weft on my Cricket Rigid Heddle Loom. You can see the details in the photos below.

Oh, and the 'special' weave is Leno. (You can learn more about Leno in one of my previous posts.)

I haven't finished the fringe yet because I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with it.
Any suggestions??? :)

The scarf took about 3.5 hours to make from warping to cutting from loom.





Monday, September 21, 2009

Scarf made on Cricket Rigid Heddle

Here is a scarf that took about 4 hours to make from warping the loom to the hem stitch.

For this scarf I used (don't gasp LOL) some Vanna's Choice yarn from Hobby Lobby. Yes, it is 100% Acrylic.....

I love experimenting with ALL kinds of yarn!! No yarn snob here LOL.

Anyway, I used my 8 dent read. Warp: 48 ends approx. 80"long.

At either end of the scarf I have two Leno weaves.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Leno Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Ok, I don't know about you, but since I was taught using PHONICS when I was a little kid I woulda been taught to pronounce "Leno" as LEEEEE-no. (You remember, don't ya? You divide the word into syllables and if there is one vowel.....) So, anyway, I was all set to say LEEEE-no but then I thought, uh oh, what about Jay LEN-oh. Hmmmm how to pronounce...how to pronounce??? When in doubt, just go back and forth between the two - that's what I did LOL.

Anyhooo, this video will teach you how to do the LEEEE-no or the LEN-oh on your rigid heddle loom (I hope!).

Rigid Heddle Loom - Brooks Bouquet Pattern

I've created a new video showing how to do the Brooks Bouquet weaving pattern using a rigid heddle loom.

Love rigid heddle looms!!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Today's Scarf - Cricket Rigid Heddle Loom

Today's scarf :) is being woven on my Cricket Loom. I am using the 10 dent heddle that I purchased this weekend. (The Cricket comes with an 8 dent heddle.) The scarf will be about 5 feet long and only 4 inches wide. I think it's gonna be a really pretty 'dressy' scarf. Hey, who knows.. I may just put some snazzy beads on the fringe!!

Anyhooo, I warped the loom with 100% mercerized cotton (50epi).

For the weft I'm using a really cool 100% rayon boucle yarn.


I LOVE the feel of this scarf. It is really a lot softer than it looks.
This is a GREAT, FAST way for me to use up STASH!!! Y'all oughta try it!!!





Sunday, September 13, 2009

Today I wove a scarf that I LOVE!

I used my 20" Schacht Ridgid Heddle Loom for this scarf although I could have just as easily used the Schacht Cricket Loom.

For those of you who care about the gory details LOL - I used a 10 dent heddle. I warped 76 ends.

I had a bit of trouble along the way:

1. The 100% wet spun linen (warp) broke several times. Not the whole length of the warp but several plies.

2. I did something FUNKY with the sides of the weaving. It ended up looking like a design element but I have NO idea what I did wrong.

All in all, though, I LOVE how this scarf turned out.

Here are a few photos from the process (including a view of those torn warp pieces and the WEIRD selvages).












Friday, September 11, 2009

Our Meet-up (Knit, Spin, Weave Crochet!



If you're in our area.... C'mon and join us!!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Have you used this yarn?

Is it too "girlie" to make a 'man' scarf????






The color is 'wicker'. It's 86%Bamboo, 12%acrylic and 2%polyester. Funny thing is they've titled it "Bernat Bamboo Natural Blends".

This yarn is REALLY buttery soft. I've started knitting the pattern that comes on the ball band and was thinking how much dh would love its softness as a scarf, BUT........... umm...ahhhh.... i just don't know......

What do ya think? Would he look like a girlie - man in it???

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat........

Well, Christmas IS coming so I'm starting my Christmas knitting etc.

I bought this Noro yarn from a LYS. NICE stuff... softer than most Noro. It is made of 40%cotton, 30%silk, 15%wool and 15%nylon.

I'm knitting my daughter a throw (that's what they call it) in the "Simply Noro" book.

I like how it's turning out and I'm HOPING dd will like it too. I'm just a tad worried about the colors. Oh well, I'm hoping she'll like it no matter what color because she can wrap up in it and it will be kinda like mom giving her a warm hug!!

So, here's the yarn....





And here's the knittin' thus far:

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Video for a Brand New Knitter

I've decided to make a few videos on how to knit for a brand new knitter in our Friday night knit group.

It may be helpful as a refresher AFTER she's had some 'real life' lessons since it is a bit hard to see what my fingers are doing.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Resizing Images for Emails and Ravelry using Windows XP

Some of my friends have been having trouble resizing their images for either emails or for Ravelry so I thought I'd try to help out with this tutorial for those using Windows XP