A Little of Everything

I didn't think I'd been doing much fiber work until I started pulling up the pictures. I've been doing a little of everything.

Those bags of cotton I'd been picking at are now cleaned and carded. When they're prepared like this, they're called rolags.

I knit two hoodies, but only have a picture of this one. To make it, I blended two patterns.

Before Julia moved on to live and play with another weaver, we finished this gamp. 

I sewed a second pair of pajama bottoms. Some braiding that was left from the last couple of kumihimo projects worked perfectly for the drawstring.

How cool is this?! I knit a tank top! The pattern is June Top Light from Petiteknit.com. The yarn is Summerlite 4 ply from Rowan.  

And this Moby Sweater is from the same designer. I'm having a blast with it! Most of the sweater knitting I've done has been knit bottom up, this is top down.

I wove these kitchen towels maybe twenty some years ago. After hemming the edges, they almost look like new.

The dry creek bed I've been working on...wasn't. Our rain gauge only measures up to five inches and it was full! Within a couple of days, all this water had soaked in. (In the background, you can see the California Lilac and Mahonia in bloom. Soon, all the bright green in this picture will be poppies!

This is a waffle weave pattern I've used before from Simple Weaves, Sophie and I are making some kitchen towels

...with the assistance of my littlest apprentice. 

Two Big Projects Done

I finished the baby blankets!
This is one of those projects for which I decided that since I needed four blankies, I'd warp for eight. Then, babies started coming early. I could have cut the first blankets off of the loom and tied the warp back on, but I didn't want to waste any of the yarn. So, every free minute for the last many days was spent weaving. I'll have to ask my trainer how many calories marathon weaving burns...?

The pattern is a summer and winter from A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns, page 149, #532 and 534. Joanne Hall at Glimakra was a Big Help with figuring out the tie-up on Sophia, my standard countermarch. This is the first time I've attempted a skeleton tie-up on her. Have I said lately how much I LOVE this loom?!   

I ordered the cotton from my semi-LYS in Solvang. Since I have two whole cones of the bleached left, someone's going to have to go back and check her math.

I also finished spinning the cotton I've been playing with on my Suzie Pro. I did this with the stylus. I'd like to weave some yardage with the singles in both warp and weft. I'm not concerned about how fine it is once it's on the loom, it's just getting it there. I have to find some way to keep it under tension so that the yarn doesn't twist up on itself. Maybe I'll try steaming it beforehand. Hmm. Perhaps I should attempt that with some sample yarn, first. I'd hate to end up with a huge tangle and have to toss it all. 

Weaver's Weekend

My husband said he wanted to skip his bike ride to take me down to Vista, California, in northern San Diego county. If the traffic's light, it's a two hour drive. He wanted to take me to the Antique Gas and Steam Museum. The idea of any kind of engines is not very motivating for me. I would say that trying to get me out of the house resembled fighting the inertia you push against in prying a rock from it's bed. But he had seen an ad in one of my magazines for the Vista Fiber Arts Fiesta. Luckily, my hubby was willing to push. It was WONDERFUL!!! This one building held about 50 looms!  

Look at the works on top of this loom!

It fascinated me!

Punch cards.

Each of the individual heddles hanging behind the shafts had it's own weight hanging from it.

And the yellow strings went one to each of those heddles.

I wanted to have a visual record of the way this Glimakra countermarch was tied up. It's upside down from the way I learned.

Such pretty colors and work on this dobby loom. But I wanted to take note of the temple. She used bent j-hooks from knitting...

then added a pulley and a bottle of sand.

I know I don't have room for a great wheel, but...                                                      Then, on the way home, we stopped in San Pedro at Crafted. My eyes, followed by my feet, went straight to the giant countermarch loom. It's 10 feet in the reed.  

Dana, it's owner, is a textile artist. We spent a delightful hour visiting both under and in front of the loom. I look forward to seeing what she produces on it.                                   The day after all this fun, I had a visitor, Robin, who's contemplating purchasing a Glimakra loom. She wanted to have the opportunity for a little hands on before she made her decision. It was perfect timing. I have a sample on Sophia (the countermarch Standard) and napkins on Julia (counterbalance), so I didn't mind someone else weaving on them. Besides, I was so full of excitement about the previous day's and week's activities, I wanted to share!                                                                      The week before all of this, I spent watching and learning from the dvd, Dress Your Loom the Swedish Way. I hope both ladies will forgive me for babbling on about everything I learned from the dvd. Because I learned to weave on a jack loom, tie up and set-up on my countermarch has been a struggle. And I don't learn by reading. So, to finally get Sophia dressed with ease was a pleasure. And now she's weaving as comfortably and smoothly as I knew she could. I can't stop grinning!