Sunday, December 30, 2012

Turning backward, going forward

December 30, 2012. Wow. Winter solstice has passed, and the daylight is starting to lengthen, slowly but surely. Right before and after the Solstice, the daylight stays the same for several days. I like to see this as a gathering-of- perspective time. Look back, look forward. Hold perfectly still and observe. Remember. Plan. Enjoy.

I had a very nice time in California with all my children and grandchildren. We don't all converge on one spot on the globe that often. The weather was warmer than Missouri! I'm having a hard time adjusting back to cold and damp. I slept in my own bed last night. My feet were warm during and immediately after my hot, hot bath last night, and that's about it. I'm feeling pretty worn down today, a bit of a headache. I'm cooking a pot of ham and beans, I made some boiled ginger tea, taking Chinese medicine, and will try to get more sleep tonight. I'm headed to town in a bit to buy an electric blanket. I'm going to let go of the pennies for it this time. I just don't sleep well with cold feet.

Grandkids at Christmas! Need I say more? Here's a couple pics of them:









The rocker board is pretty cool. It holds up to 220 pounds, so all the grownups had fun, too.

On the weaving scene, I had full intentions of coming back, beaming and threading the blue cotton painted warp and whupping out another blanket. However, plans have changed. My son and his family are using some of my oldest pieces of handwoven cloth as napkins, and there are only a couple of them. And they are rags by now! Rags, I tell you. They're probably 18 years old, and although it's a testament to the sturdiness of handwoven cloth that they are still in use, I can't let this need go unmet.

So, I'm winding warp today. Hopefully I will get it beamed and ready to go tomorrow. These colors are chosen for their ability to hide stains. The yellow stripe will be crossed with one of the other colors, so shouldn't be a problem.





These will be plain weave. The yarns are a mixture of 20/2 used double, 10/2 and 8/2. All will be sett at 24 epi, so there should be a slight bit of texture difference. There are 4 colors in this warp. I have planned 13 stripes, starting from the middle and working out to the sides, which means each side will be brown. I am also winding two threads of each of the other colors at the beginning and end of the warp. These will be brought forward from the back to use as edges when I am crossing with a color other than the brown. This keeps the edges looking neat.

The blue painted warp is wound into bouts. I think I'll get to it sometime in 2013. Happy New Year!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Painted warp scarves

I have been really busy the last couple weeks weaving off these scarves. And I got them all done! Six warps which yielded two scarves a warp. I tied on after the first one.

Warp: 8/2 Tencel
Weft: 10/2 Tencel except for #5, which is 24/2 wool and #12 which is 8/2 Tencel.

They are arranged in warp pairs: #1 and #2 same warp, etc.


#1



#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8




#9


#10



#11






#12




I'm very happy with them! I think one's my favorite, then I see another and another and another. They make me want to paint more warps and I'll do that next spring. I used the 24/2 wool because I didn't have another good color in Tencel to go with that warp. I washed the wool weft one in the sink instead of in the washing machine on delicate like I did the rest of them. Then I threw them all in the dryer (wool one, too) until they were very damp. I ironed them on low, hung them on my drying rack outside for the afternoon, and when they were dry, I ironed them on the Cotton setting, which is pretty hot. That final pressing is when the hand changed drastically from not really drapey to melt-in-your-hand drapey. It's one of the few times I like ironing!

The wool weft did not shrink, and although it is not as iridescent as the others, it's quite light and airy.

For now, I'm winding solid blue warp to go with the 10/2 mercerized cotton painted in blues. I'll put this little solid warp stripe in since I don't have enough ends of the painted to make the blanket. I hope to get it all ready to start putting on the loom when I get back the end of the month. It helps to have something to start right in on.


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