Weaving Along

Jennifer here...

Fall is a busy time of year at the studio as we get ready for and accomplish the last shows of the season, and of course, there is also a lot of planning for 2016 and beyond! Now that we are "home" for a while, I'd like to share the recent projects from the loom.

Since the first weaving was more weft-faced than planned, the next scarf focused on achieving a better balance. I used Northumbria Fingering again, this time using a dark tonal Into the Void for the warp, and Moonlight Stroll for the weft. I changed to the 12 dent heddle and direct warped 114 ends at 2.5 yards. I paid more attention to beating and settling the weft yarn gently, and worked on developing habits and rhythm. I was more successful in creating balanced fabric, but I think that a 15 dent heddle might be the magic needed for me to produce truly balanced weave with Northumbria Fingering. I did not experience the surprise shortening in the finished scarf, and the fabric was soft and supple after wet finishing. I love the twisted fringe!

Next, I warped the loom with 68 ends of two colors of Yowza - French Marigold flanked by Livid.  I wove a quick 5-ish foot scarf with Volcanic Eruption. This was an exploration of "What will this look like together"? I quite like the result! I used the 10 dent heddle for the light worsted weight Yowza.

For project number 4, I wanted to play with the Gradient Sets that we drool over here in the studio. As a slow and easily distracted knitter, learning to weave means finished objects can happen faster! This Gradient Scarf took the better part of three full days...but it was way faster than knitting for me! I used two Gradient Sets - Carmen for the weft, and Pegasus for the Warp. These are sets of six colors on our Yummy 2 Ply Fingering.  There is enough yardage for 2 scarves, though your results may vary. I direct warped 96 ends, working the colors from darkest to lightest to darkest 8-8-8-8-8-16-8-8-8-8-8 using the Pegasus set.  I wove the Carmen set in order, in 5.5-6 inch sections, flowing from teal to purple to teal.  I came right up to the end of my 2.8 yard warp... it was close!  

Most recently, I chose colors of Yummy 2 Ply for a Christmas scarf in a sort-of-blown-up-plaid pattern. I used Dark Andromeda, Nori, and Old Gold and added Obsidian into the warp only. I laid out the warp in groups divisible by 4 so that the fringe would be solid colored 8-8-16-8-32-16-8. I had to keep track of the distribution of the random sections of color using colored pencils and graph paper. My husband loves this scarf and wants to wear it to our holiday concert and family gatherings. That says a lot to me! The Yummy 2-Ply was right at home in the 12 dent heddle, and drapes softly into a wearable 5.5 foot scarf that is approximately 7 inches wide.  

I'm looking forward to the next project and playing with colors along the woven road!