Thursday, January 30, 2014

Winding Warp & Weaving

Happy New Year....
Yep I just got in on the last day of January! Lets see if I can manage a blog a month this year. (I do so admire those people who keep their blogs going regularly throughout the year: give yourselves a pat on the back from me please :)

I finished off 2013 with a couple of projects that are almost there.  Here are two weaving projects I would like to show you.  The first step to weaving is winding the warp thread, this is the warp thread for my Krokbragd Rag Rug I am so close to finishing, doesn't it look lovely?
The amusing thing with my warp was that I ended up winding way too much.... I probably have enough for at least one more rag rug... oops :0)  I had mis-calculated when I made a yarn wrap by not considering the fact that yarn and cut rag strips need to be wrapped differently as the rag strips get squashed a lot when beating them down.... BUT NOW I KNOW!

And here is the rag rug in production....
I am making the rug in three parts as my table loom isn't wide enough for what I want in a rug.  Once again it is a journey of mistakes and wisdom from making those mistakes.... a definite learning journey... the first image is my first meter, which I haven't beaten hard enough and used too thick rag pieces... the pattern of the Krokbragd is lost, but I have a lovely 'tequila sunrise' stripe happening.  This piece is not as firm as the next two pieces in which I cut down the width of the rags and beat like fury.... this is an ace project to get stress relief.... ;)
The next image shows my second piece with the distinct Krokbragd pattern appearing, yippee!  and the third image is me showing off how well I have mastered the weave by taking a section of the pattern and repeating it over and over and over.... my fourth image will show the finished project sewn together and strewn over the floor.... but that will have to wait as its still on the loom and I have about 40cm to complete!!! So close. I am starting a new class with Ilka White in February so I will have to get it finished in the next few weeks otherwise I won't be trying out some new moves...

The other weaving project I have on the go is on Lucy Loom, my lovely 16 shaft momma up in the shed.....
I am really pleased with this loom as I purchased it at a bargain deal but it didn't' come with all the apparatus needed to weave with... which is a problem for a novice such as myself... so I managed to purchase a reed then made a raddle, shed sticks and other bibs-&-bobs from recycled wood.  I try to use recycled materials where possible as its great for the environment and my $$$$$..... say no more!!! :)
SO I wound the warp (Ahhh pretty...)
and spent a few days intermittently threading the loom.... which was another challenge for a novice who has only threaded a loom 4 or 5 times and NEVER without supervision.... but so far I am happy with the results.  So far I have noticed two errors in my threading. one of them I managed to fix but the other one will remain there forever as a reminder that perfection is boring..... (It would have caused more damage than good if I had tried to fix it so I left it.)
Here is the beautiful M's & O's pattern I am weaving on Lucy Loom....
...well I think its lovely, and its going to look ACE on the back of grandmas old velvet cushions... but that photo too is for another blogging day.....
:)


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