I was delighted by the blue and white combination. It was the look I was after when I chose the natural coloured warp yarn, but it turned out even better than I'd hoped. I can now see the benefit of all that extra effort in threading because that's where the detail comes from, especially in the example at the top of the pic--I'll try to get a macro shot of that so you can really see the pattern.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
My Morning's Work
I spent the day at the Guild yesterday. It was the second day of the 8-shaft Weaving certificate course. Having prepared our warps, it was time to weave. Here's my morning's work:
I was delighted by the blue and white combination. It was the look I was after when I chose the natural coloured warp yarn, but it turned out even better than I'd hoped. I can now see the benefit of all that extra effort in threading because that's where the detail comes from, especially in the example at the top of the pic--I'll try to get a macro shot of that so you can really see the pattern.
I was delighted by the blue and white combination. It was the look I was after when I chose the natural coloured warp yarn, but it turned out even better than I'd hoped. I can now see the benefit of all that extra effort in threading because that's where the detail comes from, especially in the example at the top of the pic--I'll try to get a macro shot of that so you can really see the pattern.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Rain!
Consistent rain today! The Guild rooms are in an old scout hall. We could hardly hear each other this morning for the sound of rain on the tin roof. A couple of us broke into pigin-sign language, but I can only finger spell and A seems to only know a few words:) We were so happy to hear the rain.
I took this shot from inside a cafe on Sydney Rd, Brunswick . . . maybe I should just have a weekly Saturday cafe shot. Oh, I also did lots of weaving, but more on that later.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Home Brew
These two skeins of wool have been brewing away with their dyes since Monday:
They should well and truly be ready to be rinsed out today--if I can find the time and clear the sink. You can see the beauty of this cold pad batch dye system though, in that the dye hasn't moved. That means I can safely leave them as long as I like. If I don't get to them today it will be Sunday before I get another chance to look at them. And the dye will still be where I put it. It will be fun to see how the patterning has turned out.
They should well and truly be ready to be rinsed out today--if I can find the time and clear the sink. You can see the beauty of this cold pad batch dye system though, in that the dye hasn't moved. That means I can safely leave them as long as I like. If I don't get to them today it will be Sunday before I get another chance to look at them. And the dye will still be where I put it. It will be fun to see how the patterning has turned out.Thursday, March 12, 2009
Drop Spindle Invitation
I got a quick note from CCCK last night raising the possibility of running lessons there on making a CD drop spindle and starting to spin with it. I'm hoping it will work out. The timing is great: my CD drop spindles are working, I have all the supplies worked out and I'm loving my drop spindling--it has become my constant companion. I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
8-shaft Twill Sampler
Here's my first project for this year's Weaving Certificate threaded and ready to go:
This is pretty much my view of it from where I stand to weave, except that I've put the tape measure in to give the scale. That's 8-inches by the way. Weavers, like quilters, seem to mostly stick to the imperial measurements. This is set at 24 ends per inch. That's 8 x 24 + 2 selvedge threads = 194 warp threads.
This is pretty much my view of it from where I stand to weave, except that I've put the tape measure in to give the scale. That's 8-inches by the way. Weavers, like quilters, seem to mostly stick to the imperial measurements. This is set at 24 ends per inch. That's 8 x 24 + 2 selvedge threads = 194 warp threads.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Catching Up
This bottle of dye has been taking up space in my fridge for more than a month. It's the leftover from my "cold pad batch" of the January heat wave. I dyed four balls of lambswool at the time and had two balls left. 
I'm not expecting any more heat waves this season. Thankfully the weather has changed and we're in for a run of days in the mid-twenties. But I really don't want dye hanging around in my fridge until next summer. So, while my friend Anna was here yesterday afternoon, I skeined up the last couple of balls of wool, added the dye and left them to do their thing. Meanwhile Anna was figuring out her new camera, so we got this shot of the dye bottle ready for action.
Part of the beauty of this type of dye is that it's so forgiving. On a hot day, it will be ready to wash out sooner, in cold weather I can just leave it for a few days until it's ready. So I got to catch up with a friend and catch up with some of my dyeing. That's two less balls of wool floating around on my table waiting to be dealt with, and good company for the afternoon.
I'm not expecting any more heat waves this season. Thankfully the weather has changed and we're in for a run of days in the mid-twenties. But I really don't want dye hanging around in my fridge until next summer. So, while my friend Anna was here yesterday afternoon, I skeined up the last couple of balls of wool, added the dye and left them to do their thing. Meanwhile Anna was figuring out her new camera, so we got this shot of the dye bottle ready for action. Part of the beauty of this type of dye is that it's so forgiving. On a hot day, it will be ready to wash out sooner, in cold weather I can just leave it for a few days until it's ready. So I got to catch up with a friend and catch up with some of my dyeing. That's two less balls of wool floating around on my table waiting to be dealt with, and good company for the afternoon.
Monday, March 9, 2009
A Hug by Any other Name
I wore this little darling on Saturday: 
I'd had a bad night and felt rather vulnerable. What's more it's been unusually cold the last few mornings. I'm not quite sure what to call it . . . I guess it's a little capelet really. I've knitted it from my handspun merino-silk yarn--one of the First Editions colour blends. The design is a simple stocking stitch circle with garter stitch bands and yarn-over increases. I love it. It's warm and light and soft and easy to wear. It's one of those pieces that is sure to improve my day every time I wear it.
I need to sit down with a ruler, pen and piece of paper, to measure and write down my pattern, so I can provide it to the growing list of people who have asked for it. Like so many of my experiments, I made it up as I went along. Meanwhile it's nice just to enjoy the textile hug.
I'd had a bad night and felt rather vulnerable. What's more it's been unusually cold the last few mornings. I'm not quite sure what to call it . . . I guess it's a little capelet really. I've knitted it from my handspun merino-silk yarn--one of the First Editions colour blends. The design is a simple stocking stitch circle with garter stitch bands and yarn-over increases. I love it. It's warm and light and soft and easy to wear. It's one of those pieces that is sure to improve my day every time I wear it.I need to sit down with a ruler, pen and piece of paper, to measure and write down my pattern, so I can provide it to the growing list of people who have asked for it. Like so many of my experiments, I made it up as I went along. Meanwhile it's nice just to enjoy the textile hug.
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