Peach of a Rose ~ Garden Shawls

 This post has been a while coming and the shawls shown here today mark the end of 16 years of  imagining, planning, weaving and finishing  scores of projects on my Spring Loom.   In all that time, she was never empty and always had something on the go.  A delight to weave on and frankly, hard to let go.   

Truth be told, it was time as my health has undergone some changes in the past 2 -3 years and it's time to weave less  and be under less pressure to keep two looms going and an Etsy shop full.  I don't know how weavers with multiple looms do it as there is only one weaver to keep all the balls in the air!

I still have my Megado and will still weave but my back tells me when its okay... when and how much.  Its Boss.   Simple as that...

So this first shawl has an undyed 10/2 tencel warp.  I bought some back when Webs used to carry it as it's a great staple to have on hand.   I used a 28 epi sett and my new 14 dent reed I got for Christmas in 2023 and it had patiently waited in its plastic sleeve.   

I find that setts where its 2 threads per dent show reed marks less. If you double or triple them up then it's going to show up.  Not all reed marks will wash out either.  So, an investment in a new reed was a good idea when I checked my stash and saw how much 10/2 cottons I have on hand 😳

The weft is a rose fiber yarn that I bought from Hilary at Crazy as a Loom (she may have more?)  Technically it's 'natural' but it does have a slight peachy hint of colour.  Neutral but something is going on there....   I like it!

The draft is an 8 shaft huck lace which always looks better with 'tone on tone' colours.   The tie up stayed in place and the looms new owner wove a scarf or two. It gave her time to get to know the loom before she had to tackle changing a CM tie up.   Which she did with her next project and quite well too. 

I wanted to try my hand at some fancy smancy borders and thought to give Danish Medallions a try.   I pulled them tight to for the ovals and didn't like what it did to the overall light-weight cloth. So I  just snugged them into place and they appear as an interesting feature as you can see from the picture above.  They are a slow hand manipulation  but very pretty and I'll try them again soon.  

Above you can see the drape and trust me, it's a light weave with a very soft touch.  Rose yarn is lovely to work with.   Below you can really see the peachy tint.  🍑 🌹

... and now for another garden extract..... Dandelion!  

When the time came to start the second shawl, I dug into the stash cupboard and found something interesting choices.  I had a cashmere blend but it was much too fine. Then I found mint fiber which was soft but while neutral, it still looked a greyed white.   I opted for a cone of dandelion fiber yarn instead as it had the right colour and silky look and feel to it I was looking for.  { I bought it at an Etsy shop called "YarnItaly" and they carry an ever changing inventory of exotic yarns }

Your can see the results as it looks like a white ivory and where there are weft floats there is a lovely sheen that catches the light.   I might keep this one for me.   Or maybe not since we need a new heat pump. 

Again lovely drape and you can see how light the fabric is. It would be like wearing a cloud!  ☁️

The border treatment this time was to mix up the huck treadling and create a band of pattern.   It was certainly faster than Danish Medallions. 

I tried taking the pictures outside but the huck lace vanished in the sunshine. Inside was much better but my flash unit wouldn't work so I had to brighten these on the computer.  Technology to the rescue...

So let me sow some seeds for thought:  You may be really keen to weave but please think about your overall posture at the loom, getting the right sized loom for you, and the right bench height.   Your elbow should be at a right angle and rest comfortably on the breast beam when you sit.  

Then think on time management: only fill 1-2 bobbins so you have to get up and move, stretch.   Take rest breaks. Don't weave if a body part is hurting. It's time to stop.  Maybe shift to another studio job instead.

One thing I have never done in all my 30 years of weaving, is to weave at night.  Daytime only.   I will use lights to brighten a dark day but never weave at night when your eyes are tired and straining.

Dark colours, such as all black are only woven on a bright summer day when you can see! 

Some years ago, on a dark winter day,  I wove a black on black lace table runner and couldn't see if I had made an error. I had to call out the treadling order verbally to myself thought out the 50-60 inches and only after it came off and was washed could I see if I got it right.  I did get it right fortunately as linen is too expensive to make that kind of mistake with!    

If you think all  these steps thoughtfully, then you will weave longer and be a healthier you.  💕

Golden Fairy Garden

Some time late last year I bought a painted silk warp from Carr Park Artisan's similar to this one. It was 200 ends and 6 1/2 yards long.   Not really wide enough and not really long enough but I loved the colours!    Also, it's *silk* , the princess of natural fibres!

I knew the 16 shaft draft I wanted to use as it has the beautiful effect of playing with colour and make them appear to flow and shift.  Draft #78116 at Handweaving.net /  designed by Ingrid Boesel in the Thrilling Twills Collection.

Picture 'borrowed' from Carr Park Artisans  

I dug deep in the stash and found a silk bronze gold and a rich silk purple and these gave me nice borders and a width for the scarves I could feel good about.    At 28 epi, the 200 ends would have looked like a neck tie! Here's a peek at the warp on the loom and you can see the flow of the colors.

 I got it all set up in late November 2023 and made a start.... and then I hurt my back in early December.   It would be 7 months before I healed enough to be relatively pain free to weave again.  I also took some time to be depressed and think over my options.

At first I thought I might never be able to weave again.  We use our backs so much in the motions of everything we do at a loom.    Then an MRI showed that I have several disc issues and stenosis, plus my spine moved forward by 9 mm at L3-4 with the disc shifting out the back by 6 mm. Bending forward is a risky thing for me.    I raise up my Spring onto crates to do the tie-up and sit on a low stool. This involves bending / leaning forward and I'd rather not do this.  I love this loom and bought it new 16 years ago and have kept it full and busy all that time.  But with the Megado, there's no tie up to deal with at all.

Besides, there isn't any weaving I can't do on the Megado loom from 2 shafts to 16, and as I always said "there is only one bum for a bench"   😁     I have also acquired a LOT of tools, equipment and books over the last 28-30 years and its time to downsize voluntarily and not end up as one of those "dead weaver estate sales".  I have to say the extra money, space and reduction of stuff is liberating!    Once the Spring loom has moved onto a new home, I'm even thinking of getting a nice comfy chair so I can sit in the empty alcove and read. 

But the Spring is still has a warp being woven (slowly) off and that is all down the road for now.....

Meet Fairy Garden.... woven with olive 8/2 tencel and measures 11" wide by 80 inches long.  Yup, I lost count from weaving one session 7 months ago to more recent.  My notes vanished in the meantime.

The colours flow as I had imagined....

Yes, it's the same scarf but the sun washed out the colours. The true colour is the other photos.

For the second scarf I had to think hard about a warp colour.... and the best option was a 10/2 tencel in a pale gold.  I bought a 3 pound cone of it off of Ebay years ago and it never disappoints. Its also not available anymore sadly.

This is Fairy Gold.... and it's a much softer blending of the colours and it's a quieter beauty.

It's 11" by 72".... so a good length.  Seems the 6.5 yard warp was enough after all as I took my fringe length from the loom waste at either end.   I also didn't get my customary sample for my notes.

So finally some show and tell at long last.... thanks for waiting. 💝

Leaning into Fall 🍁🍂

 Trees in our area are either showing signs of drought stress, or starting to turn early.   Since we had some generous rainfall, it must be the start of Fall. The sunlight comes in at an angle now and there's a golden glow, and the nights are cooler.  Having said all that, we are going into a few days of summer heat again. 

  Its all about change...

Speaking of which, there are a changing of seasons in my weaving room and I undertook the last tie up on my Spring.   I took my time and listened to my back and grateful it was only 8 shafts and 8 treadles ( and not the full 12!)

Then in keeping with the slower approach, I played with some Danish medallions.  Its been a while since I've done them so I'm slow, and the yarn is fine, and there 714 ends.... but the first two rows took me three hours! I told Hub that I wove an intense half inch today!  😳  Usually they are done in a heavier 'gimp' yarn but I wanted them to be more subtle and be an accent at the start of the shawl.   There may be seed beading added later.... I'm still deciding.  It will be a good test for my new glasses on order.

Finally, the main pattern is underway and what you see here is 3 repeats and this is where I stopped for the day yesterday.   Its rather pretty!

I'm also fringe twisting the two scarves that came off the Megado, and then washing and pressing. I hope to get some photos of them in that golden light outside this weekend.

I've done some spinning / plying so some skeins will be washed and hung outside to dry. 

Getting things done again and enjoying the process.    

Now..... Isn't that the whole  point?   Because......

Proof Of Life 😁

Some fresh pictures taken this afternoon...

 A little ‘proof of life’ in the studio….. sleying my new 14 dent reed that I got for last Christmas and haven’t used until now. Just a bit more to go and then we’ll be tackling the very last tie up on this loom.

This is this loom’s last project with me at the helm.

Meanwhile on the Megado…. a new beginning on scarf #2 and I’m using a pale gold to take a softer approach to this mix of colours. 

This is the last project with the older dobby and the new one is waiting patiently in its box.

I weave for short periods and see how my back feels and also slowly build up my muscles again!

It came with a bonus foot rest too! Now I have one for each side on the foot rail.

Planning for Success

Ah, yes... its been awhile since I last posted.  Sorry about that.   I do have some valid excuses  reasons!  I had the issues with my feet and that took time to resolve, then there was the week long migraine I dealt with..... and just when things started to look good, I pulled a muscle in my mid back.   Seems the old gal isn't aging well...    yup, another birthday has come and gone and lets say I'm entitled to all senior benefits now.  

So lets get  down to weaving which is why you really come here and not to hear me whine.  🍷  Anytime in the past when dealing with a newbie weaver I have always stressed the importance of planning for success. That weaving starts with a pen and paper.    You have to know a few things in advance:

• what you want to weave and its end purpose.
• what yarn do you plan to use; what size, colours etc.
• how wide and how long?
• can your loom handle the width?
• do you have the right size reed?

So lets use my runner project being shown here today.  I wanted to use 10/2 mercerized cotton. The recommended sett is 28 epi for a twill.   I used a 12 dent reed and will dent it 2, 2, 3.   

I'd like the runners to be 15 inches when all finished so  I adjusted my 12 shaft draft to be 492 warp ends and so 17.6 inches in the reed. This allows for draw in and shrinkage.

I wanted to weave three runners where the main portion will measure: one 36,  a second 45 and the third 55 inches in final length.  I want them to be hemmed and I particularly like a wider hem allowance  and so planned for 6 inches either end x 6 hems.  I plan to do ladder hemstitching and have a slippery thick cord on hand for the spacer.

I allow 12 inches for a project sample for my records.

Now that I have all the woven portions of my project planned, I calculate the take up.   I allow 3 inches for every yard woven.

Only then do I add in the loom waste.

So my rough working notes looked something like this:

492 ends divided by 28 epi = 17.57 inches in the reed  (Project width)

Project Length:

3 runners (36, 45, 55 inches for length of main portion of runners)  = 136 inches

hem allowance  (6 inches x 6 hems) = 36 inches

sample = 12 inches

Take up allowance of  15 inches   (136 + 36 + 12 = 184 inches, divided by 12 = 15.33 feet divided by 3 = 5.1 yards)  Allow 3 inches for each yard so add another 15 inches.

Now add in loom waste of 20 inches (based on my loom)     Still with me here? 😊

That comes to a grand total of 219 inches

Divide by 12 = 18.25 feet

Divide by 3 = 6.08 yards     I went with 6.5 yards. 

I measured my guide string and put it on the warping mill and again planned to make 4 bouts of 123 ends. This makes it more manageable to wind and to beam later.  I also added two additional ends as floating selvedges.

Now and only now do I start winding my warp.    This comes last after all the paper work and number crunching.  Its not very glamorous like the 'throw the shuttle part'.... but I call this part weaving too.  If you think of it this way, then it becomes an integral part of the whole experience.

So the project is finally loaded on the loom and under way.  You can just see the hem allowance and my hemstitching.... then the start of the pattern. I took a picture of this part right away. Why?   So I have a visual reference of what I did so I can finish it at the other end in the right configuration.  Reverse the pattern in the hem allowance  so its like a mirror opposite.  In the past if I have not taken good notes of what steps I have taken, I have had to unroll the cloth beam and see what I had previously woven at the start and then try to rewind again. It doesn't always go well. So this picture step is something I added to make life easier for myself.  Also it has the additional bonus of showing you any threading errors before you go too far!

I don't know the how or why of it, but our eyes want to see symmetry and will skip over the errors no matter how hard you search.... but take a picture, and they stand out clear to see (especially if you have shared it on line  😳)

The draft is a 12 shaft turned satin weave that came to me by way of a friend in Scotland.  Its a lengthy repeat and you had to really pay attention. I made little cheat sheet on a lined post it note of the repeat and slide a little alligator clip from line to line as I go along.  If a line between blocks looked a bit strange on the loom, then you have missed a treadle step at the transition.   Go back and fix it !    Errors are mistakes, NOT design elements.

I experienced some tension issues on the right hand side of the warp and so made the first runner my 36 inch one and cut it off the loom.   Re-tensioned correctly and started again. This meant my loom waste just became more than what I planned so there went my sample!   My records now have a picture instead.

Once I had woven the final two runners, they came off the loom and go straight into the finishing phase.  I'm not a fan of a 'project pile'.   I serged the runners apart  and then put them into a warm sudsy soak.   Rinsed and then I spun them out in the washing machine using the spin cycle only. Pulled them into shape and smoothed and hung on a drying rack over night.

The next morning I carefully snipped all weft tails and then used my steam press to smooth the cloth. Then I used an iron to press again and turn the hems.  Divide the hem allowance and turn twice and press firmly and pin.  I turn it right at the base of the hemstitching.   Then I hand sew the hems; both ends are closed and one tiny running blind stitch to each and every 'ladder'.  This gives you a very neat finish and the runners are reversible.

Yes, its a lot of work....there's a lot pressing / ironing but its so worth it.   You are setting the threads into their forever positions.  Future pressing will not be so intense as this.

10/2 tencel weft in a pale gold that I call Honey Gold.  The hem was given another press in the Singer steam press to flatten the hem after the hand sewing. All the shrinkage was done before hemming so it will lay flat.

The final width on the runners?   Planned was 17. 57 inches at the reed..... they are 15 1/2 inches finished. Pretty close huh?

These runners would look so much better if I had a darker wood table, but maple will have to do!

A peek at the reverse side.... and you can see how the hem allowance looks neat on the reverse.

The last runner was woven with a 10/2 tencel called silver, which I call Grey Mist. It measures 62 inches over all. I think you can see the lovely soft drape? 

Here's the reverse of the Grey Mist runner.

So if you are a new weaver or a lapsed  mature weaver I heartily recommend that you plan for success and slow the whole process down. Newbies are in a big hurry to get by the 'boring bits' and rush a project to completion. Then they rush another warp on.    Its all a lot of work and I'm sure you want it to look its best? Take time over the small details.   They really matter. 

Above all, no winding a warp and then go looking for a draft to fit it!  That's the cart before the horse....

This post is dedicated to hand weaver and author Virginia West who wrote "Finishing Touches for the Handweaver" which set me on the path to giving my projects the elegant finished look.  She passed away this week and many weavers the world over collectively thank her for her book, her seminars and workshops over the years.  

Virginia West