Magenta Mood

Its the Dog Days of a long, hot summer. There was a light sprinkle of rain yesterday that was more of a tease than anything.  The rain specks dried in no time.   I don't want to spoil anyone's summer but a little rain sure would be nice right about now.   Its nice and cool in the lower level of our place and we have every door and window wide open to catch a slight breeze.

I've been working away on the Louet Spring and enjoying my current project very much! Remember my post about keeping a 12 shaft tie up from a past project and then using the old tie up with a new threading?  I kept this tie up: (click on any picture to enlarge)

Then I found this draft with its patterned tie up:

Then when I blended the old tie up with the M's and W's, I got this:

I could see the potential in this one and so got started right away. I wound a warp of 187 ends of 8/2 tencel, six yards long in a bright magenta for two scarves. I just love this colour and I seem to be using it in mixed warps lately. So how about all by itself?  The draft above looks complex. It even seems to have areas of subtle shading around the 'cross arms'..... so how would this look woven up on the loom?

I had some help....

Hubby, Bruce offered to tension the warp and then kept goofing around. I don't think he knew I had the camera so close and handy.... or maybe he did!   The beaming didn't take long, even with his help...

The tie up was already in place and so after lacing on, I got busy! I have been using lacing with tencel as it can be slippery.

First up was navy blue weft and trust me, it was hard to get a decent shot where the sheen didn't take over.  A repeat measured about seven inches. So it became difficult to judge the precise end to the scarf. You have a good length but still a little short, but add one more repeat and it goes a bit too long!  The navy blue weft scarf ended at about seventy  three inches. They lose some length off tension and after washing. It ended up a final seventy one inches by six inches in width)

I've used dark teal and magenta together before and loved the combination so I thought I'd try them together again....

I think you can see some of the iridescent effect. Its beautiful when it works like this.... Both colours are of similar values and depth of shade. The teal scarf end up being a bit longer and final length was seventy four inches by six inches.

Then they were fringed as per my usual method:

I went through my bead stash and found a couple boxes of teal beads, and even a close navy blue. I know I don't have any magenta on hand. I tried a couple of arrangement variations but in the end I took them all out and left the scarves plain.  The pattern seemed to be intense and the colours seemed decoration enough by themselves.   So I washed them up and hung them outside to dry. From dripping wet to just slightly damp took two hours with our heat wave.

I gave them a  firm pressing and left them to completely dry over night. I trimmed up the tassels and I got out the camera for their photo shoot. You have to get the angle just right. They have a different mood depending on which way you look at them! The sett was 24 epi and so they have a nice hand to them.  First the teal version:

I love this shot!

Then the deep and mysterious navy blue....

I had big plans to try the old tie up once more time with another threading pattern but I got a commission at my Etsy store to weave a couple of runners so that's the end of this experiment.  As soon as Brassard's opens their door from their annual staff vacation time I'll be placing my yarn order for the customer's requested colours.  So I'm back over to the big loom and winding on a project there.  

How are you enjoying your summer?   Are the fall colours in your stash starting to call you yet? 

I woke to cloudy skies and light rain today. Yippee! You can hear the garden sighing...

I'd like to Introduce you to Dorothy

This is Dorothy and she lives near Lockerbie, Scotland. Then, here I am way over here on the west coast of Canada.....so how did we meet? Well, the internet of course! I have a Ravelry account under the name 'weever'. Ravelry recently made it possible for weavers to list their projects under the heading of weaving over the previous two catageories of knitting or crochet. We may be a smaller group there but we're now bonafide! (Basically infilitrating knitters from the inside out :)

This past August, I received an email from Dorothy via Ravelry's message mail. It seems she liked the way I finished off my handwovens and she said:

" I am just about to start a 10/2 tencel project, probably a scarf as that seems like a manageable first time fine weaving exercise. My loom is a 4 harness 6 treadle harrisville 36” wide so not nearly as sophisticated as yours. Would you advise me to use a twill pattern with a tighter sett or a plain weave on 24 ?"

Dorothy had also seen the eight shaft snowflake twill runner in my gallery there and was pleasantly surprized to hear that she could weave a snowflake twill on four shafts! I photocopied a draft by BC master weaver Laura Fry from an old Weavers magazine and sent it to Dorothy, along with some samples. We have been exchanging emails since and sharing ideas on weaving. We're also getting to know one another and becoming friends and who knows, maybe one day we'll meet!

Some of Dorothy's questions were about weaving with tencel as she has some special cones and never woven with tencel before. Judging by these photographs she sent me, she's comfortable with it now! It would also seem that I have started something in her home as she's acquiring new tools to finish her handwovens and her dear hubby is helping and recently bought her a new sewing machine! ( now, he's a keeper!) He's also a great photographer....

The shawl looks lovely! Wonderful job Dorothy. Below is a close up of the pattern:

The last picture shows how Dorothy took my fringe twisting tutorial to heart! She bought the foam board and a fringe twister and got busy!
(I'd love to hear from you if you have tried any of the methods decribed here and how it worked for you. My contact info is listed on the right hand side. )

I am so happy to find that what I share here is actually helping people. Most satisfying! I feel like a proud Mother Hen :)

I invited Dorothy to be guest on the blog and so I will give Dorothy the last word here!

Hi there ! My name is Dorothy Stewart and I live in south-west Scotland in a place called Lochmaben, very close to Lockerbie.

I am a self taught weaver of five years, using a 4 shaft Harrisville 36” floor loom. My weaving has been very intermittent and based on wool scarves and shawls interspersed with tea towels ! Very basic stuff and my daughters are now dreading this year’s model of tea towel !!

I have always had a yearning to do something much finer and on a visit to Halcyon Yarn about 3 years ago I bought two cones of 10/2 Tencel, one purple and the other slightly off-white. They have stayed on the shelf until now as I didn’t really know what to do with them.

I found Susan on Ravelry earlier this year and signed up to her blog, which I found fascinating. The pictures of her weaving projects on Ravelry were just amazing and something I longed to be able to do myself. I learnt so much from the tutorials on her Blog.

In August, I plucked up courage and rather cheekily e-mailed Susan to ask for advice. Her response was amazing ! A parcel arrived at home with copies of the Snowflakes and Stars draft for four shaft looms. They had been prepared by Laura Fry and published in Weavers. I was instantly inspired to get started with my Tencel. Susan has provided loads of support by e-mail and over the last few weeks I have managed to complete two Tencel scarves using the quite complex twill draft.

I was able to follow Susan’s detailed instructions for fringe twisting and finishing from her Blog and as a result have two very professional items of which I am very proud.

I will never match Susan’s level of expertise nor the degree of complexity she demonstrates in her amazing weaving projects but I have certainly moved up a level from my rustic woollen scarves and tea towels !!

Susan has been a wonderful mentor and it is amazing to think that many thousands of miles apart we have established such a friendship. The power of technology nowadays is something else. It is so easy to keep in touch and share experiences. I certainly hope to continue to develop, in fact, my next project will be place mats in Bird’s Eye Twill. This was another draft in my ‘surprise parcel’ from Susan !

Suddenly, I am motivated and inspired to do more weaving and my thanks must go to Susan for this change. Knowing, that she is at the end of an e-mail is just wonderful and I feel very honoured indeed to be invited to be a guest on her Blog.

A Good Twist to the Yarn

 I had an image posted some time back and in the back ground was my fringe twister. One commenter asked me to show it more clearly and perhaps discuss how I use it. Sorry I don't recall your name, but at long last here is your post.

This is the fringe twister I use. I bought it in 2000 at a guild spin in Kelowna, BC. and paid about $30 for it. It's made of oak and is relatively simple in design.

The twister used in this post is a Forsyth cord twister and Forsyth are no longer in business. I now use and recommend a quad fringe twister made by Leclerc.
Susan ~ Oct 2019

I seem to use only two of three clips but have used the three and found it produces a nice firmly round plied fringe. I have put many miles on this puppy! But the only thing I have had trouble with is the black 'o' ring that enables it to turn. It dried out and cracked. But I found another perfect fit at a automotive hardware store and I was back in business.

Speaking of business...here's the business end. Notice the grippy plastic tips. They really hang onto the yarn and in this case slippery tencel.

So down to work. I have four scarves all in need of twisted fringes so I'll be busy with this for a time. Later some beading may be added and I'll post that separately. I don't do 'free-hand' twisting but have a system that I devised to get even knots and better looking fringes. My logic is "why go to all that work and not finish it right?" I believe the finishing makes or breaks the handwoven item.

First I get a part sheet of insulating Styrofoam. My husband was working on a project in 1999 or 2000 and I scavenged a piece of the board. I've been using this board ever since so I don't feel guilty about it. The high density means you can use it for years before needing a new one. My board is about 3' x 2 .5' and I then took a yard stick and permanent marker and made one inch increments up and down all sides (and even the back in time.) I then pin out my project, in this case both ends of two scarves.

I use extra long stainless steel 'lace' pins. I just like the extra length to work with. I pin out quite heavily! This project is 24 epi, with the fringe hemstitched into groups of 4 ends each. I am twisting two groups of four against each other. Each twisted fringe contains a total of 8 ends.

I then twist them in a clockwise direction for a given count, in this case 35 revolutions. Yup, you must count in order for all to be even. Then I place the two twisted groups together onto one clip and then twist counter-clockwise for the same number, 35.

Then I use a long trapunto needle used for making dolls. It's like a very long bodkin needle. Again, I like the extra length but a darning needle will do. I make an over hand knot near the end of the twisted group and slip the needle into the middle before you close it! Then place the tip of the needle onto the given measurement line you are using for the length of your fringe.

Once you are happy with its position, let go and gently snub the knot tight. Presto, all the same length.

Once the scarf has been wet finished, and pressed. I then use a cutting mat and rotary cutter to trim up the end of the tassel for that sharp look. Depending on the scarf length, and the twisted bout's thickness, I will leave approximately 1/2" or a little less of tassel.

I took my scarf board and projects over to a fibre group meeting the other day and everyone there said "it's so simple but so effective". By using firmly pinned out project and applying a bit of tension on the yarns when twisting, all is under control. Think when you are beaming a warp... threads under tension are threads under control.

Please try this out and if you like it, share with your friends.