Little Lochmaben 2

 Now that the baby shower is over and we are waiting on little M.E to make their mid April  debut, it's back to the other events on the calendar. So another deadline looms for me  (literally and figuratively!)  The Retreat is coming up at the months end: March 30, 31 and April 1.  There is a bag exchange, an exhibit and a fashion show during the banquet on Saturday night.  I'm weaving for the fashion show!  I plan on taking two shawls and I have one ready to go. The second is coming to a fast finish soon!

The first part of the process for the shawl was detailed here.  The weaving was straight forward and the repeats added up quickly. The Louet Spring is such a nice little loom to weave on. Very enjoyable!  I like to listen to podcasts while I weave and I like to think I'm getting smarter by the program.  Shows like "Stuff You Should Know", "Stuff You Missed in History Class", "Dan Carlin's Hardcore History" and my favourite " Under the Influence by Terry O'Reilly" on the impact of marketing and advertising on us all today.  Oh, yeah... and music too.   :)

Once off the loom, I evened up the fringe allowance and pinned it out on the board and then got to work!

I decided to twist the band fringe first and so had to get creative with the colour arrangement.  The solid turquoise sections went quickly using the four clip Leclerc twister. The smoothest twister to use is still the Forsyth model though.

I had gone through all my beads and pulled together many that I thought might work. I even had a trip to Beadworld in Victoria to pick up some rich deep purples Swarovsky crystal beads. Very sparkly! I didn't just get those of course... others followed me home naturally...
I snug the the bead strands tight but they do loosen a bit after washing. They are viewable from both sides of the shawl. Some of the main colour beads came close to running out and so had me sweating a bit! I did a trip to the bead store again to get a refill but they aren't carrying them anymore. I was glad my little stash held out for the completion! Seems they are carrying a very complete selection of Japanese Delica beads so there will be interesting hunting in the future! (Maybe I was a magpie in a former life? :)

Once that task was complete (with the trip and the baby shower as a break  between ends), it was laid to soak in the laundry tub. I squeezed  the shawl thoroughly to help shift the threads into their positions, rinsed it and rinsed once more with a drop of scent free liquid fabric softener in the water.  I spun it out in the washing machine and then hung to dry on a pvc rod suspended from the ceiling overnight.

I pressed it hard using steam and the transformation from bumpy texture to ultra smooth and silky always amazes me each time I reach this step of finishing a project. Its the reward for all the work! I used a rotary cutter and mat to trim the tassel ends neatly.

I dressed up Madge in a fresh clean black turtleneck and pinned the extra cloth out of the way.  (My next studio helper will come with arms to hold shawls better. In a more natural way... but in the meantime, Madge will have to do!)

Its hard to see in my photos, but there is a lovely iridescence. Usually this appears when there is more plain weave  involved, but its there with the twill!

This picture shows it a bit:

So the next shawl has the same threading of M's and W's, the same tie up but I'm changing the treadling from 'weave as drawn in' to the complete reverse of this and all the 8/2 tencel colours will be all new....

.... I'll be back soon!  Happy Spring Equinox!  We woke to a skiff of snow today....

Clearing out the Cobwebs

Hey! Yarn alert!    But this is actually leaving and hopefully going to new homes.  Strange concept huh?  There is a  fleece and fibre fair tomorrow and one of the organisers asked me if I had anything I would like to add to their sale table. My contribution went from a few odd and ends to 64 items!  Its a blend of some books, yarns and small pieces of equipment.

I have been in gather mode for years and eventually you begin to realize that you tend to weave with certain types of yarns and some cones just sit and gather dust. You will never use them.

It all started innocently enough.... I'll just look through these here.... oh, look at the dust balls.... next thing you have the vacuum in hand and the entire stash is being dusted, reorganized and the orphans are in a box for the sale...  It took me two days (yes, I do have a lot) but I was rethinking every single ball, cone or skein. Getting familiar with them all again and finding some I thought lost forever!    :)

Some were hard to part with. They came from friends who have passed away. Some were guilty of being synthetic, some are simply too lumpy..... others too fuzzy. There are some I regret sending off  but the inventory sheet is done and they are beyond my reach now.

I found I have more room for new yarns now!  If all this banished yarn sells tomorrow, then I can afford to refill the empty spots, but I will resist the temptation as I have a better goal for the funds.   There is a spinners and weavers retreat being held the end of March in 2012 that I have booked a room and reserved space at the events for both myself and Lynnette.   The last one we attended was back in 2006 and we had a blast!

So with this retreat in mind, I was guilty of reaching for yet more cones and viewing them  more critically and "when in doubt, then toss it out!".  I was motivated!

So it was a hefty load and I noticed that my friend who was taking the boxes was busy checking things out as she's walking them to the back of her car. It was hard to get her attention to say good bye..... yarn does have that effect on us doesn't it?  :)

So my stash is still on the crappy shelves I don't like (to be resolved at some point later) but its better organised, dust free (for now) and set up in categories that makes sense. (well, to me it does!)

Well, it's clear that I have S.A.B.L.E. disease.... you know "Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy"
If that's the case, I'm going with a smile!

Next post... pictures from the sale!