Happy Conclusions

Bruce came through his surgery very well! In fact, he hasn't been the total invalid I was expecting. He has good mobility and went from crutches to cane in twenty four hours, with minimal swelling. The trouble is, he's feeling so much better than anticipated that he tends to do too much and then... well, you know how this ends!

The flowers were a sunny get well from friends Lynnette, Michael and Ngaire! Simply beautiful...

I love the little green/ yellow flowers, inside the red ones. They are so dainty. The whole bouquet is red's and yellow's with lush greenery.

Another conclusion is the much promised  waffle towels. It took me far longer to hand hem them as the royal blue was dark to work on at night so I had to sit and do some of them during the day. The old eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be!

So for folks seeing this post first, there were two others related to this   here and  here. (The draft is at the first.)  I don't normally take this long but its been a busy fall!

I haven't woven waffle weave in many years and I must add some thoughts and feelings about the project.  Weavers normally weave flat cloth, so this waffle weave was a delight! The pattern took shape on the loom  and once the tension came off, the squares started to form right away. Laundering deepened them considerably and the cloth was springy and soft. Really nice to touch and squeeze!  The shrinkage rates was understandably large. I allowed for 30% in both warp and weft but will allow more in the length next time. The yarn used was 8/2 cottons sett 24 epi.

The project width on the loom was 25 inches and final width is 21 inches. I cut the towel lengths to 34 inches, then with a small one inch hem at either end, the final length was 27 inches. So greater shrinkage in the length!  The towels are a decent size (I like them large) but I would prefer more length next time.  I would allow for 36 inches per towel next time. Not much more but enough to make a difference!

You can see the difference the slightly darker blue made in the second picture. Can you spot them?  I'll be posting these towels to my Etsy shop for sale. Now,  I like blue, but I think I'll leave move onto other colours for the next project! 

So the next up and due to be woven off next is ....(drum roll please).... more towels!  I have the turned twill towels on the Louet Spring to get busy on next.  For a quieter, slower time of year, I seem to be challenged to get time in on the looms lately!

I'll leave you with a picture of one of the fall crops in from our small orchard:

Cold, juicy and crisp! And as usual, the squirrel horde got all  the hazelnuts...

In Under the Wire

Its been a busy week and I have been trying to get to a blog post. My goal was to get another done before the month was over.... and so here I am just squeaking in under the wire.

First of all, I have been working on setting up a new online store front at Etsy.com and after a steep learning curve I'm happy to announce the opening of ThrumsTextiles.  Its still a work in progress and I'll tweak it as I learn the ropes but the doors are open.  I'll post a link to it on the side bar shortly.

We have been busy at home with getting the gardens trimmed down for winter and putting things away. Its being done a month early this fall due to hubby's knee surgery this coming Friday. In fact we have been tying up a lot of loose ends (and one was waiting on us for nearly 30 years!) Feels liberating to be crossing things off a 'to-do" list.

We also did a fast and fun trip up to Comox and had a lovely dinner and overnight stay with Lynnette and family. We did take our cameras along but we got to gabbing and such and clean forgot to take them out.
They have done a marvelous job of landscaping their front and side yard and the new trees and shrubs looked wonderful.  There is also a custom built garden shed and pergola and plans for much more. They will be harvesting veggies from their planned garden in the next year or so and shaping the yard for their needs.

Despite the light rain, we stopped at Goats on Roof in Coombs. We had a nice lunch and browsed the store for all kinds of goodies and I *loved* the British Foods section and loaded up on some of my favourites.

It was such a nice diversion from all the ongoing work around here, and the inevitable worry of a surgery!

So weaving news? Well, I'm hemming waffle weave towels right now. I have six for the inventory and one (with the only treadling error) for us and our kitchen. Anyone who looks at the towels in my kitchen drawer will think I 'm a lousy weaver as they all have a mistake!

The project was roughly eight yards long and so the view was the start (above) and then for many days, this:

8/2 cotton sett at 24 epi.... and its an eight shaft version. The start up details are here.  Then finally....

...finally I saw the knots come over the back beam. You put a big push on when when they appear! Apart from running out of my royal blue and having to order more yarn (forced to in fact!) it was uneventful weaving. Of course the new blue did not match the old blue but I had placed markers in where the change occurred.

How's this for maximizing my mileage?  The cut ends on the loom waste measured  six inches, plus the tie on portion and it came to twelve inches total. That's the best ever! I  budget 21 inches for loom waste in the planning so the extra inches woven was a bonus.

You know, its hard to convey in pictures or words the nice hefty bolt that came off the loom! I could run it down a hallway and try to photograph it, or make it into a nice roll like the one above. I wish I could share with you the weight of it and the evenness of the  pattern when it  runs continuously. You just want run a hand over it.

One spot that was visibly different was the colour change:

The white markers show the transition line. The new yarn was a darker blue, and actually I liked the two blues mixed together like that. It was richer somehow.  The plan was to pull a couple of threads every 34 inches and then cut the towels apart using the serger. That had to change when I pulled a couple of threads and couldn't see where I had done it! The long floats of the weave structure camouflaged the line. So I resorted to measuring and snipping the edge where the line was. With the nice tidy rows and boxes, I had built in guide lines!

Once serged apart, I folded and pinned the hems. On the towel that is for us (the one with the goof up) I machined sewed the hem. I discovered why I don't sew or make my own clothes! Even with tidy guide lines in the fabric, I can't sew a straight line to safe my life.  :(     The other six are being hand sewn and I'm half way done. I'll post a quick show and tell in a few days when they are ready.

Here are two close up's that seems to show the weave structure nicely....

Okay, now that the warp is off the loom, I raised the treadles that were used in this project and then weighted them down from above.

Its only the eight treadles and eight shafts used  that need tweaking. The treadling has stretched the active working cords. Not all of them, but some, and that's enough to be a big pain  when weaving the next planned project. (and no, I'm not telling yet!  :)

I purposely chose a darker colour for this warp so it would hide possible skips as the shed was a bit wonky in some places. It can be for a time until you have worked out the kinks. Its a hassle but  well worth it for the  5 to 10 minute tie up's!   The towels warp was a break in project!

As you can see  the shift is as much as one whole hole, and there was even one cord that shifted two. One hole equals one centimetre (or roughly a quarter inch) Those differences add up at the shed zone. I would remark the spot and snip the old tie off. I only checked the actual cords used so it didn't take long.

So show and tell in a few days time.... I'm off to crack a whip over the unpaid help!   :)

High Days of Summer

I'm still here!   Its been crazy around here and more of that to come.  I'd better start with what weaving related stuff I have:

The second Drall scarf is under way using a magenta as weft. I really like this one! The two rich colours really compliment each other.  I'm still not sure what colour I will use for scarf three but I will dig through my stash and find another equally rich gem. The Louet Spring is the only loom actually set for weaving right now and its great to be able to grab a few minutes from time to time. One of the benefits of no naked looms!

The Woolhouse had all its cords set and so I got busy planning a warp. I've gone back to some older ideas and revisiting some drafts done before.... or at least their updated versions.  I want to do a waffle weave again. Years ago when I was a newbie I wove four shaft waffle weave towels for all my family for Christmas.
They came off and went into the wash and that''s when I learned all about shrinkage and that waffle is greater than 10%. The 'gifts' were too large for dishcloths, and too small for towels and every one still thanked me  regardless.

Then the latest issue of Weavers Craft arrived in my mail box recently and the entire issue is all about waffle weave! Talk about timely. (Its a great little publication)

I'm doing the 8 shaft skewed waffle weave from the magazine...

It produces the waffle boxes but they are sort of jauntily off set. Something a little different... I like that.  :)
So got busy winding a warp and beaming it.  I use the sectional rake on the Woolhouse and use my own method (described in an older post link under "topic shopping" on the right hand side bar.)

So its all beamed on now and I'm busy threading away and looking forward to weaving on this loom again. Its been awhile!

I have a draft in mind for the Megado and will start on that warp once the Woolhouse is up and running. I'm trying to consolidate my efforts rather than scatter it everywhere.

So why is this all taking so long?
Well, Hubby took sick again and in a very short period of time was in the hospital.... again. Thanks to IV antibiotics we nipped the problem in the bud and avoided surgery.  *phew*
A routine test did spot something else we didn't know about and so that began a series of Doctor appointments and more tests.  As of last Wednesday, he was given the "all's clear" by a specialist. Boy, Life sure becomes much sweeter after an experience like that! It puts everything in perspective and shows you what is truly important.

We also have had house guests too. Our son and daughter in law came for a couple of days and of course this means, Ethan came too. His first 'road trip' and it was to Nana's house!
We had a great time just relaxing and chatting. Ethan was really good and for the most part was smiling and talking away to us.  I discovered I can still do a speedy diaper change (you have to with little boys!) and I can still cook breakfast with a baby on my hip. Dad was loading up the car and Mum was in the shower so Ethan and I made French toast.

Grandad Bruce hasn't down loaded his camera yet so here's a cell phone pix that we got while they waited for the ferry ride home.  He's coming up to being four months old! Time is flying by....

Hope your summer is going well!  I've heard from a friend in New Zealand that their weather has taken a spring like turn, so there not a lot of summer left for us. Enjoy it while you can!