Monday morning

Looks like another beautiful day here, but I'm stuck in the office today. :-( I didn't get anything done this weekend (including much housework!), except for washing the batting and getting the front beam tied on, on the Hearthside. No pictures because our dial-up service was hinky and I wouldn't have been able to get them uploaded anyway (8 more days... 8 more days...).

Tonight is Small Loom Project night, though it might have a bit of spinning as well, and maybe a bit on Grandma's loom. :-) I'll try to post pictures tonight or tomorrow.

Saturday morning

And what a beautiful day it is looking to be, though quite chilly - brrrr!

Thursday I spun, and spun, and spun some more. Actually it was only two hour's worth, and it was generally going well, but it still doesn't look like I'm getting the fiber pile down. I guess that's good though - maybe I'll have enough for the wrap after all. The bobbin is finally starting to fill up!

I took yesterday afternoon off, and sat down to the Hearthside loom and started tying on the front beam. And I noticed something didn't look quite right. And then I realized I hadn't sleyed the heddle yet! LOL Good grief! So I spent the evening doing that. I had to take several breaks as that leaning over the loom is uncomfortable for me. Next time, I think I'll take the loom off the stand and lean it sideways against the wall to sley - that ought to work much easier.

Today I will be tying on the front beam. :-) And I need to wash some batting for this project too. Other than that, I believe this is a kind of miscellaneous day; since DH has the day off I may not get much accomplished. Maybe I'll get out one of the crochet projects that's been languishing in my (HUGE) UFO bag. :-D

And of course there is always housework, darn it! And the hound wants attention, and I need to clean off my computer desk - we're getting a satellite modem installed soon! WOOHOO!! I so can't wait to dump this lousy dial-up!

Almost done...

I'm about out of room to pass the shuttle, so I'll be switching to crochet thread for a few rows for a hem. I need to double-check the book, but I believe I can stitch the pocket hems (go up a couple rows of weft, and wrap around the warp thread), and then 'paint' the hem with thinned white glue to securely hold them until I get them sewn. I'm still debating how to finish the scarf part; I originally was going to go with fringe, but this side has been so abraded by the heddle that it looks terrible. I may end up hemming the scarf as well.

I think tonight is spinning night - I need to double-check my schedule. First I might finish dressing the Hearthside, though, as I really need to get that project started!

I carded... and carded... and

carded some more. Whew! Two hours of carding caused a carpal tunnel syndrome flare-up, so I'll have to remember to take more breaks. But I finished the first 5 oz bag of alpaca (it says it's 'cloud' on the outside of the bag, but it sure isn't easy spinning in that form) and started airing out the second bag. By the time I get the rolags from bag #1 spun, the new stuff ought to be uncompacted. My bobbin doesn't seem to be filling very fast, so I may not have enough to do the Reader's Wrap with it. I do have two bags of alpaca/silk/merino (or mohair - I can't remember which) that I bought from the same vendor last year, but it's white and I hadn't intended it for the wrap. We'll just have to see how much I end up with.

That's all I did last night; I believe Wednesday is for working on the large loom. Maybe - just maybe - I will have enough energy left over tonight to finish those darn pockets and finish dressing the Hearthside loom. Keep your fingers crossed!

Monday!

First - a Sunday report. I'm spinning much more evenly with using my hand-carded rolags, than I did with my flicked rolags. Luckily I bought two (small) bags of the alpaca, as this first batch of spinning probably won't be strong enough for warp (the alpaca is intended for a scarf-type project on the Harp). I do have to practice my carding technique though, as I am pretty clumsy with them so far.

Last night (Monday) I worked on the scarf project. I didn't really get into a rhythm with it though, so didn't get a lot done (and it's going to look the same for awhile, so no pics).

I did set up a craft schedule in my Yahoo Calendar, so we'll see how that works. Monday was for the small-loom project, and tonight will be for carding or miscellaneous, depending on if I have stuff to card (and carding is a slow process for me so far, so I plan to card tonight if I can keep myself from looking online for a second spinning wheel! LOL).

Sunday!

My friend & I had a BLAST at the spin-in. There aren't any 'real' fiber events around here, so this was a first for me. There were fiber folk everywhere, and several small vendors. They had workshops plus a beginner's area, and everyone was so nice. I live in kind of a dead zone for weaving/spinning stuff, so I'm already looking forward to next year's spin-in. :-D

I came home with Ashford mini hand cards, which really aren't so mini! They are smaller than usual, though, and I have small hands so I hope they work better for me - I've tried regular hand cards and I am pretty clumsy with them. I practiced with the minis last night, and did quite a bit in about in hour, compared to the flick-carding I was doing. I didn't find the handles very comfortable, but it's probably because I've only carded one other time in my life and don't have the technique down to where it's easy-going yet. I'll be seeing how my new rolags work shortly.


This also followed me home:
SILK HANKIES. :-D The color is a bit off on the picture - it's really darker and more blue than turquoise. My sister had given me some hankies in a green-yellow colorway and I haven't gotten to them yet, but I couldn't resist the colors in this.




WOOL! The flat piece is a batt, naturally-brown sheep's wool overdyed with green (and it's not quite so olive as it looks here). It looks really nice, and will make a nice scarf for my winter coat (probably 2 winters from now, as fast I spin!). I have no idea what I'm going to do with the red roving, and I'm not really a red person, but it called to me. :-)



And...


oh my - the colors in this! I think these are dyed locks (yeah, I'm a beginner spinner too). I will probably have to card or flick-card them - if I flick-card them they will be more variegated than if I card; I'm not sure that I can spin them as-is. Luckily I bought 2 bags of them as I am going to have to do a bit of experimenting with them.

I also bought a couple of balls of generic roving for the Hearthside project, which may or may not work. I'll be experimenting with that as well.

Tonight - spinning while NBC re-runs the first few episodes of "Heroes". :-D

Thursday is for spinning...

Wow, I'd forgotten how hard I was finding it to spin the alpaca. Makes me miss the almost-spins-itself Icelandic roving I'd been doing. I spent over an hour 'carding' some alpaca; the alpaca appears to have been wadded up and stuffed in the bag, and though I've had it 'airing out' loosely for a couple of weeks it definitely needs some work. Unfortunately I don't have any carders - something I hope to remedy tomorrow as I'm attending a spin-in that will have vendors :-D - so I've been using my flick carder. It doesn't seem to work all that great for this.

I'm hoping someone at the spin-in will also be able to tell me what I'm doing wrong with the alpaca - it either seems to be spun too tight, or it pulls right apart. I want the yarn to be soft, but I need it to hold together well enough to use it as warp, since I plan to use this for a Reader's Wrap.

Tonight, I'll probably be weaving on the Harp; maybe a bit of spinning. It depends on how much housework I get done. :-D I hope to post pictures on Sunday - maybe I will have made progress by then!

Wednesday...

I did a little bit of weaving on the pockets while watching the season finale of "Project Runway". Unfortunately, I am not finding the weaving on these pockets fun, so I'm not getting very much done.

I'm at the end of the warp, and several warp strings are very loose and I'm having trouble keeping them taut - I need to come up with a better way of weighing them down. Currently I've twisted popsicle sticks around the strings, but they tend to come undone. Perhaps my knitting machine weights will be heavy enough. Of course these loose warps are on the edges of the pockets, making it a hassle each time I do a pick.

They don't look any different, so no pictures. Tonight I'm hoping to spin, but we'll see what happens. :-D

Tuesdays...

probably shouldn't be for spinning, if I want to get any done! LOL I meant to do some spinning last night, but was just too tired after my shopping foray. I totally dislike shopping, unless it's for fiber and those opportunities are quite rare here, so I'm in no mood for anything after shopping. So I'm going to declare Tuesdays a Do-Nothing day! :-D

Tonight - perhaps a bit of both weaving and spinning. I want to get the pockets on the wrap woven, so I can take the project off the loom and get it DONE. And I'm attending a spin-in this weekend, so I need to practice spinning. But I think Wednesdays will have to be for weaving. :-) Hmm... maybe I'll pick up a pair of hand cards this weekend....

It's Monday - it must be Small-Project Weaving Night!

We're back safely from our trip, with new weaving pics to share!
My sister had bought an Ashford Knitter's loom - the 12-incher, and brought it to the gathering. I was able to help her warp it up for the first time, and she got started on this scarf:



She is loving it, and got quite a bit done even though we didn't get her loom warped until Saturday night. The weft is a sparkly floofy yarn, thick and thin, that I think is called "Glitz"; and she is using a nice wool (and I've forgotten the brand, but it looked like worsted) for the warp.

I was surprised to see that the pieces that tie the beams to the warp sticks are plastic, and I wonder how well they will hold up but they seem sturdy enough so far. It's a cute loom, and I wouldn't mind having one if the price were a bit lower.


I re-started DH's scarf on the Mattel loom, and this is about an hour's worth of work:


Now doesn't that look better with a dark warp, instead of a white warp? LOL I was really surprised that my dad seem interested in the project, though I couldn't talk him into throwing the shuttle a few times. :-)

I enjoy using this small loom, though it needs some re-engineering. I can't decide if I want to re-engineer it, or just build another loom - or both! Yes, those are hair-ties holding the front & back beams to the frame, and keeping the beams from moving from side-to-side. The beams just sit in the cutouts with nothing to secure them.


My other trip project was spool-knitting some bulky cotton to make another rug on the rug-tying frame. I have a beautiful wooden 6-peg spool-knitter that works best with bulky yarn, and I had made a rug with some spool knitting from chair pads that didn't work out, on the frame. I love that rug now that the weather's colder, and since I did a smaller rug the first time I want a larger rug now.

Just a quick update -

I did get the Mattel loom re-warped Wednesday night, but didn't get anything started. It is, however, ready to travel with me this weekend, so perhaps I'll get some weaving done the next couple of days. Back on Monday!

As promised...

We have pictures! First we have Grandma's loom after cleaning it up a bit:

This is a Sears Hearthside 27" Rigid Heddle Rug loom from the 1940s - the only rigid heddle I've heard of that was meant for rug weaving. It's rather coarsely made, especially compared to the Kromski Harp; but I have a Hearthside Rug Frame from the same era that is also rather coarse. Since they were meant for rugs the manufacturer probably didn't think they'd need to smooth-finish pieces too much. Mom remembers Grandma weaving rugs on it, but doesn't think she has any. I also have the original booklet that came with it (thank goodness for packrats! LOL). Those black strings on the 'warping stick' - I have no idea why they were there. They are looped onto the stick and have another loop so you can tie your warp to it, but I don't know why you would want to. And the owner's manual isn't that specific.

While I was putting the warp on ("dressing the loom"):

(Oh my aching back!)


And another with the warp ready to be tied on to the front beam.


I can't believe how big this loom feels, compared to my 24" Harp!

That's as far as I got, as I ended up winding it on myself (hence the pop cans still on the end of the warp), since DH was attending to the sick refrigerator (sigh). I need to find something easier to tie onto than pop cans - the cans keep sliding out!

As I was winding on, I discovered a loop had come off. I managed to tie it back on to the warping 'stick' - hopefully it won't cause any problems. I seem to have ok tension at least. Of course it wasn't an edge loop!

After all that, I need to do some yoga!

My apologies

for not keeping the blog up the past several days. You didn't miss anything though - no crafting was done, unless you count assembling my grandmother's rigid heddle rug loom. :-)

Tonight's plan is to re-warp the scarf (Mattel) loom, as I need a project for when I'm out of town this coming weekend and this loom is small enough (barely) to travel with (this is DH's scarf that hasn't been working out as well as I'd hoped). And, depending on how that goes, I'll also warp Grandma's loom. Hopefully I'll be able to get DH to help me with the warping. Though I can warp by myself, it goes faster if he can lend a hand.

If the first warping doesn't go well, I'll work on the wrap pockets - I should be able to get those finished this week. I do want the shorter shuttles for use on the scarf loom, so I will either have to make some more or finish the wrap. Any guesses which will happen? LOL Hmm... I probably need to make another one or two anyway - my current 'shorties' are kind of wide and thick for the scarf loom. I will try to get some pictures to post tonight/tomorrow as well.

Hopefully this week will have more crafting in it!

Progress made...

I did get quite a bit done on the pockets Monday night, but probably have about the same amount left to weave. I am at the end of the warp, so no waste on this project!

I think one reason I'm slacking on this is I'm having trouble seeing what I'm doing, and I really need to be able to see to get these to look decent. Hopefully I'll get back to it tonight. Maybe I'll get a picture up too.

Yikes!

This weekend sure has gone by fast. I just realized that I hadn't posted this weekend, though I don't have anything to report. I did start spinning the alpaca, which has been a bit frustrating, but haven't touched the loom all weekend except to move it out of the way of the vacuum.

I did start doing the figuring on another project, though I was hoping to have the loom warped by now for it. There's always this week. :-)

Hopefully I will get back to weaving tomorrow and get those pockets done!