Week #1 in Review

Woosh, there went Week One of Scarf a Day! So what did I learn?

1) I LOVE doing this! I'd like to keep doing it for longer than just February.

2) Scarf a Day is motivating! Especially getting comments and email and other kinds of feedback. Thank you so much, everyone who's responded in some way! Thank you as well, folks who just stop by and look and prefer not to comment. Just knowing that folks will be looking and expecting me to have something done helps me to get something done.

3) It is pretty easy to weave a scarf each day. Getting other stuff done is the trick.


Given #1 and #2, I'm seriously thinking of extending S/D beyond the end of February. Given #3 and the fact that I really need to use Joey for other production too, I'll have to adjust the ground rules somewhat if I do. I'm considering various possibilities but will just keep on keepin' on for the time being - I might feel totally different by Feb 28 and never want to see a scarf again.

I had hoped to post after pics of the scarves from Warp #1 last week but the light was not my friend. It wasn't very chummy today either but I did my best. Here they are:



In a slideshow, no less! Are you impressed? I'm impressed!

I think Scarf #4.5 (the shorty at the end of the warp that I didn't count as a scarfaday) is my favourite. I like it because the colour I used for the weft is also in the warp, which really emphasizes the stripes well. This surprised me, 'cause for a long time I've intentionally avoided using a warp colour for weft. Always good to realize when the little rules we invent for ourselves are working against us rather than for us, eh wot?

Week Two, here I come!

A scary fad [Scarf 4]

As I mentioned on HFD, I discovered a very cool anagram engine earlier today and spent way too much time playing with it. Turns out that "a scary fad" is an anagram of "scarf a day". Should I be worried? Scared, even?

I finished scarf #4 early 'cause I've got a yoga class tonight. I ♥ my yoga class so didn't want to spend it fretting about finishing or feeling like I had to rush home to the loom. I guess this scarfa thing is helping me improve my time management skills as hoped!

I wanted to shake things up a bit by using a different colour this time but even though I tried a bunch of different colours none of them really sang to me... until I found half a spool of heavy cotton chenille in the colour 'ciel' hidden behind some burnt oranges and golds. It's still very much in the same blue-green family as the colour I used for scarves #1 and #3 but again, if it ain't broke... at least this one will have a different texture from the other two!

My scarfa day went like this:


12:30ish pm: Try various colours to see what jives with the warp. I did try to use something other than blue, really I did! Sadly, none of these worked (okay, so the brown probably would have but I want to save that for the next warp).

2:28 pm: Settled on 'ciel' for scarf #4:

3:26 pm: Scarf #4 under way...


4:04 pm: Scarf #4 done!

I think I'll use green for whatever's left on the warp - I've got the same colour that's in the warp in a lighter weight so will use that if nothing else works. Unfortunately, most of the greens I've got lean toward yellow and look pretty awful with the blue tints in this warp. Then again, I still have hope for a light peach colour even though the brighter one at the back of the first pic above didn't look so hot.

I'm pretty sure there isn't enough left on the back beam to give me another full sized scarf, but there probably is enough for a short one - ought to be able to squeak out 50" or so. Is that enough for a child's scarf? Do I want to weave a child's scarf? Maybe I'll weave it off as very narrow yardage for something else and get a new warp on right quick for tomorrow.

I realized today that I'd really better make sure I have enough weft for every scarf warp I wind and, unless I want to raid my personal yarn stash rather than the business inventory, my supply of weft is running low. I'd better either make sure to wind warps that go with the weft I've got around or order some weft toot sweet.

See you tomorrow, all yogified, zenlike and serene (one hopes).

If it ain't broke... [Scarf 3]

As predicted, I cut off the first two scarves and rethreaded for the next couple today. The first two were done with the warp colours in random order; today's has a regular colour order in the warp instead.

Scarfa day #3:

11:22 am: Cut off first two scarves and prepared to rethread the loom but got distracted by playing with Stella...


12:53 pm: ...finally got Joey rethreaded after a few distractions and then a lovely chit chat with dear ol' Mum. Had very cleverly forgotten to put lease sticks in behind the heddles before cutting off, so had to rethread from the heddles. Note to future self: do not try this while onna phone!


1:07 pm: Resleyed, retied on. Time for knit-a-thon deliveries and an outing on Ron's afternoon off before actual weaving commences. Why is the colour so awful in this picture? Must've used the wrong setting...



5:28 pm: Bobbin's wound. Isn't it the prettiest colour ever? AND Stella and I got to play with depth of field! Pretty shuttle, too, I must say - I do love my Bluster Bays! Incidentally, for anyone who's keeping track, I used a 1-2-5-6-3 tension for this scarf. I think I probably used the same for scarf #1 as well but probably changed it up for #2 because of the heavier weft.


7:09 pm: Scarf #3 done!


You may be thinking, "Hey, that looks awfully similar to scarf #1!" and you'd be right. I used the same weft¹, but the scarf looks quite different with the warp colours threaded as they are now. Should be interesting to see the two scarves side by side once they're washed and in good light. For the moment, here's a side by side of the two - if Stella's doing her job right, you should be able to make out the differences in the warp colour order. I can but then I know what I'm looking for.


See you tomorrow!

1. ...don't fix it!

Goodbye Murphy, hullo Stella [Scarf 2]

Out with the old and in with the new... camera! Hopefully Stella will be more adept with colours and depth of field and white balance and all that good stuff (which is to say hopefully I'll be better at figuring out Stella's manual and semi-manual settings than I was ol' Murphy's). If I can just figure out how to balance the white manually and leave everything else on automagic, I'll be twirlin' like a giddy little girl.

Anyhoo! Scarves! I started Scarf #2 this morning but I took a long break midday to go into town for a lunch meeting at the Bean Bank re: this year's knit-a-thon, drop off some flyers and pick up Stella. Made a few more stops in the messy, messy snow on the way home and then some dindin, and then it was back to der loom. No WIP pics today at all, I'm afraid - will no doubt make up for that on the next few now that I have a spanky new toy to play with. (Yes, Stella, I am objectifying you.)


My second scarfa day went like this:

11:00ish: Debated cutting off scarf #1 in order to rethread but decided to stick with the same threading for #2. Really wanted to use a purply colour, preferably a bluish lavender, for the next one. Hauled a bunch of yarns of that general persuasion out of the yarn room to try them on for size.


11:31 am: After trying a few different yarns, I finally settled on a cotton/rayon knitting yarn that I've been saving for ages - wasn't sure what for, but today I found out! I really love this yarn: it's a six ply, with three plies of cotton and three of rayon, so it's got a lovely matte and shimmery thing going on. This is the last picture taken with Murphy¹ you're ever likely to see!


8:50 pm: All done! Whoops, no interim shots at all today. From start to finish, like MAGIC.


8:59 pm: Playing with Stella and depth of field. Fun times!


I think I'll cut off these two scarves tomorrow and rethread for the next ones - looks like there's warp for at least one more, maybe two (really should have paid more attention while winding on). I foresee stripes in scarf #3.

See you tomorrow!


1. I had no idea his name was Murphy until yesterday's post. I'm glad to have learned Stella's so early on.

Hello, Murphy, my old friend... [Scarf 1]

Here it is, Scarf A Day No.1, and my digital camera has pretty well given up the ghost. *sob* Still, one does not need a camera to weave a scarf, just to document the process. I'd hoped to take pics all along the way but there really didn't seem to be much point. Happily, my good friend Shari came over for coffee and danishes and a general chin wag this morning -- and was kind enough to not only bring along her camera to take a few shots but she even helped me wind the warp on! Dat's true friendship, dat is.

So, in abbreviated form, here was my first scarfa day:


11:25 am: Just about to start dressing the loom.



12:10 pm: Ready to wind on just as soon as I finish my tea and danish...



1:55 pm: Chins have wagged, warps have been wound on. Still a bit more wagging left to do before I'm ready to thread.



2:30 pm or thereabouts: Threading, sleying, tying on. Then it's time to go out for a very late lunch, or very early dinner! (Actually a ridiculously late breakfast, I suppose, since that's what we ordered...) No pic here because Shari had left with her camera by then.


5:00 pm: Inspection of cameras at the local camera joint, where two of our good friends work. We nearly shelled out the $$ for a spiffy new Canon SX110 right there on the spot but decided we'd come home and perform the obligatory surf for intel and price comparisons. Turns out the intel is good and the price is even better, so we're going to go back and get one ASAP.


7:52 pm: Scarf #1 is done! I think I managed to fiddle the colour enough that it's relatively accurate - please disregard the purple band at the top and left side of the photo. I'll get it wet finished and take a proper product shot tomorrow. The scarf, that is, not the band - I don't think that's coming out in the wash.



See you tomorrow!

The Rules of Engagement

I've been eyeing my pile of previously wound warps, which includes three our four scarf and shawl warps, and have decided to start with this one - unless I have an urge to wind a brand new one in the morning, that is. I wound it when I was weaving tons of scarves for a market last Christmas season but never got to it. It is nice thick threads so a fairly painless way to start, and I lurve the colours a Whole Lot (sadly, my camera has not treated them kindly).

And now for the Scarf a Day ground rules! I'm going to stick with the ones that I outlined on HFD:

1) I'll just do the month of February and then take stock.

2) I'll only commit to weekdays, though if I weave a scarf on the weekends I'll post pics of those, too.

3) I'll try to put a new warp on at least every other day but since the warps will often be three or four scarves long it might take three or four days to weave them off - I'll still be weaving orders and production for the shop on the other loom, after all.

4) Every scarf will be unique, though it might be very similar to others on the same warp.

5) The scarves have to be cut off the loom complete by the end of the day but not necessarily wet finished.

6) Family trumps scarves! I might wind up missing a few days if something big comes up.

In light of #2, it's ironic that February starts on a Sunday this year. Ho hum. Still, gave me another day to get a few more samples done so I don't have to feel too guilty about cutting off the old warp in order to start with yummy scarf madness tomorrow morning!

See you tomorrow, with scarf #1 done!