Week #2 in Review

Another week down - half way there!

Highlights and insights of week two:

1) Turns out I quite like the finer threads in warp #2. I usually avoid them since they're slightly less instant gratification, but they didn't take that much longer to get onto the loom or weave up, so I shall avoid them no longer! I am looking forward to big meaty threads or a nice wide set for upcoming warps, though.

2) Scheduling was more of an issue for me in week 2. I got more stuff done, yes, but I also felt more pressure. Not sure why that was. Maybe 'cause I put on three warps this week. Maybe 'cause I had a few things go wrong, like Stella dying and the chimney leaking again. Maybe 'cause I was leaving the scarfas until later in the day so I found myself blogging about them late at night.

3) It feels GRATE to be using up old warps but I'm getting anxious to wind something brand spakin' new. I've an idea in mind for some really neat vintage scarves or shawls I've been wanting to do for years now, plus I picked out those other pretty, springy colours on Friday but wound up not using them. Will probably do one or the other of those things next.


Here are the Warp #2 scarves (the warp #3 shawl isn't wet finished yet, and warp #4 is still on the loom):



I can't decide which I like better, scarf #5 or scarf #7. I still love the chocolate, of course, but the bright colours of the others are really speaking to me today. Perhaps that's because it's a cold overcast day and I need that little punch of colour.¹

Since these scarves are so much lighter and more drapey than the last warp it was harder to give them much personality while taking their pics (out on the deck in a lightly falling snow - brrrr!). I tried swooshing the yellow scarf around in the way I would wear it and quite liked that result, so a few extra pics of that one snuck into the slideshow this week. Scarflette #7.5 is the stubby from the end of the warp, in a nearly-the-same-but-just-slightly different shade of yellow from scarf #7.

FYI: Last week's slideshow was really really slow to load so I cut back on the resolution this week and made it not autoplay. That means you'll have to click on the big ol' > button to get it to go. I don't know if it'll will help with load times or not - let me know if you notice a difference!


Now back to Week Three!

1. I'm sure it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that I just finished a cup of cocoa and a bowl of ice cream with chocolate bits in and am feeling slightly OD'd on chocolate at the mo'...

Two for the price of one! [Scarf 7]

Wow, what a good day I had! Got stuff done on both looms, got some handspun yarn washed, got more stuff off my to-do list and got a scarf and a half done today, too - all before 5:30! 'Course, I didn't get a shower or get dressed until after 5:30, but hey... it's all about priorities, right?

Today I decided to follow up on my little revelation from Scarf #4.5, i.e. that using a warp colour as weft is Quite Nice and should not be against the rules. I was curious if it worked as well on a random warp of finer threads - something must have made me establish the rule in the first place, after all. To test this out, I chose an old gold that's in the warp as a boucle. Yellow is not usually my first choice for a weft colour but I use it pretty often in warps and it is the colour of the year, plus it made a nice switch from the darker wefts I used in scarves #5 and 6. Turns out that I quite liked it - both the colour and the warp-colour-as-weft. I'm scratching my head now, trying to figure out where on earth that rule came from.

I kept an eye on the back beam as I was finishing up scarfa #7, since I wasn't sure how much warp would be left over - if it wasn't tooooo much, I thought I'd just keep going and make another long scarf. When I hit 78" there was still at least a whole roll of paper on the beam, though, and there really is a reasonable limit to the length of a scarf. (Ask me how I know this.) So, since I was liking the yellow so muchly and there was clearly not going to be enough for scarfa #8 tomorrow, I went ahead and wove off the rest of the warp with another, lighter shade of yellow that was also in the warp. I am happy to say that it was every bit as nice as the first one, so now I've got another short little scarflette. I'm going to have a project on my hands, figuring just how to use them. Good job I like projects!


Scarfa day #8 went like this:

2:30ish pm: Pick a yellow, wind a bobbin. It's like sunshine on the loom!

2:39 pm: Start weaving. I'm just about to hemstitch the first end here:


2:40-4:00 Weave a bit, twitter, wind a bobbin, twitter, weave a bit more, twitter... ["turning into a twit" joke removed due to extreme lameness.]

4:09 pm: Done with Scarf #8:


But wait, there's more! I kept on going and by...

5:30 pm: ...I was done with the extra scarflette:

I really wanted it to be as long as possible, and I wanted to use up all the bobbin I'd wound, so I just kept on weaving until it ran out. Can you see the rod the warp is on right smack up behind the shafts there? If not, here's a better look:


That's 11.75" inches, for anyone who cares. At least 4" of which will be fringe. Loom waste? What loom waste?

See you tomorrow for a whole new warp and scarf #8!

Aaaaaand we're back! [Scarf 6]

I had a blast during week one but even though I had no trouble getting the scarves done and did manage to get a fair bit of other stuff done too, I felt like some important things were winding up on the back burner. As a result, I tried a different tack today: I did the important stuff first and left the scarf until later in the day. This worked a treat and I managed to get a lot of stuff crossed off my to do list this morning and afternoon, which meant I could scarfa guilt-free. Me = happy camper!

I seriously considered using Mom's idea of cutting off after Scarf #5, resleying to a closer set and then weaving with a finer weft. I also considered leaving the warp as is and weaving with a heavier weft and then resleying and weaving with a finer one. That would have given me the same basic scarf in three weights so I could have compared them and known for the future which weight I prefer.

Either of these things would have been great but in the end the chocolate brown called out so loudly that I couldn't ignore it -- even though it's just the same weight (4/8) that I used yesterday. That's me and chocolate all over: I love it in just about every form, which is why I got myself this for Christmas! I was afraid for a bit that I would pay for my indulgence, since I knew I had enough weft for a scarf on a heavy warp but had forgotten to account for how much more the 4/8 is beating in on this finer warp. To make matters worse, I hit a knot while winding my first bobbin and, as happens every so often, the yarn past the knot wasn't plied for a few yards. For a while I thought I was going to have a stubby scarf but in the end it was over 70" under tension, so all is well.

Which reminds me: I'm intentionally weaving most of these scarves Pretty Long. I like my own scarves to be quite long 'cause I fold them in the middle, loop the fold around my neck and then braid the loose ends through the twisted loop. Takes a long scarf to pull that off without winding up with a big wad of fringe under your chin. I took a survey of friends and students and husbands (okay, just the one husband) last Fall, however, and the survey said 55"-65" is a good length for scarves. Ergo, I wove most of the scarves I did for the market about that long and, you guessed it, most folks who were buying scarves wanted them longer. Ho hum. Now I'm weaving them longer again, so I expect most folks buying scarves in the Spring to be looking for short ones. ;)


Anyhoo, the chocolate scarf happened this evening, about like this:

5:30ish pm: Briefly consider cutting and resleying. Briefly consider a heavier weft. Succumb to the lure of CHOCOLATE. Wind bobbin.


6:20 pm: Short break for photo op (note yummy bobbin):



6:41 pm: All done!



And now a post script: I've been trying to keep the Progress Report up to date as I'm working on the scarfas, but this means either moving Lulu (my laptop) downstairs or dashing upstairs every once in a while to update. Neither of those options are ideal, so I caved and created myself a Twitter account. Now I can update my "What Am I Doing Right Now?" wossname over in the sidebar with a text message from my cellphone! I can't decide whether that's really cool or kinda spooky. It feels like reverse-voyeurism and I might give it up before long just for privacy's sake, but for the time being it's kinda fun. It's also quick and easy, so I can pause for just a sec and whip out a message like Winding Bobbins! or 60" done - the end's in sight! while I'm sitting at the loom. I just hope that there isn't some kind of fine print in that unlimited text messaging plan I've got...

Off with the old, on with the new! [Scarf 5]

Well, I tried to get another scarf out of the first warp but it was just as short as I expected. If it seems long enough I might go ahead and call it a child's scarf but to call it my scarf a day seemed like cheating so I went ahead and put on a new warp this morning:


Like the first warp, this is one that I wound a while ago. The first one I just wound last November, though, while this is one I've been sitting on for years. I'm not sure why I never felt like putting it on the loom before now as they're colours I really like - I guess I was just waiting for the right moment and it turns out that was today.

This warp is slightly wider than the last one - 8" in the reed, compared to 7 1/4" - and much finer threads: this one is 165 threads of mostly 2/8 with some 4/8 and some boucle thrown in for accents whereas the last one was just 72 threads of much heavier weight. I started weaving with the same weight of weft, though, and was surprised to see how much more it beat in. I hope the end result will be soft and flexible and not too stiff!

I washed the scarves from warp #1 this afternoon and really hoped to get some good pics before the light faded but they weren't dry in time. Will try to get some good final shots over the weekend to post on Monday. They turned out sooooo soft - I wish there was a way to transmit the feel of the scarves via the intertubes! I've made scarves of this type a fair number of times, and every time I'm surprised by how soft they are. :)


Here's how my scarfa day went today:

9:43 am: Started weaving the last of warp #1 in hopes that I'd measured poorly and there actually was enough on the beam to weave a full length scarf. Ha! No such luck. Still, very pretty colour (though not the green I'd been thinking of yesterday).

10:45 am: Chose the next warp to put on. (Pic above)

10:55 am: New warp rough sleyed and ready to be wound on:

12:30 pm: Off to Fiber Friday at the library!

3:51 pm: New warp is wound onto the back beam... [isn't it pretty? I love the way warps look all wound onto the back beam. Like a promise, and hope, and expectation all rolled (ha!) into one.]

...and ready to be threaded - just as soon as I pop the raddle out of the beater and hang the lease sticks behind the shafts.


7:56 pm: Scarf finally under way after a break to wash first warp, pick up Ron, run some errands, and read a bunch of blogs. ;)




8:55 pm: Scarf #5 finally done!

Time for pizza and Space 1999! See you Monday. :)