A learning curve with weaving.

Tapestry weaving has been a skill I have wanted to learn for some time since receiving a small Good Wood loom.  A friend of my brother's gave it to me in honor of him when he died twenty years ago.  At that time spinning was a relatively newly-acquired skill for me since learning how to spin in 1997.  Upon returning home, I promptly warped the loom with crochet cotton and wove with a bit of white handspun weft.  It is the perfect size for a mug rug and has graced my computer desk for years. The experience of weaving was okay, but not something I felt compelled to pursue at that time...until Jim bought me the Cricket loom for my birthday in 2014.  The scarf I wove with the yarn that came with the loom (enhanced with some yarn from the knitting stash) was instant gratification.  That gift led to being in a small group at Anoka Fiber Works that wove vests on our Cricket looms, which then led to me writing an article for Spin-Off Magazine about the experience.  It became clear early on in my weaving that I enjoyed weaving with wool and particularly loved weaving fabric for garments.  A few months later, I purchased a floor loom from Deb, of Old Man Wool Farm.  Weaving fabric for sewing has been fun and satisfying and as time goes by, there is more to learn and opportunity to grow as a fiber artist.  The next step for me is to paint with the yarn with tapestry weaving.  My experiment is approximately three-inches wide by six-inches long.  The piece for me was a success and I look forward to more tapestry weaving.  My plan is to use some of the handspun from the Snake River Acres Lincoln Longwool for weft (and possibly warp) in a tapestry project.

I borrowed Mary's Harrisville lap loom and warped it for a small project using cotton rug warp and handspun woolly bits for the weft.  The simple landscape is made with simple shapes using contour, slanted, and straight lines.  The tension was not an issue, but I should have addressed the start before diving into the weaving.  

About halfway through the first project, I warped the Good Wood loom with two strands of rug warp per slot.  The advantage to the lap loom is that the yarn ends are easy to move to the back when not in use.  This time I wove with one warp thread per pass.  Next time it should be two strands per pass.  I still like how it looks, even though a bit of the warp peeks through the weaving.  

The varying thickness of yarn was tricky on the edges, but I like the overall texture.

The finishing at the top and bottom were a bit of a challenge.  I did two rows of twining and managed to stitch down the loops at the bottom.  Next time I will do a continuous warp.  

The long threads at the top was nice for tying the piece onto one of sticks I picked up on a hike last year.

Thursday

I am knitting boot cuffs using my least favorite technique - Brioche stitch.  I am using Noro Kureyon (main color) and Ella Rae heather (contrast color)

Deb from Ewespun Fiber Mill at Old Man Wool Farm prepped the Lincoln Longwool into a cloud.  It is beautiful!  Right now, I am spindle spinning some for a small weaving project.  The rest will be wheel spun.  

It's hot...again

The past week has been really nice, but the heat and humidity are on again!  I met with a student last week and she is working on a brioche knitting project.  Brioche is my knitting kryptonite by sucking all the fun out of my knitting.  The end result of the technique is visually striking, but I find it fiddly to get through the process.  It was time to pick up needles and contrasting yarn to give it another go, so I am now knitting the boot cuffs.  Early yesterday morning I finally found a video that showed the technique beautifully and I could watch it without sound!   Since the photos were taken, the knitting has been frogged no less than five times and this morning, I chose a blue heather wool instead of a contrasting ball of Kureyon.  Getting the hang of the technique just takes patience.  Now that I understand the construction of the stitches, I can work on my muscle memory.

It is tempting to call this an ugh project, but I do love the contrasting Noro colors together.  

Yesterday was a busy day in a good way.  the weather was beautiful for painting outdoors, I had lunch with a friend, sent in my class fee for a fun class on Monday with another friend, and then went to the shop.  The painting session was not as long because of lunch, but I managed to get a good start on a small painting of my favorite willow tree.  In the short time I was able to paint the light changed considerably.  Snapping photos with the phone was helpful and the sun was peeking through on the willow's bark in the last photo.

After I set up the easel, I snapped a photo.

The light changed considerably within a half hour.

I was happy to see the bright spots of light on the bark toward the end of the painting session.

 Last week I had the urge to use a couple of the foraged sticks from camping trips for weaving.  The small stick was one from a few years ago when I saw stick weaving at Shepherd's Harvest.  Andrea had it as a children's activity and I thought it looked like fun.  I used handspun scraps.  In that same vein of creativity, I borrowed the lap loom from Mary and warped it with some cotton.  This will be a small tapestry landscape.  It looks amazing in my head right now.

Catching up

I was busy and productive last week.  

I started a hat from the ribbing I used for class and helical stripes are fun to knit and a nice option instead of a solid color.  The gray is carded with color bits of mohair locks and sari silk.  The colors pop beautifully against the brown striped fabric.

On Thursday, the plain air painters had to work inside.  Paul and Cathy opened their home to us.  It was a fun session...

...I worked on another painting in progress and blocked in this portrait of Gus.

Wearing my newly-patched bibs and continuing to spin the Finn roving from Gale Wood Farm.

Mary and I washed our Lincoln Longwool fleeces (from Snake River Acres).  We will be prepping and spinning up this beautiful, silvery gray fiber.  I am taking the time to read about the sheep and spinning the lovely wool into yarn appropriate for knitting and weaving.

Gus continued to work on his artistic blanket series.

Jim and I went to the zoo on Friday.  We went in the afternoon, and while some of the animals were napping, there were a few that were awake and fun to watch.

The wolves came running when their keeper was in the area outside the fence.  

The beaver was busy!

Stitching

Recently, Jim was away at Scout camp for ten days.  It happened to be a gorgeous week of weather, too.  Gus and I spent a lot of time on the deck enjoying the weather, playing, and working.

A lovely day on the deck last week...time to get inspired!

I am all wound up!  My tin of embroidery floss was a tangled mess and now it is tidy.

Gus had to check my work and gave me his approval.  Good boy, Gus.

Neaten up the edges of another hole and cut some pretty patches.  Will this one go under or over the hole?

Gus!

The past year has found me being very good about not enhancing the stash of yarn and fiber.  I have tackled the room again since throwing everything but the kitchen sink in there since Gus came into our lives.  On that subject, he is doing well and has grown up quickly.  Last Sunday, we met Gus' brother and his family at a park.  When the mama and five puppies were rescued, Gus and Rudy did not want to be separated and the foster family took both brothers in until they were adopted.  Jim was posing on Facebook, made a connection through Lynsey, the foster "mom," and then the family of Buddy, the third brother, connected with everyone.  It has been fun to communicate and share photos of the dogs.  Gus is the tallest and heaviest of the three and we thought they would be the same size.  Photos can be deceiving!

Brothers Gus and Rudy 

The boys had a nice walk and some play time.  It was a fun day!

17.06.19 We have had some really nice weather lately.  Gus and I have been spending some quality time on the deck.  He has a thing about his blanket and likes to drag it around, shake it, chew it, and then put it on my lap.  I was attempting to get some knitting and reading done, but Gus wanted so much to help with my knitting project. He was distracted by the maple tree seeds (helicopters) and sticks, so I managed to knit a couple of rows. Gus then decided that I needed to hold the stick while he chewed it, and was momentarily distracted by a squirrel.  The deck needed a good sweep when the stick chewing was done.  Gus is a busy boy and a good boy.  This year the maple trees have produced a bumper crop of helicopters.  I filled a bucket twice when I swept the patio and sweep the deck every day.  Thankfully the two trees are just about done shedding them!

Buttons for the finish!

17.05.19 Last week...The pattern is Textures—A Poncho Pattern by Melanie Smith from Spin-Off Magazine, Winter 2017.  I finished knitting the project last month, blocked it, changed the ribbing at the sides by re-knitting them with a smaller needle, and then folded it and put it away.  Yesterday I looked through my button stash and found a tube of wooden buttons I purchased when Depth of Field, a yarn shop, was closing.  Also in that issue of Spin-Off is  I wrote an article (pages 90-91) about a group weaving project out of Anoka Fiber Works.

The handspun project yarn has been in my stash for some time and there was a ball of roving ready to spin when I was reorganizing my fiber room.  It is nice to use up a large amount of handspun yarn in a project.  The roving colorway name Dark Side of the Moon, Coopworth wool/silk noil blend, from Hidden Valley Woollen Mill.

 

I like the look of the rustic sliced wood buttons.

Fiber Friday

Since we added Gus to the family my home work has been spotty.  Because he likes all things fiber,  I have to be mindful of where I leave my knitting and such.  When he arrived (I didn't have much time to puppy-proof the house) and after the mitten incident, I tossed the tempting things into my room or the extra bedroom.  I was in the process of reorganizing and the extra stuff I tossed in the room only exacerbated the already messy workroom.  Now I am back at it, cleaning and sorting yarn for knitting and yarns that can be used for weaving.  The art materials have always been well-organized.  I can easily find what I need and the paint boxes are set up for oil painting and acrylic painting on grab-and-go plein air painting days.  Fiber, on the other hand just seems to explode because it is bulky and fluffy in its unspun state.  Once it is spun into yarn it is easier to store.   With this being spring shearing, and Shepherd's Harvest Festival (Mother's Day weekend) the temptation to acquire more fleece is ever-present.  It is humorous, or not, that I was a project-to-project knitter with only leftover yarn in my stash until I learned  how to spin over twenty years ago.

Last weekend was productive starting with Saturday spin in at Anoka Fiber Works.
On Sunday, I found a small bag of colorful wool batts from Ewespun Fiber Mill
and began to spin them for a future project.  The green wool has silk noil nubbles, which I just love.
 It was nice to spin at home with Gus napping in the same room.  

We had our first plein air session last Thursday at the Round Barn in Andover.  It was not rainy, but chilly and windy in the morning.  I was painting with acrylic this time and I much prefer oils for outdoor painting because of the long drying time.  I managed to get a sketch of the barn and will have to work on it at home because my hands were cold and fingers were getting stiff. 

After the painting session, we had a tour of the Farmstead, a senior living facility next door,  to get inspiration for murals we will soon be painting.  

Morning

Early afternoon

The Round Barn's owner has a pet goat, Delilah.
 She is a cute little goat and wears a diaper when she is in the shop.
They have to watch her closely because (being a goat) she love to eat
anything and everything.  

Friday/sheepday

We had a last blast of winter weather this week, which has a way of throwing the best laid plans out of whack.  Wednesday, we cancelled classes at the shop.  Thursday, school districts around Minnesota had a snow day and the shop was closed.  The snowstorm included snow, sleet, peppered with lightning and thunder.   Friday, the weather was a little warmer and snowy.  Mary and I were able to adventure out as planned to help while the shearer was at her son and daughter-in-law's farm.  They have a small flock of Icelandic sheep.  Molly was the first to lamb, so we got to cuddle the twins.  They are sporting black and white spots, which will be beautiful fleeces as the lambs mature.  The shearer would shear a sheep and our job was to bag the fleece and then sweep the mat for the next sheep.  An autumn shearing is typically better than a spring shearing, so it will be fun to see the lambs in a few months.  The other ewes were about ready to pop.  B and A will be busy with lambing soon.

Last to be sheared, Marshmallow, was the largest in the flock.  

After the shearing was finished we had some last cuddles with the twin lambs before heading home.  

Speaking of fleeces, Mary has a cardigan (for her son) in progress with last year's fleeces from the flock.  After Mary washed the fleeces, Deb Peterson of Ewespun Fiber Mill at Old Man Wool Farm, processed them into clouds.  With her handspinning, Mary mimicked the characteristics of bulky Lopi yarn.  She attached some sample Lopi yarn to an index card and then proceeded to spin samples.  It took a bit of time and in the end she managed to spin light and lofty singles, which she plied together.  The result was just beautiful and she duplicated the same yardage and weight of a skein of Alafoss Lopi (100 g/3.5 oz approximately 100 m/109 yds.  The main color is a rich brown and the stranded colorwork is black and white.

Mary has progressed quite a bit since this photo was taken.  She is now ready to knit the sleeves.   Instead of a zipper, she will add front bands and buttons.

Anoka Fiber Works

Anoka Fiber Works is a small business located northwest of Minneapolis.  The shop is made up of vendors, much like an antique shop, and the owner is Mary of Spinning Magic.  Some of the vendors, myself included, teach classes and occasionally guest instructors come to the shop to teach.  There is space to sit in the spinning circle or take a seat at one of the tables to work on projects  and make new friends.  AFW hosts classes and open social hours. 

Coming up the first weekend of April is the North Artists Studio Crawl.  AFW is Studio F.  Deb P. of Old Man Wool Farm will be joining Kathryn, Rob, and I this year.  

We returned from China on Thursday.  I slept for ten of the fourteen hours from Shanghai to Boston because I caught Jim's cold.  We had a great time in China and below are a few photo highlights from our trip.  

We climbed a portion of the wall on the second day.

A group of us took the subway to the night market in Beijing.

Outside the Temple of Heaven folks gather to socialize and exercise.  Yarn barf is universal!

With the help of Google Translate, we managed to order a delicious meal of chicken and chrysanthemum blossom dumplings with vegetables and some coconut juice.

Learning about the health benefits of green tea.

A mix of the new and the old on the river in Shanghai.

Old town Shanghai was bustling with activity.