On a Rosepath

I finished one small runner and was not impressed with the weaving structure, I figured that I screwed up several times along the way, but it was good practice. I'm still battling my feet, I have been weaving barefoot to feel what I'm doing. I don't know if that's a strange way or not but as many have told me "do what works for you" well this is working. I've settled into this Rosepath weaving structure and I'm comfortable with the rhythm I've developed on it. This will be the table runner for the entryway table, the runner on the loom is a mere 5.75" the table is 8 9" wide so this will do nicely. The washed sample soften out a bit and became a bit looser, not by much but it works for a runner. I thought I might want to use this for dishtowels but it's very rough even after the wash. I think I can use the rest of the yarn for place mats, these colors would work with my SIL's kitchen colors, so maybe a Christmas gift in the planning.


I have a questions;
I find that I'm having trouble with the placement of my feet on the treadles , to me it seems as if the treadles are too close together, if I were to space them out say I treadle harness 1 & 4 on pedal 1 and harness 2 & 3 on pedal 3 leaving one in between each sequence will that effect the balance of the weaving in any way? I don't really think so, but I thought I throw out a dumb question, although I know the only dumb questions are the one's you don't ask.

Next question, in the next pic you see the two black lines on either side of my shuttle those are the floating selvage yarn, should I thread those through a non working harness say #6 just to keep them lower? As it is right now I have to push on them when I throw the shuttle so that the weft thread catches them.

Last question I promise: To weave a header, regular tabby weaver do I need to crawl under the loom and undo the tie ups every time or is there some magical combo of foot work I need to do?

Yes, I know you guys are enjoying my beginner naivete, the duh questions and reminiscing of your early weaver frustrations, I hope that it's not too boring and you all can stick it out, I promise this drivel will not continue for long, I have exactly 10 books from the library in my possession and am reading and taking tons of notes.

I have also promised myself I will save up some $$ and take a beginner's class and the Folk School in NC, that may not happen soon but it will, maybe by the time I get there I can actually take an itermediate class and not be a total dumba$$.

Ha, ha, blogger thought you all would get a kick of seeing my shuttle doing a straight dive off my loom, I can't get this to post any other way.

Leno Lace, Beads & Inkles

I started working on the table runner and finally decided how I was going to incorporate the beads into my leno lace work. I did a generous 4 x 4 leno, which open up some really great space and inserted the beads in between the spaces. I really like the way it looks and the natural wood beads really go with the beachy, sea foam theme on this one.

After the leno beads I did a more conservative leno in 2x2 above it. Since it's a table runner and my SIL loves to put a lot of tchotchkes on her tables, I have to limit the decorating touches to the ends. But I think I may take liberties with the extra warp and do some serious bead enhancements, I'm thinking of doing some squares of tabby and squares of beads, I really do like the effect and it's fun to experiment. I love when I work and get a creative influx of ideas, this time around though I writing and drawing as I go, it makes for slower weaving but I tend to lose the creative thoughts after I finish the actual piece, this way I can keep a record of what my mind is visualizing as I'm working. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but I'm hoping it will help me concentrate and keep me focused on what I want to do next.

I really enjoy the closeup on the camera, really gives you a good look at what's going on.

Along with the table runner, I started warping my inkle for what I'm calling a baja bag. It's a small bag to carry around a cell, id and some cash and lip balm what more can a girl want? Small, compact and flirty. I started with some black, variegated yellow, royal blue. I have neon pink to add and maybe some purple not sure yet. I'm trying a new technique on my loom since it's not open on one end I always run into a warping issues. I'm warping individual strands tied together, it's slower but the tension seems to be better and the ends are really tidy, which I like.

Some Actual Weaving

I warped my RH last night. It really felt great to be active at the loom again, I've been knitting a cropped cardi for myself and finally finished it on Sunday just in time to wear for the strappy summer dresses that I tend to live in when the temps reach 90+ around here, I hate summer in Florida, but at least I can now dedicate some evening time to weaving again.


I'm going to weave a table runner and knit some pot holders for my SIL for Mother's day. I'd decided that she was the only person I would create something for this year and I'm going to stick to it, my mom and aunt want purses but the time crunch to get them done will not work for me, I don't want to kill myself to get it done, so I'm not. My hubby finally convinced me of that, he told me "You create because you love it, once you have to , te pones pesada y no hay quien te resiste" (you get cranky and no one can put up with you) we speak Spanglish with the final part of that very exaggerated hand movements and facial expression, LOL. He's right, the minute I have to produce anything on command or demand, I procrastinate and my creative mojo dries up like a shriveled rose in the hot Florida sun and I do get rather cranky and irritated. I know this about myself, I really do, because when I was in college and majoring in Commercial Art and Advertising, one of my professors Mr. Ink (he would sign his work with an inkblot very creatively unique person) told me "your really good kid, but only when you want to be, and in this business you gotta be good all the time if not, your not going to make it", I'm not good all the time only when the mood strikes me, so he was very observant and wise. I warped some cotton and decided that a I would call this one Sea foam table runner it's just what the colors of the ocean looks like when the waves are crashing into the sand and sun is geaming down on the whole beach scene. I want to incorporate some beads within a leno lace, I haven't worked out how I'll do it but I can play with it. I have extra warp on and will get extra fabric I would like to make a few more tissue box covers, which were the intented gifts this year and I'm sticking to it.



This was as much as I got done last night not much to look at, but it felt good and that's half the battle.

New Year - New Weaving

My simple tabby weaving is finished, I got 3 place mats which is what I use for the island in the kitchen and a table runner. I guess I could have gotten about 5 mats in total with the warp I put on I'll have to adjust my measurements for the next one. I'm really happy with the results it was such an easy project I feel a renewed sense of accomplishment as if I can tackle some new weaving challenges. I also feel that way when I knit something simple and quick after being tied down to a long term project.

Stock for 1000Markets Shop and Art Fair.

I have a few FO's to share, I completed the table runner or scarf not sure yet what it should be, but I haven't twisted the fringe because I just finished paying for a hair twister gadget on Ebay. I hope to get is before the end of next week and twist fringe to my hearts content.

At this angle I could also say this is a shawl. This is a confusing piece, I really need to decide before I put it out for sale, although I could not name it and allow people to just use it as they see fit. This is the chenille scarf I was working on and the scarf that set my weaving mojo in motion again. It's soft, cushy and warm, if you wear this around your neck in winter it will definitely be toasty.

I had left over warp once I finished the chenille scarf and decided to make a short dual button scarf which my daughter named Tasto, which is Italian for button, she thought it would be great to give each piece an Italian or French name. I don't know yet but I do like Tasto, it just sounds right.

To achieve the button holes I wove to the point I wanted them, wove the first 12 picks on each side for four passes with scrap yarn on yarn bobbins which acted as tiny shuttles for me and woven the center with the main shuttle it wasn't hard to do, just kept all the yarn pieces going at the same intervals to make the buttonholes even. Once I had the right size for my button I took the main shuttle and woven two passes really tight to close the top off.

This is the finished piece it really is more like a cowl than a short scarf, I really like this piece and have a few more in mind with some thinner yarn for extra drape.

SOME ACTUAL WEAVING CONTENT.

I wound up with the flu and a dual ear infection, yeah for me. In my antibiotic, over the counter induced coma. I finally finished the woven table runner that had been sitting on my loom since this fantastic post. I must say I'm embarrassed that it took so long. I usually finish weaving with such a quickness I feel I neglected this piece for too long. But here is the finished product and it already on display under the nativity on the hall table.

I guess I should have taken the pic after I set up the Nativity? LOL.

Here's a close up of the weave structure although I followed the tie up as per this graph I didn't follow the weaving as instructed, the edges were not neat enough to leave raw, but if I were to make fabric for pillows or a purse I would not have cared. I'm happy with the results.

I Planned, I Warped and I Wove

I warped my loom last nite during the Presidential Race, because quite frankly I was really tired of the campaigning and all that back and forth. I figured I could relax at the loom without any utterance that someone approved this message. I'm glad this only happens every four years, cause after a while it just makes you numb.

Below is the warp and some sample weave, I'm glad I started sampling before diving in to the weaving pattern. From the top of the picture is one shot of each color weft, then two shots of each color, then each color on its own and last is the actual pattern. I like the pattern it's really interesting, but the selvages, ugh! What a task. The lift is up /three shots/ one white, one brown, on white, then down /three shots/ one brown, one white, and one brown. Like this the edges are left open and I don't have a tabby at the end to hold the weft in place. so it's wiggling around and leaving nasty edges and picking up the warp thread that is next to the last and puckering. My question to the more experienced weavers is how do I tabby the last two warp threads on each side so that I can anchor them down? Do I use a pick up stick in the back for each pass? I don't want to leave it the way it is on the sample because the piece is going to be a table runner, if I were to be using the fabric for a sewing project I would not care. Any pearls of wisdom you all would like to share? I need some virtual help.

TABLE RUNNER #2

This one is my SIL's present for Christmas,

I'm in the middle of twist fringing and am having my usual difficulties I can't cut the suckers even no matter what I do so. I will fringe long tie then re-tie higher and cut across. (if someone has a trick, tip for this I'd appreciate some help as it seems I can never get it right LOL) This piece measures 114" of woven fabric and the fringes are 8" or 7" depending on which one you measure hehe.. I need to wash it and am concerned it will shrink too much, her table with some drop measures 112" so 2" of shrink would be great, but since I used cotton I know it's going go a lot smaller. I guess I'll wash it and not dry it in the dryer and that should help. I've never blocked anything and don't know if this would help the stop the shrinking, I guess this is a question for the groups.

I have one more table runner to make for Christmas ( the 122" one)and then I'm done with those creatures for a while, I was thinking of making matching dishtowels but, those will be either needle knitted or loomed. I've asked my RugTalk group on yahoo about pile rugs, if I get my answers from them and it's positive that will be the next project.

Completed Table Runner

I finished the table runner, or in my case a buffet runner, because my loom is permanently occupying my dining room table, hehehe.. What did I learn on this project?? Well for one thing I learned that I can't make even twisted fringe. I also learned, as you can see in the top pic vs the bottom pic, that Peaches and Creme cotton shrinks after the wash and drying process, which was okay I didn't mind, but I'm going to make two table runners as gifts this season and the shrink will effect the overall length and width which I need to adjust for. When I first laid the runner out it was 19" x 92" after washing it 17" x 86". That in itself is quite significant, considering I need one runner to be 17" x 112" and the other 20" x 122" as finished sizes (I can't figure out why my family has such large dinning room tables that are never used, but whatever makes them happy). So now I know that the width I started with is fine for one but the length is definitely a reconfigure.

I just got my Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving book and there is a formula in it to figure out how to get the measurements correct, so I will put my math skills to the test. ( that will be scary) I also found that the warp color was very prominent in the weave and that the weft is very subtle in the variations of color. I think I may want to change the colors around and see how that would work or maybe use the same colors for warp and weft and take a look at that combo. Regardless I will need to make some samples before I weave the two next big projects so, the place mats will be the testers, at least I'll finally get those place mats I've been wanting, and I get to try my color variations. The last thing I learned is that there is a lot of loom waste, which being a knitter doesn't really make me happy, so my solution for this is that loom waste will become stuffing for the couch pillows. There I feel better about the waste now, hehehe.