The Dragon's Lair

Those of you that know me over at Ravelry may have already heard plenty about these... but I'm going to do some "catch up" documentation here and add them in anyway.

These were the project that suddenly interrupted my overshot warp (actually, they were more of a project that came about because I wanted an interruption - a.k.a. break - from the overshot).

I did the towels in a point twill pattern, but the idea actually grew out of an overshot sampler I had seen done by Alison Irwin at the overshot workshop she'd taught earlier in the year. She had made a striped warp where white alternated between dark colors like forest green. Then she'd used a white weft. This made her diamond pattern show up strikingly on any of the colored stripes, but then suddenly "disappear" every time a white stripe was hit. It was a very neat effect. Here is the result of my twill used to emulate that effect (it's much neater in person, but this gives some idea of it):

You really can't see it in the photo, but the diamonds do continue on in the white part. You can sort of make out some of the "hidden diamonds" on the blue-on-blue square where the weft stripe crosses the warp stripe.

Playing off of this idea I had seen, I designed my "Hidden Diamonds" towels. It was a really fun process to think through the design. It's not a complicated one, but it went through a few different sketches of ideas before settling on what was actually warped. I had planned a very simple, balanced set of stripes where one went down each side, as well as one on each end. After running ideas past K, adding a third stripe to the warp was strongly encouraged. So the final results on the stripe placement ended up this way:

The warping for these towels took much longer than I care to admit in public ;-) It wasn't really that there were any problems with the warp - it's just that getting any warp on is a slow process for me, and one nearing 500 ends makes it all the more of a challenge (480 or 90-something ends? You'd think I would actually get out my notes when talking about a project... What a novel idea!).

When it was finally on though, it was just such a beautiful warp!! The dark dark navy blue stripes against the clean background of the white - so pretty!

The warp was wound on shortly into November, and the actual weaving could commence! The deadline loomed near - I was hoping to have these ready for our weaving sale that would happen the week before Thanksgiving.

Heard this saying? "I love that whooshing sounds deadlines make as they pass by"
Well, that's me! And this was one of those whooshing deadlines. I almost got the first towel done in time... it even went to the last few hours of the sale... but the deadline was definitely more of the whooshing past sort.

So a new deadline was set. I had a Christmas party coming up at the beginning of December, and I had been considering weaving something for my gift recipient but figured I didn't have time. Now though, I had one finished towel and a partway completed warp that would make three more. A new deadline! And this one didn't go whooshing past! I was amazed. So two of the towels went to a lovely home with a friend of mine. And since Christmas the other two have resided in my mother's kitchen, living happily productive lives fulfilling their role as kitchen towels (it's so sad when items you weave are deemed "too nice" to ever use).

For those who like details, here is the list (which can also be found in my Ravelry notebook) of specifics:

• Sett: 24 epi, ppi
• Woven in point twill diamonds, from a pattern out of Anne Dixon's "Handweaver's Pattern Directory"
• Woven on: A 4-shaft Rasmussen table loom, on a stand with direct-tie treadles.
• Length of warp: 5 yards. Made 4 large kitchen towels plus a small sampler (plus, the first towel was cut off early and the warp then had to be tied on again - so I could have gotten several more inches out of it if I hadn't).
• Warp: Unmercerized 8/2 cotton, white with 3 stripes of navy blue.
• Weft: Unmercerized 8/2 cotton, white with 2 stripes of navy blue.
• Finishing: Machine wash, machine dry.
• Size before washing: (There was slight variation between the lengths of the towels, but the sizes given are from the same towel) 29” length, 18.25” width
• Size after washing: 26.25” length, 16.5” width
• Hems: Half of each was 16/2 (or 20/2? need to check) cotton, half 8/2 cotton. They were folded in and sewn after washing and drying. Two were hand sewn, and two were machine sewn. I definitely preferred the results of the hand sewn hem.

By time I got to the third towel I was itching to try out some variation. I had about a hundred different possibilities in my head, but what I ended up trying was a fairly simple change to the treadling. I was quite pleased with the results:

While I was very happy with the design (which I plan to use again) and the end results of the towels themselves, weaving these was not all peaches and cream due to the loom which just about got itself thrown out the window on more than one occasion. The very pretty towels pleaded lenience on behalf of the loom, and convinced me to continue, thus preventing a big table-loom-and-stand shaped hole from appearing one day in the snow outside. The biggest problem was that there is a slight tweak to the frame of this loom, and not being square resulted in fights with tension and one selvedge that broke more times than I could keep count of. So even though I liked these towels a lot, and probably wouldn't have minded working a longer warp and trying out more variations - I'm glad that I didn't put any more on than the 5 yrds this time.

But the time came when the towels were all woven, and the exciting moment of unwinding the cloth beam was at hand. Off the loom! Free! Ready to be washed, pressed, hemmed, and sent into the world to conquer wet dishes everywhere! To bring order and squeaky cleanliness into the world. Or, at least in a couple of kitchens.

I shall now bid you adieu, bring this tale to a close, and leave you with the last couple of photos ~

Yes, I do know that the word is actually "epiphany" - the above is one of the hundreds of obscure movie lines that I have in my head at my disposal for quoting purposes ;-)

I love that lightbulb moment when everything falls into place and makes sense!

On my Ravelry group Shuttle Moves we decided to try doing a themed "WAL" (weave-along) and chose Summer & Winter to be the theme. I'd never tried this structure before, though it was on my "someday" list, and figured this was as good a time as any - thus allowing it to leapfrog over the backs of several other projects that had already been lined up and slated to happen next. Never ever following a plan (or most instructions) to the letter seems to be a habit of mine though, so it's no great surprise that that habit spills over into my weaving life as well. So my at home weaving project - as opposed to that gorgeous magenta stuff that is my at-the-guild weaving project - became a S&W scarf.

After reading up on Summer & Winter for a few weeks I was picking up some bits and pieces, but the majority of it still might as well have been Greek for all the good it was doing me. You must be at the loom to truly understand what you're being told. I did some exercises, from a workshop written up and generously shared by Annie, where I essentially embroidered the pattern weft of the S&W onto a piece of plainweave cloth. That helped to shine a few rays of slight understanding on the subject, but I still needed to be in front of my loom, shuttles in hand. As of last Sunday, that's finally what I did!

The warping was spread out over several days, as is usual for me (actually, the fact that the whole warping process was under a week may have been a record for me! LOL) and had to also include some repairs to shaft cords, fixing of a twist between reed and heddles, etc. But finally the warp was on, tension evened out, minor loom repairs done, bobbins wound, and the half dozen or so shots to spread the warp in. I was all set to go! Now to see if I could translate this Greek...

(You're all holding your breath in anticipation now, right??)

And it worked!!! (Can you hear the stereotypical strains of angelic choral music as the clouds part and the sun comes streaming through to illuminate all?) I could see my profile draft appearing before my eyes. It all began to unfold in my mind just how the structure worked, and I finally understood it! Yay!!!

Once those first couple most basic exercises made perfect sense I moved on to others. I'm still working through some more exercises. I'm trying X's and O's now, and that will be followed by some two color work - polychrome, I think the book said? Then perhaps trying my hand at pick-up - most likely using Annie's suggestion of a knitting needle (to be stolen from my mom's lovely stash of needles... shhh don't tell... ;-) as a pick-up stick, since I don't actually own a pick-up stick. Should be interesting to see how all these different experiments turn out!

I'll try and get some pictures up soon. There's only about 5 inches of weaving, so none of it has even thought about disappearing onto the cloth beam yet... it's barely even gotten to the front beam! I'll snap some before it rolls on over. Don't expect anything too spectacular though. I'm calling it a scarf, but it's basically an asymmetrical overgrown sampler that looks as if there is no real rhyme or reason to the patterns scampering across it one after another. But I shall document it nonetheless! It's proving to be a fun learning process.
Stay tuned - More posts to come as the project progresses!

I could try to sound all clever and tell you that I'm choosing to show you these pictures on Valentines because the yarn is pink, or because I'm in love with this particular warp - but I'm really not that organized and prepared. I've been meaning to post these pictures for about a week, and it was pure and simple procrastination and lack of spare time that caused this post to land here.

This really is a simply scrumptious yarn. I've never had so much fun just from making a warp. The pictures won't do it justice, but I'll share them anyway. Here is the warp cascading down the front of the loom just after I finished sleying the reed last week ~

See all that shimmery, smooth, smooshy soft loveliness?? It's a 50/50 blend of wool with rayon, and it seems to have the best of both worlds - The silky smoothness and shine of rayon crossed with the cuddly softness of a good wool.

See, here it is again... Like shimmery pink pools ~

There is a bit of turquoise (or is that teal? I've never been good at telling those apart) in there too, as you can see. There will be a lot more of it in the finished product, as that will be the weft color. It's also the same rayon-wool blend as the magenta is. You can see somewhat better from this side how the strands are placed in every so often ~

All this breathtakingly lovely yarn is supposed to become a shawl. I hope the finished product is as lovely as this yarn deserves. Combining these two colors is something to tread carefully with, but I'm hoping the plan will work. It will be a 'two sided' shawl with each color dominating on one side by using a 3/1 straight twill. I'd also like to play with leno a little and add just a few lines of it on either end just to add a little extra flair to the shawl. We shall see how it all turns out!

This last guild meeting was the big yarn exchange party, so there wasn't much time to spare for working over at the loom. I got almost halfway through the threading, but it will be awhile before it's ready to weave since I only get in there once a week. The yarn exchange was a lot of fun though, so I didn't mind the delay!

I hope you all have a happy Valentines day! Don't forget to hug your favorite yarn ;-)

I am pleased to present to you... Drumroll, please! My Scarf!

As of February 2nd, it was officially done! Fringe, washing, everything. It's SO much fun to wear my (in every sense of the word) scarf - my weaving, my design, and even my name used to make the design! And the funny thing is, I've hardly ever worn scarves before, but now I throw this on every time I leave the house. I don't know why I never gave scarves a try before... They really are quite nice to wear.
I was, of course, able to go show my new scarf off to my fellow weavers in my guild. I've also had a couple friends that know I weave ask if it was my work. Overall though, the scarf half tucked into one's jacket is not a top conversation piece, yet it's still a thrill to wear it and know that I made it, even if no one else happens to notice. It's like this fun little secret to wrap warmly about my neck (warm fuzzies really are great winter wear ;-) and smile to myself about. Though if anyone did inquire, I would instantly spill my "secret" - so that doesn't seem like a very appropriate term for it! LOL

If you're a fellow weaver and like technical details, here is a list of most of them (and if this is all Greek to you, or you just don't like fiddly little details like this, skip the list and go see the rest of the pictures below!)

• Sett: 20 epi, ppi (not counting pattern picks, only tabby)
• Width in Reed: 6.55”
• Total # of warp ends: 131
• Reed used: 15 dent
• Sley pattern: 1,1,2,1,1,2, etc.
• Woven in: Overshot
• Warp: Unmercerized 8/2 cotton (3360 yds/lb.), natural.
• Tabby Weft: 8/2 rayon, white.
• Pattern Weft: A double strand of 8/2 rayon - one strand a grayish slate blue, the other strand a grayish sage green.
• Finishing: Machine wash, partially machine dried, hung to finish drying.
• Size on loom: 77.25” (196.25 cm) long, 5.75” (14.5 cm) wide.
• Size before washing, but off loom and relaxed: 74” (188 cm) long, 85” (216 cm) including fringe, 5.75” (14.5 cm) wide.
• Size after washing: 70.25” (178.5 cm) long, 79.5” (202 cm) including fringe, 4.75” (12 cm) wide
• Fringe: Twisted, with supplemental pieces added.

All of the changes between this scarf and the first one were in the materials used, not the pattern. The treadling was done exactly the same (except the one mistake I made in each scarf was different from the other LOL). The first scarf was adequately drapey, but not as nice as I had hoped for, so that meant something needed to change for this one. Either re-sleying, or changing the materials. I didn't really fancy having the scarf any wider, or loosing pattern repeats by removing part of the warp, so I went with the changing materials option and my tabby weft was replaced with white 8/2 rayon, instead of the cotton that the warp was made of. Another added benefit of this change is that it gave the areas of the tabby that can be seen an extra shimmer from the contrast of the slick, shiny rayon crossing the unmercerized natural cotton.

The other change, as is obvious to even a casual observer of the two scarves, is the color. The pattern weft was still two strands of 8/2 rayon, but it was a strand of blue and a strand of green that were extremely similar color values... rather than the two strands of dark brown from the previous time. The play of the green and blue strands together was interesting to watch. At times, they would fall in such a way that would give the pattern almost a beveled look that was quite fun to see - though most of that showed better on the loom, rather than now that it's washed and tightened up.
I didn't realize quite how terribly bored I was with the other color until I started the first few inches of this one. Suddenly my interest in the project was renewed! All it was was a new color to look at, but it was amazing what a difference that made to working on it.

The picture isn't the best, but here is my attempt to try and show the mix of the two colors... See if you can pick it out... Onecolor is just slightly lighter than the other -

I did a supplemental fringe again, like I talked about on the other scarf -

And to wrap things up, a couple shots to compare the front and back of the pattern -

~

And thus draws to a close The Overshot Saga!

Yes, I know that the next post was supposed to be the conclusion to the overshot posts, complete with pictures of my very own scarf!! But I am going to interject a short interruption to say that I started a new project today! Yay! Actually, yesterday, since that was when I made the warp. But I'm only going to tantalize you with vague little details, because I haven't taken the pictures off the camera yet of my absolutely gorgeous(!!!!!) new warp. But I will soon. I promise! I wouldn't tease you like this if I wasn't ever going to share, would I?? I just hope the pictures do it some justice, though it won't be the same as running your hands through it.

I had so much fun preparing this warp though, simply because I love the yarn so much! And I'm all excited about starting the project - though that will be a little on the slow side as it's not on my loom at home, but one off at the guild building.

And to top off the fibery fun for the day, I got to wear my new scarf for the very first time!!!

And now to continue my tale of two scarves -

So now that my 2-inch-that-became-14-inch sampler was done, I could choose a weft. The double strand of 8/2 rayon proved to be the winner. I've been a fan of rayon for years. My closet (used metaphorically - I don't actually have a closet. But at least a metaphorical clothes closet only requires metaphorical cleaning, so it's a nice and sparkly clean and perfectly organized metaphorical closet... *ahem* Anyway, back to the actual post... My closet is full of a whole assortment of those rayon broomstick skirts, plus a few other items of clothing made with rayon. So weaving with rayon seems a natural addition.

So I set off, armed with my cotton tabby and rayon weft, into the world of overshot!

This was my first time with overshot, first time with a two shuttle tabby-and-pattern type of weave, and my first time with something as long as a 16 pick (*not* counting tabby) pattern repeat - as you can see, a lot of firsts thrown into the mix.

It was a little frustrating at first, as I didn't think I was ever going to get the pattern repeat memorized and would be doomed to 6 yards of continual referencing of the draft and counting of picks as I got lost once again. That smoothed out over time though, and I began recognizing where I was within a repeat and even eventually memorized it.

And this was the result - My very first overshot scarf - of persevering through this new territory:

The post-washing measurements were 55" (61 1/2" w/fringe) long, and 5 1/8" wide.

Another "first" that I added to the project was adding supplemental pieces to the fringe. This was a bit of an experiment as it wasn't an idea that I had seen used before (though I'm certain other weavers have done this before - I just hadn't happened to see an example or heard it described thus far). Bear in mind when looking at this photo that the warp was made 100% out of natural colored cotton, and perhaps you'll spot the supplemented parts:

I was afraid that the natural colored fringe would be too stark against the body of the scarf, so some of the brown rayon used as weft was carefully wound in to one half of every other fringe twist, giving it a bit of a 'candy cane' stripe. I have discovered that there are pitfalls to this idea (for example - it can easily pull your edge out of shape if you don't allow enough "take up" room at the top. It can also affect your twist some) and it makes the fringe take even longer than that already time-consuming task already takes. I was happy with the end results in this case however. Though I definitely wouldn't add supplements to every fringe - it has to really need it!

This scarf's journey next took it to another first for me - being an item for sale in our guild's annual weaving show and sale (PinkDandelion had a whole post about our sale, and even some photos of it, on her blog). It was a lot of fun to actually be involved in that, and not just a spectator this year. And to top off the fun, it happened that the purchaser was the owner of a loom I was using at the time for another project. I haven't actually met this person, as he isn't part of the guild, but we store the loom there for him in exchange for being able to use it. I believe it had belonged to his mother. Having a bit of a 'connection' to the new owner of the scarf seems rather neat to me.

This scarf's journey was complete now, but there was still more warp to go! Next on the list was samples - but not the same kind of sampling as before. What I needed now was a strip of cloth big enough to cut at least 2 dozen sample squares out of, to be affixed to the multiple copies of my project details page that I will be turning in for our guild challenge in a couple of months.
One neat trick that I learned at this point, from a suggestion K made, was to run a contrasting colored thread (in this case I chose some bright turquoise I had leftover on a bobbin) along both the warp and also used in the weft to mark my cutting lines. This is going to make cutting apart the samples SO much easier, and it made keeping track of how many samples I had a cinch too! So if you are ever making a strip of samples like that, give it a try!

Somehow this strip of samples managed to stretch from September to January!! As you can see, my heart wasn't really in the project for awhile. I would make a terrible production weaver! I'm definitely more of the "Ooh! Shiny!" sort ;-) As being distracted by my "Hidden Diamonds" towel project will attest to. But one day they were finally done! And it was finally time to start the last scarf!

And so next time, I shall bring to a close this tale, and produce for your viewing pleasure this final scarf. I shall forwarn that there could be another overabundance of the warm fuzzies in store, so if you don't like tribbles you might prefer to steer clear ;-)

For now I must leave you with one more "To Be Continued..."

Any finished object should produce those nice warm fuzzies of accomplishment, but the final item on a multiple-item warp is overridden with warm fuzzies and reason for a little happy dance as well! I have one of those sort of finished objects sitting nearby right now - my overshot scarf.

And just to make it a complete overload in the warm fuzzies department (I'm now picturing Captain Kirk buried in tribbles) this is also the very first piece of weaving that I made for myself. Yes, I have gifted or sold every single other piece of my weaving up to this point (though you must take into account the fact that I only have just over a dozen woven finished objects in my past thus far - it doesn't take long for that amount to disappear!). I recently also made a rug that I'm considering keeping, so I feel completely decadent and spoiled at the thought of having two lovely woven pieces in my possession that are my very own accomplishments. But let us wade out of the overabundance of warm fuzzies and turn back to the subject of overshot -

This particular warp had been on my loom for over six months (why yes, I am a little slow at completing projects). Though the saga actually begins back in the end of May 2008.
I was able to 'audit' (attend, but not fully participate in) a great workshop about overshot taught by Alison Irwin. If you ever have the chance to learn from her, I definitely recommend it! One part of the workshop that I was able to participate in, being an off-loom activity, was learning how to name draft. I'm definitely hooked! I used my first name just to experiment and learn on, but ended up with one draft that really caught my fancy. It was the "As Drawn In" treadling of my name draft. I therefor decided to warp up and dive into overshot for the first time, using a draft I had made myself. What fun! This also meant that I would have a much better chance of actually participating in our 08/09 guild challenge (which was to be overshot) by starting nearly a year in advance. I know myself well enough to know that neglecting to 'strike while the iron is hot' would mean that procrastination would then set in, and I would not start until a month before the challenge piece was due, bite off more than I could chew, and end up running out of time. Instead, though it did take me six months, the challenge piece is completed with over two months to spare! I'm still rather in shock from the non-procrastinatory un-last-minute-ness of it all.

And now, on to talk about the actual weaving ~
I chose the sett - 20 epi - and size I wanted the scarf, then did the calculations needed before pulling out the warping board. Next step was to wind back and forth the 6.5 yards of 8/2 natural cotton 131 times. I had mentioned the idea of using a black warp, but immediately received dire warnings about the headaches of threading a black warp from my friend & weaving mentor - whom I shall designate as "K" on this weblog. Figuring that, being a completely new weave structure to me and all, I didn't need to introduce additional headaches, I took K's advice. I still think black warps look incredibly neat, and will get to them at some point soon, but I do try to restrain myself and not make each new project completely and totally over my head - just somewhat that way ;-)

My wonderful sister PinkDandelion gave advice and lent a hand wherever it was helpful in the warping process. The warp went on with relatively few difficulties. Then I was ready to weave!

This would be where "Lesson #1" learned from this project comes in:
Don't get overenthusiastic and wind multiple bobbins of your weft unless you're sure it's the correct weft choice for the project!
I still have a few bobbins all loaded up with some lovely gray-blue, crinkly textured rayon. And I will use them eventually, but for now they are just hogging bobbins - because this yarn did not work as the pattern weft. My lovely lacy little pattern became a blob with the texture in the yarn.

This little goof also resulted in a much longer sampling process than I had planned. It was a great learning experience though! The sampler ended up being 14" long and containing 9 different samples:

If you like lots of little details - like what every one of those samples is - you can find that in my Ravelry notebook entry about the sampler. Or, if you aren't on Ravelry (though if you're reading details like that, you should join Ravelry!!) I have the list over on flickr as well.

As this post is growing incredibly long anyway, and I am now being called away to the duties of everyday life, I must leave this as a "To Be Continued..."

I had/have grand plans of overhauling the look of this blog and making it completely "mine". My bohemian and perfectionist geek sides are both throwing horrible tantrums at the very thought of using and showing this weblog with a pre-loaded, un-customized skin on it! *gasp* However, my practical side is showing amazing firmness and has put those other two in time-out until they calm down. The content, more than the blog skin, is what really matters after all! And this practical side knows very well that the procrastination element is strongly at play, and if I wait for it to be the "perfect" looking weblog, it may never ever have any content.

Someday I hope that the customization will occur. After all, once my logo (currently partway through the design process) with my beautiful, blue Reluctant Dragon is complete I'll have to work that in here! But for right now, I shall dive in to sharing about fibery goodness and be content to know that this weblog is an inviting blank canvas all ready and waiting for when the appropriate time presents itself.

And so we begin!