spring & colour

Spring is in the air and this is how the garden is looking at the moment. Colour!
Not much going on here, as I have a trapped nerve in my leg. So, not feeling like doing much. I'm sure it will pass over. Living on paracetamol.

away and home again

I've been to England for a few days, taking the car by myself for the first time. Going with a friend visiting friends and meeting up with friends. Went to see this exhibition

at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. Well worth the visit. What a versatile artist. Lots to see and very well presented.

Back again and the good weather is here now, so will have to start thinking about finishing the outdoor painting soon. The garden needs attention too after this long winter. In between all this I hope to get back to my rainbow weaving.

more weaving

Weaving is taking shape now. You can see clearly that the back is different from the front. As I'm using a different type of yarn as weft I want to see how it comes out after washing. I've decided to make a cushion out of the first samples and I'm halfway through the 2nd sample hoping to finish tomorrow and cut.

It really is nice to weave with the end feed shuttle. It's my heaviest shuttle ever, weighing about 170gram without a pirn. I find that the weight helps it to get easy from side to side. I could feel it in my wrists the first few days using this shuttle but it's ok now.

unpicking and starting again

As I was not happy with the result, I unpicked the weft today. Added extra black warp thread and started weaving again. I first wove basket weave on the edge but that did not work out well so changed it to plain weave. I should probably have added more threads for the basket weave to work well. I only added 6 threads each side. At this stage I'm not going to change it again.
This is how it now looks tonight. The bottom shot is from the back.

weaving

Threaded the rest of the warp today and tonight could start weaving.
Using my end feed shuttle for the first time with this warp. What a nice way to weave!

Thinking about adding some extra black threads at the side threaded on 2 extra shafts as I do not like the look of how the edges are turning out at the moment. I'll see in the morning.
I love the warp. Just the medicine needed after this long winter.

threading

This is how it looks tonight. 5 sections threaded, 15 more to go.

I had calculated that there should be enough yarn for the warp but when I came to yellow, I was 2 threads short so had to make up with orange. Lucky all the other colours were ok. Very annoying when you think there should be enough yarn and there is not. Each colour was 10gram and I did not check if it was, may be I should have done.

warping

Thought I had mastered the warping wheel with the first warp. Did I now? I moved the rollers to the inner position as I wanted the 2 yards setting (the outer side gives 3 yards). But in doing that I forgot to move the cross part to move too :-(

Coming at the end of this section, the cross could not be freed. As I needed all the yarn from this pack I needed to rewarp the yarn. Easier said then done as the warp threads are cut, so each warp length in that section is a single thread. I untangled it all and started rewarping with the single threads by knotting them together sometimes. Did not make any pictures as I was to concentrated on getting it right!

Here a picture of how it should look.
The warp is on so now the threading can begin :-)

It was so much easier with the warping beam where it is now (I did move it to the top position before I started warping). I'm glad I used the cotton yarn for using the warping wheel for a 2nd time. It has given me confidence to use it with more delicate yarns next time. This was only a short 4 yard warp but it was an exercise to me. I have to see how this warp will be weaving up to find out if I warped well as I found with some sections that I had a loose thread at the side. And how will that work with finer threads when that happens. I'll find out soon enough.
I can see the gain in using the warping wheel by making longer warps.

Outside the sun is out and temperatures are much more like they should be this time of year. Looking good!

choices

Recovering from a bout of flu, but slowly I'm thinking weaving again.

After all the white weaving this winter, I want colour.
Just happen to see the yarn that I bought on my last trip to London in January from Handweavers Studio. And that's just what I need in this still very cold windy weather. It's 10/2 cotton from Lunatic Fringe. This is only 10 colours from the 20 available. Handweavers Studio have made this as a kit and I thought it a good way to find out how I like the yarns.
Now, what order shall I choose? I'm going to make a scarf (I don't think there is enough yarn for more) and weft will be black Tencel. My first thought was the bottom version then I thought the middle one. But I like the top version too.
I can sleep on it as I will start warping tomorrow.

Another good reason for making a warp with 10/2 cotton is that I'm using my warping wheel again.
This will be my 2nd warp using the warping wheel. I think I've learned enough from the 1st time for it to go smoother this time. And the beam is now in a better place where I can reach!
After this I want to have a go with finer yarns, but they are new to me yarns so I want to be able to use the warping wheel well before embarking on these finer yarns.

My granddaughter lost her front teeth last weekend. It all went very quick. They were loose but she knocked them out accidentally. The bottom front teeth are loose too so it will not be long for them to come out. She is not amused. ;-)