Thursday, January 21, 2010

One Step Forward, One Step Back

Miss Millie and I have had a time of it. I thought that I should finally warp from back-to-front, so got out my Chandlers and followed the directions. Where she said some people make two crosses but we're going to use a counting thread - that's where I stepped off the cliff. Getting warp spread through a raddle without a cross is impossible to do well. I got it spread as close to order as I could approximate. In hindsight, I should have put my one cross in back and could have made a dummy cross in front.

I'm not sure this warp is weavable, but Miss Millie and I have become pretty good friends in this process. I've ordered more cotton for birthday towels so don't want to dress Maudie Mae until it gets here. The way I see it is, I have more time than money. Were I still drawing a salary, I would have cut this off and chalked it up to experience.
I decided that I needed a project with a rewarding end in the interim. This handspun is from a couple years ago. I don't remember the wool and I don't remember the circumstances of the green dye bath - not mine. My started project stalled because the pattern isn't showing off my yarn. I need something that's working, while I work on something that's not.
To that end, I've knitted a swatch this afternoon. I saw something in Ravelry that I liked but the gauge is different and I don't feel like paying for a pattern that I'm going to have to recalculate. I've decided to see how close I can come with Sweater Wizard. The one thing I know is that I want a one-button cardigan.

Amy brought back this terrific button for me from a Black Sheep Gathering a couple of years ago and I still haven't put it to use. The flash negates the green, but it's there. This is the winter that I could use another cardigan. I'm wearing one of my sweaters right now!

5 comments:

Sara said...

A Gilmore is designed to, and is the perfect loom to warp front to back: the back beam folds up and out of the way, so you can thread heddles at face level easily, the front beam does not fold or come off, causing on to lean over....

And my secret password to post is prefr....Just sayin' :).

Leigh said...

I didn't know that, what Sara said. Getting the back beam out of the way would make F2B a whole lot easier, especially with bifocals! I use the chandler method with one cross. At least I think it was her, her own sort of blended method.

And my secret password is "maywords." Sounds like it actually ought to mean something!

Sharon said...

Sara refers to the looms that Mr. Gilmore built, and he is considered to be the developer of the jack loom. She's right and that's why I wouldn't want to warp Maudie Mae back-to-front. Bob Allen,a retired high school shop teacher who bought the company and now builds the looms has included some enhancements, including a removable from front beam bar. Miss Millie is a modern Millie.

Benita said...

Isn't Sweater Wizard the best program? Since I discovered it, I haven't used someone else's pattern since. I see a stitch I like, do a swatch, let Sweater Wizard do it's thing, put it all together and go. Fun!!!

My word is creadice...hmmm...

Life Looms Large said...

Through a long series of errors, I've definitely spread yarn through a raddle without a cross, not in the right order, with threads crossing by as much as an in from where they're supposed to be.

Even with all of those mistakes, I could actually weave that warp. Just keep pushing your mistakes over the edge of the back beam when you need to. (At least that's what I do.)

Love your green yarn!!

Sue