Friday, January 22, 2016

Call It A Day


I have already put the warp on my Dorset for the crackle-weave workshop next month.  I've never had a problem- free warp on this loom so I started early in the event I need to call for help, i.e., Laura.  It was another gray day but because the loom is so small and light, I set it up in Ian's stamp room underneath the skylight.  Before I knew it all 8" of warp was threaded.
It's ready to go and so am I!
This is a blend of eight fibers including Starfire. 
I still have a lot of stuff from Melissa including this yarn that I'll use to ply with.
Oh my, easier said than done.  The skein was a tangled mess and took me an hour to unravel with the hank draped over my knees.
I wound the yarn around a felted dryer ball and took it to the COSW meeting yesterday to see if anyone knew what it was.   I showed my skein at show-and-tell, then asked for help IDing my yarn.  Patty Huffer, a local weaving teacher, (in front of white board with back to the photo) used it as a teaching moment and told us to Google "burn test fiber" and then burn a sample.  

I couldn't tell when I just burned that yarn so I lit a candle and burned fibers that I knew what the content was.  Dharma has a great sheet of information on doing a burn test.  My yarn is definitely silk.  I tried to break the thread last week with my hand and it cut into my finger deeply.  I should have known right then.
These are the other skeins Melissa gave me.  The one on the right is 60/2 but the others aren't labeled.
I lashed on the towel warp on Maudie and after getting the first towel underway, I decided to just wind my warp.
I put the warp on the front of Arthur and thought, I'll just sley it so I can see how the colors look, and, well, you know how the rest went.
I was just going to hem-stitch it, but then thought I should weave a couple inches to check the pics per inch and then I thought I should make sure the selvedges were even. By 2:00 I was starving and knew I really needed to call it a day.  




3 comments:

Theresa said...

Well, aren't you having a lovely finery time and such a wonderful fiber community there too. How many looms you got tucked way there?

LA said...

I love seeing your handspun woven into scarves....I know they will be a hit!

Texan said...

Sounds like your finding your footing in your new home area :O). There are days I wonder will I ever use my loom. But I know I will! I just keep reading and learning. For now that is what I do.