And a new one...
Remember what I said about weaving eating yarn? Above you see a warp. 148 warp threads, each 10.5 metres long, the longest length I can make on my warping board. That's about 1554 m of two-ply Shetland wool. Your average Rowan 50 g ball is about 150 m, so the warp along is roughly 10 and some balls of yarn. Which is just enough 24cm width. I'm also going to need the same amount for weft.
This item is going to be a sampler. The warp will be threaded straight through, that is, for non-weavers, it will be put on the shafts 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 etc. On my favorite weaving pattern website, handweaving.net, you can find more than 300 weaving patterns for that threading in just one of their pattern books. They have 50 online, the biggest of those, Franz Donat's Large Book of Textile Designs, holds more than 9000. I'm going to pick some 30 different ones, weave about 30 cm in it, with a border on each side. This should give me 30 A4-sheet sized patches I'm then going to sew together into a sampler blanket. Or rather half a blanket, as I think I may need another 30 for it to reach full size.
This yarn is my favorite weaving yarn. The cone I used for warp, ran out, so I ordered a new one from B.C.Garn. Still my favorite yarn pusher for mill cones. The colour is called 'Seagull'. The mill is Gardiner of Selkirk, maybe a relation?
Oh yes, this also shows how weaving also eats accessories. Having the loom isn't enough. You also need something to warp on, shuttles, bobbins, a bobbin winder, ... Sound familiar?
Today's big event: the fabric lottery.
- I wrote the ballots.
- I put them in a hat.
- I drew one.
And the winner is: MaryB from Richmond.
Mary, I'm going to need a mailing address. You now have one month to create something new from it and either send me pictures of the new item or post them on your own blog. Happy Creating!
Update: ok, let's re-phrase that: one month to start creating something, with regular status reports please.
And to end this on a funny note:
see more crazy cat pics
