Flash Back to Spring 2012

I can't reveal my latest project because it include belated Christmas presents that haven't been finished or presented yet.  Instead, I'll flash back to Spring of 2012...

Madeline,  lovely woman at the WGM had offered to be a mentor to me and teach me the ins and outs of weaving on a floor loom.  So, in a mad dash before my kids were done with school, I rented a loom at the guild for 2 weeks and under Madeline's generous tutelage created 3 woven items.  The first was a plain weave scarf with three colors of Harrisville wool that was kind of a large green and blue plaid.  (photo is a little wonky because I cropped it out of a photo of a group of items)

The second item I wove was a blue and yellow scarf with the same type of wool yarn using 4 shafts.  This one was featured in a HUGE picture on the outside of the guild this past Summer to inspire people to sign up for classes.  :)

My third and final project completed during those two weeks on the floor loom was woven on 8 shafts.  The warp is some of my hand spun (merino and silk--some of which was hand died and blended with commercially prepared fiber) and the weft was a commercial yarn that was some sort of wool/synthetic blend.  I played around a bit with my treadling on this last one.  :)

All in all I was very pleased with my work and very tired from late nights at the guild.  I'm so happy to have my very own floor loom now in my house.   :)

First Creations

I was generously blessed with a $5000 grant in 2012 to purchase a floor loom, related tools and materials.  I purchased a Schacht 8 shaft Baby Wolf loom as well as a laptop computer and PixeLoom Weaving software.  Thank you MRAC! and McKnight!  For any artist in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area interested in the grant, it's called the Next Step Fun and is offered to 30 people every year.
http://www.mrac.org/grants/NextStepGrant.asp

I had some bumps in actually getting the loom and setting it up.  The delivery folks tried to deliver it to a house a few blocks away.  Eventually it ended up at my house.  I installed the heddles (inserted eye), rollers, and the beater assembly.  The beater was off kilter and after e-mailing and calling back and forth with Schacht, I was sent a replacement one that works MUCH BETTER!

My first project was two scarves from a warp (mid-weight cotton?) that I acquired through a round-about way.  It was already measured.  I warped my loom with it and used a lovely cotton yarn for the weft purchased from my local yarn shop.  I started with a design from a weaving book (don't recall which one) but altered it a bit to fit my warp count using PixeLoom.  It was 8 epi and probably about 8-9 ppi.  Here is the result:

Both scarves (identical) were sold at our annual Weavers Guild sale "Fiber Fair" which was held in November at the Northrup King Building in Minneapolis.

My second project was a set of 5 towels in green and yellow 8/2 cotton for my Wisconsin relations.  I picked a pinwheel pattern (24 epi) and altered it with Pixeloom and here is the result:

I've warped again with a natural color (8/2 cotton) and will be using blue as weft.  Results to come...

New Beginnings

It's time I started a blog to keep track of my fiber formations and other creative concepts.

I want to start by thanking Jesus for creating me in His image and giving me the appetite and ability for making things with my hands.  May all glory and honor be to Him.  

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  (Ephesians 2:8-10)