The Exercise Continues: Two Color Plain Weave Samples

So, I repeated the four weaves (plain, basket, rib and twill) with two colors. I thought I was adding grey to the black & white mix, but the yarn is really more of a taupe color.

Here is the two color plain weave - black & grey weft, white warp. I like it better than the plain weave in just black and white.

And here is the basket weave with black & grey weft - for this one I like the single color weft better. ;)

Two color rib weave - with white and grey weft and white warp (as Chandler recommended). This one is interesting...


Finally, a two color twill - black & grey weft, white warp.

I'll pull this off, finish it and re-sley the reed by spreading out the warp. Stay tuned as the loooongest sampler exercise in the whole world continues! ;)

Sampler Surprise

The pictures in the book didn't excite me, the assignment didn't call to me, and I didn't like the look of the plain weave.

But I forced myself to keep working on my sampler, and I'm so glad that I did! Because I really like the basket weave! And it turns out, I even like black and white yarn in some patterns. :)

Next up, I'm supposed to repeat this with two colors in the weft. Then, finally, I repeat the whole sequence a couple more times, with a tighter sett and then a looser sett. I'm curious to see the impact of changing the sett.

When I was younger, if something didn't appeal to me, I would have just skipped it. Now however, I am smart enough to realize that maybe the author of the book - you know, the woman who has taught thousands of beginners how to weave in person and who has written the (apparently) definitive book on learning to weave - just maybe she knows what she is doing and it might be worth my while to follow her instructions... ;)

There are some advantages of age... :)

Not Making Much of a Dent...

Sadly, not much progress to report on the weaving front. I did start my sampler and noticed almost immediately that wider is a bit more difficult – I have already made many more mistakes than I did on either of the two narrow pieces that I’ve done previously (as is painfully obvious in this photo).

I have also discovered something that is apparently as true for me with weaving as it is with sewing – I'm less motivated when I do not find my materials aesthetically pleasing. I am just not loving this black and white yarn combination, and I think that is contributing to my lack of progress.

Not to say that I don’t have lots of other excuses available as well! ;)

But I am going to try to remember this and make an effort to select colors and textures that I find attractive whenever possible in the future.

I have had a couple of happy mail days since my last post. My subscription to Hand Woven started up and I got 2 issues within the space of about a week!

And the yarn for my grandmother’s scarf came in. As you may remember, I ordered JaggerSpun Zepher (4/8) DK Wool/Silk blend from Halcyon and complained a bit about the price. But, wow, is it soft! It feels SO luxurious between my fingers that I almost feel guilty fondling it! ;)

I’m going to finish my current sampler before warping this yarn. I realize that the weather is warming up, but the temperature outdoors is pretty much moot, because she rarely leaves her house and is not likely to wear it very many times anyways. Just receiving it will make her happy, and that will be the point of this particular gift. :)

Never Again!

Please remind me to never again show my first sampler to anyone!

I showed it to David, and he thought I was offering him a scarf - next thing you know, I felt obligated to make one for him.

Then, showed it to my Grandmother. You can guess what happened... She hinted and hinted and hinted about how much she would like to have it for a scarf. Next thing you know, I was promising to make her a scarf! Yikes! ;)

I ordered some nicer yarn for her - part wool and part silk - I hope it feels softer than the pure wool I've used so far. It sure was more expensive!

While I'm waiting for it to arrive, I warped my loom to do the next exercise in the Chandler book - one practicing plain, rib and basket weave, and experimenting with changing the sett.

I used the yarn I got from Halcyon. It seemed more tangly than the stuff I have been using so far:

But I finally got it sorted / combed out and the loom is now warped. :)

I made it wider than my first two efforts. I considered that it might be a waste of yarn, but I wanted to see what it was like to work with something wider...

Having a loom warped and ready to go feels so good! :)