Placemat Challenge

Tina mentioned our placemat challenge in her post. Well, here's what I'm hoping will be my contribution to the placemat pile.

The warp's been on the loom for a long time. Production always comes first!! However, I've wanted to weave these particular placemats for a long time. I bought the filler strips at R & M several years ago and the bags sat there waiting for the right time! I've got 4 of them woven now and hope to get the rest done this week.
I'm really liking the balance of brown and teal. There will be a dozen of these placemats and then I"ll see how much warp I"ve got left. I have no idea how much I put on the loom. There should be enough for 12......I hope!

When I do my regular production, I know exactly how much I put on and what's going to be woven. With placemats I generally just start winding a bunch and figure I'll just make as many as there is warp for.

In weaving this one, if there's warp left, I want to do a couple of runners. Maybe weave mostly teal with brown stripes at the ends or vice versa.

Anything to tempt a potential buyer!!

The warp's just carpet warp but that works well for placemats.

We had such a good time last week at The Woolery. It's fun to see new weavers build their stash. When I started to weave it was assumed we would just use carpet warp. I even wove some tops that I sold using carpet warp. The tracking on carpet warp made them look like they were intricately woven. I don't think we had much encouragement to try finer yarns or to explore much, even 8/2 wasn't available at the center. So seeing how the new weavers now are willingly trying the finer yarns is so good. It took me years to build up the courage to try yarns like 10/2.  Having our group that meets each week and seeing new weavers use the fine yarns is encouraging for me.

These few weeks before January are my free time. I'm weaving things for fun, not production. I may only get this warp woven because of family responsibilities but I'm happy to sneak down to the studio and get some done! I'll let you know how many placemats I end up with!
Until next week, keep weaving and relax!
Carol

12 Placemat Challenge

This loom has a placemat warp on it.  There are still a lot of yards on there, maybe even enough to do 12 placemats.  The Stock the Shelves challenge is for each weaver to make 12 matching placemats.

I think I will use this warp for the challenge.  If there is not enough to do 12, there will certainly be a good stack of placemats!  I have some blue jeans around that I have cut to 1/4 inch, and I wove a sample to see how it looks as a placemat in the Hollywood pattern.

This was originally a rug warp pattern, in black and white, but I cut it down to placemat size and changed the colors because I can.  I think I am really liking this!  It will probably be a January project, because of all the Christmas stuff coming up, but I am looking forward to getting on this one.

Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting and Weaving, Tina

Weavers Wonderland (AKA A Visit To The Woolery)

There were no sleigh bells ringing, but the cash register was making some jolly sounds!

  YES....the Tuesday Weavers rolled into Frankfort after lunch on Wednesday, and it was all we could do to get this group shot before they spread out looking for their Christmas presents!  This is the toy store for weavers!!!! 
  We were in luck that Bonnie could meet us and enjoy the day, too.  It's always good to see an old friend!!!

And, what to their wondering eyes should appear..........
  fiber.....all kinds of fiber!  All the colors in the rainbow!!!!

  There were shuttles....ALL kinds of shuttles!  

And LOOMS....lots of looms.

BIG looms and little looms and looms you've only read about!

Warping Boards and Warping Mills....even a little-bitty one!

Spinning Wheels and combs and carders.....oh my!!!!

  And, there was one very happy weaver:  Molly!  I think she found everything on her Wish List.

  The staff at The Woolery was fantastic and very helpful....what a wonderful field trip for the Tuesday Weavers!
  We need to get out of the studio more often.....just saying.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Another Tuesday!

  At first, I thought I had the wrong day!  Quilters!!!!   But, it was just Carol taking advantage of the large tables (on risers) and the quiet before the Weavers!!!!  She was pinning the layers together in preparation for the machine quilting she'll do during the holidays.
  And, you might recognize a familiar face on the left:  Judy!  She dropped by to say "Hello" and catch up with everyone!

Leave it to Marie.....she's already ahead of us on the "Stack the Shelves" challenge!  Actually, she said these placemats were NOT for the challenge, she just got them done in time for the holidays!  The runner for this set is woven in plaid....very festive!!!















  And, she got busy weaving on the scarf warp that needed to be finished....next week she'll be ready to weave in the other end.

  After spending time on the warping mill, Linda was ready to wind the warp on the rug loom.  It is such a big help to have extra hands!

   Linda's been hunting bargain yarn, again!  She found this large skein of boucle and it is weaving up into a very nice, soft scarf.

  Roz had already left when I took this picture after lunch, but we were glad to see her today, too.  Molly and Ms. Ila had to hold down the "back row" on their own today!!!

   Lanny has finished tying on the new warp to the old one, and paused to lend a hand to Carl as he worked another knot through the heddle.  The back corner was rather quiet today!!!!

We're keeping our fingers crossed that the weather stays nice for our trip to The Woolery tomorrow....please send positive vibes for us!!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Bits and Pieces

I give LouAnn the thrums that are the end of my warps. They're never really long at all but she knots them together, end on end and adds them to other yarns to spin novelty yarns that she either knits or weaves. I do alot of warps each year so her little stash is fairly interesting although alot of them are black, it seems.

So why are they not very long? Well, I do plan my warps pretty carefully so there usually isn't much left after I've woven my projects but sometimes there is a section at the end where I could weave at least 12 inches. I weave til the end of the warp is a few inches from the heddles.

So I weave it. I serge the raw edges like everything else, wash them and then put them in a stash to figure out what to do with them later.

The time came to do something with some of them.

I've been having fun making little handbags to sell.

This past week I got 7 of them done. They need tags and inventory numbers before I take them anywhere but they are finished, ready to go.

 Lining them is a lot of fun. Figuring out which color would look best with the outside fabric is time consuming because you want something that looks just right.
Then there's the button closure. Which one will work best for it. Buttons with a shank are the best so I searched my button collection for ones that looked good with the fabrics.

Not sure how much weaving will happen this week but it's on my list to do.
There's that placemat warp that's been on the loom for way too long that I somehow manage to avoid is starting to bug me. Guess it's time! We have that challenge to weave a set of 12 placemats by end of September and I think there are probably 12 placemats on this warp. At least I hope so. That way I could get it done early. Imagine that!
Once I start weaving them I"ll post a picture....
Until next week, stay warm and keep weaving!
Carol

It Makes Me Happy

Huck, that is.....it makes me happy.
  I've been weaving on this piece on & on for the last several weeks when I have time.  While I'm weaving, I'm also thinking about other ways to use this structure.

  Using the double 8/4 threads, this is thick enough for a placemat.  If you were using finer thread, it could be a scarf. 

  Here is the drawdown:  the one on the right is the one I'm using this time.  You have to add a floating selvedge, and of course, you have to balance the pattern by adding one last l,2,2,1 on the left.  (Plain weave is given as 1,3 and 2,4.  You can also do a different plain weave using treadle 2 and 3.)
  After I finish the warp that is on my loom, I'm going to wind another warp, but I'm going to add a plain weave selvedge by threading 1,4 instead of using floating selvedges.  There are so many possibilities here........
  So, that's one of my projects for 2015!!!   (Or, maybe lots of projects!!!)

Oh, yes!  We're going on a road trip!  As you read in Tuesday's blog, the Tuesday Weavers are headed to Frankfurt, KY, next week to see Bonnie AND visit the Woolery.  Since I know I have a little trouble controlling my impulses when I'm around fiber and weaving toys, I've started making my list so that I will stay "in control."  For instance, this would be a good time to invest in more inserted eye heddles.....and no shipping charges!  Right?  And, I want to check and see if they have any 4 d.p.i. reeds in stock.  Good idea, huh?  And, there are a few other things that I want to check out.
  Needless to say, it's probably a good thing that it is 3.5 hours away.......

  The poinsettias are starting to put on their Christmas show....just in time.  (Although I think I should have trimmed them back last Spring....I will make a note to do that when they go back outside in April!)  The tree is up, and it does have some ornaments on it.  I love taking the ornaments out one by one and thinking about the special memories that go with it.  I put a few on each day...it makes it even more special.

  I heard a ruckus downstairs in the storeroom....it must be the wee men waiting their turn to come upstairs.  Maybe tonight we'll start the parade.....

Happy Weaving (and decorating!)
LouAnn

Rainy Tuesday

It might have been a gray, rainy day in East Tennessee, but inside the weaving studio, it was all smiles and brightness!!!

  The ladies were busy, busy, busy at their looms; but, I can assure you that there was a lot of laughter coming from that corner of the studio.

Karin and Sharon had some catching up to do, but Karin got quite a bit done on her corduroy rug today, too.  Sharon finally located her five cones of 8/4 that she had been using for weft....they were in a safe place!!!!  (Tina's loom bench seems to be the place that things are put for safekeeping!!!!)

  Carl is still working on his rug warp....I'm sure he won't be sad to see the end!  Those knots have been a challenge!
  Lanny is winding on the new warp a little at a time.  Fine threads have a bad habit of getting tangled while they wait to be wound on the loom.

  Jocelyn brought some of her friends to visit the Shop and the studio today.   It was good to see her!

And, we had another visitor that came to check out the studio.....will she be joining our merry little band soon????  Stay tuned.....

  We are glad to have Andy back with us again.  In fact, she can work on Cindy's towel warp...it's all ready to go!!!









  Marie is finishing up the scarf warp on LaDonna's rigid heddle.  This was one of the stash-busting scarves we did while Carol was in Canada this summer!

  Yes....Linda is still winding more warp for her rug loom.    Round and round and round........
  She is getting good using the paddle, though!

  It looks like we'll be traveling to the Woolery next Wednesday......whoopie!!!!!  Field Trip!!!!!    (Think GREAT weather, OK?)

In the meantime,
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn