Pretty Colors along with Simple Innovations and Improvements to the Warping Mill

Warp for the No-Hassle Scarves

Yes-- It's true!  I've almost used up the 10-yard warp I ran just a few weeks ago on rugs.  1 more rug to go with the remaining warp, but I'm waiting for an electric fabric cutting machine so I can strip up some more rags from cotton sheeting.  Plenty of room for a longer warp, too--meaning this loom can handle a warp longer than 10 yards.

No Hassle Rayon Slub Scarves 

(Photo from Yarn Barn of Kansas)

Meanwhile, I am ready to run another warp for a no hassle rayon slub scarves kit from Yarn Barn of Kansas.  It calls for a 5.5 yard warp that will make 2 long-ish scarves.  Someone on one of the 4-shaft or rug weaving or weaving hacks FaceBook groups said he added a little counter to his warping board / mill to help keep track of how many ends he'd run.  Brilliant! [Innovation #1]

So I told my husband, and he found a simple counting app for my phone, and also engineered a simple little holder for my phone at the top of the mill.  [Innovation #2]  Every time I'm at the top of the mill, I can easily touch the screen to register a new line or two. 

I realize I'll still have to double check the number of ends before I'm done, but it will help keep me on track.



Additional Improvement :  Since this warp calls for a 1/2-yard increment, I asked my husband to drill 2 more holes in the bottom braces of the mill, so I can flip the pegs from one side to the other, allowing me to run the needed length of warp -- no more, no less. [You can't really tell from the photo that this bottom peg is on the opposite side of the box mill from the top, allowing me to save a yard on the warp.]

I'll say it gain-- I LOVE this warping mill.  Thank you Dear Hubby!  It makes what used to be a miserable and frustrating task a breeze!  The time goes so fast, and the tension stays relatively even throughout the warp.  This one is only 152 ends in total.

And because this warp is so pretty, here are a few more photos of it on the mill, where it will stay until I'm ready to warp the loom.  

The pink string is the visible guide so I knew what track to follow around the mill.  It's not actually part of the warp. 

Light & Shadows : Cathedral Window Stained Glass Wall Quilt

Detail of the Cathedral Window Quilt.

Light and Shadows.

This Cathedral Windows Stained Glass wall quilt is now finished.   

I used an old poly batting with fusible on it.  It must have turned to dust through the years, because it didn't seem to fuse anymore, and it was kind of dusty to work with.  Why do batts and fusible always bother my lungs?  It's back to my favorite Hobbs 80/20 batting next time, where the cotton just magically sticks to it, without fusible.

Instead of the usual binding, I did a facing instead -- explained here.    It worked very well for this type of quilt.  Never mind my hand stitching which has always been suspect ...

I was originally thinking about attaching it to a canvas -- stretching it, not quilting it.  And I still might do that.  I have a 36 in x 36 in canvas in stock.  I'd have to attach the quilt to a larger background fabric (black) and then stretch that around the canvas.


Detail of the quilting from the backside.   As I said before, I just outlined the stencil effect of the black edges next to the light bits.  This is the view from the back, where you can see the overall pattern better. 

I used a multicolored thread to stitch the edges of the black next to the colored "light" bits.   It looks better in person -- The thread isn't showing up so well in this photo.

I did wind up quilting it, using a polyester batting.  I knew it would not be washed as the raw edge applique might not fare well in that process.    The polyester soon puffed up through the "light" spaces.

Here's what that "light" fabric looked like before the shadow stencil was applied.  

Pretty wild!

 Here's the official quilt label, which is attached, but not sewn on yet.
I spent the day working up 5 quilt labels for the latest batch of projects. 
Not my favorite part of quilting, but it does signify that a project is well and truly finished!

Rag Rugs on the Loom

These are some of the latest rag rugs still on the loom.  This one is more of the merino wool strips from Pendleton Woolen Mill.  These are so nice!  I'll definitely be making more of these!


This one uses the $1-per-pound wooly worms, cut off salvedges from Pendlteon Woolen Mill.  I died this batch Cerulean Blue to better tie the disparate colors together, and to spruce up the grays.  Not sure I like working with the wooly worms -- there's a lot of dust with these.   At first, I did not sew the ends together, but it was taking too long to weave to futz with properly joining the ends in the actual weaving.  So in the end, I finally just sewed the ends together randomly.  The weaving went much faster then.  I do like the randome-ness and the nubby bits -- that are still soft.


I really like the way this one is shaping up, and how the colors are coming together.  It looks very ocean-y or sea-side-y.    It reminds me of this image from the seasside just under the Skye Bridge in Scotland :

  Isle of Skye, Scotland -- The seaside, near the Skye Bridge.

Anytime I can work Scotland into a post is a good day!

 

And finally, a denim rug, using the 1-1/2-inch strips from Rugs in the Woods.

It's shaping up nicely! 

Having a Ball Preparing Weft Strips for Weaving Rugs

There's a lot of preparation before you can get to the fun part of making cloth.
There's preparing the warp and dressing the loom, threading heddles and reed slits, tying on ...

There's also the work of preparing the weft strips.  In this case, I'm using the premium merino selvage strips from Pendleton Woolen Mill in Oregon.  These are fantastically soft merino wool strips.  This time I ordered 7 pounds to give me a total of 9-10 pounds.  I should have enough to make some nice rugs now.

For this process, I am sewing the strips together with tapered edges, and trimming some of the excess, so there won't be a bump with extra fabric where the strips come together.  Then I wind them into a ball with the amount I think might fit on one of my ski shuttles -- where they will sit until I am ready to use them in weaving cloth.  Doesn't have to be perfect, as these will be pounded down into a rug.  The object is to remove some of the bulk where the fabric joins together.
     > On the right, you see where I've stitched the ends together with a diagonal sewing line.
     > On the left, I've trimmed away the excess, which is reversed on the backside.

I also have some denim and some velvet from that old curtain from the local Grand Opera House theater.  I purchased the 2 lighter denim balls from Rugs in the Woods on Etsy.  So nice to have all the work of making the rags done already!  It's nice soft, worn denim, too.  The darker denim balls are newer denim fabric that I purchased on sale.  It's not as soft and worn as the true denim rags. 


The velvet is old, from hanging in the theatre for so long.  It tears easily -- as if it was made for this very thing at this stage in it's life!   I tear the strips about 3/4-inch wide, and sew the ends together.  It all takes much longer than you think it will ...

Here's a close-up of one of the velvet balls.  The entire process creates a lot of pills -- little flecks of the fabric that fall off and get everywhere.  I rip the strips outside, and do the sewing of strips on the porch, where it's easier to vacuum up the bits.  By the time they are in ball form, they are pretty clean

I may also use some fabric strips, too.  After that, there may be warp left to use up some yarn, or other materials I have in the stash.  

Shadows - Let's Do 52 - Week 20

Shadows

The sun made a lovely silhouette of one of the crab trees in our front yard.

Once again, I am participating in Denise Love's 2018 "Let's Do 52 : 52 Weeks of Photo Prompts" to kick start the lull in my photography.   If you'd like to join us, find out more at the link above.  The more the merrier!

The Pendleton Wool Rag Rug ... Still on the Loom

This morning, I started weaving the Merino wool premium strips from Pendleton Woolen Mill.   

I designed the warp for this round specifically for this color way.  It's based on the one in Tom Knisley's Weave a Good Rug Book.  I had to adjust his pattern to fit my weaving width (26 inches).  The iWeaveIt App was wonderful for this--but I digress ...

At the top of the pick, you can see a sample strip from Pendleton.  They are about 1-1/2 inches wide.  Previously, I sewed the strips together and rolled them into balls in preparation for this very moment.

I love the way they are packing in so nicely!  I'm keeping this rug!

 THis is what I started with --  3 inches of header, that will be a rolled hem sewn to the back of the rug.  

 Here's a detail shot of the header woven at the end of the first rug.  The header (at Tom Knisley's recommendation) is 2 strands of the regular 8/4 black carpet warp (same as I used for the warp).  I wanted to show howbeautifully the black showcases the other colors around it.

Here's another shot of the header at the end of this rug.  I got to use one of my new Jim Hockett shuttles that I purchased last fall at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI.
This one is a beautiful Bird's Eye Maple.  The weight and heft seemed right for this task.  My usual cherry Shacht shuttle was too light for the task.  Besides, I can get a lot more cotton onto the 6-inch bobbin.

For weaving the thicker wool strips, I'm using my ski shuttles (not pictured).

Detail shot of the gorgeous wood on this shuttle.  

Back to weaving ...