debor048

  I really love the way this hounds tooth turned out!     I tried something new to try to make my weaving better.  I wound a towel onto the beam as the warp first wound on. I have noticed that my weaving often ends up with a U-shape because the nylon cords change the shape of the weave once it hits that area.  This towel really worked wonders!  I like how square my weaving ends up being. On this warp I also made the edges different colors.  One side has black and one side has white.  Usually I make them both the same.  The reason why I did it differently this time though was because I ran the black yarn up the black side and the white yarn up the white side.  It really made it look better, not be too bulky, and not be too bright by having the opposite color.  I'll have to remember this for next time. Time to wash. Next time I'll cut and serge, and sew the edges!

Monsieur David and I had the best brainstorm session today while working. Picture this.... 2/2 twill hounds tooth as a doubleweave blanket in worsted weight yarn.... mmmm... yes!!!  And I can do it on my 8-shaft loom!  Plus, being 2/2 twill, it will hold together so nicely!!  

 Sometimes I feel like an evil scientist trying out my experiments!   Or a magician during a magic show... doing tricks!  "And now, for my next trick..." I am really loving this 2/2 hounds tooth twill.  This current project is a 3 yard warp and it's made of 8/2 cotton from WEBS.  I'm having so much fun with it that I'm almost sorry I didn't discover this weave sooner!  I'm not even sure why it took me so long to try it, I think I just assumed it wouldn't be as good.  Yes, the hounds tooth design is smaller, but sometimes smaller is better!  It definitely has a good feel to the fabric being only 2/2.  The floats are only as long as 2 threads, but in the 8-shaft hounds tooth, the stretches are 4 threads long, and sometimes that is just too much space.  This cloth will certainly hold together well.  I should try redoing this design using something thick, like the worsted weight peaches and creme.  At one point, I made some place m...

I've begun to look at things through a different light.  I'm not sure what brought it on, but it is a good thing! I don't know how many of you are signed up for interweave press weaving emails, but in May, I wrote an email article for them about twill, more specifically 2/2 twill.  I mentioned my blanket that I wove a few years ago, and how I used the scraps to make David handwoven pants. Here are a few pictures of the plaid I made in July 2011: Here is a picture of David in his pants made from the plaid!  David was actually getting ready to go to the doctor's office when this picture was taken, and he had a huge diaper blow-out on the way to the office so the pants actually didn't last long... *sigh*... It's the story of our lives now! Anyway, the other day he was wearing these pants (I should say he was crammed into these used-to-be-pants-and-now-they-are-shorts because they are getting a bit on the small side...) when I was looked down and saw this in the des...

Like I said before, I don't know why I make scarves in the summertime heat! Speaking of summertime heat, who is enjoying their little summertime sun-hat? This little guy!

I don't know why, but I do most of my scarf weaving in the summertime. I'm either really late... or really early for winter! So far, I like the way this one is turning out, even though the yarn is so fragile.  I'm hoping it lasts until the end of this warp. And this little man has a new handmade train shirt!  The yellow one from last time was fitting so tightly that I decided to make a few new ones in the next size up.  David looks like a little professor! Or a country singer... 

Sometimes I think I'm nuts.   (Or maybe I was nuts sometime in the past.) I had bought this 20/2 wool a few years ago thinking it was a great idea because 1.) it was nice and thin, 2.) there was a lot of it, and 3.) it was super cheap. I pulled it out this week to make a scarf and I think to myself, "What was I thinking?" This stuff is super thin! I have 3 strands per dent on the reed, and it tangles real easily and breaks even easier. I'm excited to make a super thin scarf, but... ...there are certainly drawbacks to the 20/2 wool! And I have so many cones of the white... Ugh! Here is little dude in his suspenders and bow-tie!  He was wearing his awesome handwoven pants at the same time and I don't know why I didn't get those, too!  Oops!  Oh well... maybe next time...

It's been 2 months to the day that we put our gray kitty down.  It's also been 2 months since I've been able to talk about it without bursting into tears.  I miss that happy little kitty! This is the last pic I got of both of our kitties together, back in mid-February. Back at the end of February, Scout looked and acted like he was getting sick with a cold or allergies.  In Arizona, we have such a warm climate that things start blooming in February, so I just assumed allergies.  He sneezed, and sneezed, and sneezed.  In March, he was still sneezing and also showing other signs of being ill, like his nasal area was starting to protrude.  I called the vet and took him in myself thinking it would probably be some routine thing.  It ended up being a very hard appointment and I am traumatized from having to deal with it by myself.  The vet took one look at him, and from her experience she knew it was probably a brain tumor, but she treated him with ant...

I completed the rest of the sample warp was a table runner for my mom's birthday.  I think she'll love it!! I wish there was more warp to make one for myself!!  I'll just have to put another one on. And in other news... for those of you who like to sew for babies, I found a new pants pattern that is out of this world!  It's $10, but well worth it!  It is called the Big Butt Baby Pants and it will definitely not disappoint!  I love this pattern already and I'm so glad I can use it until my little guy is two years old.  Here is the pic... now keep in mind he wasn't too thrilled with pics today, he would have rather eaten dinner first, but this mama was just too excited to get some pics! I love this pattern so much, that I made some for David's cousin who is just a few months older and lives in Seattle.  I think she will love the colors we picked out for her!  It's such a summer-like combination! I can't wait to try some handwoven fabric someday!

And for today's shot of the baby... he's wearing his finest.  The old-man golf shirt that I made for him a few months ago and handwoven pants made from scraps!

I haven't had a chance to wash it yet, but I love it! I'm definitely going to finish the sample as a table runner.  And the table that gets to display this will be one lucky table... Parting shot: We've been reading to him since day 1!   I guess that's what teachers do.

It's working!!  I had to stop for now because I ran out of white tabby thread and need to wind some more.  But I'm just so happy it's working!  I have been obsessed with this pattern done in these colors since I saw it!  I shall continue on later... right now the baby is calling and so is dinner! Parting shot...

Recently there was a post shared in the Warped weavers group on the thread called “What weaving thing have you been doing” post #24827. Website pic is here . It is a very colorful and beautiful overshot sampler done with red, yellow, and blue in the warp and the tabby wefts are the same colors, but the pattern weft is white.  I am so intrigued by this pattern, that I want to try doing a similar project.  I found the pattern in Carol Strickler's book "A Weaver's Book of 8-shaft Patterns"pg 130, pattern #481.  So far, this is the closest I could get to the colors, but I think it will still do the same thing. Here's your parting shot... you know you're going to have an awesome day when your hat matches your pants!