Warping my project: I had to toss this since I used the wrong heddle
Of course, I’m still making mistakes but that’s part of the process. See above picture. For example, a few days ago I used the wrong heddle (10-dent) to weave worsted cotton yarn. That did not go well at all since the fiber kept sticking into the heddle slots. I ended up tossing the entire project. I spent over an hour warping that project, and while I could have kept the fiber to stuff amigurumi I simply tossed it all in the trash.
The very next day, I corrected my error and used the same fiber, but this time with a 7.5-dent heddle. I successfully warped my loom without any issue!
Successfully warped loom
Warping the loom, can at times, feel like the longest part of the journey.
Partially woven dishcloth
I don’t look at it negatively since it’s all part of the process, and it’s a necessary step if I want to turn fiber into lovely woven cloth.
This is the hat that I made to replace the hat I’d knitted for him last Christmas Eve. You can find more on why I waited until Christmas Eve at that link. My father loves that hat and it’s starting to show a lot of wear. I thought knitting this hat would be a suitable upgrade. It took a bit longer than some of the hats I’ve knitted in the past.
Knitting: Thrummed lined hat, you can see some of the roving yarn peeking out of of the hats brim
That’s mostly due to the fact that it was lined (which you might as well say is knitting another hat) and I added thrumming to the hat also.
Look at all that roving yarn
This hat is made out of wool and it is squishably soft and warm. The roving yarn, which is used for thrumming, can’t be seen once that hat was completed since it’s sandwiched between the knitted hat exterior and the hats lining.
This hat was boxed and set aside for Christmas wrapping. I’m thinking about weaving my father a scarf, but that might just be wishful thinking on my part. We’ll see, how much time I have to complete that.
I included a video about thrumming when I first wrote about this project and I’m including it again in this post.
I’ve been fascinated with the Native American Flute since my early twenties,
It wasn’t until this morning, while listening to O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, that I realized I haven’t pursued one of my long term goals which is learning how to play the Native American Flute. Well, it’s time to do some research, find an appropriate flute, and start learning. I already play one musical instrument, the piano. I started playing at the age of eight. I still play today.
Didn’t I tell you that I’d fix my loom weaving issues?
Weaving on my 32″ Kromski Harp; weaving is coming along nicely
And now this is playing in my head…
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
Eh eh, eh eh
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
eh eh, eh eh
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
I thought I told you that I won’t stop
Check it out
Yesterday, while my daughter had her play date, I pulled out my 32″ harp rigid heddle loom and started weaving… correctly. The reason why I had the big pile of unwoven yarn (a few days ago) was because I was moving the heddle from the up to the neutral position. I should have pulled the heddle to the down position.Since I kept the heddle in netural position, that meant the yarn wasn’t being crossed and so no weaving was going on. I knew this on the day of the weaving fail, but I just did not have time to fix the issue. It was late and I really needed to get to bed.
I will say the first day was a teachable moment, for my daughter. She saw the warp fail and she also could see how I was handling the situation. I did not give up. I told her tomorrow was another day and I’d fix the issue then. She thinks I did a really great job for my first piece. I think so to. I’ll definitely keep my first woven project so I can come back to it later after I’ve been weaving for some time. I know I’ll see improvements.
Last evening I was finally able to play with my 32″ Kromski Harp Rigid Heddle loom. I selected yarn that I didn’t mind using for practice.
Success!!!
I grabbed the laptop and set it on the table beside me. I rewatched the video below and started warping the loom. If you look in the above picture you’ll see my daughters legs in the background. In fact, she’s still wearing her school uniform. My first try warping the loom had to be redone since I did not start the warp in the center, Ooopss! The next time I warped I did it correctly.
My mind was filled with ideas of the “awesome thing” I’d make with the cloth that I’d warped onto the loom. The only step left was to start weaving.
As it gets closer to the holidays my time spent commenting on Celebrate Life and other sites, will come to a standstill. So while it appears that I’m ‘here’ since you’ll most likely see posts daily I’m not since they have been scheduled in advance. The good news is I have advanced posting set up for a few months now.
So what’s keeping me busy? At my Lutheran Church, the Christmas season is always a busy time. We have four services on Christmas Eve and this year there is even one on the eve of Christmas Eve; which is perfect for those who’ve made plans on the day before Christmas.
I was thrilled to learn that there is a weavers guild in Maryland. It’s called The Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore. I most likely will become a member and hopefully eventually take a few courses. I was thrilled to learn that as a guild member, I’d be able to test out a floor loom. What’s even more awesome is they use the type of loom, Baby Wolf, that I eventually want to purchase for myself.
