At last

I am part of couple of 'stitching' groups. We meet approx. every 6 weeks to sit around and get on with our 'long term' projects, or things that we have started but never have time to finish...... It is also an opportunity to express ideas or to get help with things when we get stuck.

Both groups have expressed interest in seeing the loom in action when it is in working order. One friend suggested a tea party to celebrate....

The loom is scheduled to be assembled this coming weekend.
The camera battery is charging, so that I can have a record of the loom coming together.
The shopping list is out for the yarn required for the first project.

Can't wait!

Exciting news

And now the most exciting news of all:

New loom. I have bought Kaz's old loom and it is sitting in my living room.

She had done the most fabulous job with the packaging, finding a carrier, the disc of photos so that it should be straight forward to put it all back together again, etc. I am forever grateful.

I have already planned the first project: the sample blanket from Janet's book. I want to increase the size of the sample squares to maybe 10cm squares and break the blanket up into smaller sections so that I can sew them up as cushions or put them into a folder with the drafts/notes printed out next to them for easy reference.

The loom will take a couple of weeks before it can be set up. Bruce will be helping me with it but first, I need to make progress on his scarf.

On a roll

Now that I am on a roll with blog posts:

The Royal Melbourne show was on last month.
A group of us encouraged each other and we all entered something into the show. It was the first time for all of us and we all came away with something.

Kim's woven kimono jacket:

Michelle's glass brooch:

Stephen's glass earrings:

My black cotton piece on the right:

Michelle's red scarf on the left and:

Carole's felted bag:

Totally coloured in

The other things that had progressed:

from this:

to this:

So now I have made both 'Old fashioned windows I and II'. This whole experience of not knowing how much yarn to get was a bit stressful. When I got extra, the dyelot was different. It showed up on the big red block a little bit, at a certain angle and lighting. I am not too fussed/disturbed by that. However, I would have to say that I have had enough of needlepoint. The bottom line, it takes too long........but I know better to never say never!? The next step is to finish them as cushions and that is another story.

Aloo Too

While not much actual weaving has been done, and not any blog posts had been written, I have been busy reading. I really appreciated Peg's weekly updates of what is interesting and the vast array of topics that have been posted by everyone.

When I saw Taueret's title, I thought it sounded familiar. I looked into my treasure box of unusual fabric and found the pieces that a very dear friend gave to me. She got these while in Nepal doing some voluntary teaching.

This first piece is knitted in a delicate lace pattern. However, due to the nature of the yarn, it is quite scratchy. It is a scarf that I have worn on the outside of the coat rather than close to the neck.

The second piece is a cut length of woven fabric, about 76cm wide (30 inches) and 108cm (3.6ft) long. It has a mid-blue warp and the weft is of natural aloo (nettle) yarn.

Depending on the lighting, the aloo natural colour or the blue woollen warp yarn is more dominant. I wonder what sort of loom it was woven on and how long it took. I wonder what the cloth was intended for.

When the piece of cloth is laid out, it is easy to see the irregularities but it just adds another layer to the character of the cloth.

Blink of the eye

I can not believe how fast time has flown......It was barely the end of August for the last post and now it is a third of the way through October.

It feels like a lot of things had happened and other things had remained stagnant.

On the weaving front, I had not woven as much as I would like to. There is little progress on Bruce's scarf apart from the initial start after the samples. However, I have acquired a few new pieces of equipment.

I have got new boat shuttles, a manual bobbin winder and a caddy to hold my project related bits & pieces. It was Shirley's recommendations that prompted me to go to ikea and I found this simple caddy that is just right for sitting next to my loom! It has a upper tray and a lid (not shown) to keep away the dust, especially when nothing is happening......and a deeper bottom section to keep the yarn, the notes and the bobbin winder. It gives a a good sensation of being organised.