From Eventless to Eventful

The past week was quite the roller coaster. I spent half the week away from home, hoping to determine if my cat has been the cause of almost a year's worth of constant allergies and sporadic results with antihistamines. After three days away, it was determined that yes, our beloved orange tabby is indeed the culprit...unless it is some rare mold or fungus that is specific only to our house. Alas, this week we must pack up our little tabby and send her off in the hopes that some other lucky family will someday soon adopt her and make her part of their family. She would be a most welcome addition to anyone without allergies.

I returned home only to endure 4 days of a migraine headache, 2 days of being unable to keep anything in my stomach, and eventually a trip to the ER for an IV. But alas, I have returned to normal. And thankfully so!

The Kielbasa Apple Pasta bake a couple of weeks ago was a smashing success at our house. Especially to DH who had a heaping plateful two nights in a row. Good thing, too, as the recipe yields enough to feed an army. This week I will be attempting Kung Pow Shrimp and finally breaking in the wok we received as a wedding gift more than 5 years ago. Hopefully, this won't be the last time it gets use around here! I will keep you posted...

Burning at Both Ends

I have both looms threaded. I am making up for lost time. Here are my current WIPs:

My first attempt at Overshot, and it appears to be a bit over-sized as well. Medallion pattern over grey and raspberry tabby.


Plain weave on my rigid heddle using some amazing handspun from ChopstixWaits.etsy.com.

Still Here...

And perhaps this explains my lack of activity lately.

I am feeling a bit better these days and am hoping to have more FOs up soon! Additionally, as I have been feeling like a less-than-stellar mother and wife, I have decided that to make it up to them I will attempt one new recipe a week. No. Not Julia's. Just whatever I happen to stumble upon in one of my lady magazines that sounds yummy.

Keep your eyes peeled as I plan to keep you apprised of any that work out particularly well. To start this week: Kielbasa and Apple Pasta Bake.

Knit. Not woven.

IMG_8678, originally uploaded by myfinn.

I did it! I finally got through a knitting project! The first since I finished DH's anniversary sweater (2 months late). Feather and fan lace scarf, triple wide and super long; striped in my favorite shades of Malabrigo merino worsted.

Wove in about a billion ends. Phew!

In other news, I recently became the proud owner of a fab, old Ashford spinning wheel! Hope to learn how to use it soon.

Little Ponchos!

IMG_8653, originally uploaded by myfinn.

It took me a while, but I finally finished Christmas gifts for my twin nieces. I insisted on making them something "a mano", but I simply cannot finish any knitting projects lately!

Woven, of course, in my favorite 32 Flavors. And wonder of wonders, they fit both my 17 mo and my 3 yo!

El Cielo

IMG_8618, originally uploaded by myfinn.

I am all about the sky blues lately. I absolutely love this one! Again, loosely handwoven in tabby on my rigid heddle. So soft!

Super-Fine

IMG_8646, originally uploaded by myfinn.

Here it is! My first 20 dpi scarf, in my own handpainted lace weight yarn. It is so light and airy!

Hello?

Is anybody out there? Sorry it has been a while. I have been sort of sapped of creativity lately. I am trying, and trying and trying super-duper hard to get back into the knitting, but it seems that every time I start a new project I get about a 5th into it and come to a standstill. It is infuriating! But on the flip side, I have my weaving to turn to. And with two looms, I have been keeping those puppies quite busy lately.

I had a renaissance of sorts with the rigid heddle weaving. You just can't get as creative and you can't play with texture and color as easily on my Wolf Pup! In the pursuit of the perfect spring scarf I produced this:

And this:
Both are plain weave on my rigid heddle and hand fulled. The latter also has a ruffle edge that was made by removing about 7 or so warp ends from each selvage.

And just this afternoon I finished the finest cheesecloth of a scarf that I have ever made using my own handpainted lace weight. I just had to try out my new 20 dpi reed for the Wolf Pup that is (I think) as high as they go for this loom. I will get pics up once it is dry.

And next? I am hoping to finally use up a bunch of Fleece Artist yarn that I got about two years ago, on a cap-sleeve raglan pullover. And then, if I persevere through my project impatience, I have an idea to replicate this:
Seen at Garnethill.com, only in a sleeveless version. Hmmmm......

Seafoam Hand-fulled Scarf

IMG_8456, originally uploaded by myfinn.

I was thinking about keeping this but I am not so sure...

It would make a great transitional scarf for spring. Lovely, pale colorway and lacey open weave to boot!

Wish me luck! I think I am going for a pixie cut tomorrow!! In the middle of winter-I'm nuts!

Good Morning! Stashbuster Poncho

IMG_8367, originally uploaded by myfinn.

I recently worked out an arrangement with a jeweler who is melting down a bunch of my old gold to make me a custom mother’s ring. She asked for a woven poncho in exchange for labor. The one I made for her was my first, and I really loved the way it turned out. So much so that I decided that I wanted to make my own. And it was the perfect way to use up a bunch of odd balls of handspun multicolored yarn from my stash! The warp is mostly my own handpainted yarn in a pink, turquoise and purple colorway.

Merry Christmas all!

Hitting my Stride. And Craving Chocolate.

I began yarn painting (dyeing) this past week. SOOOOO much fun! A bit messy, and imperfect (for now) but I am absolutely loving the way the painted warp looks woven up! Here are a few pictures of my first (I call this one "Embers").

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Much better.

This is what I have been going for: chunky, over-sized, undulating twill patterns. And finding the sett that would achieve a balanced weave was eluding me. Through trial and error I finally figured out how to make it "work".

DH tells me that I will look back on this some day and laugh. He seems to think that I have a lot of evolving to do.

Water, water, everywhere...

Here I am enjoying some delicious pan dulce that I managed to track down yesterday in an effort to satisfy my craving. A very absurd contrast to how I am feeling at the moment.

I have reached a very unwelcome artists block. What? You ask? Didn't I just become the owner of a 4 shaft floor loom that would open a whole world of possibilities to me???

I did my friends. And that is the problem.

When I got into rigid heddle weaving it was a new and novel craft. Everything I made was amazing! After a while I got a sense of what I liked and what I didn't like about it and had a few dead-end thread-ups; all part of the learning process. And with my rigid heddle I feel as though I have entered a realm where I am no longer figuring out what I am doing with it. On the contrary, I feel as though I have complete creative control and can conceptualize projects long before my yarn touches the loom. And now add this new machine to the mix...

I feel like I should just get it! And to an extent I do. I know how to thread patterns, I get the treadling, but the past few projects I completed were only half-length because I didn't realize that twill could take up so much yarn! And then, combining yarns of different gauges just doesn't work the same in twill/patterns as it did in tabby on my rigid heddle. And worse! I think that to achieve the "look" I am going for I may have to invest in a new reed which isn't cheap.

The past week I have made out like a bandit! I have swapped for so much amazing yarn! I have even bought quite a bit expecting it to work for me, but have threaded and unwoven, started and restarted so many times I am afraid that it might never work for me.

Perhaps I was putting the cart before the horse. But who can blame me when I have churned out nearly 100 FOs, handwoven, already?! I should be able to sit down in front of this thing and write jazz! Alas, I think maybe I need to take a break. At the very least I need to stop buying yarn. And somehow, some way, this needs to come together for me. Help me, Oprah, I need my "Aha" moment...

Pan Dulce!

Pan Dulce!, originally uploaded by Decayla.

Christmas time makes me think of the sweet breads we would have for breakfast before a day of tamale making. I miss tamales. I miss pan dulce.

New 4 Shaft Projects

Here they are! My very first Wolf Pup project was the blue/purple diamond twill scarf. The yarn is a pima cotton and tencel blend that has a fantastic drape and sheen. I discovered a few pattern flaws here and there, but hey! It was my first project; I think I am allowed ;). So, obviously I am keeping this one for myself.



And then I was dying to try 32 Flavors in a pattern, so I found this undulating twill pattern in my Handweaver's Pattern Directory. I decided to reverse direction about halfway through, just to see what happens, and holey moley! I ended up with a set of eyes (first, second and "third") in the middle. I think I will call this one "Lucky Stripes".




Inspired by the spontaneous development in this pattern, I threaded up another sticking more or less with twill threading and played around until I found a design I liked. That one is in-progress, but I will post as soon as it is finished.

Striptastic Vest

Sorry I have been MIA. I got my new Wolf Pup on Saturday and am in heaven! I am even working on an improvised twill pattern right now...

About the vest: I decided that I needed a sweater vest and nothing I was finding online was doing it for me. So I improvised this design. I frogged two beautiful projects that weren’t being worn or used and repurposed them into this stripe-happy vest that I will surely wear. Even if it isn’t quite as lovely as the others were :(.

The unique striping pattern is somewhat arbitrary but mostly a unique result of using the Noro Taiyo. Fab yarn! Overall, I am pleased.

PS. Sorry about the dim photos. That is the best we could do this late in the day. I will post new pics of 4-shaft projects soon. Gotta capture them in the daylight.

I Promised to Share

So here it is, my very own 32 Flavors scarf. I threaded a whole bunch of purple into the warp (my favorite color) as well as a little bit of sparkle. Not too much! I wore it the other day to a yarn store that I have been frequenting for over 6 years and for the FIRST time I was acknowledged and they even were looking at my site before I left the store (thanks to this scarf).

Flattered, Honored and Humbled

Steph of Rivulette gave me quite the compliment and shout-out on her blog here. I would be glad to make more of these. Obviously.

I'm Super

I don't know if I should be worried that I had such a productive weekend. That was probably my last chance to get out and enjoy nice weather until next spring, yet I managed to get 3 scarves woven! I believe my sudden voracious appetite may be due in part to learning that I am soon to be the owner of a Schacht Wolf Pup loom! Four times the possibilities of what I have done on my rigid heddle, and I have only scratched the surface with that!

32 Flavors

Twinkle

Of the three, one was a custom order from Steph of RivuletteCraft.etsy.com. I have worked quite a bit with her 32 Flavors (probably my most favorite yarn in the world) and was quite flattered when she recently requested a scarf woven in her own 32 Flavors. Get your own 32 Flavors yarn in her shop, or visit my shop for other scarves made with 32 Flavors yarn. The other was Twinkle, a very soft and feminine plaid with a bit of sparkle. And the last is my very own 32 Flavors scarf that I will be posting pictures of...sometime, I guess. Onward and upward.

You Just Made My Day

Just found this convo in my inbox. I am truly, truly flattered, humbled and blessed:


Hi from beautiful North Carolina!
I looked all over your beautiful handwoven scarves today and just had to say WOW!
Your work is beautiful and I loved the close-up pics especially. I'm getting into
weaving soon and I can't wait. There is a Cricket loom being assembled in SC and
I'll be meeting the dealer next Sunday to pick it up and have my first lesson.

I've wanted to weave since I was a camp counselor while in college at a girls'
camp in the NC mountains. They had an entire cabin filled with looms! It was my
job to help the girls hand finish the items that they wove. Recently I saw a weaver
at work in Sparta NC and remembered my desire to learn to weave.....so now at age
62 I'm finally getting around to it! I'm starting out on the small Cricket rigid heddle
loom, then maybe I'll graduate to something bigger.

Your work is a real inspiration to someone like me! Thank you!