Lather, rinse, repeat...

Be curious.

Try stuff.

Don't be attached to the outcome.

< Repeat >

Woven sett samples with knitting sock yarns.

~

Pouches

One of the first sweaters I took apart was

made of this wonderful thick european wool.

I dyed a few hanks of it and the yarn has been hanging 

out in the stash for years now.

I wove off a few small pieces of fabric with the leftover

warp from the poncho.  Inspired by a dear friend, I thought I would give sewing 

a pouch a try.

The first attempt using a purchased pattern was a complete disaster.

After that I decided simple is best.

They aren't perfect, but I love their cheerful quirkiness!

..and zippers aren't as hard I thought..

Farm Show

Had fun last week representing the Butler Guild by doing a weaving

demonstration at the Butler Farm Show.

The spinners hand spun Linda's beautifully prepared wool rolags

into yarn for weaving. 

I warped enough for two scarves and wove the second one at home.

The weft for the second scarf was a miscalculated warp

from a demo last year.  Glad I hung onto it because I had just

enough to weave off the scarf!  

The medium blue weft really makes the colors pop..

One more demo to go.  Next stop...

Indiana County Fair

#weaveallthethings

hash·tag

noun

1. On social media sites, a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic.

Sometimes I use the hashtag 

#weaveallthethings

when I share my work.

That little tag really encompasses what I love most about weaving.

For example the above shawl was woven with:

• Reclaimed sweater yarn.

• Vintage yarns from garage sales.

• Yarn naturally dyed with Oak bark from my yard.

• Handspun yarns - with fiber that I hand dyed.

• Reclaimed silk from Indian Sari garments.

• Random balls of yarn found at thrift shops.

• Yarn given to me from guild members.

• Left over yarns from knitting projects.

The garment above was not woven with any yarn purchased specifically

to "weave a shawl'..

 I find it is much more fun to #weaveallthethings !!!

Part Two: Construction

Weaving away.

Blue warp:  Hand dyed indigo from a few years ago

Terracotta warp:  Repurposed sweater

Blue weft:  super super thin weight of a cotton cone yarn

from the guild trash-to-treasure sale.

Using a double bobbin shuttle for the thin weft making it

two strands.  Makes the edges a bit tricky, but I love the 

way it is weaving up!

~

Saori shawl to follow..

Part One: Process

The first scarf I ever made was woven on a board with nails.

Not knowing how to "weave" or what yarns to use,

I made it up..

Shortly after that I started looking for sources of yarn that were 

inexpensive.  Not knowing what proper weaving yarns were, I started 

taking apart sweaters.

Creating with what I could find was addicting.

I am now a curator of discarded fibers: sweaters, cones, and odd balls of yarn.

It has been four years and weaving with found

materials makes me happier than ever.

This discarded linen blend sweater was unraveled to be made into 

a new scarf.

The yarn will be paired with hand dyed indigo and with a 

cone of discarded yarn at the guild Trash-to-Treasrue swap.

~

Stay tuned..

Something from nothing..

After all the precision work for the Master Weaving homework, 

I woke up craving Saori.

The warp was wound from scraps of yarns

given to me from other weavers.  I love using cast-off, donated, 

and reclaimed yarns.

The Noro weft was dug from deeeeeep in the bottom of

the stash.

I was having a great time weaving, but

my studio partners were not amused...

The scarf woven is open and etherial.  I'll post some

some photos once the fringe is twisted.

The remaining warp was beat down tight.

Loving the fabric it made!

Hoping to have enough to make a small pouch.

The magic of scraps and Noro ; )

Goodbye July..

July was a busy month.

The shawl for the 'Fleece to Shawl' demo is done.

Such a wonderful learning experience, namely weaving with 

"live" yarn - freshly spun, unwashed wool.

Family visits and a wedding.

Multiple trips into town and 

a visit to Phipps Conservatory.

August greeted me on the way to the guild meeting this week.

Sometimes you just have to pull the car over and savor the flowers.

.. hello August ..

~

Grit

There is no doubt in my mind that weaving is a *skill that can take

a lifetime to learn.

Volunteering to weave for a demonstration is a good way to make 

an *effort in learning.

All I can say is .. good thing I started the sample early!

This hand dyed warp:

Shrunk, plumped, was mis-measured,

beamed twice, and turned into Gumby stretchy on the loom.

While the yarn is soft, it has made me

.. "GRITTY"..

I just started reading a book called:

'Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance'

by Angela Duckworth

She defines 'grit' as the combination of perseverance and passion.

For now I'll just keep on weaving.

With all the extra yardage from a measuring error, I'm going 

to be here for a while...but I won't be gritting my teeth..

*skill x *effort = achievement

: )

~

Weave big..

So there is this space above our bed...

A few weeks ago I was hit with the thought of making a tapestry for that space.

The thought wouldn't go away...

....so...

I decided to 'go big'

Heres the thing about big..

It can be daunting.

I like small.

Miniature even!

Nothing felt 'right'.

Its been a few days now and 'big' and I are getting a bit more friendly.

Slowly chipping away.

Adding.

Subtracting.

More subtracting.

Finding peace in life through the process.

My weaving partner...

She finally took a break from DIVING in the fringe (ugh)!

All the  yarn is reclaimed: estate sales, thrifting, found, from sweaters.

I love that.

A bit of hand spun from Craigslist fiber.

Stash busting.

This piece is going to take some time, but it is going to be

totally worth it!

~

Out like a lion..

Savoring a bouquet of daffodils as the weather has turned cold again.

March seems to be going out like a lion.  Lots of wind and cold.  

Meet 'Sonora Blue'.. 

named after an early spring butterfly.

She's a new favorite.

Happy Monday everyone!!

~

Little Wren, Big City..

Yesterday I had the honor of teaching a companion class at the

David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh during the 

American Association of Woodturners convention.

The companion classes were hosted by the lovely 

Society for Contemporary Craft for folks who were attending

the convention that were 'non-turners' of wood.

I ended up taking the long way around to the craft room

and stumbled on some beautiful roof top green spaces.

We had a wonderful time weaving some mug-rugs

with my  'Found Object Kits'.

Thank you ladies for a most wonderful afternoon!

Safe travels to all who were visiting from out of town!

Wishing you many more happy 

weaving projects..

~

Inspiration Board

.. collect ALL the bits..

| workroom inspiration board |

~

Mug Rug..

This little loom belonged to my mom as a child.

When I unearthed it there still was a little piece of her weaving on it.

That little square of wool now hangs 

on the inspiration board in my studio.

One day I took the little loom with me out to the campfire with

some cones of who-knows-what-kinda-yarn I dug out of the cedar chest.

Isn't hand-me-down-mystery-yarn wonderful?!?

The little square on the upper left is what came off the loom that day.

It happened to be just the right size for my coffee mug.

I use that little mug rug every. darn. day.

It makes me think of my mom's little fingers weaving wool..

the day we sat together laughing at the campfire..

how imperfectly perfect it is.

That little rug got me thinking about maybe trying a few more. 

This little rug was woven on a Schacht Zoom Loom.

Small.

Portable.

Easy to use.

Perfect for more hand-me-down-yarn,

recycled sweater yarn,

and..

a little embroidered pine tree.

~