Ends & Picks » Weaving

Bobbin Lace

Melissa — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:38:38 +0000

This fall I took a six week class at the Textile Center to learn the basics of bobbin lace. Bobbin lace is technically a type of weaving, but it is done with pairs of bobbins and pins instead of the traditional warp, weft & shuttles.

The Snake was our first project and used 7 pairs of bobbins.

Check out those beady eyes!

Our next two projects were exploring the half stitch and the cloth stitch.

Our last project was some delicate nursery lace.

I really enjoyed this class once I got used to the new techniques needed in bobbin lace. I have some great ideas I’d like to try out once I get through the frantic Christmas knitting on my needles right now…

Woven Shibori

Melissa — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:42:58 +0000

Throughout the month of May, my friend Elisa and I spent our Saturdays at the Weaver’s Guild taking a wonderful class on woven shibori taught by Traudi Bestler. Woven shibori was developed by Catharine Ellis and it was her book, Woven Shibori, that we worked from throughout the class.

The first two days of class we planned, calculated, wound, warped and started weaving our projects. It was WONDERFUL being back in a weaving studio and even though I was pretty rusty with all my preliminary yardage calculations (as exhibited by the extra long warp I ended up with – oops!)

The third class we spent in the Dye Lab and since I ended up with two pieces of fabric, I decided to immersion dye one and hand paint the other. The fourth class we all came together for show and tell!

Unfortunately, the yarn Elisa and I wove with had a much higher twist than our classmates so we didn’t get the high contrast that others got.

Even so, I’m quite pleased with the results!

Just a Thumb Short…

Melissa — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:43:09 +0000

I was so close to finishing my second pair of fingerless gloves tonight, but alas, no such luck. I still have to finish the last thumb and weave in my ends. So close!

I probably could have finished earlier if I hadn’t taken time out this afternoon to bust out the sewing machine and whip up a much needed knitting needle case.

It’s already quickly filling up with all the stray needles strewn about this place. (These are just the ones I’ve found in my living room so far!) I’m going to try to fit all my DPNs in this one and possibly make a second for my straights and circulars. I’ll get these needles organized yet!

Handwoven Thank You’s

Melissa — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:01:02 +0000

Having received some awesome birthday and belated wedding gifts over the last few weeks left me in desperate need of some good ol’ fashion Thank You cards. Or not. Never one to settle for average (well, most days anyway), I decided to try out CrafyPod’s Handwoven Greeting Card tutorial I had seen awhile back featured on craftzine.com. I started out simple and got totally cute results.

Then I remembered one of my favorite balls of fancy yarn….

…and got fancy results.

And then I got bored with squares…

…and got some sweet results.

Always one to think ahead (or was it the snow showers due on Monday?), Christmas was next on my mind…

…with some festive results.

All in all, as much as I liked the fun shapes, I ended up going with more fancy yarn squares for my Thank You cards.

I covered the inside with some pretty maroon paper, dug out my favorite silver pen, and voilà! Long overdue thank you cards ready for tomorrow delivery.

How hard do you think it’d be to weave a cornucopia?

To weave a scarf…

Melissa — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:30:02 +0000

A few months back (eek!) I posted about my first Scarf o’ Stash. Well, The Canadian surprised me with this cute video today. Be sure to appreciate the guest appearances of Celeste and Frances!

New Toy

Melissa — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Let me introduce you to the latest addition to my fiber/yarn/textile paraphernalia collection, my shiny new Ashford Knitters Loom.

This bad boy warps in under a half hour and in just 2.5 more hours, you can have a cute little scarf for your very own. And that is while being distracted by TV reruns at the same time. Pretty impressive, I say.

There are so many great things about this loom. It comes with a 7.5 DPI heddle which is perfect for the fancy novelty yarns that are normally better for knitting. Also, it has minimal yarn wastage (compared to my 8 harness Macomber), which means this guy is perfect for using up Stash yarn. (Confession: These last two scarves were made from newly purchased yarn. Yes, I am ashamed.)

Even Frances approves. Sort of.

Scarf o’ Stash

Melissa — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:35:00 +0000

I have had quite a wonderfully crafty week. Last weekend I finished warping my loom and over a few nights this past week, finished weaving my first Scarf o’ Stash.

I decided simple goals are best:
1. actually weave something
2. use up some Stash.
Final Stash Sacrifice:
Warp: 140 ends from three balls of Noro “Hotaru” in red/purple/orange
Weft: 5 picks of Bernat “Boa” in Parrot alternated with 5 picks of crazy 4-stranded creamsicle boucle yarn I bought off Ebay many moons ago.
As always, kitty approval is required (and freely given).