I finally got a chance to start weaving last night. Yesterday I finished up the crochet hook holder and the baby blanket. I had my calculations ready for the warping and I was mentally ready to get started.
I sure am getting a lot of practice warping...The first 2 times I had to take apart my warp and rewind the yarn into balls because one of the pegs was loose and my tension was way too tight. I loosened up a bit for the 3rd try. When I was almost done with the first ball I counted the number of ends and I was already beyond my calculated number of ends. The problem is I had calculated that it would take me 1.5 balls of this yarn. I then proceeded to smack myself on the head. I used a different yarn initially to mark out my path. This yarn I cut to be roughly 2.33 yards, and then I proceeded to wrap for the entire circuit of the path. The thing is, each END is supposed to be 2.33 yards. My first 3 attempts at warping were actually producing ends that were roughly 1.16 yards long, half of what I needed. No wonder one ball was more than enough.
For my 4th attempt, I took a second ball, wound it on the ball winder, then joined it to the first ball (still sitting on the warping board) with a weaver's knot and finished winding the 2 into 1 ball. I will probably have to fine a better solution to join ends for warping, but a weaver's knot is tight and I don't think conventional knitting joins (spit slicing, Russian join) would hold up to the tension. I am now almost done warping, with 126 out of a needed 144 ends on the warping board.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Updates on a few things
Weaving~
The loom arrived this week, w00t! Lucky for me the weaving books I bought from the Interweave Hurt Books sale also arrived this week. There's a lot more planning and math that goes into weaving than I realized, but it's still doable. I made my calculations and decided on the yarn. If I have time tonight I'll try my hand at warping the loom. Too bad the video instructions that came with the loom were on a VHS tape! The newer versions come with a DVD. I decided on using my KnitPicks Palette yarn since it was cheap and I've got several bags of it. Even if the project goes blech, the yarn was only $2 a ball. It probably won't take as much yarn as I'm imagining. For 2.33 yards at a width of 15", I'm only going to need 336 yards for the warp, which is about 1.5 balls of the Palette.
I haven't decided on the yarn for the weft yet. I may continue to use the Palette. I may use a different color of Palette. I may switch it up a bit to mix the colors. That may not turn out very good as the only colors I have a red, blue, and green (garnet heather, marine heather, & verdant heather). Why can't I pick out more complimentary colors instead of one color at each extreme of the spectrum?? I may end up using some of the other yarns I have in my stash. I have a bunch of thin boucle & chenille that I bought of eBay several years ago. This could turn out to be a multi-part super-experiment. I plan to keep a detailed journal through Google Docs.
Rag Knitting
Fail fail fail. I tried doing what the book showed...snip a bit into the edge of the fabric and rip straight down. That did not work very well for the first strip as it ended up deforming the fabric because I had to pull too hard. I ended up cutting and that gave me tons and tons of frayed edges. There were lots of little fiber bits all over the place, sticking out of the edges of the fabric and all over the floor. I spent a lot of time cutting holes & knotting the strips together. It was okay to crochet with once I figured out I needed my giant crochet hook. I had just enough to finish the bag with, but I'm not so sure it's usable. There are just too many little bits of thread sticking out everywhere and it looks SO messy. This may go straight into the trash.
Fabric from Japan
So I ordered some fabric from an Etsy vendor in Japan because I knew Japanese fabrics come in all sorts of cute and I wanted something really cute for my crochet hook holder. They got here yesterday! The fabrics are totally awesome and cute. Two of them are a little thicker/coarser than I thought but they're still really cute. A thicker fabric may bulk up the crochet hook holder too much, but uh...good thing I made the ties extra long. :D Before warping the loom tonight I will probably finish up this project.
More Goodies from Japan
I bought some things from another Etsy vendor. I ordered several Hamanaka crochet hooks from her because they came in every size I need, they're double ended so you need fewer hooks, and they come with extra padding in the middle so they're easier on your hands. She also sells tawashi yarn and books, so I bought 1 book and 3 balls of acrylic anti-bacterial tawashi yarn. I also bought some cute little animal stickers and a set of pom pom makers!
The loom arrived this week, w00t! Lucky for me the weaving books I bought from the Interweave Hurt Books sale also arrived this week. There's a lot more planning and math that goes into weaving than I realized, but it's still doable. I made my calculations and decided on the yarn. If I have time tonight I'll try my hand at warping the loom. Too bad the video instructions that came with the loom were on a VHS tape! The newer versions come with a DVD. I decided on using my KnitPicks Palette yarn since it was cheap and I've got several bags of it. Even if the project goes blech, the yarn was only $2 a ball. It probably won't take as much yarn as I'm imagining. For 2.33 yards at a width of 15", I'm only going to need 336 yards for the warp, which is about 1.5 balls of the Palette.
I haven't decided on the yarn for the weft yet. I may continue to use the Palette. I may use a different color of Palette. I may switch it up a bit to mix the colors. That may not turn out very good as the only colors I have a red, blue, and green (garnet heather, marine heather, & verdant heather). Why can't I pick out more complimentary colors instead of one color at each extreme of the spectrum?? I may end up using some of the other yarns I have in my stash. I have a bunch of thin boucle & chenille that I bought of eBay several years ago. This could turn out to be a multi-part super-experiment. I plan to keep a detailed journal through Google Docs.
Rag Knitting
Fail fail fail. I tried doing what the book showed...snip a bit into the edge of the fabric and rip straight down. That did not work very well for the first strip as it ended up deforming the fabric because I had to pull too hard. I ended up cutting and that gave me tons and tons of frayed edges. There were lots of little fiber bits all over the place, sticking out of the edges of the fabric and all over the floor. I spent a lot of time cutting holes & knotting the strips together. It was okay to crochet with once I figured out I needed my giant crochet hook. I had just enough to finish the bag with, but I'm not so sure it's usable. There are just too many little bits of thread sticking out everywhere and it looks SO messy. This may go straight into the trash.
Fabric from Japan
So I ordered some fabric from an Etsy vendor in Japan because I knew Japanese fabrics come in all sorts of cute and I wanted something really cute for my crochet hook holder. They got here yesterday! The fabrics are totally awesome and cute. Two of them are a little thicker/coarser than I thought but they're still really cute. A thicker fabric may bulk up the crochet hook holder too much, but uh...good thing I made the ties extra long. :D Before warping the loom tonight I will probably finish up this project.
More Goodies from Japan
I bought some things from another Etsy vendor. I ordered several Hamanaka crochet hooks from her because they came in every size I need, they're double ended so you need fewer hooks, and they come with extra padding in the middle so they're easier on your hands. She also sells tawashi yarn and books, so I bought 1 book and 3 balls of acrylic anti-bacterial tawashi yarn. I also bought some cute little animal stickers and a set of pom pom makers!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Weaving & Rag Knitting
I did it! I bought a Kromski Loom! Someone just posted up one for sale over the weekend on Ravelry. It was a 24" one too. I got it for $180 which is quite a bit less than the ~$213 it would cost to order from Paradise Fibers (shipping included). I can't wait to get it & try it out!!
I found my old pajamas and I'm currently in the process of cutting it into strips for some rag knitting. :) There are patterns in one of the books my aunt got for me from Japan.
I found my old pajamas and I'm currently in the process of cutting it into strips for some rag knitting. :) There are patterns in one of the books my aunt got for me from Japan.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Weaving
I've been seriously considering taking up weaving. I looked into various non-floor looms and decided on the Kromski Harp 24" Rigid Heddle Loom. I was ready to buy it from someone on Ravelry, but she decided not to sell. That just means I get more time to consider this purchase (unless there's some special sale going on)! I did buy a few weaving books from the Interweave Press "Hurt Book Sale". Given that I feel my pros & cons are fairly balanced, I'm going to wait until I get those books before I decide whether or not I'll actually buy a rigid heddle loom.
Pros:
Pros:
- new craft = fun new skill
- could quickly get rid of large amounts of stash yarn that would never be knit/crocheted
- weaving large pieces of fabric is potentially less time consuming than knitting/crocheting
- quicker creation of home decor items (not counting set up & finishing time)
- woven is flatter, Lawrence may like the look better than knit/crocheted things
- learning curve - don't know how steep
- may not have time to practice weaving, may knit/crochet too much instead (like with spinning)
- warping sounds incredibly boring and time consuming
- loom takes up space, especially if getting a stand (closet too full)
- may not have enough table space for loom, so may need a stand
- may end up accumulating large quantities of coned yarn
- don't know much about yet, so could have over-expectations about ease/speed
- no classes nearby that I know of
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Ravelry Effect
...strikes me again. There's a thread about the previews for the new Fall 2008 Knitscene magazine. I normally probably would not even bother to check out preview pictures, but once you hear people raving about this pattern and that pattern, it's hard not to go take a look for yourself.
They've got some beautiful photography, with great attention to lighting and colors. I think that is one of the biggest problems I have with the non-Interweave magazines. A lot of the time they use the most hideous color combinations and no artistry in the lighting or poses whatsoever. Just a quick glance through the Knitscene photos, and I already want to buy the issue. Even if I look more closely and find that I only like some of the projects, I will probably still buy it anyway.
They've got some beautiful photography, with great attention to lighting and colors. I think that is one of the biggest problems I have with the non-Interweave magazines. A lot of the time they use the most hideous color combinations and no artistry in the lighting or poses whatsoever. Just a quick glance through the Knitscene photos, and I already want to buy the issue. Even if I look more closely and find that I only like some of the projects, I will probably still buy it anyway.
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