Caprice

The newest warp on the countermarche loom is mostly Egyptian cotton - there are some cotton and organic cotton yarns in the mix to broaden the color palette. My spring colorway, it transitions smoothly from deep plum to coral, taking a brief detour through a silver-green that adds some brightness through the center. Complementary and contrasting colors are mixed into each section for a highly pinstriped, very colorful warp.

The sett is approximately 24 EPI. It has been threaded with the same 8-shaft crackle draft that was used for Escapade. I would consider this warp to be the cousin of Escapade. 

I am holding a drawing for semi-custom spots on the warp and will offer as many as the warp length permits. I have approximately 50 meters available - with 4 meters presently claimed. The maximum length per entry is 5.2 meters. Wefts may be selected from those shown below or we can discuss other options you may have in mind.

the warp

Wefts

For wefts, I have sampled lace-weight superwash wool and wool/silk blends, plus cottolin, cotton and hemp/cotton in a number of colors. I'm really liking the softer tones with this warp - the silver, greenish-grey and light purple complement the warp colors nicely.

Wool/Silk

I started off the weft testing with a custom-dyed yarn that I created in shades drawn directly from the warp. This yarn is a deliciously soft and lightweight 75% superwash merino/25% mulberry silk. The colorway would also be lovely in superwash wool, silk or silk/linen. I am attempting to reproduce it with fiber reactive dyes on pima cotton...we'll see how that turns out!

superwash wool/mulberry silk - dyed to match the warp

In addition to the yarn I dyed, I sampled some Phydeaux Designs 80% superfine merino wool/20% silk yarns that pair beautifully with the warp. I have very limited yardage in these colorways - think shorty or ring sling piece if you're interested in these wefts. But if there is something you love, we can work on dyeing something custom.

These wefts are expected to produce a wrap in the range of 285 grams/m^2.

Phydeaux Designs Nectar 80% Superfine merino wool/20% silk

Phydeaux Designs Peach Blossoms 80% Superfine merino wool/20% silk

Phydeaux Designs Calypso 80% Superfine merino/20% silk

Below are photos with these lovely variegated yarns shown together. From the top: Phydeaux Designs Calypso, followed by Phydeaux Designs Peach Blossoms,  Phydeaux Designs Nectar, and finally the superwash merino/silk that I hand-dyed.

Superwash Wool

Next up are the superwash wools. I sampled some that I had on hand that were more tonal variations in color as opposed to variegated - to show the difference in the appearance. The one that I think really captures the spirit of the warp is MadelineTosh's Silver Leaf. It really picks up the hint of green through the center of the colorway. I have many skeins of this one, but the quantities are very limited with the others.

These wefts are expected to produce a wrap in the range of 290 grams/m^2.

MadelineTosh Tosh Lace Silver Leaf

The photo below shows all the superwash wool wefts together. From the top: MadelineTosh Tosh Lace in Silver Leaf and Calligraphy, followed by a superwash wool that I dyed in a variegated colorway, then MadelineTosh Tosh Lace in Stovepipe, MadelineTosh Tosh Lace in Purple Basil, and Phydeaux Designs Pomegranate superwash wool.

Cotton and Linen

Next up are the cottolins. I chose these because I love a little bit of linen and they also offer some colors not seen in the cotton yarns. Many of these colors can be reproduced as a custom-dyed yarn in any fiber.

From the top and right pirn: greenish grey, silver, silver blue, plum, hibiscus, coral, light melon and light peach organic cottolin. 

The weights for these will likely be in the range of 330 grams/m^2. 

Below are two series of cotton samples. The first shows from the top and right pirn: Raspberry Egyptian cotton, red cotton, coral Egyptian cotton, bright coral Egyptian cotton, bright green cotton, light green cotton, teal cotton, greenish grey Egyptian cotton, silver mercerized cotton, silver cotton, natural Egyptian cotton.

The second group of cottons. From the bottom and the pirn on the right: deep plum Egyptian cotton, plum cotton, purple Egyptian cotton, periwinkle Egyptian cotton, Orchid egyptian cotton, lavender Egyptian cotton and Burgundy Egyptian cotton.

I found a bit of hemp/cotton I had dyed silver that I thought I would try while I was sampling. Here is the result. This will likely end up in the range of 325 grams/m^2.

Weft Fiber Choices and Prices

• Cotton weft $105/meter 
• 40% hemp/60% cotton in natural $105/meter
• Egyptian cotton, mercerized cotton or cottolin $110/meter
• 10/2 Organic Pima cotton in natural $120/meter
• 65% linen/35% silk in natural $135/meter
• 70% silk/30% sea cell or Mulberry silk in natural $140/meter
• Australian organic merino wool in natural or Mulberry $140/meter
• hand-dyed lace-weight superwash wool or wool/silk blend $140/meter

*Natural yarns may be hand-dyed for an additional fee of $75.

To enter the drawing, please complete the form below. Drawing is limited to one entry per person - please only enter for yourself. I will randomly select entries on Sunday, March 12 at 9 PM Pacific and will notify winners by email. Wefts that are available in limited quantities will be assigned in the order that entries are selected. I will contact everyone whose entry is selected and - in cases where the weft has already been assigned - give you an opportunity to select an alternate weft. A non-refundable deposit of 10% of the estimated cost of your wrap is due within 24 hours to secure your place on the warp. Special order yarns will require payment for the yarn up front. Full payment for the wrap will be due upon completion - which is estimated to be within 8-10 weeks. Please add more time for special order or hand-dyed yarn.

*This drawing is now closed*

Extreme knitting with 1st/2nd Graders!

This is pretty off-topic from my usual weaving posts. But I thought my fiber-loving friends - especially those with young, crafty kids - might enjoy this. If you're looking for an ambitious project for yourself - or one that you can do with your little one - read on!

My kids' elementary school holds a fundraising auction each Spring in which the students of each classroom collaborate to create an item to be sold. In the first few weeks in February, 6 hours of class time are devoted to the activity, which is organized and supported by parents and implemented by the students. This is the fourth year I've had the honor of coordinating the classroom project. For anyone interested, you can find some mention of the previous projects I've undertaken with classrooms here: LJ Indigo, AJD Orange and BS Yellow.

In previous years, I have worked with students on hand-dyeing techniques and used the material they created to sew or weave a blanket. This year, I wanted to develop a project that would allow them a greater role in crafting the item. Along with dyeing the material, I wanted to give them the opportunity to work with it, as well. The thick, massive yarn that is all the rage right now seemed perfect for a group knitting project. It works up quickly and - aside from it's weight - is fairly easy to manipulate. But how does one approach knitting something substantial with a group of children unfamiliar with knitting?

As often happens, I was inspired by one of my older daughter's interests. At 10 years old, Sophia is now becoming more comfortable knitting on needles. But a few years ago - when she had the interest in making knitted creations but found knitting needles to be frustrating - she discovered loom knitting to be a great alternative. Though specific methods vary, this technique basically involves wrapping a length of yarn around a series of pegs in one direction- from peg #1 to peg #8, for example - and repeating this action in the opposite direction - from peg #8 to peg #1. A knitted stitch is created by lifting the bottom loop up over the top loop and off the loom. Below is a rough sketch - I hope it helps to demonstrate the principle.

I thought of introducing this type of knitting to the class. Then I wondered: what would be the result of increasing the scale of both the yarn and the loom? Could I make a large loom that would enable them to knit a blanket with some massive yarn? With my daughter's teachers on board with the idea, it was time to start testing some natural dye colors and building a loom!

For the dye, the teachers' only criteria was that it be a natural dye. They didn't have any requirements for color or dye materials used and thought that it might be good to offer a number of alternatives to the kids and ask them to select their favorite. To simplify my job of creating samples - I really just wanted to get on with the business of knitting - I bought the Aquarelle Liquid Natural Dye Kit from Botanical Colors and dyed up a bunch of small skeins of wool. My younger daughter, Nora, and I collaborated on the winding, mordanting, dyeing and presentation board.

The top row shows the results of working with each dye alone; the bottom row shows the results of combining colors or adding soda ash.

Before I began building the loom,  I experimented with some massive, bulky yarn. I started by knitting a throw blanket with a brand from my local yarn shop on US 50/25 mm needles. I needed to determine the correct gauge for the project, which would inform the size and spacing of the pegs on the loom.

The yarn I chose for the classroom project was the incomparable K1S1 extremely large yarn by Little Dandelion. I chose this yarn - which is specifically designed for high-end interior applications - for it's softness and resilience. It has just the right amount of felting to prevent the pilling I was already experiencing with the yarn I had experimented with. The 5 1.5 kg bumps arrived from New Zealand just in time to test out the concept!

As I was sketching ideas for how to attach 1" PVC pipe sections to a 2x4, my husband reminded me of the equipment I had in storage that already had pegs attached at the approximate spacing I needed. That saved me some time! I brought out the warping board that attaches to my Glimakra loom, secured the two pieces end to end - et viola! The pegs were a little too narrow for the gauge I needed so I did end up going to the hardware store for a 1" PVC pipe, which I had cut into 6" sections. A rubber gasket the diameter of the base of each peg was placed to keep the pipe section from popping off. I also added caps so the knitting would remain on the pegs while we worked.

Testing the prototype.

We started with an e-wrap cast on and a simple knit stitch. Sophia, Nora and I worked together on the knitting. We were already had a good length after just 15 minutes!!!

With this proof of concept we presented our idea to the class. They chose the dye - Saxon Blue, a formulation of indigo dye - and we prepared the yarn for the classroom work. To get it ready for dyeing, I wound each 1.5 kg bump into a large skein - tying it in several places to keep the yarn in place - and simmered it in my huge pot with a mordant of 6 oz aluminum sulfate per the Aquarelle Liquid Natural Dye Kit instructions. 

The yarn - prepped for dyeing.

Of all the steps involved in this project, dyeing was the single most time consuming. I worked with small groups of students and several helpful parent volunteers to measure the dye, monitor the temperature and duration of the dye bath and carefully manipulate the yarn to achieve an even color whilst preventing further felting of the yarn. The entire process took about 3 hours per skein of yarn. Once the dye had struck and the water was nearly clear, I allowed the yarn to cool inside the dye bath for several more hours before removing it from the bath. Once it reached room temperature, I proceeded with washing and rinsing. Fortunately, this dye takes wonderfully to wool. There was little to no dye that needed to be rinsed from the fibers. Once dry, we wound it back onto the cone and were ready for knitting.

This photo shows the yarn after being placed in the dye bath.

This shows Nora stirring the pot during the initial heating of the dye bath.

Progress...

Here is the yarn - dyed, dry, and wound back onto the cone and ready to knit with.

The blanket was knit entirely by the 26 students and 2 teachers of HD Green on the loom - which we assembled in their classroom retreat space. Students first learned a simple knit stitch on a small hand-held loom with DK weight yarn. In turn, each student and both teachers knitted rows using the large scale yarn on the large loom. Knitting continued until the blanket reached it's final size: approximately 60" x 130". We reached this size with about 3-1/2 of the 5 1.5 kg bumps we started with. We plan to use the remaining yarn to knit a much smaller blanket for their classroom reading area.

The blanket is super soft with excellent thermal properties. It has a surprisingly consistent stitch given the number of different hands involved in it's creation. It is generously sized - perfect to be shared. Folded in half it fits nicely over the foot of a bed. Folded many times, it can serve as a floor cushion.

Some of the kids took to the process very quickly. Others less so. Everyone needed a little coaching on the proper tension for the yarn when wrapping the pegs. There were a few kids convinced they couldn't do it. It was very rewarding to talk them through each step and watch as it "clicked" and they began working with confidence and ease. Most spoke of how the work was so much more enjoyable with the thick, soft yarn on the large loom as compared with the hand-held loom. As the blanket grew in size, it was irresistible. Children would curl up in it, pile up on top of it, remark on it's weight and softness. I think they are all very proud of what they have created!

Alloy

Two weeks ago I faced a dilemma. I had several consequetive days to work without interruption and two empty looms plus one fully warped, threaded and sleyed with bright, cheery spring colors. But I found myself in the midst of a migraine episode and feeling weighed down and alienated by politics. I wasn't feeling ready for spring and the hopeful state it implies. I needed something comforting and cozy. So I went a different direction and brought out the box of silk/sea cell yarn I had been saving.

This is color therapy. True autumn colors - tawny, coppery and metallic. Think gold, copper, bronze - even a touch of oil-rubbed bronze and zinc. What do these colors represent for me? Freshly roasted acorn squash with a sizzling crust of caramelized brown sugar on top. The scent of All Spice and baking with my mom. Pressing whole cloves into oranges for a holiday decoration. The crunch of leaves underfoot. These are things that make me feel at home.

THE WARP

The warp is 70% silk/30% sea cell. It is incredibly soft with a beautiful luster. For this design, I selected 6 hand-dyed colorways from the Autumn Fields collection by Handmaiden Fine Yarns. Half the yarns are dyed with tonal variations of one color and half are variegated skeins with high contrast. They have been organized on the loom to blend smoothly between colors and to create a varied striping pattern - with pools of color emerging and then dispersing along the length. The warp is approximately 18 meters with enough for 4-5 wraps depending on their length.

warp with rust orange cotton weft

THE WEAVE

The weave - shown here with rust orange cotton weft

I chose a twill variation for the weave. It is a 16-shaft draft by Louis Serrure from Atlas de 4000 Armures - pattern #36232 on handweaving.net. I like the simplicity of the design - how, from a distance, it doesn't distract from the pattern developed by the striping of the yarn while also rewarding close inspection with it's intricate interlacement of warp and weft threads. With this warp fiber, it is not overly thick or dense and has a beautiful drape.

Detail of the weave of finished sample piece - brown cottolin weft

THE WEFTS

Three superwash wool wefts hand-dyed by Phydeaux Designs - selected to pair with the warp

I have sampled a number of wefts. Superwash wool features prominently in my selection as I think it pairs nicely with the warp. Of all the suggested wefts, it will produce the softest, lightest wrap. With one exception, the wool wefts are hand-dyed superwash merino wool. There are three colorways I chose specifically to pair with this warp - Phydeaux Designs Copper, Cloves and Pumpkin Spice (shown in the image above). The others I have chosen from among the yarns I have in the studio.

all the wool wefts

From top of the woven sample and left pirn: charcoal organic merino wool, Cassis superwash merino wool hand-dyed by Wollmeise, Stovepipe superwash merino wool hand-dyed by Madeline Tosh. All the remaining are superwash merino hand-dyed by Phydeaux designs in colorways Pomegrante, Copper, Cloves and Pumpkin Spice. All of these I have in very limited quantity. The length of the wrap may be limited by how much I have available. I will have a better idea of the length each weft yarn will yield once I have woven a larger piece and can calculate the PPI against the number of skeins I have of each colorway.

all the wool wefts

another view of the wool wefts by Phydeaux Designs

I have also sampled a selection of cotton yarns in navy, grey, browns, oranges and reds. Many of the same colors are also available in cottolin. I am able to hand-dye colors to match these - or just about anything else - in hemp/cotton and 10/2 organic Pima cotton. 

the cottons

The blue/grey/brown group, from the bottom of the woven sample and left cone: Navy Egyptian cotton, Marine cotton, Navy cotton, Charcoal Grey Egyptian cotton, Dark Brown cotton and Chocolate Brown cotton.

blue, grey and brown cottons

blue, grey and brown cottons

blue, grey and brown cottons

The orange/red group, from the bottom of the woven sample and left cone: Honey cotton, Rust Orange cotton, Brick Red cotton, Red Wine cotton, Burgundy Egyptian cotton and Raspberry cotton.

orange and red cottons

orange and red cottons

orange and red cottons

Finished sample piece - brown cottolin weft at top, followed by the wools with cottons on bottom.

Brown cottolin weft sample piece finished.

Weft Fiber choices and prices

• cotton weft $115/meter
• 40% hemp/60% cotton in natural $120/meter
• Cottolin $120/meter
• Egyptian cotton $120/meter
• 10/2 Organic Pima cotton in natural $130/meter
• Australian Organic merino wool in Charcoal $150/meter
• Lace-weight superwash merino wool hand-dyed in Cassis colorway by Wollmeise $150/meter
• Lace-weight superwash merino wool hand-dyed in Stovepipe colorway by Madeline Tosh $150/meter
• Lace-weight superwash merino wool hand-dyed in Pomegranate, Copper, Cloves or Pumpkin Spice by Phydeaux Designs $150/meter
• Add a flat fee of $75 for yarns that I hand-dye

I am opening up the warp for a limited number of semi-custom spots. I will randomly select the number of entries I can accommodate given the length of the warp and availability of weft yarns. To enter the drawing, please complete the form below. The drawing is limited to one entry per person and entries are non-transferable. Please only enter for the wrap that you would like to have made. I will randomly select entries on Wednesday, February 8 around 12 PM Pacific. Winners of the drawing will be notified by email and tagged in the Facebook chatter group, Wonder Woven Love. If there is no reply within 24 hours, I will move on to the next entry. Wefts that are available in limited quantities will be assigned in the order that entries are selected. I will contact everyone whose entry is selected and - in cases where the weft has already been assigned - provide an opportunity to select an alternate weft. For anyone at a complete loss with regards to weft color choice and living within the US, I can send the finished sample piece to help in making a selection. A non-refundable deposit of 10% of the estimated cost of your wrap is required when I am ready to begin work on your piece. Special order yarns will require payment for the yarn up front. Full payment for the wrap will be due upon completion - which is estimated to be within 6-8 weeks. Please allow additional time for special order yarn and yarns to be hand-dyed by me.

*THIS DRAWING IS NOW CLOSED*

Indigo v.2: Blueprint

This project features my second organic indigo-dyed warp. If you missed version 1, you can read about it here. For this one, I started with 10/2 Organic Upland bright white combed cotton. Like v.1, it was dyed in small organic indigo vats over several weeks - allowing the vat time to rest between sessions. The warp has a full range of blues and a lovely contrast with the bright white bits that were tied to resist the dye.

The first (of many) skeins dyed

The warp was beamed at 28 ends per inch and threaded to produce the structure below, an 8-shaft crackle weave. I developed this pattern by making some tweaks to the draft I used for Escapade. To give a sense of the scale for the pattern, the width of one diamond shape is equivalent to 2" on the loom.

the skeins, wound into cakes

the warp on the loom

THE WRAPS

The 46-yard warp yielded 6 pieces with 5 wefts in various fibers. Below are photos of all the pieces in progress and finished.

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with natural silk/seacell weft 4.7 meters - shown here during weaving

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with natural silk/seacell weft 4.7 meters - shown here finished

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with indigo-dyed silk/seacell weft 5.0 meters - shown here during weaving

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with indigo-dyed silk/seacell weft 5.0 meters - shown here finished

Indigo v. 2 Blueprint with natural hemp/cotton weft 4.65 meters - shown here during weaving

Indigo v. 2 Blueprint with natural hemp/cotton weft 4.65 meters - shown here finished

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with dark blue Tsumugi silk weft 2.7 meters - shown here during weaving

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with dark blue Tsumugi silk weft 2.7 meters - shown here finished

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with natural silk/cotton weft 5.0 meters - shown here during weaving

Indigo v.2 Blueprint with natural silk/cotton weft 5.0 meters - shown here finished

There was just enough left over to sew some pillows!

Frosted

When I took up weaving a few years ago, the thing that most attracted me was the thought of making something useful - and beautiful - with very simple materials.  Throughout this year, I've been inching this idea forward, beginning some projects with even simpler materials: natural yarns and various dye stuff. I've been dipping my toe into yarn dyeing, trying new techniques with various fibers and experimenting with ways in which these yarns may be employed in weaving.

Recently, I've had the great pleasure of taking an online course in dyeing taught by one of my favorite indie yarn dyers - Brenda Lavell of Phydeaux Designs & Fiber. I turned an unused patio off the kitchen into a "messy art space" and outdoor studio and slowly have been stocking it with the necessary equipment. I have spent a couple days each week laboring over the stove and practicing the art of choosing and applying color to yarn. After learning the essentials about Brenda's process and dyeing many pre-planned colorways, in our final week we were set free to develop our own. I took it as an opportunity to dye something specifically for the loom!

For this project, I picked a lovely silk/linen blend yarn. I chose it for it's beautiful luster and softness as well as for the unique way it dyes up. The silk accepts the color graciously while the linen resists the dye, resulting in a wonderful play of color seen as though through frosted glass. It spoke of winter to me. It also gave me confidence to experiment with a riot of color knowing that the yarn would literally help to tone it down. I dyed the yarn in small batches over several days, developing 5 complimentary colorways.

The final day of dyeing after the last application of color.

All the yarn together...

...and wound into cakes!

Winding this one on the loom was fun!

winding on!

Even the loom waste was mesmerizing.

Some views of the warp.

The warp in the even afternoon light.

Seen from the other end, bathed in bright morning light. This captures the lustre of the yarn very nicely!

The yarn has been wound, threaded and sleyed at 24 ends per inch. With this yarn and sett, I would expect the finished wrap to be fairly lightweight. I would estimate it to end up in the range of 240-250 gsm with the use of an 8/2 cotton weft or equivalent. Sampling with the selected weft will give us a better idea.

For the weave, I chose a draft by G.H. Oelsner from A Handbook of Weaves (Germany, 1915). I just love bringing historic weaving drafts back to life! I found this 16-shaft draft on handweaving.net (#34042). It brought to mind icicles or a windswept landscape. It has a lovely balanced quality between the warp and weft that I find soothing. It is shown below with a white Pima cotton weft. 

A view from above.

This is a short warp - with just about 9 yards to work with. I'm opening this up to a drawing for one semi-custom wrap - minimum length of 4.2 meters. There is no maximum length but we are limited to the length of the warp minus any length needed for weft sampling. If all proceeds smoothly, there will likely be some warp left over, which I may offer as a finished piece when complete. Pricing will start at $120/meter for a cotton weft. We can discuss pricing of alternative fibers, as well as dyeing of the weft. To get a rough idea of the options that may be available to you and the costs associated, you may view the Escapade semi-custom page for details. Please note that pricing will start on this warp $15 higher as the yarn is more expensive and hand-dyed. Please also note that the list is not exhaustive - if you have something in mind that is not listed, we can work on exploring it together. 

To enter the drawing, please complete the form below. Entries are non-transferable - please only enter for the piece you wish to have made. I will randomly select one entry on Sunday, December 11th at 9:00 PM Pacific. If your entry is chosen, I will contact you to discuss your weft preferences. If emails or tagging (in the Facebook chatter group, Wonder Woven Love) do not result in reply within 24 hours, I will draw a new entry. A non-refundable deposit in the amount of 10% of the cost of your wrap will be due before I begin work on your piece. The balance is due upon completion, which I expect will be within 4-6 weeks, depending on the type of weft you would like. I am so looking forward to working on this. I hope to have it finished quickly so it can keep you and your little one cozy in the months ahead!

-THIS DRAWING IS NOW CLOSED-

And for anybody who got this far in reading this post and is as excited about these things as I am, make sure to keep an eye on the chatter page! I will be wanting to put these new dyeing skills to work and may be looking for some color inspiration....