Maltese Cross Overshot

Now that I am obsessed with overshot, I thought I'd share my latest endeavor; Maltese Cross.

Here is the draft......

I warped 205 ends of 3/2 pearl cotton at 10 epi. I used the cotton for the tabby weft and Kauni yarn for pattern weft.

I've got to work on a more even beat, but all in all, I'm really happy with it. 

Happy Weaving!

Adventures in Overshot - Take 2

My last post, Adventures in Overshot-take 1, was started last month when this idea was in its infancy. When I posted it yesterday, it was dated 11/1 so you may need to go back to see what I'm talking about. Anyway, when I left off, I was 1/2 way through threading. I've since woven a piece that came off the loom at 17" x 45". Pretty good for a 1st real attempt at overshot, but far from perfect. 

I had to beat so hard that I moved the loom halfway across the room and it still wasn't square. My beat was also not even. After a trip to the yarn store to get some input (Twist Knitting & Spinning in Lahaska, PA) we deduced that my sett was way too tight at 15 epi. I re-sleyed the warp at 10 epi. 

That added about 7 inches in width. I'm still using a firm beat, but not nearly as hard as before. 

I realized, while weaving the 1st piece, that I had a missing thread. Before I re-sleyed the reed, I added a string heddle and the missing warp thread. 

It's looking nice and even. I'm now using Cascade 220 as pattern weft. It looks good now so I'm hoping that wet finishing will full the wool a bit and then it will look great! 

I'm always one to see how many completely different pieces I can get off one warp so this afternoon I'm going to finish off the warp in Monk's belt. 

Happy Weaving!

Amazing Weaving Draft - Take 2

Ok, after a bit more research on crackle, I decided to try again. I used the Ralph Griswold pattern again. This time I threaded at 8/8 cotton at 10 epi and used 4 repeats of the pattern. I wove tromp as writ using 8/8 cotton as weft

Success!!!!! Sort of.

Now to add the tabby.

My 1st attempt was with the warp cotton as the tabby weft and Bernat Roving as the pattern weft. 

It looks and feels great, but now the design is skewed vertically instead of horizontally, as is was with my 1st attempt at this pattern. 

For the 2nd attempt I used 8/8 cotton for pattern weft. 

I love it!!! I'll post pics of the finished pieces soon. 

Here is little experiment I tried. I was messing around with tie ups and after about 2 inches of weaving, I saw it wasn't working and decided to start a new piece. I cut the pattern threads to see what the fabric would look like.

Apart from the weft tail hidden in there and me moving it around when I pulled the threads, it's a nice even plain weave. I always wanted to try that!

Happy Weaving!

Amazing Weaving Draft

I have had this pattern saved for a while. It pops up on Pinterest every other day or so, so I guess other people like it too. On Handweaving.net you can find it as:

Weaving Draft: xcooo81, Crackle Design Project, Ralph Griswold, United States, 2004, #14103. 

I've been planning to do this in an 8/8 cotton, but I waited for over a month for the order. I couldn't wait any longer. I bought 4 skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima and threaded it at 8 epi. I did 3 repeats of the pattern threading. Various DK weight knitting yarns were used as weft. 

What a great pattern!!!! Using these yarns and this sett, was, as I mentioned, not what was originally planned for this project. Because my sett was so open, the design is a bit different from the original, but still very awesome. After threading the warp, you'll have the pattern in your head. After a few repeats of the pattern with the weft, you might not even need to look at the draft anymore. 

As luck would have it, when I was finishing the last bit of this warp, the long awaited cotton finally arrived. I guess I'll just have to weave it again 😀here

Small Business Saturday Sale!!!!!

Visit my shop: www.etsy.com/shop/LSGCrafts and use the coupon code "THANKS" to get 15% off any order over $50. Here are just a few of the handwoven items I have listed for sale.....

Weaving With Sock Yarn - 2 projects

Here are the results of my latest weaving experiment; using a plain wool warp with variegated and self striping wool sock yarns as weft. 

I used what was left of a cone of Nature Spun Fingering wool (2800 ypp) in natural for my warp. I threaded at 15 epi. When I last wove with this wool, I used a set of 20 epi. The fabric was gorgeous, but I wanted to open the sett a bit. For weft, I have a ball of Kauni 8/2 wool and for another variation, I used Done Roving's Frolicking Feet "Apple Pickin".

I threaded in a rosepath (4,3,2,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,4,3,2,1...,). For the Kauni yarn I wove "tromp as writ" according to the threading. 

Here is the Kauni yarn weft...

I love love love this yarn! The colors are amazing and it finishes up so soft. Just gorgeous.

Now onto the Frolicking Feet. This was so much fun. I wove again in rose path. The results were awesome. 

When I got to the 3rd color change in the yarn, I changed the treadling.

I finished with the rosepath and then some plain weave. 

Here are the finished products.....

The Kauni yarn is now a beautiful table runner. It is for sale in my Etsy shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/LSGCrafts

Here is the Frolicking Feet yarn made into an infinity scarf. I love it! It is so soft and warm. 

A word of warning about the Frolicking Feet yarn. The last bit of this yarn was white and yellow. As soon as I put the scarf in hot water, the water turned red. I rinsed and rinsed, but the white became a peachy color. Actually, I am happy with the result because I think the white & yellow were too much of a contrast with the other colors, but be forewarned: This yarn bleeds!!!!!

Log Cabin - 3 variations on one warp

I hadn't woven log cabin in a while so I decided to experiment with it a bit. I warped the loom with Nature Spun Sport wool in natural and charcoal at 10 epi. 

First I did a four color log cabin using a light grey and teal wool for weft. 

Then I tried a brown alpaca wool as weft....

Finally, I used 5/2 black pearl cotton as weft. 

Though I like the first two fabrics, the third is my favorite. It is light and gauzy and fabulous. I'm definitely making that again, but probably with a solid warp. Would make excellent curtains. 

Happy Weaving!

I Remember Momma

Today marks such a sad anniversary for me. It has been one year since my mother passed away. She was young (only 61) and vibrant and beautiful. She died after a courageous two year long battle with Pancreatic Cancer. 

Before she passed away, I made a bag for her out of some of my handwoven fabric. She carried it everywhere. Now that bag is back with me and hangs next to my loom. 

There really are no words to sum up the pain and sadness that my family has felt over the last year. There are no words to express what it was like to watch her pass away and then have to go tell your kids that Grandma is gone. I feel like that is what I've been trying to do for the last year; find the words. It turns out, I've had them all along. 

In addition to weaving and fiber arts, my other passion is genealogy or family history. I've been working at it for 20 years now. Back in the late 90's, someone sent me a quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero........

"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?"

I never really thought about the word "woven" in that quote before. Weaving can be literal. Threads that run one way and other threads that pass over and under and around them. Weaving can also be figurative. Our lives are so intertwined with others that they are woven together. 

When one thread ends, a new thread begins, and when done right, blends seamlessly with the others. The new thread starts where the other ended. 

We are forever woven together, my mother and I. I miss you Momma. I miss you so much.

Adventures in Overshot - Take 1

I have always admired overshot weaving. Growing up in Bucks County, PA, a place rich with Colonial history, you can see fabulous examples of overshot all over the place. 

My 4 shaft loom was de-accessioned from the Holcombe/Jimison Farmstead Museum in Lambertville, NJ. I promised them that I would make them a period correct woven piece to go in the ca. 1750's home in the property. Overshot is the obvious choice. The only caveat.....I've never woven overshot before. 

Always one to bite off more than I can chew, I found an overshot pattern by John Landes, a weaver of the late 18th century. I can do this, I told myself. 

Here is the original pattern:

I decided that, before tackling this 18th century challenge, I would thread a sample piece to experiment with overshot.

I am using an Orange Peel overshot pattern.

This piece will have 3/2 black pearl cotton as warp and tabby weft. I am going to use Kauni wool as pattern weft. I also have some Pima cotton for pattern weft. I am interested to see how the different colors will interact with the black.

I think I am starting to understand this block weaving thing. I had 4 extra threads when I got to the center of the loom and I knew I had counted my threads and dents very carefully. I instantly thought, I must've skipped a block. So now I'm thinking in overshot 😉

Well, I'm 1/2 done with the threading and now I remember why I haven't done a black warp in a while. Aaaahhhhhh!

Happy Weaving!

Rigid Heddle Doubleweave - A picture tutorial

I have been asked several times recently about doubleweave on a Rigid Heddle loom so I thought I'd do a step by step picture tutorial. By far, the best resource I've found on the subject is "The Weaver's Idea Book, creative cloth on a rigid heddle loom" by Jane Patrick. I think it is an essential for every rigid heddle weaver. 

I think I nearly turned my brain inside out trying to figure out the threading diagrams online for two heddles. I know it seems daunting, but you just have to do it and after a minute or two, you'll get it. 

Ok, let's start with the threading. When direct warping a rigid heddle loom for doubleweave, you need to have 4 threads per dent. For this example I am using 8/2 unmercerized cotton and two 10 dent reeds on a 15" Flip Loom. This will give me a set of 20epi for two heddle plain weave and 10epi per layer for doubleweave. 

Here you can see 4 threads through each slot. The next step is to take one thread from each slot and sley it into the hole directly to the right, like this....

So now you have 3 ends in a slot and 1 end in a hole. Though it may seem more complicated, I find that using a striped warp for doubleweave actually makes the threading easier. Sometimes, with one color, you can get lost in the threading or easily cross warps behind the heddles, which is not good.

So, onto the 2nd heddle. Place the second heddle in front of the 1st heddles. Take a close look at the threads. 

Take the 1st grouping of 3 threads from the rear heddle and drape them over top the front heddle, like so....

Take the left most thread and sley it in the  corresponding slot in the front heddle. 

Then take the 2nd thread and sley it through the next hole.

Now take the 3rd thread and sley it through the next slot. Next, take the hole thread from the rear heddle and sley it through the same slot as the last thread in the front heddle.

Continue across, sleying the 3 slot threads from the rear heddle into the front heddle as follows: slot, hole, slot. The hole thread from the rear heddle will always go in the last slot you sleyed in the front. 

Now that all the threading is done, it's time to tie the warp into the front beam. I do this with both heddles in the Up position. Once you have adjusted your tension, it's time to spread the warp and check for threading errors. 

Oops, I found two pairs of twisted warp threads. 

They will show up on the weaving like this.....

Now you must untie that group of warp threads and try and figure out the threading mistake. Embrace the mistakes!!! Everyone makes them, you just need to use them as a self-teaching tool. This goes for knitting and crochet as well. Don't give up. Figure out the mistake and why it happened. Next time, you either won't make the same mistake, or you'll know right away how to fix it. 

Ok, now onto the pickup sticks. Put both heddles in the down position. Take stick A and pick up every other thread like this.....

Now, turn the stick on edge. Insert another pickup stick in the shed formed behind the heddles. Remove stick from in front of the heddles. 

Now, place both heddles in the up position. Slide stick A forward to the back of the heddles. You will see that a small shed is formed. Insert stick B in the shed like this.....

Slide both pickup sticks to the back of the loom. You're all done! Let the Doubleweave commence :)

To see a video of how to weave double wide cloth on a rigid heddle loom, please visit my YouTube channel at the following link.......

https://youtu.be/ttFWYjtLk7I

Happy Weaving!

Tomato Cage Christmas Trees

While doing some fall clean up, I was putting away my tomato cages. That's when inspiration struck. 

Last year, I used one of those flimsy, spiral light up Christmas trees as a lawn decoration. It fell apart as I was taking it down. Looking at the tomato cages, I thought, why not make my own little forest of light up trees? 

Supplies you'll need:

A conical metal tomato cage

Craft wire

Wire cutters

A few strings of lights 

A few small tent stakes

The tomato cages I'm using have seen better days. They're probably 10 years old. The best part about this project is, it realldy doesn't matter. The other great thing about this project is that I didn't spend a dime. All the supplies were hanging around the house. 

Here are the old rusty tomato cages I used

Step 1. Secure the plug end of the lights to the bottom of the tomato cage with a piece of wire, a twist tie or a zip tie; whatever you have handy. 

I just tied a knot.

Step 2. Start wrapping the cage with the lights. If you want to be precise, you can use pieces of wire to secure the light strand as you wrap. I did not use wire, I just wrapped. 

Step 3. Add more light strands to your preference. You can mix and match strands and colors to fit the look you are going for.

Step 4. Add a star or topper if wanted. Since the tomato cage has four large "stakes" (for lack of a better description) on what used to be the bottom, you now have a sturdy area to attach whatever decoration you would like at, what is now, the top of your tree. 

Step 5. Plug in your tree, stand back and admire your craftiness. 

This pictures are pretty crappy, but take my word for it, the trees look amazing! I used supplies I had on hand, so this project cost me $0. I would think if you had to buy a new cage & a strand of lights, it would cost around $16 per tree. I still have the box from last years spiral tree. It cost $39.99. 

I'd love to see pictures of what you come up with!

Happy Holidays!!!!!!

3 Different Scarves, One Warp & An Awesome Wet Finishing Trick!

I wanted to make some holiday scarves, but I was wary of using red yarn against white because of the risk of the fabric turning pink during wet finishing. I chose a warp of 8/4 unmercerized cotton in a dark green and a natural. 

1st scarf.....

          2/2 twill in blocks & stripes  

2nd scarf.....

       3/1 Twill with a light blue weft

3rd scarf....

      2/2 twill with emeral green weft

To minimize tracking (the diagonal creases that form in cotton fabrics during wet finishing) I tried something new. I read somewhere, I can't remember where :( , that if you soak cotton, it reduces the tracking. I filled my sink with hot water, then put in the scarves to soak overnight.

In the morning, I drained the water, then put the scarves in the washer on gentle and crossed my fingers. It worked!!!!! No tracking.

I did not put the items in the dryer, but hung them to dry.

Look for the finished scarves on etsy.com. Search for LSG Crafts.

Happy Weaving!