Twills in Silk - Finished!

I started weaving this way back in 2012 - according to the project page in my weaving notebook for my loom, I started it on October 28, 2012.  I finally finished the weaving last month - February 27, 2025.  My beating is uneven, and for the most part denser than the pattern called for, so the beauty of the warp is unfortunately mostly hidden.  But it is finished, and now I can weave something else on that loom.  I am not unhappy with the result, imperfect though it may be.  One thing life (and spinning) has taught me is to not be overly judgmental about things.  Do I always try to improve my technique and increase my mastery?  Absolutely!  Do I beat myself up when I fall short of ideals?  Absolutely not!  Every day is a new day to learn, to grow, to improve.

Project:  Twills in Silk

Sett:  15 ends per inch

Materials:  1 - 3.5 ounce skein Gemstone 2/12 silk in #103 red, 1 mini-cone Gemstone 2/12 silk each in #116 rose, #105 Copenhagen, #106 gold

Source:  Yarn Barn of Kansas kit

Loom:  24 harness Margaret from Woolhouse Tools

Twills in Silk

I did a fair bit of weaving during our days off due to Sandy.  I am in a long section of twill where the pattern calls for weaving 36 inches with the red silk.  I needed a good way to keep track of how much I had woven and the method that I have used on my floor loom of simply measuring whenever I changed a bobbin wasn't really working for this loom or this piece.  Fortunately I had picked up some of those paper tape measures that the Ikea store gives away.  I picked them up because I thought they were cool, even though I had no need for them at the time.  So, I tucked the paper tape measure under the weaving as it was wrapping itself around the cloth beam and taped the tape to the beam to keep it from slipping out.  Then I continued weaving.  The tape gets taken up on the cloth beam with the cloth, and it is easy to hold it against the weaving and see how far I have gone (almost 18 inches at this point).

Project:  Twills in Silk
Sett:  15 ends per inch
Materials:  1 - 3.5 ounce skein Gemstone 2/12 silk in #103 red, 1 mini-cone Gemstone 2/12 silk each #116 rose, #105 Copenhagen, #106 gold
Source:  Yarn Barn of Kansas kit
Loom:  24  harness Margaret from Woolhouse Tools

Twills in Silk

I decided to warp my small loom today.  This is Margaret, my 24-harness table loom that I bought from Woolhouse Tools.  The warp is only 2.5 yards long so I was a bit lazy in my winding.  I did each color section separately, then grabbed the cross in my left hand and draped the warp around my neck, no ties.  Then I sleyed that section of the warp and threaded the heddles.  I threaded the heddles in bouts and flipped the rest of the warp (when there was more than one bout) back over the top of the reed to keep it out of my way.  I also pre-positioned the heddles for that bout in the order that I needed to thread them, and marked the bouts on the threading diagram.

This project is a silk scarf, a kit that I bought from Yarn Barn in Kansas, which is where I purchased my floor loom.  I'll be warping my floor loom soon as well, and weaving some twill scarves out of Rayon.  I feel a need to weave, knitting and crochet just aren't calling to me right now.  The only other craft that is calling to me is beading, but I am waiting for some size 15 delicas for beading bezels. 

And here is the warp, all ready for beaming, but I will wait and do that tomorrow.  This is my process loom, the loom that I take my time with.

Project:  Twills in Silk
Sett:  15 ends per inch
Materials:  1 - 3.5 ounce skein Gemstone 2/12 silk in #103 red, 1 mini-cone Gemstone 2/12 silk each #116 rose, #105 Copenhagen, #106 gold

Shadow Weave Scarf - Done? Done!

Sometimes less is more.  I have been pondering finishing techniques and embellishments for this scarf all night and this morning I experimented with a couple of techniques and in the end I decided to do...nothing.  The more I played with the scarf the less I wanted to do anything to it.  Yeah, the edges aren't great, but they aren't too bad, and there are a couple of places where the warp threads didn't drop, or my beat wasn't consistent, but overall it is a lovely piece and I am going to leave it just as it is and where it with pride.  Here is a shot of the obverse side of the weaving.

I will probably do another one, and add in all of the finishing details that were not included in this one, but I will do it in another fiber.  The JaggerSpun Zephyr is a bit clingy, and not as soft against the skin as I like.


Pattern:  Me and My Shadows - shadow-weave scarf by June Rogovin from Handwoven May/June 2004
Yarn:  JaggerSpun Zephyr 18/2 wool/silk in plum and lilax
Reed:  12 dent
Warp:  24 epi
Weft:  24 ppi

Shadow-Weave Scarf

I finished up the weaving this morning.  I was happily weaving along when suddenly I couldn't advance the warp anymore, I had reached the limits of the ties between the warp beam and the rod.  When I had first assembled the loom I had put pretty short ties between the two.  I will definitely change them out for Texsolv and increase the length.  I had more warp wastage than I should have.  I am really pleased with how it came out.  My beating was pretty even, especially after I figured out that I needed a rug under the loom.  The peg legs of the stand on the hardwood floor was allowing the loom to move every time I beat.

When I opened my project notebook to put in the weaving completion date I burst out laughing.  I started this project on my birthday in 2007.  All I have left now is the finishing.  The selvedges are not that pretty.  The original pattern was for a lined pocket scarf, so there was no floating warp thread.  I am trying to decide if I just want to hem all the edges, bind them with ribbon, or line the shawl.  I don't think that I want to line the shawl, as I really love both sides of shadow weave structures.  So it will either be a hem or ribbon binding.  And beads.  I think I will embellish with beads and do beaded fringe.

I am amazed at how excited I am about finishing the weaving on this shawl, and how eager I am to start another project.  This is the same kind of exultation that I felt when I first started weaving 5 years ago, and it is nice to know that it hasn't diminished.  It has only been sleeping.

Pattern:  Me and My Shadows - shadow-weave scarf by June Rogovin from Handwoven May/June 2004
Yarn:  JaggerSpun Zephyr 18/2 wool/silk in plum and lilax
Reed:  12 dent
Warp:  24 epi
Weft:  24 ppi

Half a century

Today I turned 50.  Strange, but turning 50 isn't so bad.  Not like turning 40.  I was depressed for a couple of months after I turned 40.  I bought "All About Eve" and watched it just to see the scene in which Bette Davis admits to turning 40.  It may be that personally and professionally I am in a much better place than I was 10 years ago.  Ten years ago I hadn't met Bruce.  Ain't love grand.  We always try to stay home on our birthdays.  Although two years ago I got to have my birthday in Jordan, which was absolutely amazing.  We haven't taken another big trip since, although we have talked about it, but neither one of us wants to be on a plane for that long, or go through airport security, plus it is hard on our kitty when we leave her alone for that long, even with someone taking care of her while we are gone.  She is always very happy to see me when we first get back, but then she remembers how mad she is at me and bites me.

I spent the morning weaving on my small 24 harness loom.  I haven't done much weaving for a couple of years now, having gotten wrapped up in lace knitting, but I've been wanting to get back to it and have been reading my Handwoven magazines.  I bought this loom after making it through breast cancer, a present to myself for surviving, and I started the project back in 2007.

 I bought this loom so I could do more complex projects, but then was frustrated by how slow it is to weave on compared to my floor loom downstairs in my studio.  On the floor loom you can get a real rhythm going and the cloth just appears like magic under your fingers.  But this morning when I started weaving on this loom again I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  I liked the slow pace, the greater contact I had with the fiber.  I don't know, maybe a couple of years of lace knitting has taught me the value of going slow, and taking your time.

This week I also finally picked up my Triffid shawl again.  It has been sitting on my project/coffee table for the past couple of months.  I stayed home from work on Wednesday, feeling a little under the weather, and made a lot of progress on the shawl, watching the X-Files on Netflix, and worked some more on it this afternoon while we watched a couple of episodes of Smallville.

The yarn is Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in Bumblebee and Moon Purple, and may I just say that this yarn is an absolute dream to knit with.  It just glides through the fingers so sweetly.  Absolutely one of my favorite yarns.  The pattern is Triffid by Meghan Jackson and was the first Zen-Butterfly mystery knit along.  Hopefully it will not be the last.

I am hoping to get both projects done this weekend.

More Scarves

I've also been weaving. When I first started weaving (almost three years ago) I made a bunch of these rayon scarves. I made them in every color combination that they had. They have been a big hit with friends and family and I've sold and traded them at Bead and Button (you can buy them from my Artfire site). They have been so popular that I no longer have a complete set for myself, so I have been trying to rebuild my stash. Lately I've been getting up a bit earlier than I usually do and weaving before going to work. The fiber is Earth Guild Dragon Tale Yarn (rayon slub). The warp for this one is Purple Haze (variagated) and the weft is Royal Purple (solid). 8 dent reed, 16 epi, plain weave.



I also picked out some colors for bead crochet ropes for some of my Larry Scott beads. These are his Byzantine Beads. My favorites. When he was making these beads his wife told him that no one would buy them because the colors were so unusual. Larry's response? "Oh, Carolyn will buy them." I am an official Larry Scott groupy. I even have the button to prove it.