Again, I wove each of the scarves on this warp slightly differently.  On the left is a simple point twill woven with the same weft as warp.  It’s nice and flexible as well as lovely colors.

The middle scarf has a weft of 10/2 periwinkle pearl cotton.  It’s an exact match for one of the colors in the bamboo cotton, and the slight sheen of the pearl cotton is a really nice counterpoint to the matte of the bamboo cotton blend.  But even nicer than that, the pearl cotton is so fine gauge that this handwoven scarf is as light as air.  I just love it.

The scarf on the far right and draped across the top has that same pearl cotton weft, this time in a simple point twill.  The scarf is just as light and airy, and the weave pattern just a bit less complex. The two scarves with the pearl cotton weft end up being 65% cotton and 35% bamboo. The other two have are 65% bamboo and 35% cotton.

Again, I made the last scarf on the warp into an infinity scarf. This one again has the same warp as weft, this time woven in a tabby pattern. Even though tabby is a bit less flexible than twill weaves, the bamboo cotton fiber itself is so wonderful drapey (is that a word?) that it moves and twists easily into whatever wrapping style you like.

Your turn: what kind of great mixes have you done in different yarns for warp and weft?

I was babysitting for my grand-dog for a week while my daughter was out of town. Baxter kept us all amused for 5 of the 6 days he was with us. Then he got bored and we (ok, I) got cranky. One of my tasks while he was here was daily posts to his blog. I actually enjoyed that task, but guess I wasn’t keeping up with mine at the same time.

I did get weaving accomplished, too.

Still working on Tammy’s hand painted bamboo-cotton blends, I made four handwoven scarves in a colorway she calls Moccasin.  Nice earthy colors.  As is common for me, each of the four scarves is a bit different, although they all have the same warp.  On the left, I used a 100% bamboo yarn in coral as the weft.  With the variegated background, the final effect is somewhat tapestry-like.  And that scarf is now about 85% bamboo and 15% cotton.

The middle scarf has the same warp and weft.  Woven in a diamond twill, the same pattern as the one with the coral bamboo, the weave pattern pretty much disappears in this one.

On the right is a tabby handwoven scarf with a solid tan weft.  Although the tabby makes it a bit less flexible than the scarves woven in twill,  I like the simple, natural look of this one a lot.  Perhaps the best.

The final scarf on that warp is also handwoven in a tabby, this time with a solid medium weft. I made this one into an infinity scarf. I really like the flexibility of the bamboo cotton and how well it twists around my neck.

Your turn – what have you been up to for the past week?

I wove the first in a tabby, planning to make this one into an infinity scarf.

I decided to try something different to close this one. This bamboo yarn needs to be finished with a double-twisted fringe to keep it from totally poofing out, so instead of sewing the ends together, I took 3 threads from each end and twisted them together. After each piece was double twisted, I tied a simple overhand knot very close to the scarf itself for strength. I don’t know that I’d do this every time, but I like the effect.

After I’d woven the first scarf, I realized I didn’t have enough of that minty green bamboo left for the warp of the second.

So I explored other options, and ultimately ended up with green tabby ends, and the majority of the body in a white point twill. I like this one, too, but perhaps not quite as well as the solid green.

I’ve got a warp for 4 earth-toned bamboo-cotton scarves on my loom, and 3 are woven. I’ll finish the fourth today.

Magic was already beyond middle age (11 cat years, 69 human years) when Red came to live with us (OMG, how has 6 1/2 years gone by so quickly?!), but it didn’t matter. They became fast friends quickly. They used to spend lots of time wrestling, all in good fun, taking turns ‘winning.’ But as old age has crept up on the Magic kitty, that’s declined. Red really missed that rough cat-dog play for some time, but has come to accept it. He’s not, however, happy with Magic’s recent declines, and the fact that we both know there aren’t years left to enjoy him.

So for me, looking at pictures like this reminds me that they’ve had a good run as best buds. We can’t ask for much more than that.

This photo, and the warmth and greenness it portrays, are in response to Carmi’s weekly thematic photo. Your turn: play the photo game along with us, or tell me about the animal friends in your life.

All woven with Tammy’s handpainted yarn, these are in a colorway she calls New York. The pinks and purples are nice and rich. You can see that I did one in a point twill (top), and two in tabby: one in the same weft as warp (right), and one with a solid purple weft (left).

I also wove a fourth, again in a tabby with the same warp as weft, and made it into an infinity scarf.

I’m working on those wider 100% bamboo scarves. They’ll be done soon.

Olive Oil infinity scarf

NY infinity scarf

I’ve made two more infinity scarves, in two of Tammy’s handpainted colorways.

Both are handwoven from a bamboo-cotton blend — 2/3 bamboo and 1/3 cotton.  I really like working with this blend.  I like the way it drapes, I like the way it takes color, I like its softness.  I even like the way it smells.  Every fiber has its own scent, and to me, bamboo-cotton smells great.

Although I’m not particularly fond of having pictures of myself taken, I’m the only one handy most of the time.   I wanted to show a few ways to wear infinity scarves, so it was me or me.  You’ve already seen the double wrap and triple wrap around my neck — here are three more options.

infinity scarf drape

infinity scarf keyhole

infinity scarf bolero

I’m going to make a much wider infinity scarf now out of 100% bamboo. It will have different looks and wrapping options.

As it turns out, that ugly toe I dropped firewood onto wasn’t just bruised, I broke it. I spent some days when I needed to have the foot elevated when I could, then some days when it needed nighttime attention, and now I merely need to remember that I still am healing. The foot really likes to be in a sturdy Keen shoe – no mushy Crocs, no slippers.

I’ve been working on my lovely, little counterbalance, and I can do plain weave with my shoes on with no problem. The other day I decided that I wanted to do a simple twill. Much more of a challenge to do with shoes on. It’s almost possible if you don’t do a regular sort of tie-up, instead leaving treadles 1 through 4 with only 1 harness each, so that you have to step on two treadles at a time to do a 2-2 twill. But still not easy.

I wove several inches with the shoes on, and then said, “Hey, it’s been 3 weeks, take your shoes off and weave in your socks. You don’t have to use your toes, after all.” Well, I did it, but it wasn’t a great idea. The toe wasn’t happy. It made it through the rest of the scarf, but by evening it was talking to me, reminding me that it’s still vulnerable.

I don’t know that it’s even possible to weave on my Macomber with shoes on – 10 treadles and complex patterns require some fancy footwork. I’m sure I could do plain weave on it, but why would I, when my counterbalance is so sweet and easy to use?  Besides, I can do 2/2 twills easily on the counterbalance loom by tying 2 heddles each to the first 4 treadles and treadling with my left foot only.  So my plans for some clever-patterned bamboo scarves have been put on hold for at least a few more weeks.

Sorry, Macomber. Enjoy your rest! (This is my second entry into Carmi’s challenge this week.)

This is my kitty, Magic. Magic is, in fact, quite magical. He’s now pretty old — he’ll be 18 in a few months. According to the cat years calculator, that’s something like 89 in people years. He’s not as beautiful as he was in his prime, but he’s just at lovable, a real sweetheart. Magic has both claws and sharp teeth, but he almost never uses them. The only time he ever scratched me was when I was trying to shove some medicine down his throat. And that’s all in the past; he doesn’t like meds, but he takes them daily without fuss or argument — vitamin B, PB8, and digestive enzymes. And that’s on a good day.

Magic just dodged another bullet, one of many in his lifetime. There is no doubt in my mind he was just a few days from death. He was sleeping constantly, wasn’t eating, wasn’t purring, was lying in the ashes and bark next to the woodstove in the basement and didn’t care that he was filthy. But he’s now infinitely better. He’s eating, drinking, and interacting. He’s not 100%, but he’s back on his way to old-man wellness. Here he’s not really sleeping, just resting, gathering his energies. He’ll be back up soon, wanting another snack. And I’ll be happy to give it to him. Along with all the extra meds he’s now taking.

This picture is in response to Carmi’s thematic photo of the week – topic: at rest.

Your turn: tell me about your older pet. Or join in Carmi’s weekly game. Or just send your positive energy to Magic.

I’m not suddenly switching to giving you recipes or food advice; all that is preface to this new batch of scarves.

Tammy calls this colorway Olive Oil, a fitting name.  This shows the major difference that changing the weft yarn can make.  These two handwoven scarves were made on the same warp, a handpainted bamboo-cotton blend.  In the top scarf I used a solid green weft, the same color as the dark green in the variegation.  The result is a dark, striped scarf.  For the bottom scarf has the same weft as warp, creating a relatively uniform plaid.

For the last of this warp of three, I used a solid bronze weft, hand dyed in the same color as the the medium color of the variegation.  I wove this one in a point twill, while the first two were both a tabby weave.  Actually, I had tried both of those first wefts with a point twill, and really hated them.  There was way too much going on with the combination of the colors and the weave pattern.

I was happy with the pink infinity scarf, so decided to make this bamboo-cotton twill into an infinity scarf as well.  I’m working on getting some more feedback before I make too many of them, but I do think I like them.

By my count, these three handwoven scarves bring my count up to 14 for the month (8 placemats, 6 scarves) of February, so I’m right on target with Jan’s Scarf A Day challenge, particularly since we only count 5 days/week.  But I fear Jan’s been ill and is falling behind.  Hope she catches us up on her activity soon!

Infinity scarves are also called endless scarves, loop scarves, and other names, but I like infinity scarf the best, so that’s what I’m using. Basically, it’s a single length of fabric that is looped back onto itself so that there are no ends. This means you can loop it around your neck as you wish, with no worries that it’ll slide off or that you’ll accidently dip the end into your soup. The winter-weight scarves are often wide enough so that they can be pulled up over your head creating a cowled hood. For spring and summer, I didn’t think that was appropriate.

So I made this handwoven infinity scarf from a soft and supple bamboo-cotton blend of yarn. It’s lightweight and easy to care for.

Here’s what it looks like looped twice around my neck.

And here it is looped three times.

Your turn: too long or short? too wide or narrow? too trendy? just right?