Archives

So Different

I’ve finished weaving NS’s baby wrap and started on her friend HM’s. The marine weft and the pale green weft look so different, as I knew they would.

very different wefts

At first I wasn’t sure how I liked the pale green, but it’s definitely growing on me. Usually I like the ‘front’ of the baby wrap better – that is, the side I see when I’m weaving. For this one, I’m not sure, and won’t be able to make up my mind until I see it off the loom.
weft from the top & bottom

After these wraps I need to weave an order for an alpaca & silk scarf for a friend. That will go soooo quickly compared to baby wraps!

Birds & a Rainbow

Inspiration for NS’s custom baby wrap came from nature – a rainbow and birds. I measured out the warp for the rainbow section first.

rainbow section of warp on mill

Then I started measuring the color bars that will be the majority of this wrap.

NS bars on warping mill

I was quite curious as to how this would all come together on the loom.

I know that the iridescence of the bird was important to NS, and that what I wove would have to be representative, not really iridescent itself. While iridescence can be achieved with shiny yarns (not suitable for a baby wrap) and opposites on the color wheel, it’s not easily (at all?) achievable with the matte finish of the unmercerized cotton and a weft color that has to work with the rainbow section, too. I was hoping that beyond the computer image my weaving software could produce, the actual weaving itself would come close to achieving this goal.

rainbows and bars on the loom

I know that this photo can’t do it justice. You just have to trust me when I tell you that in real life, the interplay of the black in the warp and the marine in the weft does, in fact, create almost iridescence. I’m really happy with the result, and hope N is, too.

I’m about 1/2 way through the weaving of this wrap, and will be interested to see how the colors change with that pale green weft.

2 Out, 2 Up

This afternoon I did the hard press on EJs wraps, then sewed in the required labels. The weather was perfect – sunny and warm after MONTHS of extreme cold. So I took the wraps outside to photograph them in natural light before I bundled them off to the post office.

Here are the wraps rolled.
EJ's baby wraps - rolled

Despite the fact that I inadvertently rolled them in opposite directions, I think the colors speak well. On the left is the wrap with the natural weft, on the right the wrap with the peacock weft. I am in love with that peacock wrap! The colors are so rich.

To fully show you the difference I laid them out flat.
EJ's baby wraps flat

The natural weft on top, the peacock weft on the bottom. YUM!

As I was putting the wraps in the box, the UPS man showed up with my next yarn order, for the next batch of baby wraps.

First up is NS and her friend.
NS's baby wrap yarn

The top colors – black, pale mauve, cherry, dark orange, dark yellow, pine, (and the royal blue I forgot to get in the photo) are the warp colors. One wrap will be woven with marine, the other with pale green. They will look markedly different.

I am not going to start measuring the warp tonight – I’m going to take a break and read for a while. Tomorrow’s another day. After I take my garbage, recyclables, and reusables tot he transfer station, I’ll put my warping mill back into service.

Pretty as a Peacock

EJ’s first weft was natural, her second is peacock. I love the way the peacock works with each of the colors across this warp.

Here’s the right side.
EJ peacock right side

And the center section.
EJ peacock weft, center

And the left section.
EJ's peacock weft, left

I find it interesting that with the natural weft, both in person and in the photo, I can’t see the difference between the last two sections to the left, but I can with the peacock weft. No clue why that is.

Remember that deer standing on his hind legs to reach the fruit on my crabtree? Well, the family was back yesterday – 7 of them this time. No one had to do a balancing act to reach the crabs, and they could still reach higher than before. That snow is just never-ending, along with the really cold temps.
deer at crabtree

We’re all eager for a bit of warmth.

I’ve got the blues

And the pinks and the purples. 🙂

I have the first of the two wraps on this warp woven…the one with the natural weft. I couldn’t get one picture to show it to you, so went for three sections.

Here’s the right side of the loom – darker to lighter blues/turquoises.
EJ's wrap, right side

Then the center – the blues into the pinks.
the center of EJ's wrap

And the left side – pinks to purples.
EJ's wrap, left side

Funny that it never struck me until I was getting ready to post these pictures that my weaving brain always thinks about weaving from right to left, the opposite of everything else in life. I believe it’s because of how weaving drafts are written in this country…you read the draft and thread from the right side of the loom to the left. So if you’re not a weaver, just play along.

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll start on the peacock weft. It will make this warp look entirely different, and I’m anxious to see it. I have a few other commitments tomorrow so probably won’t get it all woven, but I’ll get a bunch done.