Weaving A Gem Of A Life

First hemp-ish weft

JJ wanted me to use a new-to-me yarn for one of her wefts: an organic cotton/hemp blend. After I got the warp tied to the front apron I spread it and checked for any threading errors (none – yay!) with 3 rows of hearts with scrap tencel. Then I wove 5 hearts with the hemp.

THEN I checked my little list tape to the loom. Uh oh! This wrap is supposed to be woven with an alternate treadling! I unwove 3 of those hearts, deciding to leave the other 2 in place. Then I started doing the correct treadling.

On the left side of the warp the pattern shows well. On the right side, I love the way the texture takes center stage. I hope that texture still shows after the wrap is off the loom and wet finished.

I had tons of things taking me away from weaving today: a few hours of computer work, time in the garden, and grocery shopping. But I did manage to meet my goal of getting half of this wrap woven today, since it’s relatively short. I WILL finish weaving this wrap today, then start on #2.

5 shades of grey

I’m so glad to be back to my ‘regular’ life. Spending lots of time weaving, listening to NPR or books on tape, being home alone. I know this would sound really boring & unpleasant to some, but it suits me well.

We’ve finally gotten some real rain – an inch yesterday and a bit more likely today. We really needed it, although not as much as the west coast, I’m sure. Anyway, between the rain and the cooler temps, I’m not able to mow the lawn for a few days. Trust me, this doesn’t break my heart!

So I got JJ’s warp measured and beamed, and I’m halfway through threading the heddles. I’ll be weaving later today, “God willin’ & the creek don’t rise.”

JJ designed her warp to be 5 monochromatic colors. In the photo above you may be able to see the distinction between the clear white on the left and the cream next to it. Then medium gray, charcoal, & black. It’s a great background for weaving.

This warp will actually have 3 wraps – 1 short and 2 medium. You’ll see 3 different color wefts and 2 weave designs as I proceed. Which is where I’m headed now — a weaver’s work is never done. 🙂

All rolled up

As planned, today I got JK & QW’s wraps pressed & labelled. I sent out the PayPal invoices and received my payment immediately. So I went to package the wraps for mailing.

Uh oh. I’m out of bags for my baby wraps. Fortunately I had already washed a bunch of pillowcases, but I had to cut & sew them. I still have to thread my ribbon through & tag the bags, then I’ll get these wraps in tomorrow’s mail.

I have to say, without the closeup, I’d pick the burgundy weft every time. The color richness it brings draws me in.

After I made a really delicious vegetarian eggplant moussaka for dinner, I started winding the warp for JJ & NB – but didn’t manage to get pix while it was on the warping mill. I won’t have time to work on it again till late Saturday or Sunday, so they’ll have to wait for their pictures.

Wrap for royalty

QW had me use Havana tencel weft for her wrap, a color that’s new to me. Wow – was I impressed with the results! This wrap looks like it’s woven with gold threads — as in the olden days when the royalty had real gold in the fabric of their clothes. Hopefully this closeup can impart some of that richness and sheen to you.

I really love it!

And here, although I don’t think the camera captured what my eyes did as I wove, the interplay of these specific greens with the gold reminds me of an iridescent beetle, the kind that always startles me with its beauty.

The overall look of the wrap is nice, too, although it doesn’t move me like the closeups.

I have to say, when I first started this wrap I was afraid of the color and how it would work with the warp. Probably because the burgundy weft JK chose looked so great with it, and the contrast between a dark weft & a light weft was so striking. So I was once again very pleasantly surprised by the results. The baby wraps are a never-ending study in color for me.

Oh, yeah. Yesterday I got some weeding done and planted some annuals. I planned to do more today, but the loom just called to me and I couldn’t resist. After so many days away it felt good to be producing cloth again. I finished weaving the wraps and got them both hemmed and through the washer. They’re in my dryer now. Tomorrow I’ll do the pressing and labeling, preparing them for Friday’s mail.

Getting my life back

Although there are a few small finishing touches to be done, as well as a bit of painting, my life is once again essentially my own. Thank goodness! It was a very stressful 2 weeks – more than I realized until that last day when I had just had it.

I spent Saturday morning cleaning in preparation for the showing, then the afternoon recuperating. I weeded for a few minutes and realized I needed to just be, not do. I sat in my swing chair, I read for a while, and then I weeded a bit more. Then more reading and relaxing. Doing anything more seemed out of the question.

On Sunday I did some laundry, mowed the lawn, wacked the weeds, and pruned some shrubs of winter kill. Then some relaxing on the porch with a book. I did finally get to the loom in the early evening, managing about 60″ before it was time to quit.

Today I wove for a while, ran some errands, planted some annuals, made some necessary phone calls, and then finished weaving JK’s wrap. I started QW’s, just so I could get a shot of the two. Both moms are using tencel weft, with JK choosing a burgundy and QW Havana — a soft brownish gold.

Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping and I want to get some more weeding done…I had to completely ignore my gardens during construction. I also hope to make some real progress on Q’s wrap. There are always more things to do — including relaxing & reading — than there is time to do them. Such is the nature of life.

Weaving A Gem Of A Life

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First hemp-ish weft

5 shades of grey

All rolled up

Wrap for royalty

Getting my life back

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