Monday, August 18, 2025

What I'm Not Doing This Summer

 All of my blogs are topical, which means if I'm not doing anything related to that topic then I rarely post. That said, I did have quite a few fibery plans this summer, none of which materialized other than thinking about them. I wanted to do a lot more natural dyeing, I (still) have my big and little brother blankets to weave, I wanted to spin some lovely fleece that I have, and I hoped to do my Weaving My Family Tree project. 

Instead, it's been a busy summer picking garden produce and processing it, more so it seems than last summer. Then Dan decided to start the renovation project in my loom room, which meant everything had to be covered for dust protection. Plus my sewing room, where my table loom lives, is the hottest room in the house so it's not very conducive to spend time there. I have gotten a little mending done.

The genealogy weaving actually took an alternate path in that it became a cooking project. I somehow got off on researching the cultural cuisines of my ancestors and I've been tracking down and cooking recipes to make period meals. I'm still working on it and it's been both fun and interesting. I will still do the historical weaving one of these days and perhaps put it all together in a family history book for my kids some day. 

Of the blankets, Dan will hopefully not take long with his renovation project. I'd like to have the blankets done for Christmas! But that's out of my hands (as is so much of my life anyway.) 😀

© 2025 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Sunday, July 06, 2025

Big & Little Brother Blankets: Design Ideas

While waiting to get more yarn, my mind began to explore design possibilities. My first idea was using the variegated yarn for stripes, matching the yarn colorways so that by starting with the same color on multiple skeins and pulling them out to wind onto my warping board together, I could have roughly matching stripes. The solid green would separate these. This would work for the warp, but the weft would have to be one skein at a time so that each weft thread would be a different color. Not good or bad, but I'm trying to figure out if I could keep the weft stripe colors together like in the warp to create a more block-like look. I might could do it if I used multiple shuttles, but eek. 

Another idea I'm entertaining is shadow weave, alternating the colorful variegated yarn with the solid green. Interesting patterns can be created, although the color changes would be unpredictable. 

Then I'm thinking about log cabin; similar to shadow weave but creating a specific pattern looking like woven ribbons. What I learned from previous experiments is that the overall effect of using variegated yarn for log cabin depends on the frequency of the color changes. 

I did find the store shelves restocked with the colors I needed, so no problem there. Now I just need to settle on what I'm going to do with them. I probably ought to do some samples! Since time is not on my side (so to speak) in the summer harvest and canning season, I may have to decide these will be Christmas presents, rather than for the late July family birthday bash. No sense rushing myself and then not being happy with the results.

Sunday, June 29, 2025

Big & Little Brother Blankets: Planning Problems

 So the actual yarn turned out to be finer than I anticipated, more like sport weight than a worsted weight knitting yarn (terms they don't use any more). 

Worsted weight works well at 8 ends per inch, but I will need a higher sett for finer yarn. Since I bought all they had of the colors I chose, I need to do some calculating to decide what to do.  

Wraps per inch was 14. I found some helpful charts at The Woolery website, that classified it as sportweight or fine yarn and suggested a sett of 10 dents per inch. So I need to recalculate.

Of the variegated yarn I have 2262 yards.
Of the solid green yarn I have 1131 yards. 

This comes short of the yardage I calculated at 8 e.p.i., and with a closer sett I'll need even more to get the same width and length. So I either need to find more yarn in these colors, or add another solid color. Hobby Lobby is just down the road from the library, so I'll pop over there later this week and see what I can figure out. 
© 2025 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

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Monday, June 23, 2025

Big & Little Brother Blankets

 This is a project I've had in mind for my grandsons. The "big" brother is 3 years old and the little brother is 1 month old. I doubt either one will actually appreciate the gesture, but a handwoven gift from their grandmother is something I want to do! And with the Glimakra set up with a new treadle tie-up system, I'm anxious to see how that goes.  

I've done my yarn calculations a bit backwards. Rather than start with a finished size, I'm starting with an on-loom size. I have an idea of the draw-in and shrinkages, and the final size really isn't technical; in the ball park baby blanket size will do.

Warp
  • on-loom width: 40 inches
  • sett: 8 e.p.i.
  • on-loom length: 40 inches
  • crochet edges so no fringe: 3-4 inches between blankets
  • loom waste: 28 inches (I'm never sure about this with the Glimakra)
  • Total warp yardage: 2960 yards
Weft
  • length for each blanket will be same as width, 40 inches
  • on-loom width 40 inches x 8 p.p.i. = 320 inches for 1 inch of fabric
  • on-loom project length: 80 inches
  • 320 x 80 = 25,600 inches = 712 yards
Total yarn for project (warp + weft) = 3672 yards

Not included in the above yardage is the crochet edging. I will edge each blanket in a different color, so I'll wait on that.

I want to use Hobby Lobby Baby Bee Sweet Delight because it's cuddly soft and washable. And this week it's on sale for 30% off, so now's the time to buy. Hopefully, I can find enough skeins to pull it off.

© 2025 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

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Sunday, June 08, 2025

Treadle Tie-Up From the Top: Installing the Texsolv Cords

8 bunches of 10 cords each

This will be the last time I will have to get down on the floor and hunch over to thread the treadles and lamms! Once I'm done, the cords will be a permanent fixture and easy to arrange from the top on a comfortable seat. No more backache!

Each cord is threaded through the bottom of each treadle hole, where the pony bead secures it.

up through the lower lamm holes, 

then up through the upper lamm holes, and knotted at the end so they don't slip back down. 

Here's what it looks like with all the cords in place.


Next, I need a warp on the loom to try out my new tie-up method. I have a project in mind, but harvest and canning season is heavy upon us. Warping the loom will have to wait until I have some free time.