Leaf Motif Random Color Warp is on the Loom!

 Good grief, I never thought getting a warp on the loom would be noteworthy on a project, but I've had so much trouble with this warp that I'm celebrating that it's finally accomplished!

What took so long? Besides not having unlimited amounts of time for weaving anymore, I made so many threading mistakes! Threaded the heddles, checked the threading and found mistakes, corrected the mistakes, checked again, and then found new mistakes! What's annoying is that it's not a complicated threading pattern: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - repeat. I can't believe I had so many errors. And I wasn't even listening to a book while I did it. 

And then there were the tangles. What a mess. Changing the color for every warp end to create a random color warp was a disaster. I picked up a different color yarn for each new end which meant there was a lot of crossing over on the first and last pegs on my warping board. I think this was the major reason for the tangles. I've never had so many tangles! In fact, I'm a little surprised that I didn't give up and throw the whole thing away. Perhaps it was the unwelcome idea of having to start the warp again from scratch that was the deterrent. My random color idea didn't work the first time, so likely it wouldn't work a second time either. I just started thinking of it as a puzzle to solve.

Ironically, the very project I hoped would be a relaxing distraction from the several stressors in my life, became a stressor itself. Anyway, it's on the loom! Yay!

Next is tying up the treadles. I'm trying a new system here, and if it works as well as promised, I'll be ready to actually start weaving soon!

Leaf Motif Random Color Warp is on the Loom! 

© 2026 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Penguono Sweater Progress

 Heddle threading has been slow. In fact it came to a stop last weekend with a trip to the emergency room with what turned out to be a blood clot in the leg Dan had surgery on. So, we've had various tests and doctor visits this past week, which has given me more knitting time. 

Of the sweater, I've got the right shoulder and front done now, and am working on the left front. 

In looking at the above photo, I'm not too sure about the dark brown section on the edge of the right front. I may choose to re-knit it in a different color. Even though my color changes are spontaneous, it still has to look "right" to me. 

I'm not on a time schedule, so my pace is relaxed. Hopefully, I'll get back to heddle threading next week so I can move on to the next step in that project. 

Penguono Sweater Progress © 2026

 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Leaf Motif Dishtowels: Random Warp Notes Part 3

The warp is sleyed, the reed is in place, and I'm on to threading the heddles.

The thread ends are in random color order in the reed, and I have two ends per dent, so I can choose one or the other for the heddle order. I'm just trying not to put the same color in adjacent heddles. 

Not that it would be disastrous, but to keep anything that looks like a stripe from standing out visually. I just have to keep an eye on the next reed pair of colors as I make my choices. 

To warp front-to-back, I'm able to lower the seat on the bench and put it inside the loom.

That makes it easy to reach everything. Fortunately, it's an easy threading pattern.

Leaf Motif Dishtowels: Random Warp Notes Part 3 

© 2026  by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Knitting Progress

Here is my waiting room knitting progress.

working on knitting the right front

If you missed that post, it's a sweater designed by Westknits. With Dan in recovery mode from surgery, our routine is different, including the time I have for writing, reading, and computer work. I've been doing Dan's chores and all the driving, plus spending more time in companion mode, which means watching more videos than usual, and that means more time for knitting. 

This particular sweater is a pattern test for me. I dutifully read through patterns before I begin knitting, but most of the time they don't make sense to me until I knit to each point and can see it in my hands. But I needed a project quickly and so chose acrylic yarns in colors that I'm not especially fond of. In other words, it won't be a disappointment if I make mistakes or it doesn't turn out satisfactorily.

The welts were new for me and fun to learn. He has a video on how to make them, which helped.

knitted welts

I think when I make one with my handspun, I'll make the welts with fewer rows so they don't stick out as much. 

The other thing I want to experiment with is sleeve length. The pattern features short sleeves, whereas I would prefer long ones.

All in all, I like the way the sweater is constructed. There will be no pieces to sew together. All rows are finished with slipping the last stitch with yarn in front and then knitting them on the return. That makes a very nice selvedge for picking up stitches for the next section. 

Another plus is that it's almost all in garter stitch. Except for the stockinette stitch welts and the back panel which is in seed stitch, there has been very little perling! So it's quite easy and quick to knit. Garter and seed stitch make for a thicker, warmer fabric too. 

I was a little hesitant on spontaneous color selection at first. But once I got knitting it started to come easily and I could see what color I wanted to use next and how much. I think it will be a good project for using up small skeins and leftover balls of my handspun.

Knitting Progress © 2026

 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Leaf Motif Dishtowels: Random Warp Notes Part 2

 Sleying the reed has begun.

I want 20 ends per inch and my closest reed in 10 dents per inch. So I'm sleying two ends per dent. 

It's been fairly quick. I wound the yarn onto the warping board in a random color order, so now it's just a matter of making sure I don't have two of the same color in the same dent. 

Leaf Motif Dishtowels: Random Warp Notes Part 2 

© 2026  by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal