This one is a Kennedy tartan shawl, modeled by my daughter......
It is one of our family tartans and I made it as a gift for her. It was woven with Brown Sheep's Nature Spun wool yarn in worsted weight. We added a velvet edging as she didn't care for the feel of wool against her neck. In looking back through my notes, I am amazed to realize that I wove this in 2003!
The other project that I still have is a ruana that I wove for myself (which is a rare thing as I seem to give most of my weaving away.) It was also woven in 2003. For it, I used my handspun; a wool, mohair, and silk blend, purchased as a commercially dyed roving. I did not spin the yarn specifically for this project, but just had a lot left over from a sweater project.It is actually two triangles, both woven on the tri-loom, one on top of the other. In words the first one was woven and left on the tri-loom, then the second was woven on the tri-loom as well. These triangles became the two halves of the ruana. They were chain stitched together along the top of the loom to form the back (see photo below). The neck and front edges are chain stitched from the opposite side of the loom, around the neck, and down the other front.
I don't know how well you can see all that from the above photo. Actual instructions for making one of these can be found on Carol Leigh's Triangle Frame Loom Weaving Magic.The fabric was very open, as you can also see from the above photo. After it was taken off the tri-loom, I fulled it until it was thick, warm, and snug. The resulting neckline in back is V shaped as in the photo on the right. If you look carefully, you can also see the seam line down the back from chaining the two halves together. It's barely noticable after fulling.
I prefer to wear it with the neckline from shoulder to shoulder, boatneck style, with one side thrown over my left shoulder.
And before I forget, there is one more free resource I'd like to share with you. It is a yardage chart for various types and sizes of frame looms. You can see it by clicking here.
11 comments:
Something did happen to blogger! the servers were down yesterday. The color on the family Tartan is very nice.
The purple/plum color of your ruana is great!! I'm sure your daughter is very proud of her family tartan shawl. I like the idea of the velvet edging. Some times the feel of wool can be a little harsh against your skin. Just goes to show us we don't need a large multi harness loom to weave something beautiful.
Exquisite work!
This reminded me yet again never to say never. I've insisted that I've never seen a shawl wovan on a triangle loom that I've liked, and I can never say that again - that rocks!
Both are beautiful Leigh, but I'm really envious of that tartan shawl. Just gorgeous!
Fabulous work Leigh! I love the tartan, and the velvet edging really sets it off and kicks it up a notch! The ruana looks so soft and cushy (the neckline is amazing, a tricky part that you have mastered!)
As always I love your work, the tartan is really pretty and the ruana looks warm and fuzzy. I'm glad your page looks normal again, I guess blogger, hiccuped and a lot of us were basically held in server purgatory.
Wow Leigh, They're so beautiful. Great colours that will also keep the chill off. How nice.
Oh, that tartan is STUNNING! Those are your family's colors? It turned out very nice and the edges look nice and uniform, the drape is also lovely.
How much fulling did the ruana go through? A couples rinses and some agitation, or more aggressive treatment? I definitely prefer the post-fulled look, it made the fabric seem much more rich.
I go away for three days and you just post up a storm :) Oh, and the teddy looks nice and warm too. I usually use my tri-loom for leftover yarn bits from my handspun so I had nearly forgotten what a more uniform product looks like! Clever adaptation there, the clamps aren't the um... most fashionable accessory to the stand but it looks like it worked well. Did you have any problems with that side slipping at all?
Do you ever sleep, Woman?
Nice to see the tartans. I, myself, am of Viking/Scots-Irish descent...now you know why I have Shetlands. ;)
I appreciate everyone's encouraging comments. Taryl, you're right that those clamps aren't very attractive(!) *lol* But they did the trick and kept the adapted piece in place very well.
I did full the ruana quite a bit. I used my top loading washing machine and checked the progress every few minutes. It was open like the teddy bear shawl when I started, but fulled to a more solid, dense fabric. It shrunk more than I'd hoped, but there was nothing I could do about that. It was the very first thing I fulled and so the whole process was quite nerve racking. I'm glad I took the plunge however.
Post a Comment