Category Archives: From the old site

Buffalo plaid pillow

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This is a pillow shows just how balanced a handwoven fabric can be made.

Buffalo plaid pillow

This pillow’s fabric emphasizes a particular aspect of the weave structure, its balance. To form perfect squares in the plaid with the same number to threads in both directions requires a balanced weave. I made fabric for three pillows (gifts for my brothers and sister,) and all of them came out the same, which is a good thing! I found this yarn to be very easy to work with, especially in finding the beat necessary for weaving this cloth.

The warp and the weft are both unmercerized cotton purchased from Webs. The color treadling for this pillow is tromp as writ (in other words, the color pattern for the weft is the same as it is for the warp.)

Below is a close up view of the weave structure. It is a simple plain weave. The pattern requires 2 harnesses, and the sett is 18 e.p.i.

Buffalo plaid pillow close-up

Cotton ripsmatta rugs

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This is part of a set of rugs that I wove in two different colorways:

rose

Rose colorway for rug

and blue.

Blue colorway for rug

I made these rugs as Christmas presents for my family. An additional rug was woven and donated to Maryland Community Kitchen (now known again as Moveable Feast) for auction at their “Fall into Elegance” event.

The warp is a cotton rug warp, while the weft is a cotton broadcloth cut into inch and a half strips, as well as the cotton rug warp.

Below is a close up view of the weave structure. The weave structure for these rugs is called ripsmatta, or warp-face. The pattern requires 6 harnesses, and the sett is 32 e.p.i.

Close-up of rose rug

Natural dye blanket

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This is the result of a natural dye workshop.

Natural dye blanket

My weaving guild had a natural dye workshop with Louise Wheatly. I had just received a large amount of yarn that I had spun for me by Taos Valley from Romney that I had bought from Triple R Farm. This is what I used this for the workshop, and is what I used to weave this throw.

The warp and the weft are the same wool, with the warp being composed of various dye experiments (walnut bark, indigo, weld, and coreopsis) from the workshop. The dye used for the weft was the exhaust from the dyebath of the walnut bark.

Below is a close up view of the weave structure. It is a simple plain weave. This pattern requires 2 harnesses, and the sett is 6 e.p.i.

Natural dye blanket close-up

My first project on my first loom

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This is the first blanket that I ever wove.

My first blanket

I had just gotten my new loom and needed to make something. I had this yarn around to knit a sweater, but the yarn had been sitting around for a few years and still was not made. I did a few calculations and figured out that there was enough for this throw.

The warp is a superwash wool (the rose and the navy) and a rayon/wool blend (the variegated.) The warp is the same rose superwash wool that is used in the warp.

Below is a close up view of the weave structure. It is a simple plain weave. This pattern requires 2 harnesses, and the sett is 8 e.p.i.

First blanket close-up

Handspun Aran

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This is my first attempt at spinning a three ply yarn.

Handspun Aran Sweater

I had always wanted to knit an Aran sweater, and this one from Country Knits by Debbie Bliss and Fiona McTague caught my eye. After spinning a number of smaller projects, I thought that I would try spinning the yarn for it. To make the texture of the stitches pop out in this sweater, I decided a three ply yarn was called for. Again, this was something that was new to me.

The wool for this yarn is a natural gray coopworth fleece purchased from Triple R Farm at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The singles were spun and plied on a Louet S10. Since I couldn’t wait to start knitting with the yarn, I did a swatch and was able to get the gauge stated in the pattern comfortably. Unfortunately, my lack of experience at this point coupled with long period in between spinning the yarn for this project meant that not all of the yarn that I spun could be used for the sweater since it produced a different density of fabric. I have learned since this project how to match a yarn that has already been produced.

Below are close up views of the sweater and its stitches.

Center Panel of Aran

Neckline of Aran

My first weaving project

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This is the very first item that I ever wove, start to finish.

My first weaving project

I learned how to weave from Tom Knisely at The Mannings in Pennsylvania. if you are interested in learning how to weave, I highly recommend his 5 day class, which is the one that I took. The class starts out getting you familar with weaving by weaving towels and samplers on looms that are already warped. After learning how to throw the shuttle and controlling the pattern through the use of the treadles, you weave a scarf of your own design. This is the project where you learn how to warp a loom.

The warp is a wool and cotton novelty knitting yarn and a Harrisville tweed wool yarn. The Harrisville yarn was added to the warp on Tom’s recommendation to give some strength to the warp while weaving. The weft used is the same Harrisville tweed weaving yarn.

Below is a close up view of the weave structure. It is a 2-2 twill that comes to a point in the center of the scarf. The pattern requires 4 harnesses, and the sett is 8 e.p.i.

First scarf close-up