new WIP on the loom

i had a plan to take pictures and post them of how i go from the above cones of yarn to setting up the loom for weaving. however, when i took the pictures and looked at them i realized i couldn't post them. in the background were corners filled with cat fur and i could clearly see just how badly the carpet needs steam cleaning. so perhaps with the next project i can set up a more neutral background upon which to photograph the cone-to-loom steps.

for now, you'll just have to take my word that i've wound 5 yds of 8/2 and put it on the loom to weave blue-accented placemats. i'll take pictures of the finished products and post them, hopefully within a week or so.

the big loom

the big loom that i wove on while at school

first, hello to all hopping the link from mrs b's giveaway. if any of ya'll have questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment and i'll get back to you as soon as i'm able.

i wanted to post a picture of the big loom i used while i was at school learning to weave. yes, there are still schools (i went to the local community college) that have programs to teach people weaving, pottery, woodworking, metal fabrication, jewelry techniques and other crafty arts. i have an Associate in Applied Science in Professional Crafts-Fiber degree (sounds prestigious, doesn't it?). to tell the truth, it was one the BEST times i've ever had learning in an academic setting and hardly seemed like school at all.

but more about the loom. the loom i've got at home has a maximum weaving width of about 24 inches. the one pictured above has a maximum width of around 40 inches (maybe a bit more; 45, perhaps). when i dress my loom at home, there is no dis-assembling it to get all the warp yarn on and ready to weave. when at school, dressing the big loom required dropping down the back and climbing inside it (yes, inside). it was quite a daunting task that very first week of class when my wonderfully talented instructor told us (we were a class of 10 students) to wind our warps and then climb inside our looms. you don't usually hear that every day.

i miss that big loom, sometimes. i could weave larger width pieces on it without having to sew panels together like i'm constrained to do now. i could also put much more warp yardage on to weave (say 25 to 30 yards of warp vs 10 to 15 yards now). but i do love, love, LOVE my smaller (way more portable and practical for the house) baby wolf loom. some people collect stamps or books or artwork from favorite artists; me, i dream of a day when i can collect looms. of course, i'll need several outbuildings to house them.

examples of work-that-has-gone-before

this is a table runner in an overshot pattern called "star of bethlehem." the blue in it is hand-dyed.

this is a placemat with hand-dyed yarn in the japanese ikat tradition (although much american-ized). i'm weaving similar placemats and matching runners now, just without as much hand-dyed yarn (it's a limited commodity) in three colors: the blue pictured here, green and purple.

and here is another runner in the "star of bethlehem" overshot pattern. this is one of my favorite things to do, using a white-on-white approach and letting the pattern be the main feature instead of color.

WIP is finished!

my finished table runner!