Starting out

I've decided to start a blog about my crafty endeavors. I can tell you are excited. ;)

I've started a new obsession with weaving, thanks to a certain friend of mine who let me borrow her Ashford rigid heddle. It is a bit of a pain to set up a loom, but the weaving is so relaxing! Here is the first shawl I worked on. It's made with 100% alpaca in a natural brown - it's so soft! There are 4 rows of leno on each end of the shawl. I was on vacation in the Smoky Mountains when this was done and after pulling it off the loom, I dipped it in the creek to settle the fibers.





Now I want a loom of my own and picking out the right size and loom type can be confusing. What do I want to weave? Shawls mostly, maybe some towels and a blanket or two. That means I'll want more than a 30" wide weaving width. I want it to have a small footprint, so that when I'm not weaving it doesn't take up an entire room all by itself. I might want to do a rug, so I need a floor loom instead of a table top. How many harnesses do I need? Well, at least 4 to give me as much variety as possible for getting a first loom. I don't want to outgrow it within the space of a year or two.

What did I decide on? A Schacht Mighty Wolf, and because I'm spoiled I'm buying a brand new one in cherry! It's on order and should be delivered in September/October this year. The cherry version has 8 harnesses, so I have no fears of outgrowing this baby. It also folds up and is only 18" wide. I can hardly wait! (this is a baby wolf in cherry to give you an idea of what it will look like.)



I have been pouring over books and websites looking at all the tips and tricks on how best to set up the loom and if I should weave front to back or back to front (apparently this is a big deal).

I have soo many ideas on what I'm going to weave - iridescent silk fabric, chenille shawl, color block shawl, placemats, napkins... the list goes on and on.

With today being my birthday, I got the joy of opening a few packages of yarn I'd ordered in the last week. I think my favorite is the Pagewood Farm - Ringlets in Lavender Fields. The others are Malabrigo - Aquarello in Coronilla and Great Adirondack - Fluff in Black Orchid.