Challenging Weaving, Happy Knitting

Announcement: I have a huge sense of empathy for all the people I have taught to knit or crochet who have been frustrated at how often they wrap the wrong way, drop stitches, accidentally increase, or whatever. It had been so long since I learned the basics of these crafts that I forgot how challenging it can be to start out.

Starting out with weaving has taught me a lot! I do think now I will have to work hard to find a new wrong way to warp a project, but it won't surprise me in the least if I do something weird again next time!

In the good news department, I did finish weaving a starter scarf. I did go out to Yarnorama in Paige again, where the ever-patient Susan did NOT laugh at how I had the warp winding the wrong way, which explained why the ratchet dogs weren't ratcheting. She got me wound the right way, and even gave me some cut-up plastic mini-blind blades to make the tension good. Hooray for her! Here's the project in progress. By the way, this worsted weight wool comes with the Cricket loom. I didn't want you to think I chose the colors.

My first weaving project. Extreme close-up

I did not do too swell of a job on the selvedges, but I got better as I went along. I also missed a couple of warp threads, even though I tried to fix them when I saw them. I guess it's a learning process. One good thing is that weaving goes pretty quickly, so I got this out of the way in just a few days. It's also fascinating to cattle, which I discovered while weaving in the pasture at the ranch.

After I finished off and washed the project  I realized a couple of rows (picks) had gotten pulled in tightly somehow. I'm not sure how that happened, but it does not enhance the final product. It's also very long, because I mis-measured the warp. Oh well, it will serve as a scarf. Some people even say it looks pretty good.

Finished scarf. I think this is before washing and ironing it.

Of course, I wanted to start a second project right away, but I dawdled a bit and waited until last weekend.  I wanted to make the project I'd gotten the yarn and instructions for when I bought the loom. It's a collection of chenille washcloths, and both Susan and Deana said they were great beginner projects, because the chenille is forgiving. A couple of other customers at the shop (really GOOD weavers) said they had enjoyed doing the project--they came back for more!

This is when the comedy of errors commenced. My biggest issue is that I refuse to put a set of large photos of how to warp a loom next to me while warping. Well, make that a past refusal. I will from now on. The PDF of the Cricket manual was on my computer, so I kept walking back and forth to and from that, being too lazy to go find the nice book I had gotten, The Weaver's Idea Book (go buy it if you want to get a Cricket loom and make stuff!), which has nice, big photos and clear instructions.

First mistake: I got a nice cheap vinyl mini-blind and measured it against the heddle (the thing that you use to move warps up and down so weaving is easy, and that you also use to "beat" or press down your weft). I cut about half of them before realizing that the part of the heddle (see below, thanks to the blog of Spinninglizzy for the image)...

Rigid heddles

...that is 15 inches is the white part, not the wooden part. So I got to cut most of them twice. Lots of little pieces of plastic all around. Why the mini blinds? Susan says they work better than stiff paper or anything else she has found to insert in the wound-up warp and keep the threads nice and tight. Anyway, eventually those were all good.

Second mistake: I wound the warp around the large back beam, not just the little bitty apron rod. I discovered this after winding a whole bunch of it, and sticking a whole bunch of pieces of mini blind in there. This meant I had to enlist my patient spouse's help to unscrew the back bean so I could slip off all the loops and put them around the apron rod instead. Of course I twisted some of the loops, which added to the fun. And I totally missed a couple the first time. But eventually, I persevered and got the warp attached to the correct thing. I managed to attach the other end fairly successfully, and wound it all up.

Parts of the loom, from Cricket Loom Assembly and Weaving, by Schacht

Third mistake: After all that winding, I realized that I had strung the whole thing backwards. The end that should be on the "front" of the loom was on the "back." If I had looked at the picture, I would have known. As it is, I didn't realize it until I tried to weave. There was no space to insert the shuttle. Sigh. Luckily I realized that all I had to do was wind the WHOLE thing again, the other way. I didn't have to take anything off the loom. So, in the end, what should have taken about a half hour, warping the loom, took an hour and a half. I did not weave at all on Sunday, but the dang warp was ready!

I did successfully pull threads through the central holes with only one or two small glitches. Oh, I rock.

I came home last night and finally was able to weave. I got the waste yarn on, which took care of some of my weirdly twisted warp loops, then I survived a recalcitrant yarn winder and got the hem yarn wound into a ball and then onto a shuttle. I made a hem! And the selvedge is not horrible! Then, gasp, I wove some of the chenille! Here it is:

washcloth, in progress at last

KNITTING!!

I have not stopped knitting.  However, I don't have any great photo of the Heichi #5 cardigan in progress. I think it's going to be a good one, though. I made it through the underarms and got the left front done. I am over 50% through the back. It looks like another good spate of knitting (perhaps I will be stranded at an RV repair place for a couple of hours like I was last weekend!) and I will be finished with the body. The sleeves are 3/4 and knit by picking up from around the armholes, so they won't be hard to do at all or take long. There's a crochet border that doesn't look like rocket science, either. So, maybe I will have this project to wear at the office when it gets chilly--soon!

I'm also continuing to work on the second Hitchhiker shawlette. It's my "portable" project, and I carry it in a cute Lantern Moon bag. Here's what the shawlette looks like:

Hitchhiker with beads, and my office chair

The colors really mix up nicely. Not too much pooling at all. And the beads really are perfect, though hard to see in this photo.

I probably have something else to say, but need to work now. Lunch is over! Oh, if you get a chance, look at the latest Interweave Crochet. The modern Irish lace photos in it are just stunning.