Category Archives: Weaving

Preparing plastic bags for weaving coasters…

I’d had in the back of my head that I would like to sometime weave with plastic bags.  I’d researched it a bit and knew that woven plastic bags looked nicer to me that knit or crochet ones.  You don’t look at it and think “plastic bag” first.  You look at it and think “cool fabric”.  I also felt like the knit bags seemed so thick.  I was looking for something more delicate to use for coasters… and maybe eventually a table runner.

I warped my 10 inch Cricket loom with rug warp and started to prepare the plastic bags.  I snagged my cutting mat, rotary cutter and see through ruler.  There are tons of tutorials out there, so feel free to research how to prepare bags for knitting to see what variation might be a best fit for you.

I flattened my bag.

5/17/12 Project 365 bag flattening

I folded it once length wise.  And then a second time (not shown).  The goal was to cut 1/2 inch tube strips.

5/17/12 Project 365 folding plastic bag once

After having folded it twice total lengthwise, I grabbed my see through ruler and rotary cutter.  There are 4 openings in the ruler that are equally spaced 1/2 inch apart.  I lined one of them up as close to the bottom edge as possible, then cut the bottom strip off.  While still holding the ruler in place, I can quickly cut 3 more tube strips.  With the bag still in place, I would then move the ruler to the left, cutting 3 more strips each time until I reached the bottom of the handles.

The strips open out like the one below.  The leftover handles might become a wreath.  There is also a pile of leftover bits that might find their way to becoming packaging material.

I slipped the loops over my left hand (as I’m right handed) and let them hang from my arm.  If you’ve ever played with hooking rubber bands together, you’ll know just what is in store for you.  This lovely You Tube video by wingsrising shows you how to very quickly hook the loops together.  One caution if you are creating 1/2 strips like me instead of the usual 1 inch strips, is that they are fairly delicate.  If you hit a snag, be sure to tease and not pull.  (Ask me how I know this!)

Here’s my plastic bag yarn after winding it on the ball winder.

I tend to keep this in a plastic zip sandwich bag with only 1 inch open for the yarn end.  This stuff is like the slipperiest nylon novelty yarn!!

And for a coaster teaser…

Why weave?

5/8/2012 Project 365 Why weave + spring garden

Interestingly enough, weaving has a different story for me than knitting.  I wonder if the same is true for other artists and fiber artists who cross-pollinate…

I’ve always been quietly interested in weaving.  There were the requisite mini projects as a kid followed by some tapestry weaving envy as a teen in art class watching her neighbor.  Any gift shop pulls me towards the fiber goodies.  Shopping for clothes is always about touching the fabric.  With the knitting going full blast, I didn’t need another hobby, so I paid little attention to the quiet urge.

5/8/2012 Project 365 Why weave sticky monkey flower

At some point weaving ended up on my “bucket” list.  A neighbor had passed away and after hearing all the wonderful things she did with folks in the therapeutic art realm, I realized I needed to challenge myself more and DO more.  I made the list… and promptly forgot about it in favor of the daily grind.

Then my MIL was diagnosed with a Stage IV gallbladder cancer.  Here was a youthful woman I greatly admired.  She had done so many things with her life and yet was always curious to do more.  In short, she was my heroine.  My bucket list came to mind again around the new year as we visited her as a family for the last time.

I traded my New Year’s resolutions in favor of the bucket list and haven’t looked back since.  I took that class and fell into it like a duck to water.  I’ve taken and signed up for other classes since.  I now have 4 looms. (Maybe someday I’ll have as many looms as hubbie has computers.)

5/8/2012 Project 365 Why weave? Columbine

While I’m saddened that I was not in time to be able to weave anything for my MIL, I’d like to think she would be thrilled with me taking on new things in the fiber realm.  At the very least, I’m sure she would be so tickled that I’m having fun with it.

So what is your story?  If you’re a blogger, please consider blogging about it and post a link in the comments section.  I adore stories; they reflect the beauty of our humanity.

5/8/2012 Project 365 Why weave? Nasturtium

An accounting of projects…

3/11/12 Project 365 spinning 2 ply

I was reading online where someone suggested that 5 was the optimal number of projects to have.  (I’d share a link, but I was lost online and can’t find the link anymore.  Story of my life.)  The premise was more than five projects slowed down your progress to the point of frustration and less than five left you without something to do at critical times.  She suggested having different types of projects for different situations… fancy lace for alone thinking, small projects like socks and hats for travel, idiot knitting for social times or tv, etc.

I had been feeling lately that I was doing a lot, but wasn’t finishing much of anything; discontent was creeping in.  I wondered what my actual number was.  Was that driving my irksome feelings?  I also wondered how having multiple crafts might change your number, and not necessarily for the better.  Then there are those crafts you want to do next that weigh on your mind.  I think they count too, since they don’t just fade away.  They keep cropping up in your head over and over.  Should I be thinning my projects?  Do I fit the 5 project mold?  What will I see if I account for what is currently in the works and on my mind?  I took these questions and upended my various project niches in search of whatever I might find.

In the works:

Hand sewing kanzashi flowers for the painting.  I’m dragging my feet on this, but I recognize the need for them on the painting.

Quercus Sweater (worsted/fairly easy)

Spectrum scarf (fingering/fairly easy/fairly small)

Kernel scarf (lace weight/dead silence required)

Spinning 2 ply fingering wt yarn (tv watching easy)

Sewing a zippered bag (some concentration)

Sewing a skirt for me.

Knit kimono sweater (easy, but needs ripping and adjusting)

Re-knitting blown out sock toes.  (easy, just need to do) I’d just patch them, but the true problem is the socks just aren’t long enough.  Try as I might, my hoofers are just not that delicate and small.

On the brain:

Spin some fiber for a friend.

Hand sew kanzashi flowers from plastic bags for giggles and grins.

Take hubbie’s ad laden conference bags and put fancy fabric on them to dress them up and hide the ads.

Recreate the baby sweater for the pattern/sweater found in FIL’s attic.  Maybe from homespun…

Rip out wrap I don’t and won’t use… put yarn into something else.  A blanket?

Embroider a felted black project bag I have.

Weaving with plastic bags.  Coasters?  Table runner?

Weaving a wrap.

Sewing a skirt for my daughter.

Sew and cut fabric class on Craftsy.com.

Weaving straps on the inkle loom for my Mighty Wolf loom.

Another Tunisian crochet blanket (of course).

Another post card abstract drawing with markers.

There are probably a couple of projects on the brain I’ve forgotten in the moment, but overall, this list was not nearly as heinous as I expected.  While I obviously don’t fit the 5 project mold, I don’t really think I could trim down the list… as the brain loop would still kick in.  I would be willing to lay money on the fact that most of my crafty friends have a list closer in size to mine than just “5″.  The list is reasonable, and I’ve already acknowledged to myself what the next steps are for everything listed.  While I wouldn’t change anything, I do find it a little comforting just accounting for what is “so” for me in this moment.

As to the discontent that’s been creeping in… maybe I just need a new project.  (Hehehehe!)

Stash enhancing…

Some folks might look at stash enhancing as a fancy way of saying “buying yarn/paper/fabric/roving”.  I wondered how it could compare to oh, say, hoarding.

I started with the dictionary.  Hoarding is apparently hanging on to a lot of useless stuff.  (I think what is useful to one person is up for debate for another, but let’s just say we agree that yarn is really quite useful.)  A stash is something valuable tucked away in secret or safe keeping.  Enhancing means to improve something.

What I know from my foray into stash enhancing is that it usually:

– is PRETTY (booyaa!)

– reflects my current fiber interests

– gets more specific as time goes on

– gets more upscale

– leans more toward purple

– leans more towards hand dyed or hand crafted or small business

– hubbie would probably add gets more expensive

Stitches West is my big annual trip focused on stash enhancing and the occasional class.  I guard that space on the calendar like a rabid dog.  Poor hubbie got to hear more than once “that’s the Stitches weekend, you cannot…”.  When the big day comes I’m armed with comfy shoes, water, plastic, back up plastic and a map.  My very best friends are the ones willing to go toe to toe with another fiber lover to help me guard some stash I am trying to purchase.  (Thanks meshuggeknitter!!!)  When I see other fiber lovers blissfully smiling while rubbing their newly acquired stash on their faces, I don’t think it’s strange in the least.  I will smile back at them in shared enjoyment.

While I don’t have crazy secret places for my yarn, it is safely put away and it does seem to invade increasingly more closet real estate.  (There are some creative ways to hide yarn that I know of, just in case.  A girl has to be prepared.)  I now officially have enough stash that I no longer panic at the thought of gifting some of it to someone else.  I’ve also decided the stash is big enough and nice enough now to warrant tracking in case the worst happens and the house burns down.  (Gotta protect that stash!)

2/27/12 Project 365 stash enhancing

Starting in the 1 o’clock position and moving around clockwise…  1 lb black merino roving I nearly had to arm wrestle for, a sweater’s worth of Miss Babs Yowza, rainbow lace weight yarn, redish purple cashmere/silk yarn, 2 small skeins of 20/2 purple silk for weaving, mixed roving in an autumn colorway to be spun into yarn, deep purple qiviut yarn, extended Tunisian crochet needle for making afghans, and mesh project bags from Namaste.  Not pictured is a hand crafted backpack for my spinning wheel.  What lovely new additions!!!

Yes, it’s special (to me).  Yes, it’s now safely put away.  And, yes, it’s stash enhancing because my stash as a whole looks a whole lot better with these new additions.

I’m famous!

Well, not really.  But, I was terribly tickled and stunned today to find a photo of my weaving work featured for the Decorative & Fiber Arts section of the Walnut Creek Arts + Rec catalog.  I’m always looking for good weaving classes, so it was a wonderful surprise and honor to see it there.

2/15/12 photo of actual catalog

This is the scarf project they featured… a raw silk warp at 10 ends per inch with a sock yarn for the weft zig zags.  It’s very cushy and one of my favorites to wear.  (Doing my victory dance around the dining table.  Okay, I’m back down to earth now.)

2/15/12 catalog pic of woven scarf

I created 2 kanzashi flowers yesterday.  There were a couple of setbacks that slowed me down.  Apparently, you really do have to follow the directions and not use anything that is denim weight or heavier fabric.  And if you still don’t believe that and continue to push the fabric weight boundaries, you have to adjust and make fewer petals.  Because if you don’t… you end up with a gaping hole in the middle that needs covering with felt and buttons.  As it is, I’m left with a moderate hole that still needs a bit of felt and button work to finish the flowers off.  The upside is, these are “upcycled” from fabric sample books that decorators use.  These new red ones will go on the “Fall” side of the large painting.  The white one (along with a few more that I still have to make) will go on the “Spring” side of things.  Loooove it when a concept starts falling into place.

2/15/2012 kanzashi flowers

I also did a bunch of knitting.  You can’t really tell from the photo of the back, but it now looks like a little mini vest.  I’m at the point where the shoulders are complete on both sides and the fronts and back connect under the arms.  I’m going back and forth to start working on the sides and lower back.  I will continue to knit on this tonight, but the lighting will stink later, so I thought I’d blog about it now.

2/15/12 back view of sweater

Would it be too vain to put the catalog in a plastic sleeve?  Giggle.

FabMo haul. Shhh. Don’t tell hubbie.

As promised, I went to FabMo today to pick up more tiles for coasters.  They had many more, but I tried to restrain myself a bit.  I probably still got more than I needed; but, since they have these events once a month, I felt confident it was ‘enough’ for now.  The pretty glass ones in the 9 o’clock spot may only need cork backing to work and look beautiful.  (Sweet!)

Project 365 2/10/2012 tiles from FabMo

I also found a whole bagful of these beautiful batik remnants.  Okay, so it was really half a bag.  I circled around casually until they restocked and then swiftly pounced on the other half.  (Heh!)  I figured doing it again would be seriously pushing the borders of social niceties, so I proclaimed myself ‘done’ at that point.  (Sigh.)  A woman there asked me what you could do with batik fabric.  While I certainly don’t know all the uses, I do know that their special property is that they look great on both sides of the fabric.  There is no ‘wrong’ side.  This is wonderful for beginner sewers (like me).  This type of fabric is also great for keeping its color when you cut it into strips for knitting, crocheting or weaving.  Regular fabrics will have one lighter side, and that can make the fabric strips lighter in general as they twist a bit for the needles or shuttles.  I bet they would make wonderful braided rag rugs as well.  Hmmm…

Project 365 2/10/2012 fabric from FabMo

In addition, there’s been progress on the sweater.  I finished the upper back area and I’m doing the right shoulder/right front panel now (in the 3 o’clock position).  The construction is different that what I’m used to and it is looking like it might be close to seamless in the end. (Bonus!)

Project 365 2/10/2012 sweater progress

Sunday check in.

Today has been an all day fiber extravaganza thanks to my wonderful hubby who whisked the kids away to have fun.  This morning I was knitting on the cowl while in my jammies.  Coffee was very close at hand.  It just has 1.5 skeins to go, or 3 more inches (whichever comes first!).  If there is TV knitting tonight… who knows?

Project 365 1/29/2012 cowl progress

Next came weaving the shawl (while these over forty eyes still had some sunlight).  I still need to iron it and trim the fringe, but it’s all hemmed up and wonderfully soft.  I even have enough yarn to make another one of these… hmmm.

Project 365 1/29/2012

Lastly, came the wool/silk kimono jacket I’ve been working on for an embarrassingly long time.  The trim you see in the foreground looking like mess of spaghetti is supposed to be sewn on from the right front lower hem… up around the neck… and all the way down to the left lower hem.  That’s, um, for another afternoon.

Project 365 1/29/2012

Stick a fork in me; I’m done!

Now to go clean up the messes in my various project areas…  Whew!

Introducing Mr. Furry Britches Himself…

Meet Morris (Momo when we are feeling the love).  To put him into perspective, this shawl he’s on is about 60 inches wide and he’s taking up half of it.  The kids won’t pick him up because he’s so stout.  That’s not what they “really” say, that’s just what’s pc to write.  The reason he can sit there so unconcerned like is that he’s already taught me a lesson in cats + lovely alpaca/wooly projects.  If I pull him off, he will try to hold on… with “the claw”.  If I leave him there, there might be a few black hairs.  Cat 1, Woman 0.

Project 365 1/22/2012

I spent time yesterday blocking this shawl that was finished last week.  It’s knit up in Brookfarm Alpaca in the Brookfarm Harvest color way.  The pattern is the Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes.  The yarn was gorgeous to knit with both in color and feel and the pattern was the perfect one to showcase it.  One of my fellow S&B’s remarked that it looked like I was knitting with fire.  Before I was even finished, I had put a CSA fiber share from Brookfarm on my Xmas list.

Project 365 1/22/2012 part 2

The weaving continues, but after a couple of hours, I decided it was time for a rousing game of Monopoly with my 9-year-old daughter.  She’s a shark and she’s learning from one of the best.  It was an assertive match and great fun.

As I end the week, I’ve been reflecting about the meditation practice I’ve been learning.  While I haven’t found a way to still my raging thoughts first thing in the morning, and I honestly don’t feel like I’ve had any earth shattering insights, I have:

Enjoyed the breathing exercises.

Slept better.

Savored my food more.

Laughed more.

Grumped less.  (Although… maybe not with Momo)

Anyone looking for a cat?

I’m kidding… sort of.  I have this one cat who is just too smart for his furry britches.  He’s the kind of cat who knows how to climb ladders like a person and open screen doors all by himself.  He’s also figured out that if he plucks at the warp threads on my loom like guitar strings he can get my attention VERY quickly.  My goal this weekend is to get this alpaca shawl woven off before any mishaps with “the claw”.  Here’s my progress so far…

Project 365 1/21/2012