So I love my DH.
Though Friday night, I shot daggers from my eyes. Though not in a serious way. *laugh*
On a tv show we were watching, they said the person should
get a hobby. He pointed out that the
saying is *A* hobby. I shot my daggers
and then laughed.
He says this because I am taking up another hobby. Fiber related of course.
An awesome lady who I had the pleasure of working with for
many years is selling her two weaving looms.
And I am buying the smaller of the two.
It is a Schacht 20" Table Loom.
I confess that if she weren't selling it at such an amazing
price, I wouldn't even dream of it. But
it is about the cost of a new rigid heddle loom. And it is Schacht. And after having my Ladybug nearly two years,
I am in love with the company. They were
awesome about answering questions even *before* I bought the wheel. And I bought a used wheel at that. But they answered all sorts of
questions. Awesome.
And I LOVE my Ladybug.
It is an amazing wheel. I adore
spinning on it. Though I have to
confess. It hasn't been touched since
after I finished plying my MASSIVE double Bump Loop madness. I didn't get it finished for the Tour de
Fleece. But I finished it after getting
back from SSK.
Mind you, that was not about the wheel. That was about me. I spin tons during the TdF and then STOP for
at least 2-4 months afterwards. So it is
my yearly pattern any time I do the Tour de Fleece! *laugh*
So... I am waiting for my tax refund before I can actually
get my new-to-me loom. Being me, what
does that mean? I start learning all I
can. Researching, reading and with
weaving, there are a ton of awesome videos on YouTube that are super helpful.
I started thinking about projects. I know a simple plain/tabby weave is a great
starter project. But it is me... So I think about doing that for eons. In just two colors...
I watched some YouTube videos for weaving. I am thrilled there are so many good ones
available. It is so helpful.
One guy uses a rigid heddle to weave scarves. And he can do it relatively fast. He says about 4 hours for a completed project. *blink*
He uses some bulker yarns. They
look great. He uses long color stripe
yarns. And inexpensive ones at
that. He suggested Bernat Mosaic (which
is discontinued), something from Red Heart & Lion Brand Landscapes yarn.
LB is having a sale on Scarfie which is as you would expect,
a scarf length of yarn! Mandala also has
long color repeats which could be cool.
So I am thinking that an order might not be the worst idea. *smile*
But I looked at the yarns and went..."Hey...wait a sec. Those look like the kind of long colors you
get with handspun..." Which of
course inspired me...
See the slippery slope?!
*laugh*
So I wanted something fun & funky. Something where I
could just play with colors and not stress too much if all was harmonious. And if it didn't work out, that was okay too.
I remembered I had the bag of Odds & Ends from Into the
Whirled. That could be perfect. Lots of fun & a bit of a mystery.
I loved spinning the singles. I just spun it all & figure I will Navajo
ply to keep the colors very sharp. The
warp can work to pull it all together.
The fibers were fun to spin.
Since it is an odds & ends bag, I don't know what fibers were in
it. But I would swear that at least a
third to half had some silk in them. And
I LOVE silk blends. Mind you, in the
same order from Into the Whirled, I had several braids of fiber with
silk... *laugh* I just checked. ALL the spinning fiber had silk in the order. *chuckle*
So heaven knows, given how awesome the folks at ItW are, they may have
pull an Odds & Ends bag with silk for me.
I am always confused, but some spinners don't like silk in
spinning. So they may separate
them. Or maybe I just lucked out! *laugh*
The bag has a lot of green.
But there are bits & bobs of many colors. I think it will be really interesting to see
how it ends up in weaving. I also
figured it was a good way to use the colors.
This is the first time I am using the Akerworks bobbin I got
at SSK. I know... Embarrassing that I have had it since July,
but it only just got on the wheel. But I
haven't spun singles since the end of the Tour de Fleece. As expected, I am in LLLOOOOVVVVEEE. I adore seeing through the end of the
bobbin! I can only imagine what that
would look like for a Bullseye Bump!
The Odds & Ends say they are between 4-4.3 oz. And there was still room on bobbin. I really wonder if I could fit a whole Bump
on it. Not sure... Of course, may need to try at some
point. *grin*
Here's a pic of the singles finished on the bobbin.
Of course, it makes me want *MORE* of them.
*sigh* And I actually *have* a
lot of bobbins as I got them with my wheel.
So I really don't *need* more.
But WANT!!
We will see between now & when the tax refund arrives
what I decide I need. *laugh* I want to pick up some weaving yarns as
well. I don't own much in the way of
cotton. And I think some washable cotton
placemats could be awesome place to start with weaving.
The Yarn Barn of Kansas has some weaving kits.
I really think one of their samplers could be great. Turns out they have one for dish towels which
could be great. Though of course, I love
the sampler scarves. My first knitting
project is a scarf I still wear that is a sampler! So it seems kinda fitting.
Sooo many choices!
The Woolery also has weaving kits.
And then there are tons of patterns & such. So I could just get the yarn & have at
it.
SOOOO EXCITED!! I
really can't wait for the tax return to come.
Hopefully soon. We e-filed
already. And they are saying it generally
is completed within 4 weeks. *fingers
crossed it comes soon*
