Finished Color Study!

I finally finished my color study blanket last week! I was in such a hurry to turn around and get a new project on the loom that I didn't update the Just Weave It blog!

I'm finding that "It'll all come out in the wash" to be a pretty true statement. there

were lots of little oddities in this weaving. I had trouble with tension and the weft packing consistently.

All in all, I'm very happy with it!!

Finding my beat

I have six inches woven on my Color Study! That's exciting for me!

My realization that I've had my loom for several years (possibly 6 years) and I'm still having trouble finding my beat makes me hesitant with any project.

With my last project, a variegated twill, I had trouble keeping the beat light enough - on this, plain weave project I'm really trying to slam that reed into the weaving.

My first two inches were about 20ppi, the next two were 23ppi. - Sigh - If I were more anal about this, I'd take the whole thing out and start over. However, I just want to make sure my squares are... square. From there, the rest is "character."

My husband has been going to bed early, because he wakes up early... He's been having a lot of trouble with his knee, and I think that tires him out... So, tonight, I have time to weave at 9pm... I try to weave as quietly as possible... but I know my loom makes a racket.

My next loom will be a dainty little thing, so I can weave long into the night.

Treatment Plan

It's fun to connect with other weavers online. I was one of "the chosen" to get a Google Wave invite last month... I set up a Google Wave Weavers' Guild, with a little help from Janet with the name.

Chatting with several Weavers was really motivational!

I actually got back to my loom room, ignoring my main excuse: an incessant dog.

Madison actually did quite well. She sighed heavily and whimpered occasionally, that I wasn't paying copious amounts of attention to her charming personality. You see, two weeks ago... we made the decision to start her on Prozac. The separation anxiety (even when we were RIGHT THERE) was horrible. She wouldn't go upstairs by herself... and now, she's started going to bed by herself at night. The plan is to start her on Prozac and keep her on it while she settles into her new home, and we can work on some

behavior problems.... then weaning her back off again eventually.

Okay, so this isn't a blog about my dog... but things are looking up.

I was able to get the last bit of warp threaded, and then everything sleyed and tied on! I'm so excited to get this project going! I've been coveting the Color Study Blanket for years... and I finally have the warp ready to go!

I can't believe that tomorrow is Monday already. I'm ready for another day at home with my loom! I can work in some time tomorrow afternoon, maybe - though Madison and I should cram for our final dog obedience session!

Long Time, No See

We adopted a beautiful German Short Haired Pointer on August 13th. She is 10 years old, and had been at our local humane society since September 3, 2008.

When we first got Madison, she was Kennel Crazy. Not to the extreme that we initially thought. She is a very loving dog. I would venture to say compassionate, but I'm not sure that the definition applies to doggies. It broke my heart to see a dog that had been at the shelter for that long. It broke my heart that nobody wanted to take her home. Her owner had to give her up, because he lost his home. I'm sure it was hard. Madison came to us knowing how to sit, lay down, speak, roll over, she's house trained, and cuddly. It was hard to see this, though, in the shelter.

Madison is very demanding, and she is getting a lot more attention than our other two dogs, our babies. Madison wants to play fetch... A lot. And needs a lot of exercise, and mental stimulation. This has been one of my (many) excuses for not getting back to my loom for over a month.

My loom is half warped... and I want to get in there and get the warp all tied up so that I can weave a couple of inches while Madison isn't looking!!

 

Getting the warp all wound up for the Color Study Blanket from the Yarn Barn... this is aobut 12 inches of warp... So, I'm only 1/3 of the way done. The colors are so lovely, but this is taken with my camera phone.

Progress

It's been a mighty strange week, this week!

Lots of medical stuff going on. My right breast is "okay" for now... and my husband got a ureteral stent, which he then took out on his own. Um. Weird.

However, I finished my little project that was on my loom!

It's not perfect. But it's straight, and it's done.

I'm really excited to get going on my color study blanket. I've got 5 of the two inch sections of warp measured out. I'm presently using a cordless drill as a bobbin winder, because I'm too cheap to buy a bobbin winder! And the battery keeps dying out.

Anyhoo, wanted to take a few minutes to update, since it's been a crazy week, and the weekend continues to be crazy...

Cashmere dreams

I came upon this article at Bonnie's blog.

I love the idea of recycling yarn - which is often an expensive commodity to start with. I can't imagine purchasing cashmere, which is hard to find...

I also can't begin to imagine how wonderful a bamboo and cashmere piece would feel. Ooooh.