Weaving, weaving, weaving...... Pt.1

Since my last post, I have got myself a lovely loom. Actually, it was bought for me by my partner (even more awesome). Its an Ashford Knitters Loom (50cm), like the one I used on my course but 20cm's bigger. This is ace 'cause it means I can make a piece of fabric up to 50cm in width.


It looks like this. ^ It folds up so I can carry the loom around and weave pretty much anywhere (if i can figure out how to do it properly).

I have warped 4 times so far, 3 times successfully. One attempt was thwarted by a particularly difficult wool, I didn't know until I had finished warping and started weaving that it wasn't going to work. I swore at it a lot. Warping is still a bit of a struggle with only 2 hands but I seem to be getting the hang of it.

My first project is going to be a cushion for my partner once its washed and sewn. I call it the 'Hobbit' 'cause I warped up while watching the film and Rob (my partner) is very fond of LOTR.

I had a go at clasped weft and adding bits into the weave. Its pretty cool for a first go.

My 2nd project was a shawl for me during the autumn/winter time. I based my palette on the film 'Chocolat'. I love the brilliant colour's of Vianne's cafe. I wanted something comforting, rich and bright. I made it predominantly out of a nice brown wool from my local shop Jenny Wrens Yarns . I had a great time picking out yarns.
 I found out, after running out of wool, that you shouldn't start a piece using remnants of wool you find in charity shops. You cant get the wool again unless it has a label, so you shouldn't base a whole project on it! I wont do that again. You will notice on the pictures that I started with a lovely dark chocolate brown, but had to change to a lighter shade because of this incident. In this piece I varied the colours on my warp so I could create small blocks of colour within the piece. I also added skull beads to enhance its Mayan feel.

As you can see, I need to weave in the ends and wash the piece. I haven't been able to wash them yet because of a sprained knee, but I am itching to do so.

I will write about the 3rd piece in pt. 2 of  'Weaving, weaving, weaving.......'.