She's All Dressed Up...

I finally got the 9.5 yard warp on my loom. This was no easy task because the fibers kept wanting to stick together. I couldn't have done it without the help of my DH. The warp is Jagger Spun 2/18 100% Superfine Merino. The Tartan will be woven at 30 epi (ends per inch). That's pretty fine.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

This morning when I went outside I was presented with the most spectular rainbow. You could see a perfect arc with both ends of the rainbow visible. Awesome! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's been a while since I have posted so this one may be a little long. This week poor Seri had to get 12 stitches. See them right under her eye? Poor thing!
With the official start of the Fall season it's that time of year for arts and crafts festivals. On Friday I went to the Mountain Heritage Arts & Crafts Festival near historic Harpers Ferry. I talked to some wonderful craftspersons whose workmanship was prejudged so only quality items were for sale.

This coming Wednesday I have a Blue Ridge Spinners & Weavers Guild meeting. The guild was started back in 2002 but last month was our first meeting as a formalized guild. We now have officers, bylaws and pay dues. The only real rule we have is You have to Be Nice!

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I'm attending a Tartan Weaving workshop. Before the class we are to warp 9.5 yards on our looms. Everyone picked their own tartan pattern to weave. In the workshop we will work round robin sampling everyone's warp and then each person will be able to weave a scarf on their own loom. My tartan is called Mowat and has 4 colors (black, yellow, green, and blue).The weekend after the workshop is the Waterford Homes Tour & Crafts Exhibit. I've already purchased tickets for all 3 days (October 6, 7, 8, 2006).

Not much knitting on Marina. Here she is feeling at little neglected.

I received Lisa Souza - Petal yarn last week but haven't yet started swatching for Beadwork. Lisa specially dyed this 50/50 Silk/Merino wool for me. She calls this color Celadon and offers it in some of her other yarns.I purchased this loom last year from the auction at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. It is an oak jack-type floor loom with 4 harnesses and 6 treadles. It came with a stainless steel 27" 12-dent/inch reed, metal headdles, and metal tie-ups. It is very similar to a Leclerc but this one is handmade. It can be folded up easily for transporting but the loom is a little on the heavy side.

I'm getting ready for my first weaving class and decided to restore the loom by giving it a good cleaning, replacing parts and refinishing the wood. Here is the before...
and after...
I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. This is a very well made loom. I'm replacing the wire heddles and tie-ups with Texsolv. Texsolv System (heddles and cords) are made from crocheted polyester and are very strong and durable. To learn more about Texsolv headdles and cords read this article.