Here´s a pouch or a clutch I made from my Poppana experiment sample. It measures about 19x29cm so it´s quite large. I wove twill on the sides and plain weave for the bottom. Quick and nice project. I´d love to do more these, perhaps for gifts.
One thing though: zipper. They´re really hard to come by in my corner of the world. I couldn´t find the right kind but I am on the lookout for better looking ones.
Sketches for new rugs. I am thinking stripes and not yet going for the pure ziz-zags that I probably end up doing too. These will measure about 80x200cm.
I find designing stripes actually quite tricky because you would have to see the bigger picture (ie. finished symmetrical piece) before execution. Any tips on how to design good stripe sequences?
Past rugs piled on a coat rack. I am weaving a set of larger rugs but it will take time to go through that warp.
And a pile of wool for mittens and such. Knitting mittens is not the first thing on my mind because spring is finally here.
Take care!
Here´s the Poppana experiment off the loom. My favourites: the gray/peachy and the red/white. Approximately 32cm wide and five pieces.
The weave is a rosepath and two extra treadles for plain weave. Love this combination and will use it again.
I wish I had more colours to play with. This time it was only scarlet red, middlegray, peachy orange and off-white.
This is my 200th post. Sounds a lot although it feels like twenty. Here´s my first steps with poppana. It´s fun and quick to weave but tricky to beat gently…and even.
I made samples with different treadling and maybe sew pouches/clutches if they seem proper enough.
For a while I have been thinking of weaving “Poppana” and finally got around to it. It think poppana is inherently Finnish type of fabric made of thin bias-cut cotton rags. It´s like a miniature version of rag rug and nowadays it´s used for table runners. Here´s my first go with poppana with cotton warp yarn with fewer plies than regular rug warp.
Not a very long warp, only 4 meters to try things out.
Of course I remembered the yarn count wrong and had to make few strands later. Too much coffee while warping and too good music… The Smiths.
Warp braids are beautiful but sad in a way, especially when they rest on upstair´s handrail or in this case on the beam. What´s the name of a fairytale´s lady with very long braid? Can´t recall her name but I think it has something to do with her.
Making fringes to the plaid scarf. Lovely task, although time-consuming. But what isn´t with weaving?
With this warp, fringe-twisting was very interesting. I got to make so many different kinds.
Odds and ends. Still ill, I stayed at home the whole of Easter because I got a flu. Finally getting better!
After weaving twill rugs for three warps I wanted to do something else. This project was quite spontanious so I searched my stash for some kind of wearable yarn and found these grays, black and whites. They´re merino wool.
I warped for a scarf, approximately 200 hundred strands, in random order. It was fun, not thinking too much.
We have been trying to organize stuff downstairs and therefore I carried these old cd´s upstairs. I have been listening them while weaving and having all kinds of memories popping up.
Here´s the warp braided before dressing the loom. It´s a small warp, only for a scarf with fringes.
I dug up more merino for weaving the scarf. I was little worried how it would turn out because I used two kinds of merino: a little thicker stretchy kind of merino and the same as in warp which is not very elastic.
But it turned out to be great and I got rid of a lot of odd ends. This is a little boring scarf with very conservative monochrome palette and only plain weave but I was actually aiming for that. It was so easy to weave, no real decisions or technical difficulties. Only downside was that it was finished very quickly…
I love candy that you can pick yourself but I try to buy it very seldom.
Almost finished here. 180cm or so before taking off the loom. I´d love to do another. And another.
Here´s the finished piece off the loom. A perfect project for a weekend. I gave it to R because he really needs new clothes and is very picky with what the stores has to offer. And luckily he´s accepted it ;-)
I bought this excellent book about weavers of Bauhaus. Unfortunately it´s in German but the pictures are gorgeous. I´d love too see these weavings with my own eyes but so far never happened to catch a Bauhaus exhibition.
I think I posted almost the same picture a few weeks ago. Only the vase and the flowers were different. From my craft room/living room. I call this my living room because we have another room -almost identical in size- that serves as R´s study and our living room.
A small sample with wool yarns. I am planning to weave wool rugs but can´t make up my mind whether to go for thick warp and thin wool weft or thin warp with chunky wool for weft. Hmm..
A friend of mine asked me to knit him a pair of socks and of course I did. I went for the darkest gray because I hate to knit black yarn because the pattern doesn´t really show and it kills the eyes. They were a good fit I think.
Finally there´s light. And the best part: I have six days off from work.
Happy Easter!
I have been buying new materials in order to try new things out. These two big cones of rug wool are the gems of my stash. I love the thickness and weight (over two kilos) but can´t make up my mind how to use them well enough.
A little stash of little bit thinner yarn but also my all time favourite because of the colour palette and quality. R´s grandmother keeps on bringing me knotted discounted skeins of this yarn in colours I would never find myself picking up without her assistance.
I have been recycling old sheets by tearing them into shreds and sewing them together one after another. For future rag rugs.
I keep wool for mittens in a cupboard at hand and because it looks so beautiful. I try not to hide yarns because they would be left untouched that way for ages and it can turn into a habit. I´d love to have a huge stash but can´t afford to have one. No endless possibilities but less cluttered home instead.
These piles can be found around the house though. Textile industry leftovers I re-use in rugs. Genious material and very affordable.
I collect the odds and ends in this basket. Not sure why but it seems important.
Well, good weekend for all of you! I´ll be staying home all by myself, today watching Woody Allen theme night on the tv and warping for something new tomorrow. Looking forward!