Another blanket with feet!

 This wool blanket will definitely be super warm this winter!!!

And it's so pretty!!  And because it's 100% wool, it's also kind of heavy!

I knew that she would probably want me to get my head in a shot, just like my grandma wanted when we held quilts for her to take pictures a long time ago.  This blanket took forever to make because I got pregnant right around the time I actually started putting it onto my loom and was soooo tired!  I used to be able to whip blankets like this out in 24 hours, but this one took a few months!  But it makes it even more special since my mom will be the grandma now!

After washing the blanket, it became very soft and the center seam completely disappeared.  Also, all the little naturally occurring spaces between the threads completely disappeared.  I let the machine agitate for about 15 seconds total, and then I just let it sit in the water.  I put it into the dryer for about 10 minutes.  It was a perfect combination!  Here's some close-ups:

The ends without fringe

 

Gaps are all closed

The center seam disappeared!

 

Can you see how soft and fluffy it turned out to be?  It's so nice!  I'm glad the stiffness dissipated.

Perfection!

It already looks perfect for this winter!

Yellow, green, blue

I love this color scheme!!  It's so pretty!  I also love this style of doubleweave blanket!!!  Next time around, I might try some different sized squares, like rotate between big and little.

Thick!

 These doubleweave blankets in worsted weight tend to be so thick!  But it still works out ok!  This one is going to be extra pretty because I love blues and greens!  Can't wait to get started weaving it!

Wool blanket for mom

 My mom has a lot of Cascade 220 wool on hand from yard sales and Paradise Fiber sales!

She wanted a blanket like the ones I've been making, but out of wool!

It's going to be so pretty!  It's mostly shades of blues and greens, but there are a few yellows thrown in the mix for fun!

It will also be very warm and soft!

My blanket grew feet

This is my method for cutting the blankets off, because once you make that snip, the whole thing wants to spring to life and fall apart in every direction!  I cut off about 8 ends at a time, tie a knot, and then cut 8 more, tie a knot, etc and work my way from center outwards in both directions at even distances and then repeat on the bottom layer.

I put the beater into the locked position and then I make a cut right at the eye of the heddle.  Amazingly, it ends up being about the same length as the other end of the weaving.  That is just a fluke!

And it's done!!  This is the bottom of my polyester box of scraps!  It's amazing neat looking!  I think the 2.5 yards ended up being a perfect length for an adult.  So in the future, I think for a baby blanket I will warp somewhere between 2 and 2.5 yards, like 2.25 yards.

This one is mine, and it will be for the winter when it's really cold and gray outside!  I'm looking forward to throwing it into the washer and dryer, because it' gets heavenly soft after a cycle through each!  I love how easy the polyester is to care for!

Progress

 This blanket has been weaving up so quickly that I almost forgot to stop and take some pictures!

Amazingly, this one has also woven up super straight.  Usually I get a slight U shape towards the end, but I have been super duper careful when I beat.  Sometimes I use both hands, one on each side of the beater just to make sure it's even.

Almost done!!

Polyester Scraps

This is weaving up so quickly!  I keep meaning to snag a few pics, but I finally remembered it after my loom was folded up for the evening.  So far, this blanket is just as fun as the last!  It's made from the bottom of the barrel scraps, too.  I am running out of colors, but I have decided to just sub as I go.  At first I was unsure if it would look ok, but then I reminded myself that it's just a scrap blanket and as long as I keep the twill going in the same direction, then it will probably be ok.  Looking at this picture, I like it even more!  It add just another element that catches your eye.

(PS. It may look crooked, but it's not crooked... it's just because the loom is folded up and there's no tension on it.)

I love these doubleweave polyester blankets!!!

2.5 yard warp

It doesn't look like much now... 

But I'm sure it's going to be cool!  They all end up being great no matter what I put in my stuff!

This is kind of an experiment.  I want to see how big a blanket is at a 2.5 yard warp.  I've already done a 4 yard blanket before, and it was just too big!

Fabric shopping with dad

I have never heard my dad request to go fabric shopping before, or show even the slightest excitement about fabric!  But when he needed to get these wood chip collecting bags made for a machine, he requested a trip to Hobby Lobby!  We picked out this thick duck cloth and measured for the specifications.  We didn't have a pattern, so we just had to go with what we thought would work.  We basically made two tubes with rope in the seams to hold onto the machine better.  We then had to use some math skills to calculate a circle size based on the circumference.  We also made sure to serge all the raw edges so that they don't fray.  This was all for a school he is going to be working at now.  They couldn't afford new bags at $300, and I'm glad that I could help out!  Total cost for project: $12.  Who knew that sewing skills could be so extremely useful??