Christmas towels

I am so behind this year.  Between jury duty and the first trimester of this pregnancy, I did pretty much nothing weaving related for about 4 months!  It was a weaving hiatus.  I know it's hard to believe because I kept the blog going, but if you know me real well, you would have figured out that those were my summer projects that were thinned out over time to make them last until a day that I could do this all again!  Thank goodness I am feeling so much better, the baby is doing well, and I just feel like I have my life back in order again!  By the way, did I mention that the baby has grown some legs, feet, and toes??!  You can see them in the top left corner. 

I even purchased my first baby clothes recently!  I bought 5 items for $7, thanks to some coupons that I received in the mail!  No wonder coupons are so popular and addictive!  Normally these items would have cost $42!

I can't believe that it's this late in the year and I have yet to start on my Christmas stuff for family and friends.  I may just be able to cover family this year, but we will see!  I hope to be able to weave for friends at work as well.  My first Christmas project is going to be a set of 8-shaft pinwheels.  It is one of my most favorite designs!  I chose two shades of blues, which blue is my most favorite color!  It has taken me a few days to get the warp measured and threaded into the reed, but at least I'm plugging away at it a little at a time!

Quiz answers and sourdough

In case you pondered the picture, Brian is on the left and I am on the right.  I tried my hardest to find pictures from around the same ages!  These are about when we were 6 months old.  This is what our little baby will look like in one year!

Way back in June, I was summoned to Grand Jury Duty on Fridays.  It was a really good experience, but it also lasted 4 months!  I liked it during the summer months, but it made my work weeks WAY too long!  However, I learned a lot (like how to be a smarter criminal) and I also made some really good friends.  One of my jury duty friends was just getting into sourdough when we were almost done.  She shared her starter with some of us jurors before we departed on our last day.  I have so far been able to keep mine alive and enjoy it!  If you've ever kept a sourdough starter alive, you know how animal like it really is, with regular care and feedings.

Apparently, the liquid on the top is called hooch and it's an alcoholic beverage that used to be enjoyed by poor people and bootleggers way back in the old days.

I shared my starter with my mom.  It's fun to share a starter!  And I wonder how long I'll be able to keep it going?  I hope for awhile!  Here's a wonderful loaf of flaky bread!

This next weekend we will be having sourdough waffles made from a sponge that has to sit overnight with buttermilk.  They'll be nice and sour by the morning!

It's off to its destination!

I thought this blanket was incredibly soft before, and then I washed it and put it through the dryer and it's even more soft than it was!  I didn't think that was possible!  Wow, it's sooooo soft to the touch and super heavy and warm.  I think it will be perfect!  It's a little off square, but I think I'm ready to accept this as a fact and move on.  If I had to redo it, I would go with a 2.5 yard warp next time.

Anyway, this was my best center-fold line yet!

It's perfect!

Almost square!!

It's so close to being square... I was able to weave 16 rows one way and 14 the other.  It measures to be 38x42", but with fringe it is 42x48".  I wish I would have warped just a little tiny bit more so it could be just a tiny more square!!  Anyway, look at the bright side... the blanket is so soft and warm!  I love it!  I love how it turned out.  I love the colors!  I love the softness!  I love this blanket all over! 

This was a very quick weave.  The fringe twisting took the longest! 

This is the way I took it off the loom.  Whenever I cut a double weave blanket all at once off the loom, it tends to "explode" and the weft comes out all over the place!  So I have learned to choose 8 threads at a time, snip, tie a knot, and proceed either left or right until I have the whole thing off.  It makes it so much easier!  In this picture you can see one mis-threading in the 3rd block from the bottom.   I ended up taking out the one thread and with a needle, I sewed it back in with the correct pattern.  It wasn't very hard, just took some time.

It's so pink!

I can't wait to give it to my niece and SIL!

Good-bye pink blankie!  Keep my new niece warm and safe in Seattle!

It's so bright!

I think I'm already 1/4 of the way done!  Well, maybe that isn't saying much considering I'm aiming for 16 stripes!  

Here's a pic to give you an idea how big each square is going to be.  They are about 3" square.

 

 Once it's off the loom and washed up, some of those weird zigzaggy twill lines will relax and even out.  They are very apparent from here though!

I'm trying really hard not to squish it down too much, but it looks a little weft heavy.  I might have to relax a little bit more.  Once it's washed though, so much magic happens.  It really changes and looks a lot better after a good washing!

I love doubleweave!

This is like the giant hounds tooth scarves, but a sort of herringbone look instead!  I like how large the design is going to be.  It's also very soft, hearty, and will be perfect for a baby girl surviving her first winter in Seattle!

Every baby deserves a soft handwoven blanket made with love!

A preview!

Thing has been non-stop busy here since the publishing of my book!  I haven't had time to write a review of my own book and share some pictures!  But alas, here are a few things from inside!!!

I always love seeing the table of contents for books before I buy them, so for those of you who also love table of contents, here you go!

By this last page, you can see that I have tried to put in as many inspiring pictures from my collection that I could!  I love inspiring art, especially when it has to do with weaving!




The main focus of this book is designing your own miniature overshot patterns like Bertha Gray Hayes.  I have an entire tutorial on how to design them using profile drafts, because it makes a very quick job of it!  You can actually plop out a few drafts in just a few minutes once you realize how simple profile drafting can be!  I put my teacher skills to the test and created a workbook section that you can print and work through, and then print again and work through it a second time instead of worrying about marking up your own book!  Here is a sample page:

One section includes how to draft by hand, instead of using the computer all of the time.  Here is a sample of that section:

I also work through how to find the back of your draft, different tie-ups, name drafting, and the challenges and benefits of converting to summer and winter, with samples!!  The great thing about drafting profile drafts is that you can easily convert them to other things, like summer and winter.  Here is a summer and winter sample of Lego:

I was asked the other day if my book was for 4-shafts or mostly 8-shafts, and you 4-shaft weavers are in great luck... it's actually most 4-shafts!  Although some of the drafting for summer and winter is for the larger looms like 8-shaft, there is a very special section for you with 4-shafts!!!  (See table of contents pg 171!)



There is a section with over 20 of my own drafts that I made using profile drafting.  I included a segment of the profile draft, a repeated front and back so you can see what a bigger picture looks like, the overshot front and back drafts, a woven sample of each, and then either some variations on the same theme or an idea of what to do with the draft.  Here are 2 sample page from Lego:

 

I definitely wove up plenty of samples for my notebook section!  In fact, it was so huge that I couldn't download it in one piece!  I had to split this one into two, that's how many pictures there are!!!

The book wraps up with hound's tooth projects, how to dye using mason jars and wilton's food dye, how to make a journal cover...

... how to use up your scraps making a fabric book....

... how to sew a sock-less sock monkey...























... some rugs...

 
... And an entire section on card weaving, including how to make your own cards out of cereal boxes, your own loom out of wood, etc.!!

 

Honestly I feel like I wrote my heart and soul into this book, and it's full of really great information!  The only complaint that I've heard so far is that it is not currently for sale in a printed version.  I chose to do the pdf format so that you can print off the sections you want, or like in the workbook style you can print and write on them, and then print a fresh copy again!  However, I haven't heard any other complaints than that so far!!  Many people are saying it's a great book and written really well.  One person told me that it has so much information in it that I could have charged twice as much!

Get your copy today and enjoy!!!

The book is ready!!!!

It's ready!!!  Get your copy here!!!

Blanket for a niece

My SIL is having a girl this month, so I am making them a soft polyester doubleweave blanket!

These are all the reds, pinks, whites, and other girly or neutral colors I could find in my collection.  It's just a 2 yard warp... just enough for a little tiny baby!