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!

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!

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!

Four blankets are done!

These 4 blankets are all done!  They are so soft and pretty!

I love the plaid!  I thought about tying on yet another warp, but I think I'm ready for something a little bit different...








I don't have anyone in mind right now to use these four blankets.  In fact, I put them into my hope chest that my dad made me in high school so I can use them with my future kids.

This is the beautiful hope chest he made me.  At the time, I filled it with things to use when I got married.  Now, it's full of things for a future baby!








Besides the blankets, here are a few of the fun things in my hope chest!

I have a whole set of storybook-like embroidered blocks to make into a quilt.  I made these in college!

I also have a set of these circle animal blocks.  I love these!  I think I also made these in college.

 And I have a third set of blocks (Geeze, I need to quilt these up!!) of these cats that are dressed up in various themes!

I also have a few sets of cloth books.  Some of them match books I made for my nephews when they were young.  (Like 10 years ago?!)  I made 2 sets and gave them one then kept the other for myself for the future.

Here is the dots book to practice counting:

And some cool quilt squares:

This is the transportation book:

And lastly, these are little things that Brian bought along the way in his travels.  He loves John Deere stuff and I think he got these in Cheyenne, Wyoming on one of his many trips!

There are a few other decoration items that I haven't taken the time to frame yet, like these wool applique pictures.  I made two sets when I was in college, one for me and one for my mom.  These small projects were so easy to do while living in a dorm room!

And something else I found in my hope chest that I forgot about was from my crochet year.  I didn't do much, but I did accomplish this awesome doily! 

Hope you enjoyed the tour!!