Ka-chow!

This photo didn't turn out the best because I waited until the very end when the shed isn't very big.

This set of doubleweave is officially done!  

Two pretty blankets made in the same twill as the other ones.

This is the center seam... and it's the best of all 4 blankets!!

This is before it's washed!  Check out that great seam!!!

I am getting a little weary of this pattern so I'm kind of glad it's all done!

But it sure is pretty!

And now my loom sits empty after a long time of being threaded for doubleweave!

 It's such a nice feeling to be able to start something new!

I see the knots!

The 1,344 knots have been spotted!  I'm surprised that they have come again so soon, considering it seemed like it took forever to get them on the loom in the first place!  Oh well... I'm already dreaming of my next project! 

Back to work!

But not the work you might think, this is the best kind of work: Weaving work!!  Luckily I'm on summer break right now, so I don't have to worry about the "real" kind of work right now!

Back to the doubleweave blanket I go!

I'm already half way done with this 2nd blanket, so I'm assuming it will finish up rather quickly!

Odd Project

Before I can finish my 2nd doubleweave blanket, I have a small/large VERY ODD project to complete!

My principal at school asked me to make a project for some students that are going to Washington DC for National History Day finals.  I wish them the best of luck of course, but I am now stressing out over a giant car that can squeeze into a suitcase!  Yikes... it took several versions but we finally have a final pattern to work with.  I used an overhead projector to get it to the right size, put it onto butcher paper that was taped together, and the final size is approx. 6ftx10ft!  In order to accommodate the size for the suitcase, I'm basically making a kite that can be disassembled and then re-assembled on location.  I think Zip agrees that this will be the most wacky, wild, extreme, and creative project for 2013!!  I'm actually very excited, but also a little nervous because there is already a lot of money involved in all the supplies!

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I've never made a kite before???  :-)

One is done!

This blanket washed up beautifully and perfectly square!!  The ends are all sewn in now, too!  It's so soft and pretty!  I really like the non-planned plaid... but Brian admitted to me yesterday that plaids like that drive him nuts!  If he were a weaver, things would be very precise and predictable.... not that there's anything wrong with that.  I like my patterns unpredictable, but always hope for predictable weaving.

 The gaps all filled in perfectly on this weave.

You can't even tell there is a center seam...

 ... except in some places, if you know what to look for.  Sometimes things got a little squished, but this is why I cut off one blanket early.  The second blanket should have less of this throughout than leaving it as one piece.

Otherwise, it's so much fun to be able to weave something twice the size of my weaving area! 

I can't believe I can do this!  

The mystery of the unseen side

It's a terrible picture, but here is what the other "unseen" side of this blanket will look like!

I always love that moment when the doubleweave blanket gets cut off the loom, unfolded, and then  both sides can be seen next to each other for the very first time!  It's awesome!!

The above picture only makes me semi-nervous.  See the experimental IKEA tape measure and how bubbly it has become without tension on it?  Well, as long as I keep in mind the weaving is just a bit shorter than the tape measure, then I think all will be well... I think I still might cut off the first blanket just to make a better 2nd blanket when the time comes.  I think it keeps everything more square and the center seam ends up more invisible.  It's worth the chance of cutting one too short.  I'll be glad when this one does come off and it's square, because I'm very sure the other one will be square also due to the extra length from the tie-on spots.  But it's still a risky procedure!

And now for the tree update!  I am glad to say that this little tree is thriving!  

Here is one year of photos:

And a side by side comparison of May 2012 and May 2013.

Yay for weaving again!

I feel like I was dragging my feet in getting the loom set up again. I'm not sure why... maybe it was the 1300+ knots that had to be tied... maybe it really wasn't such a good idea to do it that way, but now it's done and this blanket is weaving up so very fast!!   It's always such a long process to set the loom up and the weaving always goes way too fast.

Here are all the colors together on the bobbins... they are so pretty!  Maybe it's just me, but I've liked this combination from the very beginning and I don't know why!

Here's the plaid starting to weave up just perfect!

It's so chipper and pretty!

I'm trying something new this time.  I grabbed a whole stack of these tape measures last time we went to IKEA and I put some in the warp that was wound onto the back of the loom.  I'm also pinning it as I go, but I've never done that with a tape measure before, so I have no idea what to expect.  I'm pinning it under tension and maybe that is a bad thing, unless I take it into consideration...

Here's to another weaving experiment!

I am also thinking of cutting this blanket off half way through, since I know I'm making 2 blankets anyway.  The first blanket ALWAYS weaves up super great and the 2nd one never weaves as nice, so if I weave through half my materials and cut it off, the 2nd blanket has a better chance of looking just as super as the first one!  This is why the tape measures are really important this time around.  Plus, I can keep track of the size by the amount of repeats of bobbim colors.  Each bobbin color can be used 4 times total, and then I estimate this blanket will be long enough... maybe a few extra rows just to be on the safe side.

It's another experiment... hopefully it's one I won't regret!!

Don't panic!

The picture from the other day was pretty scary with all those threads all tangled up like that.  It was a mess, but I was able to get it all sorted out in only a few hours.  Now it seems like tying all those knots might have saved some time and effort, but the only real thing it did provide was an assurance that the loom is already set up correctly.  Otherwise, it really did take a whole lot of time!  I'm still having trouble deciding whether I saved any by doing it this way or not... I'll tell you one thing is for sure, 1300 of something is an awful lot!!

Brian helped me out a lot when it came to untangling the 1300 threads.  We just kind of split the whole thing in half and I showed him a few things that I knew and he invented a few things, also!  It was fun to work together on this blanket.  I'm trying to talk him into weaving something on my other loom, but he's not showing too much enthusiasm for that!  While we were untangling and talking, I also decided that threading from back to front would be worth a try this summer.  I have never tried that method before and after working through all this mess, I am finally ready to try it.

Anyway, we found that raising the first 4-shafts made winding so easy.  We separated the two colors and could wind long segments at a time.  Also, getting the 1300 knots through the eyes of the heddles wasn't too bad either.  I just pulled a very small handful through at a time and worked with them very carefully.  We had no threads break during the winding of this warp!  Yay!!

1300 knots

I don't even know if I need to say this, but 1300+ knots IS A LOT!!!

I think my fingers are very fatigued... 

in took several sittings...

I think I would have rather threaded the heddles... 

But the knots are in, and now I just need to ease them through the eyes of the heddles.  I'll be glad when that part is over!!!

Repeat

I love the two blankets I just pulled off my loom, but I keep eyeing the sample from before so I have decided to put another doubleweave blanket on the 8-shaft loom.  I am going to tie all the ends onto the old warp so that I don't have to spend all that time threading it.  I'm not sure which is worse though, threading it again and working out all the kinks, or tying 1300+ knots!!