Have a Merry Christmas!
The pillow is made from some fabric I wove on my Ashford table loom.
Author: horsenettle
Finished: Triloom Blanket
It was a little frightening watching the blanket get smaller and smaller, I'll admit. It started out at 56" or so and then shrunk after only four minutes in the washing machine. Okay, I set it on hot but when I checked the water, it was lukewarm at best.
So, I took it out and rinsed it in cold, then smooshed the excess water out and put it in a dryer for a light dry. Six minutes later I called it done. The weave had filled in completely. It measured 36". So, talk about shrinking.
If I had used two strands of yarn instead of one, there wouldn't have been so much space in this weave, and I probably would have lost only about 10" instead of 20". But, it makes a very nice wool lap blanket, the kind to sit on the couch with or put on the foot of a bed for a little added warmth. It was really satisfying to make something bigger than a shawl or a scarf.
Cozy!
Triloom Blanket: An Experiment
I've been working on this for a month, and today is an auspicious day. Yes, it's the solstice, but it's also the day I finish my triloom blanket! Here is the second tri on the loom, just after finishing the weaving. I used up most of my 2 ply worsted weight wool from a second hand store. I had woven my first triloom shawl with some of it, and I'll miss it when it's gone.
It doesn't look like much at this point, I admit.
Two 7' triangles, crocheted rather heavily together. It measures about 57" on each end. There are gaps, areas woven too tightly, untrimmed yarn, etc. What I'm hoping for is the miracle of a washing machine fulling, where everything fills in, pulls together, and looks right. It would be the solstice miracle!
This is my favorite day of the year, and today is a beautiful day: clear and bright and sunny and cold. Our "blizzard" only dropped about 5" of snow, but I was home yesterday because work was closed, and it gave me just enough time to finish the weaving. So, keep your fingers crossed!
Why Do I Need Another Loom?
Why? Hmmm…. Can I come up with a reason?
Oh yeah! I don't have one to take to work for lunchtime weaving–doesn't everyone have lunchtime weaving?–until now.
It's on its way… a teeny tiny rigid heddle loom, brand new and from Ashford, called the SampleIt. With only an 8" weaving width, I think I can actually carry it in a small bag (like the one I bought years and years ago for knitting) and store it in a drawer. Not that I'll keep it at work all the time–I may need it for weaving while watching a movie (it fits on a lap!) or bringing along on weekend trips (too small to say nope, that's too big to tote along). Somehow, I avoided Cricket fever, even though I had come up with a list of reasons why a small rigid heddle loom was right for me. But with Christmas right around the corner, my husband bought this one for me as a gift. So, there's yet another reason–it's a gift! I have to accept it.
And so the year ends with the addition of four looms, some used, some new, some gifted: the Ashford 4 Shaft table loom (gifted), the Schacht Inkle loom (used), the modular triloom from Dewberry Ridge, and this teeny Ashford SampleIt Rigid Heddle loom. I added up all the $ spent, and was relieved to realize that all my looms (all of them, not just the 2012 looms) only add up to maybe 1/3 of a new floor loom. Whew! Still…
… it's a slippery slope!