Tag: weaving

Review of the Ashford Sampleit

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I finished weaving the log cabin scarf in just one day. The little Ashford Sampleit is a great loom for me. It wasn’t that easy to put together because the instructions were pretty minimal. But once assembled I was able to quickly warp it using some cotton I had on hand, and I wove this cheerful blue and white scarf. The loom comes with a 7.5 dent heddle, so I’m looking through my stash for worsted to bulky weight yarns.

This loom is so tiny (18″ long by 11.5″ wide) that I do use it as a lap loom. I also bought an inexpensive duffle so I can take it along on trips. The shed is great for such a tiny loom: 1.5″. The up and down sheds both stay put. The weaving width is about 8″.

This loom has the new Ashford clicker pawl system, so you can can advance the warp easily. I dislike plastic pawls and ratchets, and these are plastic. Hopefully they’ll hold up to a lot of use, because I can see I’ll be using this loom quite a bit!

Review of the Ashford Sampleit

Categories: Finished Object Rigid Heddle Loom Weaving

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Finished: Triloom Blanket

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image from www.flickr.com

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.

image from www.flickr.com

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.

image from www.flickr.com

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. 

image from www.flickr.com

Cozy!

Categories: Finished Object Weaving

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Triloom Blanket: An Experiment

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image from www.flickr.com

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.

image from www.flickr.com

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!

Categories: Weaving

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