learning to weave

Since my Ashford rigid heddle loom came in the mail (and I worked up the courage to put it together :o) I have been really enjoying learning how to weave. Weaving is very different from knitting.

• while knitting is super portable, weaving isn't
• knitting uses a lot more yarn than weaving to make a similarly sized item
• weaving goes faster than knitting
• some yarns seem better for knitting or better for weaving

My current project on the loom is a set of four place-mats, and uses some odds and ends of cotton yarn, in a rainbow of color for the warp and black in the weft.

My last project was a nice long scarf. I decided to use some Darn Good Yarn recycled sari silk yarn for the warp, which was probably a mistake. I had used the yarn before as a weft, which worked fine, but it was not so good on the warp. I used a variegated pink (red, fuchsia, tan) alpaca yarn with the scarf, and that I was very happy with. The scarf is a little too openly woven, but it does have a nice drape, and it is very pretty. The colors go together very well.

The project before that was another scarf, using fingering weight superwash wool that I dyed sapphire blue, silver gray, and chestnut. I dyed on the stovetop, using a dropper to add color. It is not a completely controllable method, but it gives a nice mix of solid and blended color for a really pretty yarn.

ps. I will add photos soon