Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I warped my loom for the first time in about a year and a half. I started on Memorial Day Weekend, winding the warp chains. I used a kit from Lunatic Fringe Yarns , the Tubular Spectrum Comes to Dinner kit. The warp chains were pretty, but they didn't give a great sense of the gradient. I used lashing cords to tie onto the back beam. After winding the warp onto the back beam, the gradient really tells its tale. I have woven the first four colors of the weft, in plain weave. The colors are the purple/blue colors that are in the warp, starting from the left of the picture. The kit is supposed to make 8-10 napkins, one transition through the colors in the weft of each napkin. The first one will be in plain weave. After the first one, I'll put in an inch of white for hems, and then start in on a twill weave pattern. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finally hemmed and photographed the remaining seven Ocean Towels (after sending the one swap towel). The two towels on top are a little heavier, 5/2 cotton yarn. The other five are 8/2 cotton. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

The tree is up! Note the loom behind the tree. I predict the tree comes down in record time after Christmas, this year. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished weaving my Ocean Towel fabric and cut it off the loom last night. I hemmed the first one, because I needed to get it into the mail. It is part of the swap, and it was supposed to be mailed by the end of November... I still have five more towels with the 8/2 weft, and two with 5/2 weft (one size fatter yarn), waiting to be hemmed. I ran out of 8/2 yarn, and I didn't want to order more and wait, and I also liked the idea of making slightly faster progress, so I used 5/2 white yarn from the Fiesta Towels. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've woven the first few inches on the Ocean Towels. You can just see the knots of the beginning of the warp over the end of the front beam. I still have a few loose beats, but I'm getting it figured out. Off to work! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mitchell has been fighting a throat virus off and on for a couple of weeks, and he came down with a high fever again last night. I stayed home with him today and took him to the doctor, who gave him an anti-biotic for a secondary tonsillitis problem. Other than that, we're hanging out and watching movies. I took the opportunity to wind on the warp for the Ocean Towels. You can see where the color repeats re-start, which I had to do because the length of the color repeat grew through the cone. I think it is pretty, though. In fact, it may end up prettier than if the colors were fully-aligned all the way across. (I guess we'll never know!) Ready to start weaving! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

The Green Fiesta Towels are done. The warp yielded six towels, with about six inches of warp left that could have been woven. I managed about sixteen inches of loom waste, almost ten less inches than when I tied onto the apron rods instead of using leaders. I hemmed by machine this time, and the plain weave hem edge is also different. I can see why people use a smaller yarn for the plain weave hem... it wove wider than the twill. I also sleyed the Ocean Towels, and I've threaded the first five repeats (of 26). Note the loom sprite. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished weaving the Green Fiesta Towels. Now, i just need to serge the edges, wash, and hem. I may warp the Ocean Towels, first! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

This is a copy of a post I put in the " The Weaving Thread " in the Southern Cross Fibre forum on Ravelry, but I am just so distracted by this idea that I wanted to post it over here, too... I've become rather intrigued by the notion of hand-woven coverlets. I was at the " Daniel Boone Home ," this summer, and they had some reproduction coverlets for sale in the gift shop. I think they were actually manufactured copies, because they were so inexpensive... only a couple hundred dollars. (Which scandalized my husband with how high it was, but struck me as too much of a pittance for hand-woven... Plus, they were suspiciously perfect-looking. I think you probably know what I mean.) Anyway, the idea stuck in the back of my mind. My loom was ordered and on the way at the time... More recently, I ordered some books that I was very excited to receive, so much so that I wanted to "share." I was blown away when I received my two-volume set of " The ...

I just started the sixth towel in the Green Fiesta Towel warp. You can just see the orange separator yarn and plain weave hems (end of fifth towel and beginning of sixth towel) under the front beam. Mitchell asked why there was so much wrapped around (the cloth beam), and what I was going to do with it. I tried to tell him that was the towels... I also got a wild notion and did some spinning this weekend. It is all I have spun in September. I just had one bump of Southern Cross Fibre club, "Marine Predator" on Blue Faced Leicester. I've spun the whole four ounces into singles and plan to N-ply. That won't happen until next weekend, at least... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I'm trucking along on my green towels. Here is a picture of the first one, taken from under the front beam. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished threading the Green Fiesta Towels, and I'm tied onto the back beam (apron rod of the back beam). The little white leaders are an idea I found in Tom Knisely's video, "The Loom Owner's Companion." The leaders reduce loom waste, firstly by reducing the thread that goes around the apron rod (about two+ inches on my loom). Secondly, the leaders allow the end of warp to get closer to the heddles than the apron rod can go, in this case, another two+ inches. The apron rod is extended all the way in the photo above, and the warp knots are about even with the eighth shaft. Since I only used four shafts in this threading, I could have made my leaders a bit longer, and reduced waste a bit more, though I'm not sure it's a good idea to have the knots right up at the heddles... I cut my leaders 15" long, which is what Mr. Knisely advised. At first, I tried to scrimp by cutting shorter, but they were too short to actually work the loops (shown below...

I wound my warp for the Ocean Towel Swap. You may be able to discern in the photo that there are two (at least two) colors in each section. That's because the loop of warp has two directions (of course). Even "aligned" in color repeat, the warp isn't wound clockwise or counterclockwise all the time... it goes from one end peg and then back the other direction. (This isn't a surprise... I saw this coming... Really!) So, I plan to sley alternating colors into groups, nine threads at a time. The " wave " draft is 18 threads per repeat, so this will give the waves one color on the leading edge and another color on the trailing edge. I say "at least two" colors in each section because the color repeat did vary a bit. It got longer as I went. That's better than shorter, I suppose... I think the yarn must have been wound in a "stacking" fashion when it was dyed, with the loop a bit longer as it stacked. Anyway, I adjusted it a bit ...

I received the warp yarn for my Ocean Towel Swap (see weaving draft in previous post). It is Webs 8/2 unmercerized cotton in the colorway "Lake Combo." I lined up a color repeat and measured the length. I will make the warp a multiple of the 58" repeat. At four repeats, I should be able to squeak out seven towels. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished up my first project on my new Mighty Wolf loom, a repeat of my lessons project. After all, I had enough yarn... waste not, want not! My next project is a towel swap arranged through a group on Ravelry... We are all doing "ocean" themed towels. I ordered some blue variegated cotton yarn for the warp, and I plan to do an undulating twill that will look like waves, using white weft. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've been tooling away on various projects, including finishing a pair of socks. The simple socks are plain stockinette using a "Harry Potter" colorway from Opal. These are toe up with the "gusset heel" from "Socks From The Toe Up" by Wendy Johnson. I've also started another sweater using some handspun I made during TdF, Hello Yarn "Blossom" on Finn. I have one pound, so this one will probably get short sleeves. It is over the same pattern as my last sweater. I'm also making progress on my first project on the Mighty Wolf, more Fiesta Towels like I made in lessons. Here is a shot from underneath the front beam, showing cloth rolled onto the cloth beam. The orange stripe is the break where I will cut apart two towels. And here is a shot from above the front beam, with the temple in place. In case you can't tell, the black area in front is a utility tray (the "Wolf Trap.") Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

A few of months back, I was asked to put together an article on spinning bamboo. It appears it will not be used for its originally intended purpose, so I’m posting it here… even though it may look a little out of sequence with some of my other posts. What is bamboo? My first thought upon undertaking an article about spinning Merino-Bamboo blends was, “What is this stuff?” Of course, I know what bamboo is. It’s a plant that pandas eat, of course, just like eucalyptus is a plant that koalas eat. I know these things. However, my experience with bamboo products would imply that harvested bamboo is not something one would wear, but somewhat stiff and perhaps suitable for making furniture or picture frames… more like wood, in fact. The picture in my mind does not have a soft fluffy payload provided by a pod on the end of the plant, the way cotton does. So, how do they make bamboo into fiber? A quick Internet search turned up a vast amount of material. (1) (2) (3) Basically, bamboo is...

I finished warping the loom last night and started weaving this morning. When I got some light in the room, I decided to take a couple shots of the assembled and warped loom, and there was a little sprite that decided there ought to be a model in the shots. Sometimes I can't get him to sit still for the camera... Happy Knitting, Lisa kay

After a strange SNAFU where I received a different model loom destined for North Carolina (and she received mine), the looms have been swapped, and the Mighty Wolf is here! Thanks go to my dad for receiving it while I was otherwise unavailable! (I stayed home on Wednesday to receive it, but that's when the wrong one arrived. Ack!) After unpacking it and moving it into the living room, it looked like this: Unfolded, it looked like this: I have to admit, it really does take up rather a large swath in the living room... I spent all afternoon and evening putting it together (stroller/wheels, tying on apron rods, putting 1000 heddles on the shafts, and inserting the 80 treadle tie-ups onto the shaft frames. Now, I’ve just sleyed the Fiesta Towel warp I had waiting. It is the same pattern as the towels I made in lessons, so it is a bit of a "trying out the new loom" project, and not so much trying out a new project! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay