Adventures with a mini loom

On August 12, 2023August 9, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

I recently used points to get a Clover mini loom. I have been using scraps of cardboard to weave samples of my spun fibers to go in my fiber journal, so this was an upgrade!

First finished linen swatch, forgot to take progress photos, warped for fringe on the bottom only, came out a weft-faced weave

I started by following directions, amazingly, but the spacing of the tines were very wide and gave me a weft-faced weave, where the warp threads are completely covered by the weft yarn. This is the technique used for tapestry weaving, but not what I was looking for.

Linen warp doubled up and wrapped completely around the loom, starting with a twined row to space the threads

The next attempt I doubled the yarn in each slot by wrapping the warp yarn completely around the loom. This gave me fringe on top and bottom when it was finished, but the weave came out with both the warp and weft showing.

I moved on to my hemp yarn, and of course I forgot to take progress photos, but I doubled up the warp thread by making loops around the tines, resulting in a fringeless swatch. I found I didn’t need the twined first row to space the threads. It came out a bit wonky, but I am seeing process improvement.

Not her tail

On August 11, 2023August 9, 2023 By CarynIn Cats, dog

We’ve been working with Missy the dog for a long time on letting people touch her tail without her growling. Apparently we did our work well. Here is a video of Thor the kitten playing with Missy‘s tail, and she doesn’t even care.

Thor playing with Missy’s tail as Missy waits for the ball to be thrown, still from video

I have also decided to promote barbershop as the background music to my shorts, because everyone needs to hear a chord ring.

Corriedale spinning

On August 10, 2023August 7, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

I ordered a blend of white and gray Corriedale wool from Mohair and More for my spinning class. Corriedale is an easier fiber to spin, and the mix of natural colors makes it easier to see the twist, which makes it a great fiber for learning. This is my first time spinning Corriedale as well (I started with difficult fibers, because I didn’t know), so I spun up my own ounce of fiber for my fiber book. I used some passenger time on the road to get it finished up on one of my new student spindles.