Hatching

On December 28, 2020December 24, 2020 By CarynIn Craft

I finished the first experiment with weaving with hatching.

Things I like: Hatching! Neat, neat technique with so many possibilities, and solid joins between colors.

Things I learned: Pay careful attention to each pass. Finding a missed warp thread four passes later is frustrating. No, I didn’t unweave, this is a learning piece. Also, weaving in the ends makes lumps on the back. Also, marking the warp threads with washable ink means you have to give the item a proper wash, not just a blocking. Even that doesn’t guarantee the ink will wash out of the white areas.

Details: approximately 8”x8”, 100% cotton weft, warp suspected cotton (from stash), woven on an 8 sett frame loom. First row twined to space warp threads. Warp drawn through piece to finish.

Wooden tongs

On December 26, 2020December 25, 2020 By CarynIn Craft

And the reveal… wooden tongs! I made wooden tongs as gifts this year. I used mesquite wood for the blades and wedge, but wasn’t confident with glue joints so learned to set brass pins. I posted on that previously, but didn’t show what I was actually making (spoilers).

Mesquite wood tongs shaped and sanded to 400 grit

After shaping and sanding, I did my usual water rinse to raise the grain, and was quite surprised that the mesquite was still quite smooth. I ran over everything with 400 grit again, just to be thorough. I added some embellishments with wood burning, then sealed with butcher block conditioner (which is a food safe mix of oils and wax).

Weaving loom rest

On December 25, 2020 By CarynIn Craft

Yard stick used as a loom rest on an arm chair

Because the cat gets a little perturbed when I rest the loom on her rump, I laid a yard stick across the arms of my chair to prop up my weaving. She is OK having her own shed (that is weaver humor, by the way).

I can neither confirm nor deny that I am doing last minute gift weaving.

Happy Holidays and good luck with last minute projects.

Apple peel

On December 24, 2020 By CarynIn Craft, games

I had to peel an apple for my youngest because she has braces and needs it peeled and sliced. As I applied peeler to skin, I gave a try at getting it all off in one unbroken go. The removed peel makes a nice double spiral with some pleasing shade shifts. Glad all that fine motor practice on other crafts comes in handy.

Weaving in ends

On December 19, 2020December 16, 2020 By CarynIn Craft

I’ve been experimenting with dealing with the ends of the yarn when weaving. I tried my standard way that I use for knitting and crochet, which involves running the end through the work and back again, which leaves visible traces. Then I tried splitting the yarn and weaving in sections, which gives a much nicer finish.