Keeping Busy

             Wow! I hadn't realised it was such a long time since I'd posted!

For the last few months I have resorted to weaving with woollen yarn to keep me busy and feeling positive.

Uppingham yarns sell a colourful range of shetland woollen yarns and having started our daughter in law off with her first weaving project, before she, our son and two grandsons went to live in Australia, I was encouraged to weave with them.

I was going to weave lengths to make bags but, as shawls and 'tartan' clothing has become fashionable I decided to come up with a range shawls in interesting colour schemes.

At first I planned to weave only one shawl per warp but it takes some time to work out the warp design and set up the loom ready for weaving so I decided to plan two shawls per warp. These two shawls, in a russet colour scheme, were the first.

I was commissioned to weave one similar in 'Christmas' colours and I must admit to being a little concerned about this - red and green - but the finished shawl pleased the recipient and because the colours were quite subtle I was pleasantly surprised/happy with the result myself!

 My favourite so far!  

Spinning yarn for a Weaving project

Bedfordshire Guild Ruby Celebration

Bedfordshire Guild WSD began in 1979 and this needed to be celebrated!

    I am spending more time spinning than weaving at the moment and have been for some months. I'm itching to get on weaving some fabric!!

        

  Those of us who spin admire the yarns and fibre blends produced by John Arbon and his team and he was only too happy to create a 'Ruby' colour blend in 80% Merino/20% silk fibre.

Most members ordered an amount between 100g and 1 kilo. Spinning it has taken some time and nearly all have completed their project.

As I wanted to weave a length of fabric the spinning of my yarn kept me busy but very happy.

 

  Years ago, when I learned to spin and weave at college, I was determined that I would spin to weave a length of clothing fabric. Sadly, it has taken me some time to be brave enough to get on with this huge undertaking.

  It has been said that it takes 7 spinners to supply a weaver and knowing, from experience, that preparing a warp, setting up my loom and weaving a 5 yard length would take a week I knew I would have to prepare myself for a 'long haul'. The plying of 100g (2 x 50 g) of yarn took all evening, approximately 4 hours!