12 Shaft Plaited Twill Update

Hi there - a very brief post this week and I am afraid no pictures !!

I managed to complete the first scarf in plaited twill but it was a struggle and the edges are a real disappointment to me.  The thought of the next one was a bit daunting. For some reason I had a wakeful night last Thursday and occupied myself by thinking about my weaving problems !  Surprisingly, I came up with a possible answer to the edge thread problems.

The threading on the right hand edge went like this:  11-12-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 etc.  I wondered if somehow the change from shaft 12 all the way to shaft 1 was causing excessive draw in and wearing the threads out. Next morning, I took the 11 and 12 threads out and wove a test piece. The resulting edge was absolutely fine and no bunching up of the threads.

The left hand edge threading was a bit different: 11-12-2-1-4-3-6-5-8-7-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

I started by just taking out the 11 and 12 but that didn't help much, so I took out the next 8 threads meaning that the threading started 10-9-8-7 etc. this worked OK for about 4 ins and then the edge threads on the left started to go again. I changed that sequence to start at 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.
That seemed to be better.

So, after all of that I decided to start on scarf number 2 and that is where I am at now. The tencel warp threads do seem to fray a lot and I am wondering if it is a particularly soft twist in this particular colour. Anyway, I will persevere and see if I can manage to complete another scarf.

You will sense that I am a bit 'fed up' with this project !! The next warp is already winding !!

Sorry not to have anything more productive to report this week, I will be back soon though.
Thanks for visiting.

12 Shaft Plaited Twill - Frustrations !

Hi there - I said last week that I had a new warp already on the back beam of the loom. It is 8/2 Tencel in quite a bright blue colour. I was quite excited about doing some tencel scarves after my runner experiences. Familiar ground I thought and loudly proclaimed that this was to be an easy weave and probably finished within the week. Well, I was wrong and in future will not say things will be easy !

I had 224 ends threaded at 28 epi 2-2-3 in a 12 dent reed. I had used 28epi on my last snowflake tencel shawl and it worked really well. I set out to do my sample and as this was going to be easy weaving I would use some different weft threads. I had some 2/16 cotton in a nice bright pink and some 28/2 cashmere in navy. I tried them out in the sample and things looked ok. I did take the sample off and wash it just in case anything nasty was going to happen in the wash but the sample came out quite well, even felt nice and soft. So here is the picture so far.........................

So all I had to do now was weave the first scarf. Pink I thought, that'll make a change and brighten up a rainy day. About six inches in the broken threads started. Mainly on the right hand side, not the selvedge thread but two threads in. Repairing one maybe two is good practise and doesn't look too bad but it started to happen every two inches. there is a limit to the number of film canisters you can hang over the back of a loom, when you get to six it gets a bit embarrassing  ! I realised the edge threads were bunching up so when I added the new warp ends I tried to spread the last few ends out a bit but it was no use.  Urgent consultation with my mentor on Vancouver Island, just round the corner !! Susan responded immediately with a range of suggestions, thank you so much for the rescue package !!  

What did I do ? I took the scissors to the 24" of scarf and cut it off, I hated that ! Next I re-sleyd at 24 ends per inch, two to a dent in the twelve dent reed. Tied on again. Put the pink cotton and the cashmere away in the stash bin again and brought out some more 8/2 tencel.  All set and ready to go again.

It lasted about 36" and then an edge thread on each side went. The selvedges had worried me all the way, I tried the trick of moving off centre but that didn't work, the right hand side was always the most difficult. Anyway more film canisters in place ! I have almost reached 60" so I am making slow progress but almost dreading every throw of the shuttle. Feeling like a novice weaver and very frustrated. This is the first time I have had this experience and I don't like it a lot !

I am sure the more you try to put things right the worse it gets, the more you try to get the selvedges to be good the worse you make them. Have given up for today and will tackle the last 12" of this scarf tomorrow. Maybe leaving it overnight will help in some way !

Anyway here is a picture of the weaving so far........................

Actually, the plaited twill draft is very nice, this has been on my 'to do' project list for a while.

Well, I think that's enough of my woes for this week ! Hopefully the scarves will be done by next week but I may have three scarves to be worn only by me !

I did cheer myself up by ordering a 15 dent reed  so that I can do 30 epi at 2 per dent and no more 3 or 4 threads in a dent.

Once more, many thanks for visiting. Happy weaving everyone !

A Week Away !

Hi there ! We have just had a week away to our holiday place at Crail in Fife. This was the first visit of the new season and it was just lovely to be by the sea again. The weather was good enough for me to play some golf, something I haven't done since last October. It was also an excuse for a bit of a celebration as it was a year last Tuesday since Tony had his heart valve replacement. As you have seen from the photographs he is fit and well with a new lease of life ! However, we had a lovely meal out in St Andrews on Tuesday evening.

Close to Crail is a 'stately home' called Cambo House, owned by Sir Peter Erskine and his wife Lady Erskine. The grounds of the house are famous for the display of snowdrops at this time of year. Last Sunday we went for a visit and a walk through the grounds. First of all here is the house itself.........

Then the carpet of snowdrops.............

Then the pigs !! I believe the pigs help to keep the ground clear to allow the bulbs to grow without ivy and weeds to restrict them. Of course there had to be cute small ones !!!.....................

Lastly, of course, there is the shop ! On the wall of the 'snowdrop shop' is a magnificent quilt with snowdrops as the motifs and the various greens in the colour scheme.................

There was a very cold wind that morning so we were glad to visit the local coffee shop on the way home !

I did set up my rigid heddle loom while we were away. I had been inspired by a project posted by Jeen on Ravelry. She had explained in detail how to weave houndstooth checks on a rigid heddle loom and I had decided to try it out. I used 14/2 alpaca and silk in a blue and a green. Two warp threads of each colour and then two weft picks of each colour repeated. My first attempt was disappointing, no checks to be seen. I realised that I was beating the yarn to death as usual. I took it out and started again trying to just place the weft threads without too much pressure. things improved and I began to get a suspicion of checks ! I think the design probably works better with a thicker yarn but hopefully when this is washed and fulled a bit the houndstooth check will appear. I have only woven 24" so still a long way to go before I know the answer but this is how it looks now........................

I was able to finish my Danish jacket and sew it together. Although the sleeves were a challenge to set in place I was quite pleased with the end result. I think it will be very wearable and I should get a lot of use out of it. The Shetland yarn certainly softened up after it was washed and the drape around the bottom improved a great deal. I laid it out to dry on a towel overnight and that worked well, no need to iron it.

 So here we are modelled in our kitchen at Crail where the light was just right !..........................

Now Ellen will notice that her Drall linen tea towel is in use ! Susan, yours was in the wash !!

That is my story for this week I think. There is a new warp wound onto the back beam of my Spring but that can wait until next time ! 

Many thanks for visiting, hope you have enjoyed another instalment in my crafting journey !