Sunday, February 7, 2010

Scarfaweekend



This week has been pretty busy, what with the eBay book auctions for the guild (and me) ending every day of the week, plus getting ready for the weekend workshop.

Somehow I never seemed to have a lot of time to get to the loom(s). :(

I did manage to finish off the placemat warp, weaving a mat or two here and there, and then got a silk scarf warp wound and onto the loom Friday. I started weaving last night after class and got about half of it woven before my energy totally petered out. But it's looking nice and will make a good sample of the 2/20 silk yarn I've been dyeing. The weft is Bambu 12 black.

I decided to take my rigid heddle loom up to the guild room and worked on that while the students worked on their looms. With only two students, if I don't have something to do myself I tend to hover overmuch, which is not good for the students.

Since I'd woven a scarf at craft drop-in on Wednesday we wet finished that scarf so that they would know how to wet finish. I didn't quite get the scarf on the rigid heddle loom finished today, so I left it at the guild room to finish Tuesday night at spin-in.

Since I'm pretty tired I don't think I'll fire up the AVL - rather I'll go work on finishing the silk scarf and cone off two more skeins of a different colourway to pop into the loom as soon as the blue/black warp is done.

Currently reading Poltergeist by Kat Richardson (this series is set in Seattle and since I know some of the neighbourhoods and landmarks she mentions, it's kind of fun)

6 comments:

Janet said...

Scarf Scarf Scarf Scarf Scarf Scarf! That dark blue one (the silk one?) is gorgeous. Looks like you've gotten more scarf weaving done in the past coupla days even with your workshops than I have without. Good to see Scarfaday's happening somewhere, even if it ain't here!

How did the workshop go? How many students did you have? What did they weave?

Laura Fry said...

There were just the two - one from Smithers, one from Kispiox. :) There were supposed to be 3 but the local gal had to cancel out. :(

It was a beginning workshop, so they just learned how to set up the loom and started weaving some samples.

One already has a loom, the other bid on one last night hoping the owner will ship it to her via Greyhound. :)

They both have CD Weaver III so they will have some handy reference materials and of course they can contact me via email for questions etc.

Cheers,
Laura

Sharon Schulze said...

Ok, this may be a strange question but do you or any other readers have a suggestion on how to figure out what makes a good scarf? I understand how to think about shawls or blankets or other functional pieces. But in North Carolina scarves aren't really functional in the same way that towels (or even blankets) are. Or maybe I just don't wear enough scarves myself?

But I have an urge to weave scarves as part of my year of color study and I'm not sure how to start. Would looking at some books help? I think I might be asking for help in understanding the essential nature of a scarf. Oh my. Too much Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? HAHA

Laura Fry said...

Hi Sharon,

For me a scarf is pretty much a miniature shawl. I don't usually make cold weather scarves, but fashion accessory type things. Therefore I use things like the Bambu, Tencel, and silk. Fibres with good drape and sheen.

But scarves are very personal. You might find that you get good feedback from people who wear scarves, or examine fashion scarves that people are wearing.

Cheers,
Laura

Sharon said...

The things you share are so unique. At your suggestion I sought out and followed your video suggestions on how to weave effectively. I had no idea you were supposed to rock backwards when you pull the shed. It has made such a difference on the back strain. Thank you.

Laura Fry said...

Well, I don't know that you are *supposed* to rock back and forth - I just found that my body did that naturally and it felt comfortable so.....make sure that you have a good pelvic tilt - sit up on your hips, not your tailbone.

Cheers,
Laura