At the start of NEWS, we stopped at WEBS.
Oh. My. Word.
I expected great yarn and a big store.....I didn't realize just how great the yarn or the store would be.
So fun!
I rummaged around in the warehouse for hours, and among other goodies I scooped up, I found this group of yarns that I thought would look great together as a scarf.
I wanted it to be a woven scarf, and I wanted the yarns to run lengthwise in the scarf.
Seems simple enough, right?
Sometimes things aren't as simple as they appear.
Finally, years later, I'm actually ready to cut this yarn and make the scarf.
When I posted last week about taking risks, this project is what I had in mind. I've heard from multiple weavers that these yarns just won't work. I also feel like these yarns somewhat defy the New England weaving aesthetic. (Hey - I'm not a native. What can I say??? Although my New England roots run deep from generations before me, including many relatives who were involved in woolen mills.)
Inspiration:
- The beauty of these colors
- The joy I felt during my first visit to WEBS and my first NEWS experience
- The textures and irregularity of these yarns
- Create the scarf of my dreams
- Use up the yarn (seriously - I don't like to have bits of this and that left over)
- If I have enough warp to make another scarf or two, that's cool too.
- See my first strong design idea through to a scarf that I'm happy with
- Weave in plain weave - using just 2 shafts as the first step in my 2->12 series
Now to figure out how to turn these raw materials into a scarf that I can wrap myself in to stay warm, comfy and energized all winter.
11 comments:
It will be a beautiful scarf. and with some very gentle handling, I don't see why it wouldn't work. Texsolv heddles or inserted eye? Or will you tie generously sized string heddles and put up with a narrow shed in exchange for less abrasion on the warp? So many questions.
Enjoy every minute of it.
It's a beautiful way to commemorate your first visit to WEBS. I can't imagine how it would feel to walk into the huge store for the first time. I have known the Elkins family since the mid 1970's when the store was a fraction of its current size, and have seen it grow to what it is today.
I applaud you for selecting that harmony of yarns and colors from an impossible selection. I couldn't have done it.
My Toika countermarche loom has Texsolv heddles - so both the countermarche mechanism pulling the threads apart, and the heddle material should make this warp felt and fuzz less than when I did a small sample on my baby wolf.
That's cool that you've known the Elkins for a long time! I somehow thought that the store had always been large and fun.
Sharon - Well, I bought lots of yarn - making it more likely that some of it would match!!!
Sue
Be sure and post the adventure for us-the project looks to be exciting!
WEBS, ha! Ohmyword is right. ;-) Overwhelming to say the very least. You'll be fine with that mixed warp, really really. Pick the quietest of the mix for weft, open sett to allow the variation to come through of the warp and try not to put too much of the same thing together but break it up with the strongest, most stable of the yarns if you can. You might want to take a look at the book Creative Weaving by Howard and Kendrick. It's all simple weaves ( tabby) using a wide variety of mixed warps. Total eye candy and you will be able to see how those warps turned out. My only complaint with the book is every shot is a close up. I want to see the finished product in a long shot for overall effect, but for what you want to do, even just flipping through this at the store should provide inspiration and encouragement! It's going to be lovely I know it.
Excellent!!! I think it will be a great scarf - I also like the fact of using plainweave with all the textures - just let the tectures come through! And remember with plain weave that you can do a little tapestry weaving - i.e. the yarn does not always have to go from selvedge to selvedge....
I definitely need to find that book Theresa!! Thanks for the recommendation!! Maybe at my weaving guild meeting next week even. That would be cool!
Jennifer - thanks for the great idea about the clasped weft. I have 2 yarns that look great together that I want to use as weft - a pink and a purple - and the clasped weft idea is a cool one!
Sue
I believe in you and I think this a very interesting selection of yarns! Look forward to seeing the result.
-Annie
Thanks so much for your vote of confidence!! I see from your blog that you've just finished a scarf with some similar colors. Love it!!
Sue
I learned a new term - clasped weft - hah! Every day's a school day! have fun!
That will be a stunning scarf - I love the colors and textures! I want to see it finished...
Isn't WEBS a hoot!
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