Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Monday, January 21, 2013

Give Away Creation Begins

This posting is part of the Grow Your Blog Event.
  Introduction to this event and to me can be found here.

As part of the Grow Your Blog Event, I am holding a give away.  The details of how to participate can be found here, but in truth, it is simple.

Leave a comment on any of my posts from January 18 up to mid-night on January 31 - and you are automatically entered.  No anonymous comments accepted. 
 Leave your blog or email address in the comment.
Names will be put into a basket and one person will be selected to win this hand woven scarf. 

And now to give you the first update on the prize I am creating.

The fun part of weaving comes after a lot of preparatory steps.  
Here is a quick pictorial tour of how it is done.

The yarn is prepped by making them into yarn balls.

The warping yarn is threaded into the rigid heddle reed slots.
As a novice weaver, I keep reference material handy to be sure I have the steps correct.
Keep threading the yarn through the slots until the width you want is reached.
The warp yarn is  barber pole style.

Once all the slots are filled, the holes are threaded as well.

Then the majority of the yarn is wound on to the back beam
and the front ends are tied to the front beam.

The weft or weaving yarn is wound onto a shuttle.

The yarn in the holes and in the slots is separated by moving the reed up and down
 creating a shed or space to pass the shuttle through.
The white yarn will be removed and discarded when the weaving is complete.
It serves to even out the warp threads so they are more parallel.

And then after a bit magic happens!
:-)
Ok, that was impossibly brief!  Bunches of steps were left out.  To technical to show it all.  Most of the readers would have clicked off the page is I showed everything.  But it does give you the flavor of the process and a peek at how the weaving material will look when completed.

I like the way the colors are turning out.

We will do another update in a week.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks unbelievably complicated....I love the colours.

Elderberry-Rob said...

FAbulous - it's going to be in my favourite colour, purple. I will leave a commenton the original post as would certainly like to be your winner. I just been browsing here (thankyou for visiting me) your hobby looks very rewarding. Have put myself as a follower as will enjoy seeing your beautiful crafts. Betty

Linda said...

Looks GREAT and I will get to see it this weekend!

Carolyn said...

What a generous prize for your Give Away! Looks like you are off to a great start. I like the colors, too.

Art and Sand said...

Years ago I took a fun art class at the community college. It involved clay, some drawing, and weaving. In class we built a primitive loom - nails all around the frame. I had forgotten how much fun that was and have no idea what ever happened to the loom.

I wondered why you retired from knitting. Now I understand.

Barb said...

That appears to be complicated and a lot of work. So generous of you to offer as a giveaway. The colors are fabulous.

Housewife59 said...

It is interesting to see the process involved in weaving. Thank you

Glad to have found your blog

Lesley

Elizabeth Duvall said...

Beautiful loom! Lovely to meet you at Sip & Knit today.

Michelle said...

Hi Elaine, I followed your comment on my blogpal Kelly's blog (OK Acres Shetlands) back to your blog and am glad I did! I, too, joined Vicki's GYB Party but haven't worked my way through her long list. Only so much time in the day with homeschooling my son, taking care of the animals, doing a little work on the side, and knitting and spinning when I can. Anyway, happy to make your acquaintance and look forward to reading more.

Michelle at Boulderneigh, www.boulderneigh.blogspot.com

hueisei said...

Thanks for sharing the weaving steps. Love the colors. Hard to find it in my place.

Debbie said...

so nice to meet you via the GYB party! You have a great blog! I look forward to following your blog.

Patty C. said...

Nice to meet you! How amazing- i truly enjoyed the weaving photos & i think a hand woven scarf would be such a treasure!!!

And- bulldogs- just darling!

Kelly said...

Your dogs are adorable!! And they are obviously not spoiled at all. :)
I see you paid my blog a visit, so here I am enjoying yours. Lovely mini workshop on the weaving process, that's a great idea.
Kelly
okacres.com

Laurie said...

I am SO IMPRESSED by weavers. It just looks so hard...and what an ancient art!

Noofy said...

Looks like something for someone with a lot of patience, certainly not me. You are amazing, how do you follow all that from a book? I couldn't follow it if you were standing next to me telling me how to do it. Did I mention purple is my favorite color, and I love scarves? :)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You really are talented and patient! What a beautiful product your work produces though!

Denise Bryant said...

This is going to be lovely! Thanks for sharing the process!
DeniseB
deniseb777ATgmailDOTcom

katica said...

Thank you for sharing how these are made! The colours are just lovely!

Kati