Category: Handspun Textured Yarn

Vintage Kitchen Decoration

Vintage Kitchen Decoration

Posted on by Melisa

It is so pretty that I decided I just must SEE it every day!!

Heart Shaped Vintage Chair

I found this stunning Heart shaped chair recently and thought it paired perfectly with my Missouri Loom. I have found vintage chairs are a better fit for me than most modern chairs. The seat height is many times 19-20 inches which works so much better for my long legs.

This meant it had to be in my breakfast nook with a table and chairs set. The space really isn’t big enough for a table and chairs let alone a loom and chair as well.

This posed an interesting dilemma. I had to think creatively outside of the box for a solution. Working with small spaces many times requires a bit of trial and error to make things fit.

Missouri Loom and vintage Heart Shaped Chair

I started first with the loom and heart shaped chair.

I put all new heddles on all 4 harness of the loom. Both texsolv and inserted eye. I wanted to move away from the flat metal heddles that came on the loom.

I also changed out the 15 dent reed to a 8 dent reed. Now I can weave with medium and bulky textured yarn that I handspin. If I get into super Bulky handspun Textured yarn, I can change the reed out to my 4 dent reed for an even wider sett.

This is going to be fun. I got that part done now. It is so cute, cozy and don’t you think it is just PERFECT??

The next step was the table and chairs. The fact that it is only the two of us made it easier. We do not need a big table or a lot of space for two people. I setteled on a 30 inch diameter vintage side table. It is supposed to be a side table, but it is 30 inches high like any other table…so I am not caring.

Vintage Table and Spider Back Chairs

I found these 2 chairs from 2 different sellers almost 2 years apart. So this has been a long time in the making for this decoration. I really like the spider back chairs and their velvet softness with the warm wood. Which is why I think I am not completely finished as I must now paint that table. The cool gray with all the warm colors around it is just WRONG!! It will have to do for now though.

All together

Here is everything altogether. The weaving loom, new heart shaped chair, along with the new dinningroom table and chairs. It is all stuffed into a dinning nook barely big enough for the teensy table. Yes, it is a bit “close”. But I can move around it, and it doesn’t look awful.

Morag, the red tri border collie even has her hidey hole blanket down the back of the loom still. You can see her in one of the photos. Can you find her?

And even better yet, it lets me have my weaving loom and heart chair where I can see both every single day. There is a much better chance of some textured weaving happening. I am going still going to use that handspun bulky yarn yet.

This is right next to the cozy dinning in my cozy kitchen. My small space in my small house. Doesn’t everyone have a weaving loom in their dinning nook WITH the table and chairs?

Ps. I still have to paint that dang gray table. Pop a comment down below. Tell me what you think of it all together. And tell me…what color SHOULD the table be??

Ocean Wave Textured Yarn Shawl AR1WP0001WEA

Ocean Wave Textured Yarn Shawl AR1WP0001WEA

Posted on by Melisa

Ocean Waves Textured Shawl off the loom and finished. Handwoven from hand dyed handspun Textured yarn. Most of the Textured yarn is Lockspun from Leicester and Teeswater longwool locks.

Ocean Wave Shawl 1

This is me back weaving again after a long vacation from most of my looms. This my first one just off the loom. I thought I was going to hate the colors at first when I started to weave, but it is growing on me. I did try an experiment with 2 rows of nothing but locks to see if it will look great. I think it added some pizazz!

Close up texture Ocean Waves Shawl

Still working on some of the last of a Border Leicester x Gotland lamb fleece, with some Teeswater and Leicester Longwool locks I have dyed up and ready to spin. All the weft is my handspun and hand dyed textured yarns. The two I used the most of in this weaving are Seabreeze Textured Yarn and Summer Forest Textured Yarn. The warp is some of my own homegrown merino and mohair left from my time out in Colorado. All the yarn that is not turquoise is lock spun from same locks in the 2 rows and plyed with a lace weight Angora rabbit yarn.

Drying outside after washing

It was going to be either a shawl or a bag for my new 20 inch ocean drum. I could not make up my mind which until it was off the loom and depends on how it acts after being washed, fulled and dried. It took two days to wash, soak, dry and decide. I think it is a shawl.

Oceans Wave Shawl is now listed in the shop for sale. This is very unique Textured weaving that will not last long. There is only one. Shop link in the menu top. Direct link is HERE! The shawl is in the Wearables section. Hurry!

Now I have to warp up the loom and weave another because I really do need that bag for my new Ocean Drum.

Rolags, Blending Boards and Textured Yarn Spinning

Rolags, Blending Boards and Textured Yarn Spinning

Posted on by Melisa

I made a new colorway on my blending board of my Rolag Hybrid. I am calling it Silver Gray Sparkles.

Silver Gray Sparkles is a smooth sparkling rolag batt. No locks or chunky bits….just tons of sparkle and various smooth fibers. My Rolag is a hybrid of a layered batt and rolag.

Silver Gray Sparkle Rolag

I layer my fibers on my blending board without packing them down into the blending board teeth. I use the dowels to roll up the rolag without drafting through the inner fibers. I only draft at the end of the roll to secure the rolag closed. It is best spun from the end in 2-4 inch rolled up sections pulled off the roll while still rolled up. Picture taking a BIG piece of a jelly roll cake…but still rolled up. I have found sections larger than that a bit much to handle in my hand. If temperatures or humidity is high, there is a risk of felting that is possible while holding a large rolag for a longer period of time.

On the blending board

I let the rolag sit for a while trying to decide if I wanted to spin, felt or sell them. I decided to spin these all up this week into 2 large skeins. Each skein is a 2 ply and spiral plyed. Each skein has one of the plys as this silver gray sparkle rolag hybrid. It is a blend of numerous fibers such as Merino, Black Dyed Tussah Silk, Gotland, Masham, and White Firestar.

Each of the 2 yarns is one ply of the above rolag with the other ply being different in each skein. The lighter color skein was plyed with a 2 ply fine silk thread and done as an extreme spiral yarn. The darker skein was plyed with a handspun bamboo ply. Both skeins are a textured yarn with that homespun feel.

Dark skein
Light skein

I am a bit stunned how intensely different the two skeins look and feel. The darker skein with the bamboo ply is very heavy weight wise. And with so much bamboo in it, it took forever to dry! I have been staring at them for a while now trying to decide how to use them.

I need help. What do you think?

I really think I want to weave a wider scarf on my 16 inch rigid heddle loom. But past that I am stuck.

I think if I use one skein for weft and one for warp that the difference between the skeins will be lost.

So do I warp up with :

1. A white warp and weave strips?

2. A white warp and weave 2 separate scarves?

3. A white warp and weave 2 scarves alternating both skeins and afterwards seam 2 scarves together and make a shawl?

4. A white warp and weave 2 scarves with just one skein in each. So have a light and dark scarves than seam those into a shawl??

5. A dark warp and than where the heck do I go?

6. Just keep staring at them and weave nothing?

See why I need help?? Comment below your thoughts.