Super Saturday

Occasionally the weaving guild has what we call a "Super Saturday" to cover topics that are too big for a program during a meeting. Today's was a demonstration on how to warp a floor loom front-to-back and back-to-front. My goal before the demo was to assemble the Ideal loom that has been lying in pieces in the garage.

Mission accomplished!

It's not completely together - I didn't tighten the bolts and have not figured out the crank handles and it needs a good cleaning - but at least it is in a recognizable format now.

Even though I have three (3!) warping boards, I don't use them and don't plan to. Instead, I ordered a spool rack from Ability Weavers and a EEW Yarn Counter from Dreaming Robots. The demo today started with yarn that had been wound on a warping board, yet I still picked up a lot of good tips and tricks for warping and weaving that can even be applied to rigid heddle weaving.

Hint #1: If you have a metal reed, use a refrigerator magnet to mark where to start warping.

Hint #2: To eliminate loom waste at the beginning of the warp, attach a leader to the warp bundles and tie that onto the beam.

This photo shows the leash sticks that are used to help with warp tension. They flopped all over the place, which surprised me, as I try to keep tensioning devices tied down. I have a lot of leash sticks, so now I know how to use them.

As we stood around the looms and watched the weavers work, we all chatted, sharing ergonomic tips and such. It was a relaxed and enjoyable way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning.

Knitting: While I work on the quirky socks, I listen to The Lost Flock, by Jane Cooper, read by the author. I also finished some holiday ornaments; see below.
Weaving: After the demo, I felt inspired to wrestle with the double-weave project I've been working on to demo at the rigid heddle weaving study group.

The fiber arts clubs meets in the classroom at a local gallery. The gallery doesn't charge us a fee, so as a thank you, some of us made ornaments for their holiday fund raiser. I knit tiny sweaters based on this pattern, using leftover sock yarn, and bought doll clothes hangers for them.

Ribbed collar, cuffs, hem

Garter collar, cuffs, hem

Rolled collar, cuffs, hem

For scale

These were simple to knit, so now I am thinking of making more for little holiday gifts, when you don't want to arrive empty handed but you don't want to make a big deal out of the gift.