Random blanket/shawls/runners

When I started this project (in 2016!), I fully intended to weave a third panel and sew them together to make a blanket. I'm not sure what happened, but I ran out of steam (and maybe yarn). The first two panels hung in the closet, awaiting their fate. The cover of a recent Little Looms gave me the idea to reframe them as shawls. My daughter, however, thinks they would do better as table runners.

Pattern: Random-striped Blanket, from Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom, by Syne Mitchell
Weave structure: Plain weave
Loom: Ashford 24" rigid heddle
Warp: Yarn leftover from this vest
Weft: More yarn left over from the above mentioned vest, plus some similar yarn in natural or white
EPI/PPI: 7.5/7.5 (theoretically)
Ends: 166
Finished size: 45" x 18" each (not including fringe)


Finishing these two panels involved twisting a LOT of fringe.

I have no idea where my notes are for this project. For the vest, I developed a spreadsheet, which provided some input for these two panels. But otherwise, the details are lost to history. (If I ever come across those notes, maybe I'll update this post.)

This project was one of my first. There are a few floats, but otherwise it turned out surprising good. The yarn fulled nicely, too. I may still stitch the panels together, as they would make a lovely, if narrow, lap robe.

Dumb luck rainbow shawl

After completing the floor runner which was mostly brown, brown, brown, I needed some color. So I took the Kauni yarn I had purchased many years ago for scarves and wove a wrap with it. I wanted something warm but light weight, and this fit the bill.

Weave structure: plain weave with twisted fringe
Loom: Ashford 24" rigid heddle
Yarn: Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn EQ (rainbow), for both warp and weft
EPI/PPI: 10 and 10
Finished size: 21" x 60" plus fringe (210g total weight)

Before starting, I took a gander at Ravelry to see other woven projects using this yarn. Thus, I was forewarned that the yarn is sticky plus there was a likelihood that the colorway was not consistent. I contemplated deconstructing the skein, but decided to just chance it.

The warp wasn't quite centered on the loom, but I managed to get two complete sets of the 12 colors, plus a third pass of violet. I wasn't quite so lucky on the weft, managing one pass of 11 colors before I ran out of shed. Close enough!

I used an overcast stitch to secure each end of the shawl. I can't emphasize enough just how helpful the book Finishing Touches for the Handweaver, by Virginia M. West, has been. If you weave, find yourself a copy. I'm fortunate in that my weaving guild library has one, as does the local public library.

Another handy tool is a fringe twister. After a couple of false starts, I used this gadget to twist four strands per alligator clip, then reverse twisted each pair, again using the fringe twister. It looks like I S-twisted first, then Z-twisted. No matter. I do count the number of twists to keep each piece of fringe consistent. I also use a ruler when knotting the ends, to keep them (relatively) even.

Once the fringe was trimmed (using yet MORE useful tools, a rotary cutter and self-healing cutting board), I soaked it in my washer. No, I didn't agitate, but I did add some Eucalan, as the yarn is rather coarse. I did not rinse, but I did spin the shawl. Drying under a ceiling fan was very quick.

We are currently having a heat wave, but I may just wear this baby around my air conditioned house, to gauge its warmth and just because I love it.

I still struggle with my weaving, especially the warping of the loom and keeping selvages clean, but only by weaving will I improve. There are a few floats, but otherwise a successful project.

Weave, wove, woven

I finished my first weaving project, which started out as a test run but now looks like something. My first thought was, I can always use it as a table runner. But while knotting the fringe, I had the piece draped across my bare legs. Mmmm! So warm! So maybe it is a scarf or a small shawl?

Pattern: none.
Yarn: Leftovers from the Pinwheel sweater and Fuzzy Feet and the Mitered Crosses blanket
Loom: Ashford 24" rigid heddle, 7.5 sett
Finished size: 49.5" length (plus fringe), 10" width (more or less)

I obviously have some learning to do. The edges are not even, especially where I got in a hurry. Also, there is one missed warp, which of course stands out like a neon sign in outer space. All in all, I think it is not a bad start, though.

Of course, I had some assistance from the *other* helpful weaving cat in this household. Maybe Finn thinks the scarf/shawl is for him?

The trouble with shawls

Most shawl patterns start with about 3 stitches. Initial progress seems rapid, despite the increase rows. But once there are over 200 stitches on the needles, things bog down a bit.

The photo above was taken around row 98, 223 stitches. I'm now on row 112, 247 stitches. The finished shawl will be 176 rows, 391 stitches. Gah.

KIPing, WIPs, and a new tool

Ordinarily, I am not shy about knitting in public. In fact, I find it the perfect activity when stuck somewhere, waiting, waiting, waiting. The other day, the waiting occurred in the car dealer's lounge, while my Honda CRV had its allegedly defective air bag replaced. Yet, I was hoping no one would start up a conversation with, "So. What are you making?" When others ask that, they expect to hear something like "sweater" or "baby blanket" or "afghan". But I was working on a curtain for my master bath. To another knitter, it makes perfect sense to knit a curtain or a towel or a golf club cover, but others immediately want to know WHY IN THE WORLD you would knit something so easily purchased?!?

I have to admit that, while working on this particular item, the same question sometimes occurs to me. It's a lot of knitting that is not all that interesting, in a yarn I don't particular like working with. The wrong side rows are all purl, another aspect I don't like. BUT. I am convinced that I will like the result. So I force encourage myself to knit a bit on it every day.

The denim curtain is an indication that my knitting mojo is returning. Starting a shawl is another sign. I'm not much of a shawl wearer. However, on our trip to NYC, when in an environment that felt a little chilly but not cold enough for a sweater, I was wishing I had a light shawl, like several of the women I saw who were smarter than me about AC in airports. There even was a pattern in my Ravelry queue, one that also designated which yarn from my stash to use. Kismet.

Like most shawls, it doesn't look like much at the outset. Knit from (splitty) alpaca, it may also be too warm for summer use. Knitting ten rows of garter at a sitting is a snap right now,but I'm sure it will devolve into drudgery when those rows are hundreds of stitches long. However, I am again convinced that I will like the results.

The above project required a trip to Simply Socks to purchase some new circs. (Although basically an online venue, their brick-and-mortar store is open one day a week.) While there, I also bought this sock ruler.

I don't know why someone has not thought of this handy little tool before. Or, more honestly, I wish I had thought of this. As far as I know, Simply Socks is its only vendor.

How's your summer knitting going?