Castle Farms Fiber Arts Show

This weekend, I’ll be sharing my wares with fiber afficionodos at the Fiber Arts Festival at Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan. Click here for more info!  Lots of shopping… Think Christmas!

Port Huron - Sun & Water - Almost like being on vacation!

This past weekend I had a show spent on the Port Huron Blue Water River. I watched pleasure boats and barges all weekend. Nice way to spend the time.

Plaid Brushed Mohair on the loom

Mohair is not the easiest fiber to weave. But because i love the end results, i’m determined to work out the nuances so that it isn’t a battle. Although I’ve woven many shawl and scarf sizes, the throws are proving to be more difficult. The fiber sticks together in the heedle area creating floats. Once i figured that out, things went a little more smoothly. Beaming the back beam with the warp was still problematic, even with bathing the warp chain in starch. I’m willing to try anything, so if anyone has some ideas, let me know and i’ll blog about the process and progress!

More bamboo on the loom

I am doing the bamboo shawl in the same pattern as the natural bamboo shawl i finished a couple weeks ago. Once i threaded the natural 1000 threads, i wanted to save time rethreading and resleying the loom. So i simply tied on to the old warp. It’s faster for me to sit in the loom and tie knots than follow the pattern. This is such a pretty pattern and works well with this fiber -  

Weaving the mohair throw

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The mohair is on, and the weaving isn’t as terrible as i anticipated. not nearly as bad as beaming it! It’s not without a learning curve. My number one salvation was a bottle of no more tangles! Will try again - in the not so distant future…

Sticky Wicket!

Well, I certainly learned a few lessons while plain beaming my mira with brushed mohair. I have done tons of mohair but never at this width. 1) use sticks, not paper. 2) keep plenty of hair spray on hand. This warp was easy to wind, but beaming took me 3 hours for 6 yards because the threads caught on each other at the cross…i basically beamed 4 inches (the space between the lease sticks) at a time!!

I’m nervous about the warp behaving badly on the weaving side of things. I’m hopeful the counterbalance shed action will keep me sane. I’ll keep you posted!

Bamboo on the big loom

After hours of beaming, threading and sleying, it took me 2-1/2 hours to repair crossed warp ends in the reed, or mis-threads before i could begin weaving! Consider there are over 1000 threads, 8 or 9 mistakes is not that bad….you ask…that few mistakes and 2-1/2 hours to repair.??, the thread is extremely fine, and it being natural in color proved to be testing for me… Nothing a glass of wine didn’t help afterward! The project at hand is a natural bamboo shawl. It’s a huck lace 8 shaft pattern.

Chenille on the loom

I know I said I was off chenille for a spell, but the colors get me every now and again. Wanted to try the new flyshuttle on my mira with a quick project so i dressed her with a 6 yard warp. I like pink and brown together and think this is turning out to be a pretty combo. Going to finish warping my big loom with bamboo. Finished threading my 1000 threads and am ready to tie on! More to come.

Weave a Mohair Scarf

Saturday I held a Weave a Mohair Scarf in One Day. Whew. I was getting nervous, thinking I might have over night guests,  but at 6 pm, the last student gathered their freshly washed and brushed scarf and left for home. The day started around 8:30 and there was very little lolly gagging. They measured their warp, beamed it, threaded and wove it - I served a lunch which was a nice respite from the intensity of learning and doing. It was for me, a very nice day and think everyone enjoyed the experience. - Everyone seemed pleased with their scarf. If you have an interest in learning to weave, I offer weekend retreats, 1 day workshops, and six weekly consecutive 3 hour classes. Please contact me for more information. Mary Rios

Only way to fly!!

Flyshuttle on my Leclerc Mira OMG! I couldn’t be happier! I found (or rather he found me, searching for a used flyshuttle) a brilliant furniture maker that makes magnificent loom pieces!! His name is Tim Rumbinas. He lives in Vermont. Recently I commissioned him to make for me, a flying shuttle for my Mira counterbalance loom. This officially takes my “score” of the century (purchased the loom and bench for $45 at an auction) into a new level. Originally I thought I’d just keep the loom as is. But when i saw the potential of this little gem, i’ve slowly been changing out old, frayed, broken parts bringing it to life! It’s actually one of the most pleasurable looms I’ve woven on. And with the new flyshuttle, it’s a new loom indeed. Tim is a wealth of knowledge on looms, and I imagine most things in life. I’m going to have him help me with a shed regulator as soon as I fully understand what it will do for me.. The flyshuttle Tim made is the utmost quality, and beauty. He created a handturned handle that is a piece of art. It took less than 15 minutes to change out the beater assembly… and this was while the loom was fully warped, threaded, and sleyed. I had actually started weaving, but when I got the new flyshuttle, it got the best of me. I actually installed it while warped, just slid the sleyed reed in the new beater bar! It was that easy. I told Tim that I changed it out while I was waiting for a graphic file to upload to a printer! If all things could work as well! Thanks Tim Rumbinas!