We are past due for a WAL.  So, I suggest we work on a design focused project using stripes.  I am fascinated by stripes and am just finishing a plaid scarf that I sampled for differential shrinkage.  The sample was not impressive but if there is just a little difference in the warp and weft stripes to create some ruffling after wet finishing, I'll be happy.

So, I'm thinking, after reading Amelia's post about stripes and the interesting responses, it's time for a crazy stripes WAL.  It'll be an exercise in planning, sampling, warping and weaving.

Who'e on?  Starting April 30th?  What do you say?

Claudia

Comments

Mon, 03/28/2011 - 13:49

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

I'm very busy with work and many personal changes, BUT I love to have some distraction and this WAL looks like a good chance for it. :-)

It's possible that I can't finish my project in time, but I will try. Besides, I am not sure, if I can wait till 30th April to start. ;-)

In simple terms: I'am in!

At the moment, I am thinking of some regular stripes, mixed with an irregular weave structure...

Tue, 03/29/2011 - 01:50

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Oh, that's a good idea.  Hmm, were you thinking of a warp or weft faced structure?  I love lace weaves but not sure they mix well with stripes.  It may be too much going on at the same time.

Claudia

Tue, 03/29/2011 - 08:02

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Oh no, I never made lace before, so that would be too much for me. No, I thought about pile loops, forming a motive that stands out of the striped background. I am not sure, what looks more interesting - striped warp or striped weft... this is one of the things I want to find out. :-) Spontaneously, I would tend to a balanced weave.

Did you think about the same project for all of the WAL-participants or just one common theme (stripes)?

Tue, 03/29/2011 - 14:26

Claudia Segal (not verified)

I think one common theme and then we each take it where we want from there.  But that's just my opinion.  I would love to hear from more people.  We have almost 800 members in this group.  

I'm going to cross post this WAL in Weaving and do a "calling all RH weavers'.  Some people may want to use this WAL to submit for the Cotton Clouds contest.  Did you see that?

Claudia

Tue, 03/29/2011 - 14:40

QuakerWeaver (not verified)

I've never done a WAL before --it took me a bit to figure out what WAL meant!--But that's what comes from weaving in isolation, I guess. Looking forward to playing with stripes and weaving with others.

Tue, 03/29/2011 - 19:08

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Hi Claudia! Yes, I've seen the contest, but using Tahki yarns here in Germany seems to be very difficult, because I didn't find a shop that sells them and ordering in the US is expensive and will possibly take too long - I doubt that I could finish this project till 1st May. :-(

For me, "stripes" is a good task for this WAL (Weave-a-long) and gives everybody the opportunity to get one's best out of the theme. I am very curious, what others will do... :-)

Anja

 

Wed, 03/30/2011 - 17:51

jennyheard (not verified)

I'm ready for a WAL, especially on design and stripes. 

Jenny

Tue, 04/05/2011 - 15:45

sewdoggie (not verified)

My loom gets here tomorrow, as does my book, so if all goes well, I'm up for this! Maybe lace is beyond what my loom will do? I'll have to look into it.

Wed, 04/06/2011 - 12:51

Claudia Segal (not verified)

The focus is stripes and plain weave offers lots of opportunities.

Glad you'll be able to join us.

Claudia

Wed, 04/06/2011 - 19:03

sewdoggie (not verified)

Please see this as a newbie asking (cause I am), but I saw your other announcement for this as being warp stripes. Therefore the weft is a solid? omg, I am so inexperienced, but as with everything, I'm self taught and wing it to begin with.

Wed, 04/06/2011 - 19:06

sewdoggie (not verified)

ugh, I think I see the effect if weft were striped too, it would then be plaid? Do WALs have a certain structure,  like only begin on day x and have finished by a specific date?

Fri, 04/08/2011 - 03:54

Spindledreams (not verified)

Do we have to have real stripes in the warp or weft.  Or could we use stripes of lace or pattern or ????

Fri, 04/08/2011 - 12:11

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Any stripes work.  It's the fun of working together and sharing our experience.  It you prefer weft stripes, lace stripes, anything goes.

Claudia

Sat, 04/09/2011 - 01:41

Cheekyredhead (not verified)

I'm currently spinning some space dyed fiber.  I've divided the roving length wise but not to thinly so that I have long lengths of color.  I plan to Navajo ply the single.  I want to weave with a solid color so that I get a striped look.  Claudia, will this work for the WAL?

 

Sat, 04/09/2011 - 03:07

71Bear (not verified)

okay I will ask the question, whats a WAL? Becky
Sat, 04/09/2011 - 04:34

francorios (not verified)

Weave-A-Long

 

Have a good day!

Sat, 04/09/2011 - 11:37

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Your spinning sounds wonderful.  I have several small amounts of roving and want to do the same thing but not in time for this WAL.  Yes, absolutely, use that for the WAL!  Please post pictures of the yarn once it's done.  You can put it in your stash.  We have a manufacturer category for hand made so use that in the Manufacturer when you enter it in the yarn.

Claudia

Sat, 04/09/2011 - 13:27

illoominated (not verified)

Count me in...if this is really open-ended, I'm going to try to create stripes with a deflected warp yarn.  (See p. 129 of The Weaver's Idea Book)  I'll use the piece as an opportunity to learn about using pick-up sticks.  However, for those of you doing stripes in the weft...I'll love hearing about how you handle those selvedges.

Sun, 04/10/2011 - 02:37

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Great, it's now almost T (time to start) minus 21 days or three weeks so start planning and get those cameras charged.  We want pictures throughout the process.  

Ooops, I better finish what is on my loom and get planning myself.  I knew i forgot something.

Claudia

Sun, 04/10/2011 - 15:50

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Do you want the WAL to start in this thread or begin a new one?

Tue, 04/12/2011 - 05:36

JuliaT (not verified)

I've never done a WAL, and this sounds like fun...I'm in.

Tue, 04/12/2011 - 12:35

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Ok, great.  I am not keeping a list.  This is completely voluntary and anyone can join at any time.  There is no requirement to use a rigid heddle loom, it's nice if that could happen.

After thinking about it for a little while, I will start the WAL on May 1 in a new post in the Rigid Heddlers grop (where we are now).  Perhaps we'll pick up a few more folks to join along and add their two cents.

So, it's not 18 and counting.  Peruse your stash, think about all the different ways stripes can happen and get that loom empty and ready.  We launch in 18 days.

Claudia

Tue, 04/12/2011 - 23:17

sewdoggie (not verified)

Self striping yarn is cheating right?

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 14:13

DebbiRYarn (not verified)

How funny!  I was just about to warp a striped ruana onto my Harp and was wondering whether or not now is the time to try doubleweave.  I've never done it before and it would save me having to functionally weave two shawls and selvedge-join them.  Which, if I lose courage, I may yet do.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 19:03

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Please do the double weave.  I'm sure we will find a few folks on Weavol with experience to help you along.  And, to be honest, I have been anxious to do this myself and haven't been brave enough.  I know what to do and how to do it I just haven't done it.  

Claudia

Sat, 04/16/2011 - 16:39

DebbiRYarn (not verified)

That resonates, let me tell you!  I feel the same way.  But the only way to get on the other side of the fear is to go through it, so....  I did the design work and started warping the Harp last night.  I'll have it warped on today or tomorrow, depending on the weekend's chores, and then to get the pick-up sticks inserted.  Shudder!  I have my copy of The Weaver's Idea Book beside me - all should be well.

Sat, 04/16/2011 - 23:46

71Bear (not verified)

so I am going to make a shawl WOOT
Wed, 04/20/2011 - 15:50

barbarabweaver (not verified)

Probably yes; Classes end April 30th and I'll be ready for some R&R after grading finals!

Wed, 04/20/2011 - 23:50

JuliaT (not verified)

I love the Weaver's Idea book...glad there are so many here who, like me,  have it next to them as they are weaving.  

Fri, 04/22/2011 - 05:12

DebbiRYarn (not verified)

Okay!  After threading the loom twice and inserting the pick-up sticks two or three times each, the project is on the loom and happily weaving off.  It's not fast, I'll say that.  And about 4" into it, I caught the lower layer weft in the upper layer, so I had to unweave four picks on each layer to get back to it and correct it.  Lesson learned: run a pickup stick between the layers often to make sure they're not being accidentally woven together.  And if I had it to do over again, I'd have woven the two-color sampler that every doubleweave book tells you to do, but I'm having fun now.  Photos tomorrow!

Wed, 04/27/2011 - 23:54

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Yay, photos.

We are officially starting in 3 days but I can't wait to see what everyone has begun.  Feel free to add your WAL projects to your Projects folder and posting the links here.  If you feel inclined, add the photos in both places.

For help with the Project page and with adding photos to your comments, please check out the videos and written topics in the Help section.  

Sun, 05/01/2011 - 22:29

JuliaT (not verified)

 My Notes to start my first WAL. I am still learning about drafts...haven't learned how to write those yet, but I write down what I want to do row by row...like a crochet pattern.  Now to warp my loom and get started.  (Maybe it would be good to get some software for laying out weaving patterns...any suggestions?) I would love to see what it looks like before I get it on the loom and then have to unweave it if I don't like it or it doesn't come out as I envisioned it.

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 21:10

illoominated (not verified)

Shall we post updates on this thread, or will there be a different thread to start the "official" beginning of the WAL? 

Tue, 05/03/2011 - 20:07

Erica J

Julia,

Weaving is always exciting, but especially at the beginning when each step is like a grand adventure, not knowing exactly what you'll find around the next bend!

If you have the money to invest in weaing software that's great! If you don't want to spend the money, or even if you do, I would like to share the best advice I was ever given! Your time is more expensive than the yarn, so for every warp, make sure you add enough additional length to sample. Before you start to weave your project do some creative sampling, with rigid heddle weaving at it's basic this just means playing with different weft possiblities. Once you learn a bit about weaving through that you'll see many other possiblities in front of you!

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Erica

Tue, 05/03/2011 - 20:09

Erica J

I'm in I'll be using the card method to make some random stripes. It will be my first time with that method. I've picked a ton of fun colours to play with. I just need to sit down determine an order for them (or decide to literally grab randomly) and get warping!

Hopefully this will start tomorrow!

Thanks for the inspiration to get my 32" Harp back into action!

Cheers,

Erica

Tue, 05/03/2011 - 20:42

Claudia Segal (not verified)

I think we should continue on this post.  so many great ideas have been shared and I find it fun to look back at all of them.

Erica, can you share a bit more about the card method of choosing your colors.  I am doing a random selection from yarns on hand.

Claudia

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 22:00

JuliaT (not verified)

 Here is the start of my Scarf. I am still deciding whether I should go to the outside of the green threads for posies 1 and 3, that way they won't look so bunched up. I had written that I would do ten rows of plain weave in between each bouquet, but I think with the Sugar 'n Cream yarn being as thick as it is I will need to cut that in half, and the posies row was originally 5 rows but I see that I only need 2 or three, so I must get back to testing out what looks best.  

1:25am (was so into the weaving didn't realize the time) I made the change on the bouquet posies to seperate them a little more...here is what it looks like.  

I think it looks a little better than the first picture.

Today is 5/19/2011 It is 10:00 AM PDT  I just finished taking all the pictures of my finished scarf.  I stayed up last night until I finished weaving this scarf, cut it off the loom and then soaked and towel squeezed dry my scarf so it could air dry overnight. I did the finishing touches this morning and edited the pattern to reflect my changes. So I am done...I can't wait to see all of your projects...Happy Weaving everyone.

 

I made a quick video of weaving the pattern in this scarf if you'd like to look. http://youtu.be/GFlVcfgQntA

Sat, 05/07/2011 - 08:37

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

This really looks like a bouquet of pink flowers! Very nice! :-)

Wed, 05/11/2011 - 14:49

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Okay, I am going to start today! :-) These will be my colors:

These are some standard cotton yarns for knitting with 85m/50g and I am going to use the 10dpi-heddle this time to achieve a close weaving. At the moment, I haven't decided yet about the stripes' width, maybe I will chose them spontanously when warping.

Wed, 05/11/2011 - 16:00

JuliaT (not verified)

Oh, those are gorgeous colors...I can't wait to see what your going to do with them...

Wed, 05/11/2011 - 20:41

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Fligenpilz,

Those are beautiful colors.

I am not so clever.  I received two skeins of yarn with my Cricket and directions for a striped scarf.  I have started warping the loom for that scarf and will finish tonight.  We have a long car trip coming up soon and I plan to weave this scarf on our trip so will have pictures very soon.

Claudia

Fri, 05/13/2011 - 15:36

Anja (not verified)

Yes, show as pics! :-)

And what about the others? Did you already begin? How's work going?

Sat, 05/14/2011 - 07:21

Erica J

I found this method on the blog Ask the Bellweather! She's a fantastic font of knowoledge. You can read about her random stripe width methods here.

You basically use just the 3-10 cards in a deck, shuffle them apparently 7 times is the number of shuffles for a truely random selection. Then set up your colour order. Then set your deck of cards by your mill or warping board, turn over the first card that's the number of threads of your first stripe. Keep repeating that process until you have your desired width!

Easy! I'm off to pick out some colours and prepare my deck! I know I'm a bit behind everyone else, but I got engaged mid-April and weddings take a lot more planning than I thought, especially when you want to do it in under 3 months!

Sun, 05/15/2011 - 12:00

illoominated (not verified)

Here's the beginning of the deflected warp stripe I am trying. I am hoping that the "wiggle" will show up better after I take it off the loom. The wool knitting yarn and tight sett make for sticky weaving.  Next time I think I'd choose a more slippery fiber.

 

One of the reasons I picked this project was that I wanted to learn about how to work with two pick up sticks.  I made one from a yard stick, and the other is a string heddle.

 

Thu, 05/19/2011 - 01:56

JuliaT (not verified)

I can't wait to see how this turns out, it's beautiful!

Mon, 05/30/2011 - 20:14

illoominated (not verified)

I finished the deflected stripe shawl for the WAL.  

Mon, 05/30/2011 - 20:17

Erica J

Well I haven't gotten as much weaving done on the WAL. I love the idea of the WAL, and do always weave in the end, I just seem to have trouble with the along bit! Well that's the advantage of a cyber weave a long right!

I have my random stripes on the rigid heddle and did my sampling, so I know what weft and finishing technique I'll use. I just need to get back to the loom to do all the actual weaving! :)

Mon, 05/30/2011 - 21:30

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Your shawl is love;y!! Will you be adding it to your projects? I have not had much success with differential shrinkage and would love to learn more about the yarns you used. Thanks, Claudia PS-Jahanara, me too. Must get butt in bench and weave.
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 16:25

illoominated (not verified)

I used lace weight merino wool.  However, won't try that again as using the string heddles with the wool caused pilling and yarn got caught in the heddles.  The "wiggle" is due to the weave structure vs. shrinkage.  Once I took it off the loom, the structure pulled out the wiggle.  I doubled the dark green and quadrupled the light green so it would stand out.  See page 129 of The Weaver's Idea Book for pick up stick directions.  On to the next project!