Rigid heddle weaving on a Schacht Flip the Folding Loom

I've been dancing around buying a rigid heddle loom and finally succumbed to the 25" Schacht Flip folding loom. Mind you, aside from weaving on a weave it I'd never touched a loom before, nor seen the one I wanted in person. If you're thinking about the twentyfive incher, it's big. With a 7"+ scarf in progress...



Okay, instead of a coke zero can for scale, how about my Schacht Matchless?



Coolest thing about this picture? My Matchless is 20 years old, and made from the same wood as my new-to-me Flip. Excited thinking it'll honeypot up over the years :)

As with each of my tools it seems, I bought it gently used with the stand. I wasn't planning on buying the stand, but am glad I did-- the loom, like I said, is huge! It really would be unwieldy on my lap leaning against a table's edge, and takes up more than half of my already-taxed dining room table. I thought to myself that I really would like the Flip, one of the reasons being I could fold it to put it away. Honestly I haven't in the week it's been here-- the loom's attached to the stand by four screws, two of which need a screwdriver (read: I'm lazy) and I'd still need a place to store the stand. So, it's been out and about, enjoying the living room instead.

For the size, perhaps if I saw it in person I'd have bought the 20" size instead. No matter... I've already found a creative way to use the length up (for a later post). I really do like the loom, no matter the length. Like I said, I was looking (erroneously?) for a folding version, and was torn between the Flip and the Kromski Harp. Initially I wanted the Flip, just for my happy relationship with my Matchless and the whole made in the USA thing... but I did ask opinions on Ravelry and got several good answers about the differences, including a link to a very helpful blog post side-by-siding the nonfolding Schacht + the Flip. Finding this one used sealed the deal for me, and I'm glad I went with my gut.

I love it. (Did I say that already?)


Sheep and Wool Co. Plain and Fancy Sport, "Fall Foliage"
(a gift from Margene I'd been hoarding!)


used and warp and weft


for a scarf.
7" wide, 6'+ long not incl. fringe (76 ends, 10dpi reed)


leftover waste, reminiscent of that shaving time

I immediately warped (using the direct warping method, no need to fear warping time w/ a RH loom) after cutting that one off...


Regia Bamboo, another gift! from retroknit


detail of fabric


another scarf. 7.5", 6'+ excluding fringe
(80 ends, 8 rpi, 10 dpi reed)

I love woven scarves so much. Too much. Committing stuff white people like atrocities like scarf + tshirt much. They're just different from handknit scarves-- thinner, not squishy, have a body and hand that wants to stand and be molded. Oh, did I mention they took me about 2 days each?

!!!

I'm really enjoying the loom though. It's very plug and play-- with a single copy of Hand on: Rigid Heddle Weaving (only reading the first chapter ;) I was impatient!) I was able to crank these, plus more, out. Weaving won't replace knitting for me, though-- it's not portable, limited in fabric shaping and items able to be made. Still, there are a lot of exciting options out there with a rigid heddle-- using pickup sticks to create patterns like in Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom, or patterns with more than one heddle like in The Xenakis Technique I don't see myself outgrowing the rigid heddle anytime soon.

If you're in the Bay Area/East Bay, both A Verb for Keeping Warm and Article Pract can order the Flip looms for you :)

Off to warp for some more scarves :)



ps... Schacht is doing so well with their folding rigid heddle Flip version that they're discontinuing the 25" non-folding model... so there are a few retailers out there discounting them for sale (from $199 to $140-159-- here's one, here's another, here's one on SF craigslist with a stand...). It doesn't fold, isn't equipped with the second heddle block standard, a few other changes (Schacht can tell you exactly the differences), but still-- buying it + a stand at $160 would be $300-320, $35-55 more than the 25" flip with no stand. I might have gone this way had I realized I wouldn't be folding Flip up much as it is :)

catching bullets

my brain's all over the place the past week, i don't even dare try to number these :)

* the asymmetrical cardi grows.



norah gaughan has created a super interesting construction here-- you knit the two front panels separately, increase on either side for the arms, work out the neck opening on either side, then join for the back and knit on down. fold at the shoulder, seam up the sides and under the arms for a non-interrupted pattern (and no need to set in sleeves when seaming.)

i've modded the arms to have more pattern and less cuff (and under the arms for a faster increase rate), we'll see if it works when its time to origami this thing up.

the color in both of these is really off... but who knew a cable could pop so much?



yay o-wool :)

* i went to the bay area bead extravaganza and brought home fistfuls of new pearl strands for my knitting stitch marker shop. my new favorite? biwa stick pearls. paired with other pearls and semiprecious stones the stitch markers look like little surfers on surfboards...


biwa stick pearl knitting stitch markers at zero.etsy.com

less valleygrrl but still fun...


sample of what's to be added to the shop over the next week

* i warned christina. when i went to this month's tahki stacy charles yarn tasting at article pract, i warned xtina i'd sit up at night and weave all of the yarn samples when i went home (i took my weave-it instead of knitting needles). which wasn't bad...


top left and clockwise: takhi tweedy alpaca, filatura di crosa zara, loop d loop moss, s charles trapper

...because, oh do i love stacy charles collezione trapper. 70/30 merino-cashmere, very reminiscent of felted tweed. but cashmere. oy. i want to marry it and have red tweedy babies. or a sweater. or knit it a sweater.

filatura di crosa superior may object though. i can't tell who's been leading who on.



i think there's enough squares to tack them together tip to tip (five times fast!) and end up with a cravat. of brushed cashmere and silk.

!!!

absolutely gorgeous woven up, the cashmere just fills in the blanks.



doesn't it always?

seriously, superior is the most decadent feeling yarn i've ever, ever encountered. thinking hard about making mary-heather's lace capelet with it (only one skein of superior! and i have a 25% coupon from the yarn tasting for as many tahki yarns as i'd like!)

* speaking of weaving, while at article pract (best yarn store in the bay area), i fell down on the no more yarn oh goodness no the boxes are still overflowing sort of not announced diet i've been on.


a verb for keeping warm 70/30 alpaca-silk

don't tell anyone, but i think kristine sold her soul to be able to dye such glorious colors using only natural dyes.

:)

how could i help myself though? it is an article pract staff pick for november (20% off!) and can you imagine what a great scarf it'll make? i'm really drawn to green lately too. weird.

* if you're in the bay area, this wednesday (11/12) there's a spinning meetup at knitoneone in berkeley between 7 and 9pm. well lit studio space (plenty of room for wheels tho i'm bringing a spindle) and BARTable via ashby. it's really neat sitting in a circle of spinners. tactile fiber arts' trunk show will still be on display, if you need a fiber/yarn fix mid-spinning :)

more info here on ravelry in the bay area spinners forum. we're renting the space ($60) and splitting the cost amongst us-- last time we had about ten people? good times! i'm bringing wisteria for show and tell :)


photo by wondermike-- header for the fabulous yknit podcast re: knit one one!

* did you have a good hallowe'en? we did. yes we did ;)



i think i'm all caught up :)

miss you!

in case you were wondering (no knitting content)...

oh, and...



Fingers crossed. I'll be spinning some baabaablacksheep to keep my nerves still til then. You?

In any case and in any choice you make, yay for this country!! :)

handspun wisteria sweater from twist collective

Umpqua, superfine Corriedale lamb fleece-- silver to steel grey with taupe tips
from Whitefish Bay Farm


scoured in lock formation


handcombed into sliver


spun worsted (short forward draw)


...all for Wisteria by Kate Gilbert from Twist Collective, Fall 2008
Started: August 25, 2008
Finished: October 17, 2008
(spun yarn during same timeframe)
US 8 needles, variety of lengths

Yay!

I really like this sweater. The idea, the shape, the silhouette. The top down yoke! More than just on me, from browsing finished Wisterias on Ravelry I really like how well this sweater seems to fit a huge variety of sizes *well.* I tried and tried to take a picture of myself in it and nothing worked (not used to taking full on body shots and not feet, I guess), but I like how it looks on me-- a rare thing. I knit the 47" (!!) size, giving myself 3" for the bust for ease and relying on the gentle shaping at the waist Kate provided to give me some shape (illusion with my linebacker frame) and it worked. I guess I'm just surprised that a sweater can really fit a range of body shapes and sizes in a complimentary way :)

I'm also surprised I managed to spin an entire sweater's worth of yarn as I knit... I'd comb-spin-knit, comb-spin-knit... I spun 1355 yd over 7 skeins and 500 grams (not including combing waste) and really, IT WASN'T HARD. If I can do it, anyone can :) Now, was each skein the same yardage per gram? Nope. Should I/could I have spun all my singles at once and mixed older and newer bobbins when plying for a more even end yarn? Probably. But I was impatient to knit, as fast as this sweater knits up I wanted it done. I'm not entering it into a wool show, I'm not asking for curious viewers to turn it inside out and look for irregularities where I added in a new skein*... I just wanted and got a really nice sweater that I'll wear and wear and that I am thrilled I took from fleece to finished object.

Speaking of wear and wear, I've worn this sweater a lot over the past few days... at least five. (Yay for cold weather and putting off turning on the heater!) I'm already seeing pilling wear at the underarms and across the lower part of the body.



Aside from needing to buy a sweater shaver, I don't really care. I do find myself thinking about it though... I intentionally spun the combed sliver with a short forward draw (inchworm) for a "true worsted" yarn (inchworm from fibers all the same length and combed in one direction), so I was a little surprised to see it appear so soon since a true worsted yarn should be smooth and dense. The more I think about it though it makes sense... the lamb's fleece was very, very short (2.5") and extremely crimpy/lofty-- not really the wools "meant" for combing and smoothing down into worsted yarn. I did remove a lot of waste from the fiber when combing, but maybe the prep and spinning method couldn't overcome the nature of the fleece itself.

Too esoteric.

As you may have guessed, I find myself locked in a love affair with raw fleece lately... I actually take a lot of enjoyment from every step, and really dig the individual characteristics of each greasy beast as I wash, comb, and spin them. This one-- the color of the fleece was what had my toes curling, pale to deep grey all tied together with the taupe tips made the color change on how you looked at it. First it was grey, bands of grey where you can see each little puff of sliver spun and run out...



...where a different angle brought out the warmth of the light brown shades mixed in during combing.



And another.



Definitely not a brown sweater, but not just a grey either.

As happy as I am (and that those who love me think it's spectacular, too)... I'm thrilled to be finished combing this fleece so I can start on another. :) Big plans!!

Til then, moo!


*one more idea i had spinning and knitting this sweater... i've seen designers use a smaller needle to achieve shaping across a garment where a pattern would make it difficult to insert traditional shaping. what would be cool is to think about spinning different weights of the same yarn from a single fiber to achieve that effect-- slightly lighter weight yarn at the waist/lower sleeves for a clingier effect, slightly heavier when incorporating cables and don't want to do increases to compensate for the pulling in, etc. lots of possibilities where shaping is concerned. i can't think of any commerical yarn where it comes in weight/grist gradation across the same colorway (much less dyelot), but for spinners! kind of a neat thought experiment, anyways :)

new obsession: weaving on a weave it

I blame Karrie.

I should really, really be working on this...


Asymmetrical Cardigan from Knitting Nature
Vermont Organic Fiber Company O-Wool in saffron

...but this little demon child Karrie sold me at Color Fiber Festival has been taking over the waking minutes around here instead.


vintage Weave-It, 4"

I've admired Karrie's weave it squares and projects for ages now-- but having this in my hot little hands and a huge (really, you don't want to know) bag of sock yarn scraps within easy reach means this...



and this...



The handspun I listed in my etsy shop? Pulled for weaving.



My son's getting in on the act, demanding a blankie for his bear, Bear, out of this ball of mystery yarn.



Even my bead and wire stash is getting into the picture...


woven square pulled into diamond shape and secured at wrist on itself

Reminds me of the wire bracelet I knit a while back (I like that one better, just for the seed pearl details. Weaving with wire again will have me adding pearls and semiprecious stones, no doubt.)

Woven fabric is a totally different animal than knit-- not as soft when worked tightly. I'm still learning, but decided to not double the sock yarn for weaving squares so they're left openish...


koigu

...but have much more drape and let the softness of the yarn still peek thru than when doubled. In a far off galaxy I'd plan to make a million of these little less-than-5-yards-of-sock yarn squares and seam them for a blanket (a 4x4 square on the loom is SO MUCH FASTER than a 4x4 square handknit by me)... in this one, I'm content with making them and not really-really having a project in mind yet.

It's not to say there aren't any-- Karrie has a whole host of idea from her "week of weaving" on her blog, eLoomaNation has vintage Weave It booklets in pdf form, Hazel Rose has a bunch, there is a whole book dedicated to projects for small hand looms (Weavies One), and Spin Off even published an article in Winter 2005 with an accessory project-- "loom blooms". And as with everything, there *is* a Ravelry group :)

Me? Aside from the very vague idea of seaming the drapey sock yarn squares into a blanket (and the hotly demanded baby bear blanket), I was driven by circumstance to make a few things myself. My mom recently adopted a shelter kitten (aw...) and I figured handmade is in order for all new arrivals, furry or not.


Single and double dumpling woven cat toys

The one on the left, one square of doubled Lisa Souza Sock! that had a single bell inserted in the center and seamed like a flower dumpling. The one on the right, 2 woven squares of mediumweight Socks That Rock seamed flat with two bells inside. Mom had bought a bunch (and I mean, a BUNCH) of plastic ball cat toys with bells inside, and the little monster (whom she called my brother!!) has already rolled them under immovable dressers and places where mom or kitten can't rescue them. Apparently, these don't get as lost as easily-- although I've already fielded requests for more (and with catnip)... oy.

But how can I say no?



Larson likes 'em.

:)

color fiber festival fall 2008

An excellent weekend! How could it not be... it was Color Fiber Festival! :)


i also took way more CFF pics than i could fit here... you can find them here and the flickr color fiber festival group is here if you have some of your own to add. i'd love to see them! :)

Once again held on the Pacific School of Religion campus (many, many kudos to Sara for wrangling and orchestrating this beautiful scene)-- a breathtaking place with lots else going for it.



I didn't take any classes this time around, but instead hit the market and spun with a great circle of fiber lovers. Some market pics:


Tactile Fiber Arts (mid-set up)

I bugged Maia away from setting up her booth to find her Spindlewood stash since Malia has almost converted me... I barely escaped the clutches of a ebony/ebony square whorl. BARELY. I was heading back in to buy it when I realized I was a whole five minutes late-- turned on my heel emptyhanded :)


Handsome Books and...


...Pigeonroof Studios. With lots and lots of stock ;)

Krista's booth had her gorgeous Luminosity Project yarns on display-- they look so great in her pics, but in person?! Amazing. She also hinted at a fiber and yarn club in the nearish future. I'm a brat, I was thinking I'd not say anything til I'd already snagged a spot :) She has a mailing list that I'm sure she'll dish more on when the time comes.


Girl on the Rocks and abmatic

I finally met Karrie! We've been joking the other must not exist since we never seem to be in the same place at the same time :) I was bummed not being able to take her weaving on a hand loom class, but more than made up for it by purchasing a vintage Weave-It from her.



Don't tell anyone but instead of my two front teeth, I've been lusting over a 25" Schacht Flip. Still thinking, but the hand loom has taken the edge off for at least a week. Some things don't change :)


A Verb for Keeping Warm

Another almost falling down experience here as always :) Receiving the second shipment of the aVfKW fiber club a few days back helped... but Kristine had batt rolls! in PURPLE!! (I'm trying to actually whittle down the stash, both yarn and fiber. I am afraid of the 15# of roving I'm expecting from 2 mills in the too-near future. Serious nightmare scenarios about woman living in a shoe, having so much roving she didn't know what to do...)


Ceallach Dyes

A stunning booth. Where Tactile and Verb both use natural dyes-- Ceallach uses a solar dyeing process, the heat of the sun setting the dyes to be fast. Stepping back to think how much energy is used in heating water and that she avoids this while producing beautiful, huge skeins of color is jawdropping.


Flynn Creek Churros

A really neat booth. I had a chance to spin some Navajo Churro locks Maia brought for the class I took at Color in the spring, a dual coated sheep. I especially loved those little boxes of colored roving Flynn Creek had for sale-- I'm big into the natural colored fleece gradation colors right now.

You should be proud-- they had fleeces, and I didn't buy one! :)


Pan's Garden Yarns

Pan's Garden had a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL booth with handspun (true) art yarns. The kind where it's okay to buy them without a project in mind because you just want to admire them and be happy they exist and were made by hand and it feels good to have them near. Really.

For all of the amazing (local! woo!) vendors, my favorite part was the spinners and knitters who came out. Oh, well maybe my favorite was Susan and her og Columbine wheel...



The bobbin on this thing! Size doesn't matter my...

Anyways.

I started here under one tent, before the fog burned off...



...and eventually, another tent and a bunch of spinners and knitters appeared to just sit and be excellent in each other's company. And ogle the wheels and spinning and yarns and purchases and and and... :)



Fun-fun :) A good start to a great day-before-turning a year older*.

That's right, not a brain but still...



Made my wish and didn't share :) No, I don't feel any different! Not about my birthday, anyways.

Til then!


*last day for free shipping in my shop! :)