Weaving with Bijou Spun - Lhasa Wilderness

Bijou Basin Ranch sent me a gorgeous skein of Lhasa Wilderness to play with. The colorway is called Stargazer from the Reflections Collection and dyed exclusively by Colorful Eclectic. It is a blend of 75% Tibetan Yak and 25% Bamboo.

The yarn is smooth and cool to the touch. I felt that it would weave up beautifully and decided to give it a try on my Leclerc Dorothy Loom. It's a table loom that has 4 shafts. I warped the loom with a purple mercerized cotton yarn with a 10 dent reed. The Lhasa Wilderness is a light sport weight yarn.

The color variegation is looking great in the woven cloth. I began with plain weave and then wove some rib weave and then more plain weave.

Isn't is pretty? You can see that the rib weave shows more pops of color while the plain weave blends the variegation. I am going to continue to weave and sample different patterns. I am pleased with how it is looking and the yarn is a dream to weave with.

Tapestry Weaving on the Easel Weaver by Schacht Spindle Co.

I have a big love for little looms. There is just something about them that I can not resist. I think that I like working in smaller formats so that lends to the appeal for me. When Schacht Spindle Co. introduced their newest small loom, Easel Weaver, I knew I had to try that loom!

I warped up the loom with carpet warp from Webs at 6 epi. The weft is a knitting and needlepoint yarn called Paragon. It's made in England and the label says it's a multi purpose 3-ply Persian yarn. I got a few bags of it in assorted colors from a church tag sale and had always intended to weave with it. This was the perfect opportunity to use what I had on hand.

My tapestry weaving was inspired by the tiny tapestry houses woven by Sarah C Swett. I have been following her 4 selvedge weaving and the tiny houses are just perfect. The loom is easy to use and the 3-In-1 Magic Stick is really useful. I am using the 10" size. You can prop up the loom using the built in stand or lay it flat on the table or your lap. The portable size of the Easel Weaver is a real plus for me.

Finished tapestry weaving! The 3-ply yarn worked out really well. I was able to blend colors by taking apart the plies and mixing the colors. I wanted to create more depth by blending the yarns.

So many ends to weave in and snip! Once I clean up the back, I can mount it and hang it. Thank you Schacht Spindle Co for sending me the Easel Weaver to weave on.

Pin Loom Weaving with Filatura Di Crosa's Zarina Mosaico

Filatura Di Crosa's Zarina Mosaico comes in a palette of 5 colors. It's a 4ply that has a beautiful marled color effect. When you touch it, you will feel that it's buttery soft because it's made from 100% superwash extra fine merino wool.

Zarina Mosaico is a sport weight yarn. It will weave up a little looser on Schacht Spindle Co's Zoom Loom, but I really wanted to see how the colors would look like when woven. Sampling is always the best way to see how a yarn will look like. It's like swatching with knitting.

The elasticity of Zarina Mosaico made it really easy to weave it on a pin loom. And I like how the sport weight wove up. It will make a light fabric with a nice drape.

Pin Loom Weaving a Log Cabin Design with Brown Sheep Company's Prairie Spun DK

The Brown Sheep Company has a great new yarn called Prairie Spun DK. It's a 3-ply yarn spun from 100% US wool. The DK weight yarn comes in a variety of colors and a generous 256 yards per skein. I chose the colors: Half & Half, Lost Lake, and Honeycomb. 

I chose to weave with this yarn because Brown Sheep yarns are not just only excellent for knitting and crocheting. As soon I felt the yarn, I knew it would weave up beautifully. It's a smooth yarn with a wooly feel. It can handle texture very well. I used another yarn to weave my samples first. I wanted to make a log cabin cowl inspired by the Fringe and Friends Log Along, but woven with my pin looms instead of knitting or crocheting it.

Once I knew the sizes I would be using, I began to weave with the Prairie Spun DK. I am using the Zoom Loom and my collection of Weavettes. The pattern I weaving is called Waffle Grid.

I wove a bunch of different sized squares and rectangles. Then I started piecing them together to form my log cabin block. I loved how the 3 colors worked with each other.

It's a bit fiddly to seam the block perfectly. But it was well worth my time to get the joins just right. In my video Creative Pin-Loom Designs, I show you how I seam my pin loom squares together.

The Prairie Spun DK has a nice elasticity. It really shows off the waffle grid pattern well. I just need a few more blocks and I can complete my cowl. Stayed tuned to see my finished cowl. 

Thank you to Brown Sheep Company for providing me the yarn for review.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

It's fun to look back on my activities and projects from the last several weeks. It's like a week in review with pictures. I always link to products I use whenever I can. Have a great week!

Cashmere Fun Size Bundles from Lux Adorna Knits.

 Planning my weaving project with graph paper and colored pencils.

 Embroidery Alphabet Sampler from KHG Arts.

 Weaving on my Zoom Loom from Schacht Spindle Co.

 Magic Custard Cake is a crowd pleaser whenever I make it for friends.

 Quilkfolk Magazine is a wonderful new magazine for the quilting community.

Knitting with Noro Yarns is always a pleasure.

Review: Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed DK

Spring is upon us and it's time to play with some cotton yarns during these warmer months heading into the hot summer. I recently got some Tatamy Tweed DK from Kraemer Yarns to try out. Normally, I am not a fan of cotton yarns because it has no elasticity and can be hard on my hands. Tatamy Tweed DK is a blend of 45% cotton and 55% acrylic. I had a feeling that I would like working with this yarn because of the blend.

My first impressions when I took it out of the packaging? The yarn was cool to the touch and soft. The colors are vibrant and very pleasing to my eyes. I liked the little flecks that were spun into the yarn.

Instead of knitting with it, I decided to try weaving with it. I used my Zoom Loom to weave some squares. It was easy to weave with Tatamy Tweed DK. The yarn wove smoothly and did not snag or fray. If you have any experience with pin loom weaving, you would know that not every yarn is suitable for pin looms. This yarn held up to the 3 layer warp and then weaving with it.

The woven fabric is light and very smooth. I am delighted by the tweed flecks in it. They add little pops of color to the finished fabric. My photo doesn't do it justice, but the woven fabric is bright and fun. I haven't decided what I am going to make with the squares, but I think it will be something for one of my daughters. I am going to keep weaving and see what it becomes. Tatamy Tweed DK is machine washable which I think it's great for kids because it's easy to care for. It comes in many bright colors and neutrals, too. Whether you knit, crochet or weave, I would highly recommend trying this yarn. The cotton and acrylic blend is perfect for anyone with wool allergies. Thank you to Kraemer Yarns for letting me review your yarn.

More than just plain weave with the Zoom Loom.

I just love the simplicity and beauty of plain weave, but recently I wanted to try some patterns on the Zoom Loom. I chose the Houndstooth Check Pattern from the book, 100 Pin Loom Squares by Florencia Campos Correa.

For the first layer, you warp with one color and then your second color. This part was a bit confusing as it is hard to see which pins to wrap the yarn around.

After that, it's just weaving back and forth with each color. Once I finished my first one, it was easy to make another one. It always takes the longest to a make a first of anything.

As you can see, I just kept going with different color combinations. I can't wait to try out more colors. 

If you are interested in learning to weave on a pin loom, take a look at my video, Creative Pin-Loom Designs. This is a great video for pin loom beginners, or anyone who needs a refresher on this fun little loom.

How To: Zoom Loom (Pin Loom) Cross Stitch Coasters

 

I made a few of these woven coasters with the Zoom Loom a while ago and I thought it would be fun to show you how I made them. When you weave a square with the Zoom Loom, you will notice that the woven fabric looks like a grid pattern. I thought it would be neat to cross stitch a design on it. After a few trial and errors, I got the results I wanted. I found that using a thinner yarn for the cross stitching looked way better than if I used the same weight I wove with. When I tried it with worsted weight, the cross stitching was bulky and not as clean looking.

I have seen pin loom coasters on the internet and often they just consist of 1 woven square. A coaster that is double sided is much more absorbent in my opinion. Also I like to hide the wrong side of the my cross stitching inside to give it a much cleaner look. That way, your coaster is reversible and you can also cross stitch on both sides if you like.

THE MATERIALS

 

- A Zoom Loom (Your local yarn stores may carry them or you can find them online. I got mine from The Woolery.)

- 2 skeins of Worsted Weight Wool, each a different color. (I used Cascade 220.)

- 1 skein of Fingering Weight Wool, in a contrasting color. (I used what I had from my stash.)

- 1 tapestry/yarn needle

- Crochet hook size US F/3.75mm

 

 Following the instructions for the Zoom Loom, weave 2 squares with 1 color.

 

Cut a few yards of the fingering weight yarn and thread it through your tapestry/yarn needle.

 

Cross stitch your design. On my coasters, I chose to cross stitch a heart. I suggest using some graph paper and coloring in squares to map out your design beforehand. Each thread (horizontal and vertical) of the woven fabric represents a square of cross stitch. 

 

To join your woven squares, take your finished cross stitched square (right side facing you) and put it on top of the second woven square. Be sure to match up your loops on the squares. Using your crochet hook and second color of worsted weight yarn, pull a loop of yarn through both loops of the squares. 

 

Chain 1, then SC (single crochet) into the next loops of the 2 squares.

 

Chain 2.

 

SC (single crochet) into the next loops.

 

Another SC (single crochet) into the next loops.

 

Continue around the squares to join them together. So the pattern for the edging is: *2 sc, ch 2; rep from * until the end. Finish with a sl st into the first sc. Cut yarn and weave in your ends.

 

The final finishing touch is to use a iron to steam the coaster. Or you can soak and dry it. Just like wet blocking in knitting and crochet, it helps even out the woven fabric and the fibers fluff up. It really makes a big difference in the final results. Since it's just a coaster, I like to use the iron to steam it.

I hope you give this a try. Have fun!