Continuous Warping: The Best Invention Since Ever

I did not understand continuous warping until I bought an inkle loom last summer. My first tablet weaving projects were tensioned using my foot or a doorknob or this cheap little loom I made.

Without a warping board, it was a pain to try cutting all the warp threads to the same length. Continuous warping takes care of length, and the inkle loom is easy to tension.

When I first got my inkle loom, I wasn’t sure how to warp any tablet weave projects continuously besides double-face ones. (And I was done with double-face for a while after my painstakingly crafted trees came out looking like vases or aliens in the weave above.)

But after six inkle projects, I was ready to tackle tablet weaving again.

Oh man. Continuous warping is AMAZING!

I’ll have to do a tutorial sometime on the method I figured out for warping threaded-in tablet weave patterns on an inkle loom. For now, this is just a Public Service Announcement because (have I mentioned?) continuous warping is wonderful.

The pattern I’m weaving now is one of Guntram’s simple patterns. Guntram’s Tabletweaving Thingy is also on my list of awesome things.

 

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Completed Endless Knots Inkle Belt

Since my sister was in town, I put in the last few hours to finish up my sixth inkle project, the Celtic belt she commissioned in navy, white, and gold.

Here it is with the D-rings already attached, ready to be cut to the final length and finished.

I derived this endless knots design from the Celtic pickup pattern on norsegirl.com.

I’ve certainly improved at keeping the width and tension constant throughout, compared to my first project eight months ago, which had this same design in different colors.

 

I think whatever I weave next will use medium weight yarn for the warp and weft. Think how quickly that will weave up compared to #10 crochet cotton!

Happy Yarning.

 

 

The Dangers of Texting and Weaving

<satire>

Much has been said on the dangers of texting and driving. Texting-related auto accidents are a concern nationwide. However, little to no notice has been taken of the threat texting poses to weaving.

Each time you pick up your phone to read or send a text while weaving, you risk disaster. One erroneous pass of the weft can set in motion a chain of errors, leading to hours, even days of unweaving.

With the noted rise in texting since 2008, the amount of time spent unweaving due to texting-related errors has increased exponentially. This brings the hours of time spent unweaving to an average of twelve hours a day nationwide.

It is never safe to text and weave at the same time. Keep yourself, your family, and your nation protected by waiting until you leave the loom to send your texts.

</satire>

Yarning

Works in progress from my yarning hobbies.

Stripes and checkers baby blanket

Knit, acrylic, about 60% done. Everyone in the Young Women’s program at church knows I knit because I keep toting this along to activities.

Update: See the finished blanket in a later post. Completed Stripes and Checkers Baby Blanket

Inkle Project #6

It’s a belt commissioned by my sister. #10 crochet cotton, inkle-woven, with a celtic pickup pattern I derived from the one on norsegirl.com. Incidentally, you too can learn to inkle weave from her website.

 

Update: See the finished belt in a later post. Completed Endless Knots Inkle Belt

Green afghan

Tunisian crochet, wool, just begun. I fell in love with the texture of this variation of Tunisian crochet. It makes a very fluid fabric. Plus, my mother-in-law gifted me a bunch of great green wool.

And…the Infamous Tree Blanket

Tapestry crochet, acrylic.

I’ve worked on this sucker on and off since high school. Still only about 70% done. I’m not all that eager to finish, because it just doesn’t look as nice as I hoped. There isn’t enough contrast between the dark colors and the black background, and all those strings I carry along peek out everywhere.

Still, it forced me to learn to crochet left-handed (to maintain a front and back), so it’s not a total waste?

When the mood strikes me, I also spin.

The project I’m proudest of was a knitted alpaca hat for my dad, with wool from his own alpaca.

Can you spot the hat? Knitting it was only a small part of this project.

What yarn crafts do you like to do?