Appearances can be deceiving

I started a new sample this week. There was a section that even the text said was tricky so I worked to that point and left it that night. I decided I needed to wait until I was rested to attempt it. I had already worked the whole left side and then the right side. Then I completely undid the right side because I'd made a mistake at the beginning then I'd worked the whole right side again. 

 

The "complicated" section involved working a pair half-stitch through six other pair. Not so bad except that it had to go backwards through the pairs before heading into the 8-leg spider. 

When I sat for a minute to look at it the next morning, the light bulb went on and I worked it with no problems at all. 

You can never tell. 

Last night I got involved in watching a couple of fascinating shows on YouTube and actually finished the whole dang thing. 

 

I never realized working in whole stitch was so fiddly to keep the tension right. 

Everyone should see these films. I couldn't stop watching. 

Edwardians in Colour (First of 4 episodes)

How the Edwardians Spoke

Weaving on

I have been working on a little side weaving project. Since take #HopewellWeaving's warping class, I've been inspired to tackle a project I've had in the back of my mind for a while now. 

Several years ago, I bought these cones of tencel yarn but I hadn't done anything with them yet because I wanted to make sure I could handle them properly. 

 

Lovely, shiny, softee yarn. Thread. Whatever. 

I've decided on a simple Bruce tartan pattern from the book, Tartans - Their Art and History. It uses two main colors with the third color making the occasional thin stripe. I'm going to use the purple and tan as the main colors with the green as the accent. 

Before I dove in head first with it, I wanted to make sure I understood how to handle the materials and be clear on the sett. So I wound a small warp with the green (since I knew I wouldn't need as much of that for the final piece) and I've been playing. 

 

I'm using a 2/2 twill, since that's what you use for the tartan (over 2 threads/under 2 threads). Here I've done a 2/2 twill and then a reverse 2/2 twill to give the herringbone sort of pattern. 

I'm so glad I did this for a couple of reasons. First of all, I understand better now how to handle the warp with this thread. Second of all, I've got all sorts of ideas about what I want to make from this 5 inch or so strip. Coin purse, glasses case, etc. 

 

I'm also playing with how the colors play. Here it is with the green warp and tan weft. 

 

You don't see it here but in person it has more of a pinkish hue. (Is there a pinkish hue? - George Constanza)

Scotch Brooming

Sometimes you like something okay but you just don't LOVE it. It's all very nice and you wouldn't mind having a coffee every once in a while but it's never going to be a grand romance. 

That's what this edging does for me. It was kind of fun to work and went along very easily but I'm done with it. I still have thread on the bobbins so I may work until I start to run out of thread but it's not one I'm going to make yards of. 

 

The thing it did do is make much more sense out of the Scotch Broom stitch. There's a definite rhythm to it and once you get that logic, it's no trouble at all. 

A few more inches and then, I think, it will be time to move along.