Tag Archive | Quilt Weaver

My 2nd for the WAL

Mar3

I finally finished her blue dress and the jacket. I’m not sure the blues are a perfect fit but i am quite happy with both. I especially like the jacket. I used some yarn by Universal yarn company called Uptown worsted. It is 100% acrylic and wonderfully soft but still holds stitch definition well and is just nice to work with. I turned the neckline out on this jacket to give it a bit of faux collar. I’m not sure about the sleeve length, I may go back and work a little edging to make them a bit longer.

   

 

Some Weavers have ask about the SweetHeart blanket Heart Valentine Block.  That is basically a woven design that you can put together into a blanket

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This is mine.

This one was made by Penny Tennerman and given me by her daughter.

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WAL Official start today….

Feb28

I was late, however, due to our snowfall and power failure. The Great Guys from PUD got out there in the cold and snow and got it back working in just a few hours!

I have some pictures to share, unfortunately my camera decided it it needs a battery recharge this morning of all times! lol But I posted things yesterday so you should all be busy weaving squares toward this dress.

Just thought I’d share a couple other outfits I’ve woven for your inspiration and, hopefully, enjoyment!

This one is an attempt to weave a version of Molly’s meet outfit. It used the 4×6″ Multi for both the top and the skirt.

Addy is wearing one using the 4×6 and the  2″ Multi looms. I think this yarn is Caron’s Simply Soft. It’s on the heavy side for these looms but not bad. It’s also brighter colors than it shows here. I called it Festive.

     

And a Hoodie for Dean. This one used the Quilt Weaver looms. I gave it those Kangaroo pockets and a zipper. I’m afraid this hoodie is probably more for warm than fashion. For that, I think it needs to be black and have a deeper hood, for hiding in. It has knitted cuffs and edgings. I should have shortened the sleeves as well.

         

Kanani is wearing a cropped version. Her cargo pants are also woven.  She has way too much hair for the hood so it is just a collar for her. Here she is weaving on her ridged heddle loom. She is weaving a small afghan using some textured stash yarns.

There’s lots more. Once you get going with this you can easily design your own and they can also be embellished in anyway you like using knit, crochet; you can embroider or add beads. Sky’s the limit.

 

A bit of a fashion show.

Feb24

I spent yesterday having the ladies model some of the woven clothing in their wardrobes. Not all of them have written patterns but I think once you get the ‘hang’ of weaving for your dolls you won’t have any trouble designing your own. Meantime I hope you find these inspiring you to dig out your looms and yarns!

This one was fashioned after a dress knitted by Patricia Elizabeth over in Italy after one in the AG catalog, don’t recall what year.

It used the Multi looms. 6″ square for the front, 4×6″ for the back and skirt and 2×6″ was the sleeves. I indulged in a little lace work. No, I don’t remember what, but I could probably come up with some, if not quite the same. I think Pat’s dress was titled the White Dress, don’t remember what AG called theirs. Ruthy looks good it it if I do say so!

Still snowing here, 13″ this morning….

WAL 2023

Feb21

The Month of March is Weave ALong month on Ravelry  Knitting for American Girl Dolls, for those who would like to try their hand at a different yarn craft. You do not need to be a weaver, because while this is weaving it is a simple and easy form of that ancient handcraft.
I will be weaving on the 4” Hazel Rose Multi Loom but this project can be made with many different brands of looms. You may own or be able to talk Mom or Grandmom out of their old Lomette, Weave-it, Weavette, even the more modern plastic zoom loom. If you have the HR Tiny Weaver square, that will also work. There are probably several other small looms that weave a 3 ½” to 4” square that can also be used

The larger looms, like the HR 7” square and the Potholder looms, will not be suitable for this project.
We will, of course, be happy to sell you one of our quality, hand-made hardwood looms but I am also offering a do-it-yourself instruction to make a temporary loom for those of you who think you might like to weave with us but aren’t sure enough to want to invest a lot in this project. This little foam board or cardboard loom will be sturdy enough to weave the blocks needed for this project and will last long enough for you to decide if you enjoy the craft. If you find you love weaving, you may then decide if you want to purchase a more permanent loom. email or PM me for this one.
Meantime, you will need your loom, a weaving needle, and your yarn.  The needle you can buy are a low cost at most any carft or yarn store. The Yarn can be fingering, Knit Picks Palette makes a thin, light fabric, but suitable, Stroll sport is the one I used for this dress, and have also used light weight worsted sizes. Unlike knitting, which will change the size of the garment when you change the size of the yarn, these squares will always be right around the same size. What does change is the texture of the fabric. The heavier the yarn the stiffer the fabric. If you decide to use the self made loom, I’d advise using the finer yarns so as to put less stress on your little loom. The hard wood looms are stronger and can handle the draw-up for any of these yarns, of course.

I am going to be offering a 10% rebate or coupon* to WAL members on the 4” Multi Loom for this event. That includes the loom, the weaving needle, and the booklet with instruction as well as the project instruction for the dress we will be making & a couple others as options. * I’m trying to figure out how to do that on my web site so be patient. If you want to go ahead and buy one now it’ll have to be the rebate. But you need to let me know you are in the WAL.

We would like to start this project on Feburary 27. This is an early notice to allow time to find your loom and to select your yarns and weave a few practice squares. I would be happy to have an idea of how many of you are planning to join this WAL.

I will be posting the WAL info to my blog, https://hazelroselooms.blog/ and also inviting members of the Facebook pin loom group to join us if they wish. My view is that of “The more the merrier”!

We had great fun with the WAL’s the last times we did this and I hope this one will be just as much fun.

I picked the Starry Day dress because it is all 4″ squares but if you have another choice please feel free to suggest. We can decide together. I will post some pictures of possible patterns that do not need a collection of looms.

There will be a prize winner chosen at random between the finishers. I will keep a list of finishers on Ravelry but you will have to let me know via email with a photo if you are not a member.

February again…

Feb18

But don’t worry, it’s not spring yet! More snow in the forecast on Tuesday and through the week it sounds like. I’m okay with that. We have gotten quite a bit of precip this winter but are still not caught up with the last dozen or more years of drought. Garden started to thaw a bit this week with the highs in the upper 40’s but there’s still plenty of time for that , too.

I’ve done little yarn things this winter, knitted myself a scrap vest. This is all the scraps and snippets saved from projects over the last decade, probably. Tied together in an overhand knot. Will that hold? Ask me in a few years of wearing it!

And played with a few weaving techniques, that’s about it. Just did this one yesterday. From a photo posted on the pin loom facebook group.

Randy is planning our trip to Utah next month to take part in the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair, Friday April 28 and Saturday April 29
The Legacy Event Center – Farmington, Utah. I’ll be teaching a basic class on the 4 inch Multi loom, we’ll make a little needle book to learn plain weave and a texture pattern or two. The other class is the dishcloth class on the 10.5″ Quit Weaver Square. We’ll start with plain weave and see how far we get. The class schedule hasn’t been posted yet but should be soon–keep checking!

We’ll be at the Black Sheep Gathering, June 23, 24, & 25 and the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival,  October 14 & 15. Both in Albany, OR. I think we’ll also be at Lambtown in Dixon, CA, Oct 7 & 8. We’re also looking at Fiber Fusion Northwest in Monroe, Washington.  June 4 & 5. Maybe. Sounds like a lot, beginning to feel like a lot as well. I think I’m getting old as these affairs are a lot more stressful than they used to be. I suppose it’s good for me. At least that’s what Himself keeps telling! lol

Did I mention that we can almost see the lake again? Yes, indeed, it has been coming up rapidly this winter. Authorities warn us not to expect it to fill this spring, tho, Partly it appears, because they have other uses for the water up here. I don’t mind sharing but it would be nice if we had some lake. Our local businesses mostly rely on that body of water to draw the tourists that they rely on to stay in business. We’ve lost a few already who weren’t able to tough it out. That’s rough on us all.

Way in the back, that thin line of blue is the lake. The rock piles (a remnant of the mining days) show the river wending its way to join that pool. This is the view across the Lake(bottom) from Trinity Center where we had tp go last month to get internet and cell service from the Verizon tower there.

And my little Fox friend is still coming for dinner each evening. He doesn’t get much, I want him to still hunt but while the snow was still frozen on the ground hunting was difficult and I wanted to keep him around. He’s my best mouser!

I guess that’s all for now. I hope it’s not too Winter where ever you are. Spring isn’t far and we can all be outdoors grubbing in the dirt again!

 

Carrots & Radishes

 

Another WAL project.

Dec9

Been snowing all day, what a good time for making these projects! This time it’s the little baskets. If you are anywhere near my age, you remember making these little May Day baskets.  We made them in school or at home, picked a few poor wildflowers and hung them on neighbors door knobs. Then ring the bell and run and hide! Fun for both parties! Well these are woven and you can fill them with flowers or greenery or little gifts, whatever and hang then on the tree.

Easy easy as you can see! Fold the square to make a cone, add a tassel to the bottom and a loop to the top. They look pretty int sparkly yarns, too.

And don’t forget the little deer. They looks cute on the mantle or the table with the little snow persons as well as the tree.

You can find the instruction for these on the web site under projects.

 

Making clothing

Dec5

The subject of making clothing has come up in pin loon chatting recently. I posted a couple of the tops I’ve made in the past so thought I’d put them here, too. They are easy loom-shaped garments so can be made to fit just about any size. I used the 6″ Multi looms for both of these. My figure changed and the drape between the alpaca and the wool is also much different. I’d like to try one of these in a nice sock yarn, too, but that hasn’t happened so far. I added a  knitted ribbing to the waist of the orange wool one which gave a better fit and the brown alpaca has a 2×6 slide stitch woven waist band. (and the hearts have come off since)

This type of garment fits a little better on a slimmer figure for the most part. The drape of your yarn also makes a difference. The alpaca drapes beautifully while this wool made a bit stiffer fabric.

Fringe

Jul2
The pillow in the new issue of the Little Looms magazine is really about the fringe. You know how to weave squares already. But I thought I’d post a couple more things that the fringe can be used for. The first project I submitted was for a doily, I rather like this one.
 
 The center is a 6″ Multi square using some super wash wool I bought at a fiber fair a long time ago. The fringe is a sport weight wool of unknown brand, The corners we finished with little 1″ squares using a little loom we made with scrap. I think I’ll post the how to photo’s here. I wanted to make it a ‘page’ but I can’t get that to work. It said make a gallery so I tried it. Here’s a couple other project using a fringe. A pin cushion sized pillow, an easy Barbie blouse, a cowgirl outfit for a larger doll. a bag for your cell phone or whatever. I think this could make some really cute toddler outfits, too. More later.                

May… as in maybe spring?

May6

It’s hard to tell what season it is. One day it’s 80 degrees and sunny, nest day you wake up to 31 degrees and frost, nest day back to warm and sunny then a week of cloudy, dark, cool, and rain showers that don’t really add much to the water table. Today is one of those. I worked in the garden this morning, cut a bunch of kale off my blooming kale plants and finally let him dig up most of them. There a bunch of little seedlings to make a new patch. I hate to give them up, suck pretty plants, but it’s time for a new generation. They don’t seem to mind the weather, in fact judging by the number of  plants coming up. I’d have to say they like it.  But my tomato plants won’t and they are starting to out grow their quarters in the house!

So I’m weaving little triangles today. Don’t know what I’ll do with them. Maybe a quilt design. But they’re easy and fast using the Tiny Weaver Tri.

PUD called awhile back and told us the poser would be out last Sunday from 8 am to 4 pm. Si I made a picnic lunch and we headed up to take a look at how the winter had left Mt Meadow at the end of the road. Seemed a good use for a powerless day. I hadn’t seen the burned area since they started the “clean up”. The clean up consisted of tearing up and hauling off the burned structures, leaving the woods pretty much the way they were. They’ve cut “hazard trees” along the road, those they deem a danger of falling on the road and/or whoever happens to be there at the time. And a few private landowners have logged the burnt timber. on their property. Federal property gets left as is… natural.

But once up the road a few miles the fire did not come down to the canyon do the view along the road is green and thriving. You can see the burn up on the ridgetops, rows of standing poles that used to be trees. The fire came down to the meadow in a few places but by and large it stayed safe, as did the old historical Mt Meadow Ranch. We saw three bear and the trip. Going up, a sow and a yearling cub ran across the road ahead of us. Bright cinnamon colored. Coming back a young black bear was munching grass in the meadow. I guess the bears are hungry this spring, with all the old rotted logs having burned up, taking with them those nice fat grubs the bears like, there’s not much to eat up there this spring. Randy got a shot of this one also munching grass on his hike up Union creek Saturday.

 

He wasn’t interested in visiting, tho, once he spotted Randy he departed the meadow in a hurry.

But we enjoyed our picnic and hiked around a bit indulging in what is now days called  “Forest Bathing”! lol Ah well, I live in the forest but i still enjoy getting out in the woods.

The alp’s I’m afraid didn’t fair as well as the meadow. We didn’t cross the river but had a depressing view that way.

 

We walked down and took a look at the meadow from the bottom, The fire came down into the Aspens, but didn’t hurt them. We only have this one patch of them in Trinity Co. That I am aware of, anyway. Here’s Himself contemplating the view. Yo can see the brow trees. But there’s still green ones, too. Still birds and a nice sized deer herd so lots of things survived the fire.

I guess that’s about all I have to day today. Guess I’ll go weave a few more triangles, maybe I’ll get inspired!

 

Another oldie.

Apr6

I finished this one in 2014. It’s a collection of my handspun yarns.  Woven on several looms, mostly, if I remember, the 7″ and the 3 1/2″ squares. Randy made the wood buttons.  The button holes are just an unstitched space between the little squares on the front band. I like 3/4 sleeves but these were probably a little wide and the bottom edges. It works okay, tho.

Just been going though older projects, posting to my 3 “social media” places, here, Ravelry, and the facebook pin loom group. I’m working on a new everyday sweater but thinking of reworking that idea. I’ve been weaving either 12″ or 10.5″ squares, can’t remember just now. Needless to say that last one woven was a couple months back! But someone posted about shape weaving the other day which reminded me of the shape woven I’ve done in the past. I still have the cardboard looms and am thinking I might just employ that method on this sweater. I seem to get a better fit with less blocks than the cut and sew method. I’m too big to get a good fit with the totally block woven things. The one above is cut and sew. This one is the shape woven. The yoke and the arm skye as well as the back yoke were shape woven. And a much better fit than the others I’ve done, I think. The sleeves as shown were cut and sew but both made from the same pattern. Well, I’ll have to think about this some more. I have a little time between now and my next deadline, I hope!