Liana's LoomEssence

What a Difference A Yarn Makes

2010-05-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

See this thick and thin yarn and then notice the slightly fuzzy parts of the cloth being woven. The fuzzy is the thick and the clear view of the pattern is the thin. It makes for an intriguing cloth that is both thick and absorbent with the patten being very clearly defined in other spots. It makes you want to touch it and look closer. I really enjoy these differences from the other towels.

The first towel I wove on this same warp, IE, the north and south threads, was with a knitting yarn that is very thick. It was a great starter yarn for this warp to see what the pattern possibilities were and do so very quickly, much the same as you would knit faster with a thicker yarn. I really liked the outcome of that combination but it was too thick for a good towel because it took to long to dry so it is on a wall, hanging in my kitchen instead.

So the next yarn I tried was a yarn that was the exact same as the warp and it was probably the best yarn for the balanced cloth, but it too was thicker than I'd really like. I was able to see some of the threading errors better with this yarn and it is a beautiful towel for show. I gifted them, I made two this way, to my mother for Mother's Day, and as predicted, she isn't using them. They are just for show, because they are very special to her. Thanks, Mom, I'm really glad you like them. I made them strong enough to last a long time though, so you really should use them. Let me know how they wear.

The next towel I made with this same warp was with a yarn that was unusual for use as a weft, the east west threads on a cloth. It was rug warp cotton. This yarn is generally used, as the name indicates, for making rugs. It is known for being sturdy and yet thin enough to let a weft faced cloth hide it from view. That means it almost doesn't show because it is so much thinner than the weft yarn or rags used for the weft. All you see is the weft and it is therefore called a weft faced cloth. I, however, thought it might make a nice yarn for the weft this time. I wanted a sturdy yarn, but I also want a yarn that would be untreated or unmesmerized so that it would be better at picking up water than a totally mercerized cloth would be. Sorry Mom, didn't think of this when I made your towels. They are still thirsty, just not as thirsty as this would be.

And the towel at the top is the final towel for this warp. It also is mercerized cotton. It is a real departure because most patterns that are visually significant are meant to be seen and not confused. However, my thought here was that the variety with a large contrast in colors between the warp and the weft would create the right environment for the pattern to be messed with a bit. It is a bright copper and a pale peachy pink. A side note here is that this yarn I spun from two commercial yarns that were both thick and thin but separately much too fine for my purposes, so I spun them together and am using them that way. The high contrast makes it more easy to see the pattern when it's both fluffy and straight. That is why I decided to give it a try and see how it turned out. It's still on the loom but so far I am liking it. I would love to hear from you here. Leave a comment for others to read and react to. I'd also love to know if you sample when you weave, if you're a weaver. Of course if you're not, but you do other crafts, I'd love to know if you sample in other forms of art too. And if so, how!

So here's to the differences in life, be they yarn related or not.

Liana of
Liana's LoomEssence

liana.artfire.com

Lighting My Loom and other Weaving Goodness

2010-05-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

Want to know a great way to light the bottom of your loom? It was suggested to me by a loom repair man. His name is Bob Shepherd and he not only weaves wonderfully colorful rugs for your wall, he also makes house calls to fix your loom. I highly recommend him for time spent making it right, also his friendly, kind and understanding manner.

Now my loom wasn't broken, per say, but I wasn't getting a good shed when using all 8 shafts. My Golding Loom is an expensive piece of equipment and I knew I wasn't adjusting something correctly, I just could not figure out where I was wrong! I said that Bob is an understanding soul! Well, for me that was especially important because I had the wrong tie ups under the loom and they had to be measured accurately or it wouldn't work. Bob showed me how to make the tie ups the exact length and how to heat them so they wouldn't Frey and then he showed me how to keep the shafts raised to the optimum height for each shaft. It works like a dream now.

One of the photos above show a small, out of the way, fixture to light my pedals for accurate treadling. Or for those unfamiliar with the lingo, correct order of pedaling. I found this light in the lighting department at a hardware store. It is used and marketed for lighting pictures without ruining the frame. It hangs over a standard 1/2 inch lip of a picture. It also happens to fit the lip under my loom that is the piece of framing in front and over the pedals.

I am much more confident weaving when I can clearly see the numbers of my pedals. This is particularly important if I have a complicated weave structure and numbers to push such as 1+7, then 9+6, then 4+7! I didn't want to count each time either, so my husband devised a system that uses a rainbow colored set of reading tabs with the numbers written with a sharpie. They stick to the pedals but can easily be removed and won't mare the wood. I use a different color for every other number so that I can buy one four pack and save. They do wear off and lose their stickiness after a while. But they couldn't be easier to replace! This is also shown in one of the photos above.

The final handy dandy invention, (I've heard of different ways to do this) that makes the pattern for my weave structure easily legible and helps me keep my place when I'm interrupted, is a place card that is hovering at eye level and still looks nice. It is easiest for me to have it at eye level so that I don't have to look down at a sheet of paper or a book. So I typed, in a word processing program, the sequence with large, bold numbers in a line down the side of the paper. The bigger the better so long as it fits, when cut out, on one of those pick up sticks used to weave tapestry. Then I use a strong one inch piece of velcro to attach to the loom on the first heddle. Since the first heddle only moves up and down and has nothing in front of it, there is nothing to get in the way of the stick. I can see it over the top of the beater bar if I adhere it down at the bottom so most of it is up in the air. A mini clothes pin keeps my place. I just move the clothes pin as I beat, one hand to beat, one hand to move the pin. It's an easy, smooth motion that doesn't slow me down. I have mine on the far left so I can reach it easily and because I am left handed I prefer that. It really doesn't matter where it is placed so long as it is convenient for you. The picture shows it on the right as most people would prefer it there.

All of these fixes to my loom are made with the thought to keeping it looking nice while I weave. Also I do these things to make weaving as simple as possible to leave room for me to try difficult patterns. To put it another way, if my weaving motion is something I don't have to concentrate on then my brain can tackle a more complicated weave structure. I have found these few adjustments to be worth the time and effort to make them because it makes a world of difference in the weaving process.

If you have tried and true methods of organizing your weaving using handy tips such as these, I'd love to hear from you. Community is part of the fun of weaving.

Post pictures too. We'd love to see what you're up to.

Handwoven Towels

2010-05-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

I finished the first two towels from the loom. I still have many yards to go but want to vary the color and the texture a little. I love the pattern. It's circa 1654. It comes from the canvas of the Earl of Mar. The pattern is called a Gebrochene twill and has been around for a very long time. Most likely before this listing but there isn't any proof of it before then. At least currently available.

It is a very versatile weave structure and I did a sampler first which is the larger weave made of bulky cotton yarn as the weft and 5/2 pearl cotton as the warp. It is too bulky for a nice towel but it shows a few of the possible patterns well. I then chose one and used the same yarn in the weft as the warp and the second set of photos shows the finished towels that I cut of the loom, hemmed and washed and dried and ironed. I wrapped and shipped them off to my mother for Mother's Day.

I still have many more yards to weave and plan to vary the yarn of the weft at least one more time. I am going to use a finer cotton for the weft and see what I get. So stay posted and I put those pictures up as soon as they are finished.

My Newest Herd of Hair!

2010-05-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

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Well, it's been an exciting few days with the addition of our new puppy! He is ten months old and full of energy. The first night we brought him home, he went outside and ran and ran and ran. Finally he jumped feet first into the pool! He had so much fun!

Then the next morning we let them outside to see what they would do together. It was a bit of a gamble because Sabatchka is an alpha female and Leo Tolstoy is an alpha male. It was "let's play" right from the start! We were so shocked and pleased. Sabatchka needed a playmate in the worst way and so did Tolstoy! Now they seem inseparable except when it's feeding time and then it's a fight so we have to feed them separately. That keeps the competition out of the mix.

This is the first male dog I have ever owned but Rock is an expert and good with them. I value his opinion when dealing with problems, such as barking in the house at night. He had a great idea and it has worked. Spray with mist of water, then praise. It is having a positive effect for which we are all grateful.

Dog hair and marking his territory are all part of the male Siberian package. Pardon the pun!
Speaking of male packages, he goes in tomorrow to be Neutered. We will have to keep him down for a week and he may need a "cone of silence" (for Get Smart fans). But he has a nice big kennel for the time he has to stay down and he was from a family that kept him indoors most of the time so he will appreciate being inside more I think. This will also give the dogs a chance to miss each other because they can't play for that week either. And no swimming. Sounds like I have a sick kid, doesn't it? Well, he really is just a big kid for all his whining, jumping and throwing his weight around like he's hot stuff! And like our kids, we love the good and the bad!

I am looking forward to combing out their coats soon. They are starting to shed as is warms up so I should have plenty to spin soon. And my friend from the Alpaca Ranch has new fleeces from shearing her animals last week. I am looking forward to seeing her again. As well as seeing all her fine animals. Between these two sources for fiber, I will have my fill and then some.

If you'd like to see more photos of our fiber animals, namely, Sabatchka and Tolstoy, visit the link posted below. And happy spinning ya all!

Dogs for Spinning

2010-04-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

That's right, you read that correctly. I have just been reading about Siberian Huskies and the most common comment that was negative was that they shed 375 days a year. Ha Ha! Yes they shed if you leave them to do so on their own. But I take mine to a dog groomer to be dehaired twice a year. Then I ask the groomer to save the down for me. I have never had trouble asking for this, and they usually are very interested in why I want the hair. When I tell them I spin the hair into yarn that I weave into dog beds, the looks on their faces are priceless.

Yes, I do spin and weave with dog hair! The best part is the dogs of all sizes love the finished product. They climb up on them, rotate a few times and then lay down for a long nap. It happened first when I made myself a handwoven purse. It was a real hit for toy poodles, terriers and other small breeds, especially the Maltese. What a hoot it was to see the owner apologize because their dog was laying on my purse and didn't want to move.

I got the idea to add the dog hair to the woven fabrics and then turn them into pet beds. Again, the success was amazing. I gave my first dog bed made of handspun dog hair to a friend who rescued a small mixed breed. The picture at the top of this blog is the recipient of my first bed. Her name is Sylvia and her "Mom" has to move the bed to whatever room she is in to keep her happy. It is her favorite spot in the house. It made her feel at home right away.

You might imagine that spinning dog hair is unpleasant because it would be scratchy. Far from it, it is the softness of a fine alpaca or cashmere. Some dogs even have a triple coat which makes it even warmer and softer. And it mixes well with other animal fibers and dyes well too. But the part that makes them good for dog beds is that the dogs can always detect even the smallest amount of dog hair in an item. After all they have a much better sense of smell than we do! Bigger noses must help. Smile!

I have a newly dyed Siberian Husky and Collie skein and have yet to use it so you will see it up close and it will give you an idea of the softness. If you are a spinner or a spindlier, if you haven't tried dog hair yet, it's well worth it to give it a shot. I really think you will enjoy the experience and the finished product may surprise you! I know it surprised me!

If you have spun dog hair, I'd love to see it and share it with my followers. Feel free to share it. We'd love to see what you have done.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the new puppy post. More dog hair to spin. Yippee!

Unique Gifts for those Special Days

2010-04-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy last few weeks with my daughter's birthday celebrations and what not. She was adopted as a 7 year old so since that time we have birthday celebrations instead of a celebration.

This has been a fun filled few days with more to come and I am always looking for fun gifts that are unique for her. She is now 22 yrs. old and has a great sense of style. I enjoy shopping for her and have found it especially important to find that one of a kind, unique gift that surprises her and tickles her at the same time. She is full of ideas, but the surprises really go over big, so I am always on the look out for anything special. I shop on-line at for these gifts because I find I can really surprise her with gifts from Artfire. There are so many categories to look under.

Her closest friend is really into Steampunk fashions and Artfire has a trend category with all things Steampunk. My daughter likes all things involving Disney Princesses. From her first trip to Disneyland on her 8th birthday, to this birthday with Tinkerbell wrappings and pink and red decorations, she loves Disney. It is also part of her plan to have a Disney themed charades game at her birthday parties. It really is a hoot playing with all of her college friends trying to guess Disney characters and movies while eating cake and laughing ourselves silly. And, of course, she usually wins, although some of the kids are getting harder to beat than before. They must be boning up on their Disney.

Presents this year were for redecorating her room and so we found things related to Audrey Hepburn for her and new black waffle weave shower curtain and fancy shower hooks that really dress up her bathroom and make it look sophisticated and classy.

I also give her one of my own creations because it is a tradition since I started my business to make her something. The first gift was one of my purses and she still carries it around. See above for the photo of this purse. And in a few days I will post pictures of what I made for her this year. I can't just yet, because I have yet to give it to her. I am hoping to surprise her so I am sure you'll understand.

What a blessing it has been to bring Kelly into our family and make her our daughter! Yes, there have been struggles and lots of driving and tons of issues to overcome but it has all been worth it and I wouldn't change a thing. I now have one cousin that started with seven children and just adopted 3 children from Ethiopia and a best friend that is in the process of adopting 3 children from the US from one family and she already has 4 children still at home, one who is married and has a little girl of her own, and two of the four still at home are twins. It is a lively home filled with love and much joy and I encourage you to do the same if you have the means and the heart for those less fortunate. They may be less fortunate at first but it is amazing how quickly they become your own. And that makes you both truly blessed.

From our humble home to yours, blessings and lots of laughter!

Liana

Getting Ready for a Show and Life

2010-01-31T16:35:00.000-08:00

This is always an exciting time. I love getting ready for a show. Lots of new products to display and new friends to meet.
I am still working to get my studio cleaned and my loom in working order for eight shaft patterns. It is time consuming to
do either of these and family time and chores come first making it even harder to get to them, but I am very grateful to
our Great Heavenly Father for His provisions for us and the time to do. It has been especially rewarding to be making
new friends at The Church of the Canyons in Saugus, CA. It is also great to be involved at both our sons schools. I am meeting
friends from my college days at both places and am making new friends at each. God is very good.

I am learning to be thankful in all things, because thankfulness is the opposite of complaining and I have a huge, generational
ability to complain. I find myself biting my tongue more often than not after starting a string of complaints to stop them in
mid stream. I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
This is my new prayer for I admit I am a recovering complainer. In the church service today, Pastor Bob said that praise and
thankfulness are the cures for a complainer, if you spend your time being thankful, you won't feel like complaining. That
sounds like a recipe for success for me. I will be giving it a try and letting you know how it goes.

As for my crafting, as I said I have much to do and so tonight is my night to spend time organizing my studio. I enjoy being
in this room. It is an admitted, very luxurious space, as it is the largest room outside of the master bedroom so there are
so many other things it could be. I feel very blessed to have it as my studio, and this Tuesday will be my second teaching
session from there. I will be teaching a fellow weaver a few beading techniques I have picked up. That will be a challenge
and great fun. I am looking forward to this time with a friend.

I will be finding out more about the craft-fair I have been invited to be part of in February. If all goes well, I may continue
to work that particular show. I haven't done many shows because they take away from family time, which is very important to
me. They can also be expensive to be part of, but the timing and cost seem to be do-able so I am ready to give it a try.
Lord willing, all will go smoothly and I know I will meet a lot of wonderful people.

Finally, to tie this all together, I offer you a blessing to go with your week ahead.
Jude 19:24&25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless
with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all
time and now and forever. Amen.

And So It Goes

2010-01-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Well, what can I say, this economy has me down so I did something proactive. I shut down my Etsy shop to save money. I am now at artfire.com because an artist can open a shop for free. It is amazing the quality there too. And as of yet, it is not over-run with product. Of course, the more buzz the more chance that it will be like all the others, but I really like the set up and the subdivisions for product. You can find products by titles such as Design, Handmade, Supplies, etc. What a great way to find an artist. Also, what a great way to sell. It was so exciting to see my items on the first page and easy to find without searching page after page.

And if you like Knitting and Pod casts, you probably already know about Yarn Craft with Liz and Zontee who are part of Lions Brand Yarns and talk about all kinds of amazing things. For their Halloween Episode in 2009 they interviewed one of the creators of Artfire.com. This was a very informative episode and I was very anxious to open my artfire shop as soon as possible after listening to them.

I now have upgraded to Verified Artist because of the options and still am spending far less than any other shopping community I have come across. What a joy to have a great pod cast to listen to and to get such great tips to promote my business.

All that to say, I am trying to get on to Facebook so I can link my artfire shop with Facebook and people can shop from there. Isn't that a first? I will have a mini shop that you can actually buy from without logging in or giving extra information to purchase. More like shopping at the mail, since you are there anyway, why not check things out. With this great added benefit, I am unable to get to my facebook page and set it up. Bummer! Well, I have Facebook tech people looking into it for me so hopefully it will all be set up soon.

In the mean time, check out my shop and let me know what you think! I would love to hear your opinion. Have a blessed week.

Liana

Now On Etsy

2009-11-30T21:53:00.000-08:00

It has been a slow process, but I am finally up and running with my Etsy shop and am enjoying the sales coming my way because of Etsy.

The shop set up wasn't the problem, which I found easy and fun. The problem was finding the right set up and having enough merchandise before I opened my shop up to the search engines and put it on Facebook.

Shipping was also an issue because it is very expensive to ship and you either add it to the price, which I don't like to do, or you make it over the amount to cover any purchase. It wasn't until today that I discovered the tool that allows me to set the shipping profile for each item individually. What a huge help. If you check out my site now you will find 3 separate shipping prices depending on the item and special parameters. I can offer my customers much more in the way of realistic shipping without added cost or a mark-up on the item. Some of my items for sale even have Free Shipping for the holiday!

The other main improvement I have seen with the Etsy site that I am enjoying, is the ability to rearrange my items with a click and drag feature that is new.
I was very impressed the first time I used it change the look of my shop and I have since used it to highlight items that might otherwise be overlooked.

Lastly, the wonderful ability to show my blog viewers a Mini Etsy shop is my new favorite feature. I will try to add it to this blog so you can check it out while you read this, but I also will be learning how to add it to the side of the blog for easy access no matter what the blog is about. As always, I treasure your feedback about the blog. Please let me know what you think, add your experiences and just start a conversation.

Etsy Shop now open.

2009-11-06T17:28:00.001-08:00

"Snow Crystal"
An award winning champion!

View my new offerings at http://www.etsy.com/shop/lianao?order=custom.

I have begun offering fiber to spinners from my local alpaca ranches that supply me with unwashed, uncarded or uncombed, dirty fleeces fresh off their livestock to my studio. I then skirt, wash, comb and re comb until the batt is free from almost all vegetation and short fibers. This is what I offer to my customers at a low price, along with the photo of the alpaca it was collected from.

You can get updates from twitter at http://twitter.com/LIANAOB. Then shop at my Etsy shop to buy your own spinning fibers lovingly prepared for a heavenly spinning experience.

This fiber spins up so softly and produces a strong yet fluffy yarn that is perfect for baby blankets, shawls and scarves that you wish to be light and fluffy but warm. The advantage of alpaca is that few people that have trouble with alpaca the way they will with wool, which tends to be itchy. You will not have trouble with the alpaca because these fibers lay smooth and do not itch the way wool does.

I have Cream, Black, Lt. Brown, Med. Brown and Rich, Deep Brown Alpaca colors available.
They are all from my local alpaca ranches and there is both the Huacaya and Suri alpaca fibers available. In the photos above, the one on the left is the cream Huacaya alpaca combed with a small ball of finished single to show what can be done with this wonderful fiber.

For those projects that require wool, I also have Jacob Fleece available in the raw or processed.

I'm warped but can't weave yet!!!

2009-08-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

"Why not?" you ask. Because the pattern I have chosen needs four shafts per pedal and I don't have that many cords. Thank you, Sandy of "Redfish Dyeworks" and "The Weaving Outpost". She is looking to see if she has them so I can begin weaving. Let's hope she finds them or I will have to shop on line and wait for them to arrive.

The pattern I am weaving, once I get the cords on the loom, is a twill variations that caught my eye! It is M and W twill. This makes what looks like interesting float patterns that really show off two contrasting colors. I am making towels for a towel exchange that I mentioned in an earlier blog and I think it will be a long enough warp to really try all the variations plus keep a few towels for me, instead of handing them all over to the exchange.

I have a 3/2 cotton in Spice as the warp and some beautiful 3/2 cotton in Desert Sand as the weft. I also want to try on with my bamboo yarn in Robin's Egg Blue. It is my favorite color and I just love working with Bamboo in towels because it makes them antimicrobial and so soft to the touch you don't mind drying the dishes by hand! I can't, however, use the bamboo for the exchange because I am limited to linen, cotton, cottolin, ramie or hemp. I may also try the linen that I have but the size is off. It is much finer than the cotton and it may be overwhelmed by the cotton. We'll see. I will photograph the samples and let you judge.

Next blog will contain photos. Look for them and let me know which one you like best!!!

Birthday Party Means Rewards for You.

2009-08-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am off to my favorite client and dear friends' home for my birthday party tomorrow. Such fun. I was a newbie and Andrew and Donna saw my very first Christmas Ornaments and bought all of them. It was my first sale, it was my joy to see them so excited and I am looking forward to seeing their new home, newly remodeled. It is so fun to see them.

To arrive at their home for the first time, I want to bring them a house warming present and they want something made by me. It is such a hard thing to know what will fit their life style and decor. I am sure they will be kind about anything I bring, but I want it to be something that won't just take up space. I need to think about this for a while. But I will be back to let you know what I've chosen and you will have a chance to comment and win a similar item of your color choice.

The drawing will be at the end of the week and be randomly chosen from all submissions.

More to come, today!!!

Liana
Lianasloom.com

My First Finished Handspun Ball of Yarn

2009-08-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Why First you ask?

It is the first full ball of yarn ever produced from my handspun yarn. Until now I have always spun just enough to make a skein of yarn averaging around 75 yrds. per skein. Nothing to write home about. Most spinners, even new ones, manage to make these skeins and I am no exception. It is with great joy that I managed to spin enough to sell. This ball of yarn is 177 yrds. and it is a 2 ply blend of Super wash Merino, Silk, Bamboo and Firestarter (used to make the yarn sparkle).

How did I achieve more yarn this time than all the other times? My secret is a wonderful spinning contraption called the "WooLee Winder"! The reason it works so well making a larger quantity of yarn is because of it's design that fills the bobbin evenly. The bobbin fills smoothly with no hills and valleys to shorten your yardage, instead you find a steady, smooth surface of yarn that increases your productivity while shortening your time spent spinning. This decrease in time is due to the fact that the yarn production is never stopped to move the yarn to the next hook so that the spinning can continue winding on. This requires stopping often. With the WooLee Winder instead of a traditional setup, you will also improve the quality of your yarn. With the ability to make a more consistent yarn at a more consistent size, I don't have to stop and lose my train of thought every few minutes. That relaxed meditative state is more easily maintained. I am not saying that it will stop family and friends from interrupting you but then they are always welcome interruptions, are they not?

There is a down side to be considered, however, in making the investment to improve your yarn quantity and quality, and that is cost. The WooLee Winder is owned by one man, Robert Lee and now his son, he has been able to make one for just about ever spinning wheel out there but they are handmade and the bobbins are specially fit to the new flyer.

You can find him at http://www.thewooleewinder.com/

But if you want to see the difference, look below.

This is my WooLee Winder!

This is my ball of yarn, 2 ply 177 yrds. 15 wpi.

This is the single before it was plied.

And finally, this is the amount of yarn I usually achieved from a traditional flyer and bobbin. This is 84 yrds. 13 wpi and not enough to make into a good sized ball.

Invitation to Torrance for SCHG Nov.1st.

2009-07-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

In the mail the other day I received and invitation to the SCHG annual Christmas sale in Torrance.
I am planning on going and also plan to bring more of my handspun in larger amounts for projects for Christmas gifts, since a homemade Christmas seems to mean more these days. So if you are looking for a special type of yarn or color, please let me know so I will come prepared with possibilities for you. I will also have reasonably priced handspun jewelry for gifts if you haven't time to make them.

For those spinners out there, I will also have batts of Alpaca fiber combed and ready to spin. I will be demonstrating spinning this very special but inexpensive fiber that will make your knitted or crocheted items softer than wool, easier for some people to wear, who are sensitive to wool, such as myself. This I have received from a local Alpaca Rancher. She raises Huaycaya and I have three color options with rich black, a few shades of white, and several shades of brown available in large quantities. So if Alpaca is what you are looking for to add to your spinning stasch, I may just have what you are looking for. Since I have a large amount of the white I may also bring handdyed colors because I have learned to dye this summmer and it is such fun. There will also be blends available.

If any of these finds tickle your fancy, please join me in Torrance at the annual Christmas Craft Fair, November 1, 2009 at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, Torrance, CA.

This has been a busy summer so I am looking forward to working on spinning for a break as soon as school starts. It seems crazy to me that things slow down during school. Hope you are staying cool in this heatwave. Happy weaving, spinning, knitting and crocheting!!!

Liana
Liana's LoomEssence
lianasloom.com

2009-07-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did what I've read about respinning. I knew that my singles were not strong enough to hold up to the weaving tension once they were plied. I finally reread the information about energized singles and the fact that they make great collapsible fabric when used as weft. I then learned that those same over twisted yarns when cabled or plied make for a very strong warp. If you are cabling (4 strands, 2 plied and 2 plied, then spun the opposite direction of the plying to get all 4 strands in a strong cabled yarn.), the only advice I can offer is that the strands be very thin and over energized as singles. This makes for a light weight cabled yarn. If you want a yarn that is thicker, then increase the twist and the size of each strand. This makes for a very knit-able yarn. I haven't made cabled yarn for quite some time. I turned all that I made into necklaces with natural pendants and they have all been sold. I was surprised to find I am all out of that yarn. I need to make more and now is the perfect opportunity as I am spinning the silk and camel. I really like the consistency of the blend after I respun it. Photos of the single are below. I will post the one yarn once it is cabled as well so keep in touch if you'd like to see the finished yarn.
May we all find time in our busy lives to enjoy the art of spinning!!!

This is what the single looks like when I let go. The one below is with tension on the end of the string to keep it from plying. And the final photo is of a close-up of my cabled yarn with the ribbon for a necklace. Happy Spinning and Weaving! Liana

Life runs in the fast lane for a short while.

2009-07-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

This little blog is because it has been far to long since my last blog. We've have a house full of guests and events. Fun with relatives like a Dodger came. Busy with enrolling our youngest son into a school leaving me feeling like an end of homeschooling is both a blessing and a sorrow. But he assures me that he will see me every day!!! He's 10 and very kind, I pray school doesn't change his sweet spirit. His Daddy is also very kind so there is hope.

I also have been driving a lot for the boys regular actives. Time in between has been spent at a book store and I have found a few good books and magazines to recommend. "Contemporary Loom Beading by Sharon Bateman" is very useful. I have woven many items on several different sizes of looms; a tapestry loom, a Ashford Rigid Heddle, and a Jack Loom from Tom Golding.

However, never have I woven on a beading loom. This book is in depth about the process of weaving on an inexpensive loom from a craft store and it has the appeal of being very portable. I plan to take it with me on these trips and weave a guitar strap for my oldest son. He is taking lessons in school and really enjoys it, he even practices! I will probably blog about this process more once school starts. Here is a picture of the loom I bought for this purpose.

2 Ply Yarn Test

2009-06-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Well, the sample of the 2 ply 50% silk and 50% camel has been washed and dried and strength tested. It was not able to be pulled apart from 4 inches away. It was, however, able to be pulled about from 20 inches away. This "scientific" test performed by my 16 yr. old son and I, was specifically to see if I would have a strong enough yarn to use as a warp for my next project. It was not a complete success because I would like it to be strong enough to resist pulling apart at any length. However, I was glad to see that it had to be so far apart and with extra effort on my son's part.

What this means to me, and you may have a different opinion, is that I need to add twist to my plyed yarn to make it stronger. If you would like to give me your experience on such matters, I would very much like to hear from you.

Strong enough or not, I was very pleased with how consistently even my yarn was and how smooth. It was 25 wraps per inch which is the very thinnest I have ever spun. It has an incredibly soft hand but is reasonably strong. I love both the shine and the softness.

I will try it again to see if adding more twist to the plying process might strengthen the yarn. If it doesn't improve, I will use it as weft and use 100% silk as the warp. I do have 100% Tussah Silk to spin and it would be very fine without the camel and less apt to break. I have included some pix in this blog. Hope you like what you see.

Test of Plyed Yarn

2009-06-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

It was one of the first things I learned when I began to spin and weave. Sample, sample, sample!!!
When someone tells me something over and over it becomes part of my process. This was repeated in every class I have ever taken and I took it to heart. Thus began my purses, scarves, and jewelry because each was a way to use up a sample.

One of the funniest comments I got from someone at the first Convergence I attended, was, "You mean you actually sample? That's great!" My trouble isn't sampling, it's taking the next step. Making something bigger than a sample!

All that to say, this is my reason for making more than a sample. It is my reason for the blog. So far I have the yarn filled on one large bobbin, ready to be plyed . I have one like this last one, on the wheel. So on to more spinning.

In the meantime, I am warping my "Swan Lake" Jack Loom with some 10/2 cotton in Spice from UKI for some towels for our guild towel exchange. I want to have several towels to choose from so I plan to weave several different batches from different fibers and then decide which fibers make the best towels. I also am warping the Rigid Heddle with linen. Since linen has no stretch, I am a little hesitant to weave with it as the warp on my bigger 8 shaft loom because of tension troubles which are common. Instead I felt I should try it first on the Rigid Heddle. Sample the linen warp and see what I could do with it. I am in the process of warping both. I do it one step at a time because I don't have the time to dedicate to warping all at once. One step at a time works for me because of this.

I should have some time tomorrow to do another step of the warping process on each loom and do a little more spinning. Pictures to come.

Stay tuned and let me know if you have questions.

And I leave you with a question from me. Who was the very first weaver and where do we find this out?

Until next time,

Liana

Spinning for My Warp

2009-06-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellow Weaver and/or Spinner,

Thank you for joining me on this adventure to weave with my hand spun.

It has long been a passion of mine to use what I spin in my weaving and I have done just that a number of times already. However, I have believed that my hand spun yarns should always be used in the weft. It has, however, bothered me that this was the excepted way of using hand spun.

I have always spun bumpy yarns with lots of character that works very well for my weft in many different weaving projects including my purses and bags. The yarns are what I use in the weft to weave the finished pieces for the purse as shown in the pix above.

Since this is all I have ever used my hand spun yarns for, I have never bothered to make a very fine yarn. I always felt that if I spun too fine a yarn I would not be able to use it in my weaving and therefore never tried. But then a student of mine, Rachel, and I were talking about the fact that the first weavers only had the spindle and used that yarn they created for both the weft and the warp. It therefore, stands to reason that we could also use our yarns for both purposes.

It is on this premise that I have started spinning a very fine thread of 50% silk and 50% camel. It has the advantage of wanting to be thin by nature. This I learned from listening to the very informative podcast, yarnspinners@gmail.com. Post 31 Bamboo and Tencel was all about how to spin these fibers into yarn. They also talked about silk and blends. In this podcast I learned that it is easiest to spin silk into a very fine yarn. However, I have spun it successfully into a very nice bumpy yarn, shown in the photo above. I was anxious to try their method of spinning the fiber to get a very smooth yarn that is very fine and very strong.

Here is were the connection to the warp yarns was made. I am now in the process, as I mentioned above, making a yarn that is strong enough, hopefully, to allow me to warp with it. And then weave a fine cloth. Something I have not tried, either.

Here is the yarn so far, still in the process of being spun.

This blog will be the rest of the process for the making of this cloth from this fine yarn. I will keep you posted. Fail or Succeed. You will see the progress as it happens, in real time. Keep in mind, I will not always be available to blog daily, but I will try as often as I can, so check back regularly to see how it is going and add your voice to my experiment.

Thank you for your interest,

Liana
lianasloom.com