Something's Not Quite Right

  The taquete rugs I am weaving right now, don't look right.  This is what they are supposed to look like (blue = light yellow):

  This is inspired by a project in Issue 160 of Handwoven magazine.  This is what my rug looks like so far:

   This is supposed to be a weft-faced weave, so you shouldn't see anything but white and yellow.  Also, one line of weft is getting packed up under or over the previous one.  This will make for a nice, thick rug but not the blocks of color I was going for.

  This was part of the instructions for the project.  I found it very confusing so I just ignored it.  This may be why it doesn't look right.
  Just maybe.:)

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

  I was going to use some handspun and store-bought yarn on my rigid heddle loom to make a log cabin patterned scarf, but the yarn was too thick to go through the holes without shredding. This should have been my first clue.
  I took it off of the rigid heddle and put it on the big loom. I started weaving and it looked great, if I do say so myself.
  It ended up looking like this:

   

 

  Those ends? Those are the ends I had to weave back in when they snapped.  You know the proverbial "last straw that broke the camel's back"?  Let's rephrase that to "the last thread of warp that made me cut it all off from the loom before it was done"!

  Notice what color these snapped ends (mostly) are? Guess which yarn is the homespun.
  AAAAAAHT. Wrong.
  The homespun is the colored. The store-bought is  a non-plied wool that just. Kept. FRAYING!
  Deep breath in.
  Deep breath out. I'm better now.
  So now I have a really short scarf that I think I will put a button on and market as a neck-warmer.
  Now I can put the taquete rug on the big loom.
  Lesson learned: Don't use a non-plied yarn as warp. Also, weave thin yarns on the rigid heddle loom.

After the Baby Shower Blog

   By the time I publish this, my co-worker, who I made this for as a baby shower present, will know what it looks like first hand.  The likelihood of her reading this blog beforehand is astronomically small, but still.

   Isn't it lovely?!  The pattern shows up pretty well, and the colors look good together, if I do say so myself.  The Orlon was pretty easy to work with too, no tension issues to speak of.  I put enough warp on the loom for two of them, so I will be listing one soon on Etsy. 

Secret Baby Blankets

The baby blankets are well underway on the floor loom. The  pattern is called Star of Bethlehem and the yarn is something called orlon. My mom has heard of it from Way Back When, but I haven't.  I usually don't like to work with unnatural yarns, but I thought it would be good for this project. Wool would have been too hot for a Spring baby in Alabama, linen is too scratchy at first, and cotton is too....boring. Also, I had already bought the Orlon and just needed something to do with it.  The colors are a little odd for a baby blanket, but I wanted ones that would go for boys or girls. I have a co-worker who doesn't like the green, she thinks it is too dark.  I think this works, though.