a simple yarn

Depends on your cultural frame of reference, I guess.

Here’s a photo.

To my Irish friends, it’s a familiar name in the weaving world with interesting clothing, home furnishings and a great café to meet up with friends.

To my American friends, it reflects a well-known sight around Annapolis, Maryland, the ubiquitous Navy midshipman.

Yep, a blend of Irish and American culture—Avoca on US soil. Sadly, though, the shop lacks the hip and trendy merchandise of the Irish-based shops. With cheesy Irish folk music in the background, it seems more a caricature, a la ‘The Quiet Man’ or Carroll’s Irish Gifts, than true innovative Irish design.

But still, it’s nice to see a friendly Irish ‘face’ all the same.

…sans photos, I’m afraid.

So, where are we at the moment?  In the US, at least for the next week.  Kiddies and I need to return to Dublin to pack up, finish school, say our farewells, which is the crappity part of this whole transition.  Final departure from Ireland happens mid-June.

Right then, during the next month or so, posts might be here, there or anywhere, as time and energy allow.

Because of dodgy internet connections, I can’t respond individually to the very lovely comments that have been left.  But thanks so much for a warm and hearty welcome back to the US.  Have to confess that culture shock (of the reverse kind) is creeping in.  But, all will be well as soon as I get into a knitting group and crank up the needles again.  Ahhh!

Okay, just one picture to remind me of the Dublin mountains before we left for our quick US trip…local free range sheep in the back garden.

… now what do I do with it?

Here it is.

Reminiscent of Cookie Monster or some other such Muppet, I’ve woven this sample with leftover placemat warp.
Not sure what to do with it.
Not really sure what it is.
Or even what it could be.

You see, during the Avoca-Yarn-Acquisition-Fever, I had occasion to wander into the weaving mill. Quite mesmerizing to watch. Equally fascinated by a machine cutting off selvedges from the woven fabric on the automatic loom.

Ah surely something could be done with ‘em, right?
Seems a shame to waste ‘em, eh?
Certainly a creative type could make use of ‘em, huh?
Wonder if they’d let me take ‘em, so?

At that moment, Yarn-Acquisition-Fever turned into Selvedge-Recycling-Frenzy and I was after the shop manageress to see if I could do them a good turn and take that waste off their hands. Very accommodating was she and my boot was tightly packed with industrial sized bags of the stuff. And feeling quite earth-friendly, I took them home…

…where they now sit awaiting their creatively recycled fate.

Hmm, with an interesting warp, these could be transformed into very-cool-scarf-wear.
Or maybe knit on super-jumbo needles.
Don’t want to revisit the fun-fur phase, though.

Any ideas?

Warning:
If you get weak at the knees when viewing yarn (or you are my husband working on another continent at the moment), click away…now.

Annual Avoca yarn sale—a rather hit-or-miss proposition for buying discontinued yarn from this handweaving mill. Occasionally good deals to be had for the knitter, more options for weavers though. And they weave such lovely stuff, surely using their yarns will enhance my own weaving, right? Besides, extraordinarily good prices make the journey worthwhile…that and great craic when going with friends.

Thursday, 14 February
At Isobel’s suggestion—she, Holly and I, along with two daughters pile into the car, and I came away with this.

dark plum nubby yarn, gray wool, red cotton

Quite reasonable I’d say. A tour of the mill, however, inspires a quick dash for a few more cones.

gold chenille, orange-red nubby, red wool

Still, for lower-than-bargain-basement prices, it was a rather harmless day.

Sunday, 17 February
We find ourselves, along with Sara, traveling south to Wexford to visit Sharon.
‘Erm, how much of a diversion would it be to pop into Avoca?’
‘Think Sharon would mind us being a wee bit late?’
‘Probably not if we bring her something!’

cream and duck egg bouclé

A mental calculation of two days’ worth of purchases still gives me the green light of satisfaction.

Tuesday, 19 February
Ahem…recurring flashbacks to cones of yarn that got away continue to gnaw.
‘What if I’m not around next year for the sale?’
‘Why didn’t I pick up that chocolatey brown chenille?’
‘Wonder if they’ve added anything new?’
‘When is the sale over?’

So, fastening on mental skis to make the journey down the slippery slope more comfortable, I give up the fight, hop in the car for my third journey over the mountains. And without any need for external enabling, I shamelessly add this…

um, everything else…a nice weaving palette of wool, chenille, bouclé and yummy alpaca

Shall we have a (gulp) group picture of the purchases?

That’s it. All done. (For this year at least.)

It’s not rocket science… or is it?

That was then…

This is now…

‘How cute!’ you may say.
‘Uh….’ I may reply.

‘Look, they’re square, how avant garde!’ you may exclaim.
‘Erm….’ I may stutter.

‘Wow, you’ve oriented them with a 90º turn!’ you may notice.
‘Hmm….’ I may mutter.

You see, for all my logic and measuring and mathematics, these place mats are not what I intended. Nope, not what I had planned…at all…in the least…and I have no idea what happened.

Ah well, fact is I like ‘em nonetheless…perhaps cuz they’re avant garde!

So, without internet readily available, what should I do with all my ‘extra’ time?

Hoping that we are now fairly settled in our new environs, I look forward to doing something a bit more creative than unpacking cardboard boxes. Hmmm…what shall I do first? Somehow all those projects scrambling for first place in my head have gone on holiday leaving a big empty space. Wishing I had signed up for Ravelry now. (OK, not really, but certainly wish I had a list somewhere…) Thankfully, Christmas knitting comes to the rescue, but after that? I begin looking around with a hint of desperation. Ahh….I finally spot a recurring eye-sore…

Exhibit A: Plain wooden table. Right, begin to plan. Think I’ll make some woven rag placemats. After a fabric swap with Holly…

…lotsa cutting…

…lotsa scraps…

…and after lotsa ironing, I’m ready to sew them end to end to create really long strips of rag for the weft. Whew! That’s lotsa work. Gotta get back to Christmas knitting for now. But now that I’m rolling, I’m anxious to get the weaving underway!

During the summers when we travel to the US, I try not to overdo on purchases, contenting myself with lovely products available in Europe. But fabric? Well, that’s a different matter altogether!

I think I would like to focus on my weaving during the next year and so I’ll certainly need complementary fabrics (or so I tell myself). As I lay in a supply of craft fabric during the summer months, I couldn’t decide among the myriad of choices…and that was at JoAnn Fabrics alone…on sale even! So, what should I do? Take one of each, of course…

Geometric

Retro

Paisley

Floral

The next step will be to find more warp threads to match.

Not exactly knowing what I want to weave or craft in the future dictates a broad palette with strong colours to complement the weaving. It could be called ‘indecision’, but I’d like to think of it as an ‘eclectic’ mix…

Right, so it’s not going to happen until the loom is freed from storage, but I can dream can’t I?

You would have thought that the 8 books, 3 magazines and 1 pamphlet that I brought back from the US would have been sufficient inspiration for the next few months….or years. Well, that’s for the ‘knitting me’. It didn’t take too many days of being back on Irish soil for me to trot into the bookshop and purchase…

Now, I have a confession to make. Weaving book projects usually don’t leave me breathless like knitting ones do. For those weavers whom I have just offended…deepest apologies. I certainly find handweaving deeply satisfying and intellectually stimulating, but not always gaspingly inspiring.

But this book has come the closest to getting my creative juices flowing with a faint quickening of the heart. A lovely silk scarf, which photographic limitations omit the beautiful woven detail…

A ‘fushiko’ bag…Japanese for ‘wrapper’…made from kimono fabric.

And an interesting woven beret with knitted band…

I find it a great starting point for future creations, once the loom gets its ‘get out of jail free’ card.

Our weaving mathematical equation for today: Sails - Wind = Me.

Yes, the wind was taken out of my sails today….

During my visit to Tamarack…the centre highlighting the best of West Virginia craftspeople…I purchased a cool little lap loom in the old-fashioned wooden toys area. ‘How nifty!’ I thought, and immediately began to experiment with this tiny treasure. I was certainly feeling a connection to my pioneering forebears. So what was this that I held in my hands?

I googled the term lap loom. Nothing looked like the toy sitting in my lap. Peg loom? Nope. ‘How curious!’ I mused. Ah well, I couldn’t tell whether it was knitting or weaving, but it produced a double-thickness-cool-loopy-chain-mail-like scarf.

It was all quite simple…wrap the yarn in a figure-eight around the pegs. Repeat once again. Draw the bottom loop over the top loop and continue to do this as the ‘woven’ portion drops through the middle of the loom.

I found it all quite relaxing as I could chat with my parents and yet feel like I was getting back into the feel of fibre.

As I fell into a sort of reverie pondering all of the lovely colour combinations that could be made with a wonderfully simple open-double-weave using this time honoured wooden tool. I set it aside, however, so my mom and I could make a quick trip to the craft store. And what did I see?

Cheap, plastic loopy knitter. Ack!

Okay, so I’m not totally devastated and am still chuffed with the results from my little wooden beauty. And ya know, I’m thinking that I may just be able to take it on the plane!

Today, it was all about fibre.

Yes, it was another lovely day in Dublin. Sun shining. Temperatures rising. Skies clearing. And yet, it was a testimony to the love of fibre that brought Isobel, Kate, Holly and Flo over to the house today for a bit of a fibre fun.

It was all about spinning.

It was all about weaving.

It was all about knitting.

It was all about eating.

It was all about chatting with a little bit of felting and a hint of dyeing, but it was all about fun.

For being just two small letters, ‘u’ and ‘n’, when placed next to one another cause great chaos.

It started out so innocently. There I was basking in the glow of the recently completed rayon scarf. Yes, I was wearing my laurels proudly for having conquered the slippery beast. What better way to celebrate than by inviting some friends over for a casual fibre day at the weekend? Some want to have hands-on experience with the loom. Why not? I’m feeling great!

Guess I better put on a warp. Something simple, especially after that last encounter. Hmmmm….what shall it be? Right, think I’ll do simple twill variations on a plain off-white wool warp. At least I think it’s wool. Well, a wool blend at any rate. Easy enough. At least it should be predictable, right?

Moral of the Story Prematurely Inserted Here:
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

Guess I should have realised that nothing is predictable, except perhaps gravity…
…and sunrise…
…and taxes…
…and death.

Okay, death may not be predictable…inevitable yes, predictable no. Anyway, take my lovely predictable yarn, add ‘u-n’ and there you have it…

So, what’s wrong with this picture? Do you see some threads that have definitive ends to them? Did you know that a warp consists of one continuous loop of threads? Continuous. No unattached ends. Especially in the middle. Just laying there. Disconnected.

Arg. Must have snipped them when undoing the ties. I’ve never done that before. Certainly don’t want to do it again. And the glory-of-the-rayon-memory faded from mental view.

Salvage attempts fail. Too many loose ends. What was I doing when snipping the ties? Was I dreaming? Sleeping? Comatose? Flash of Edward Scissorhands inspiration? At any rate, the death knell sounded for about 1/3 of the warp. No matter, I suppose. It was a sampler anyway. Now, it’s just a skinny sampler.

Since then I have found at least one more thread in the remaining warp which has mysteriously broken, frayed or been an additional scissor victim. And so my simple warping is turning into quite an un-predictable adventure.

“I love it when a plan comes together!”     -Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, The A-Team

I’m enjoying this…

…because I’ve completed this…

…up close it looks like this…

…and for that ‘little something’, I added some of these…

Totally chuffed…that’s all I can say.

Warning, Project Notes Ahead Which May Bore Non-Weavers…Proceed At Your Own Risk:

Weave: Chose a simple twill, due to the iridescent nature of the rayon, with a tabby weave for 40 picks on both ends of scarf (a 40th birthday gift after all!).

Finishing: Beaded the tabby weave area with a total of 40 iridescent beads (sense the ‘40′ theme?). Chose an extra long simple fringe, reminiscent of art-deco-flapper-era to complement rayon shimmer.

Dimensions: 45 inches woven length with 24 inches of fringe for a total of 69 inches of scarf length. Width is 10 inches.

Original Warp: 80 inches long, so I’m happy with the minimal waste, take up and shrinkage. Original warp width was 12 inches, so shrinkage and draw in factors were on the money. Approximately 33epi (48 wraps per inch x .67 for twill = 32.16), sleyed at a 2-3-3-3 on a 12 dent reed.

Synopsis: Since I got a full scarf with plenty to spare out of one 235g hank, I guess I could have saved myself some future trouble by doing a longer warp. However, time certainly wasn’t on my side. So, I’ve got another hank waiting to be another scarf, but that’s for another day because now it’s time to party!