Linen fingertip towels by Tracy Kaestner

To my mind, linen has always been the queen of fibers. (Perhaps silk is the empress.) Growing up with a parent and grandparents fresh from “the old country,” I was taught to prize fine linens because no family occasion could happen without them.

As an adult, I also learned how much of my rural Norwegian ancestors’ time was devoted to producing linen for body and home. On my first trip to Scandinavia, before I even learned to weave, I was thrilled to buy a handwoven linen tablecloth for the holidays in Sweden, and I also marveled at linen bath towels in Finland. (Linen for towels! What a concept!)

My own early forays into weaving with linen were less sublime. Tensioning was problematic, warps sometimes frayed, and, not knowing that there’s more to wet-finishing than fulling, the resulting cloth didn’t look as I’d imagined. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about weaving with linen, much of it from Handwoven, and now we’ve put together a linen kit, to help you get more weaving satisfaction from your linen adventures. Here’s are just a few of the nuggets you’ll find in this kit, these from an article by Lynn Tedder on linen weaving without tears:

• Linen fibers are more absorbent than cotton (which explains the Finnish towels)
• Linen weaves best with high warp tension, so when advancing the warp, tighten both the warp and cloth beams.
• Linen is stronger when wet, so it helps to wet the warp before weaving.
• You can also wet the bobbin to help it unwind more evenly.
• Linen weft is best beaten in on a closed shed.
• You don’t need to drive over your handwoven linens with your car to soften them. (This one got my attention.)

Along with timeless wisdom and gorgeous projects, this kit includes the book Linen: From Flax Seed to Woven Cloth, to inspire you with stories ofthis peerless fiber plus a myriad of beautiful towels, linen and otherwise, and 12 incredible weaving projects that could grace your holiday table THIS YEAR!

So enjoy, and may the flax be with you. 

Halloween is coming up, and if there’s one thing we here at BeWeave It love it’s having an excuse to wear a costume to work. If you’re still trying to think of a costume that will be suitably scary and original, have we got an idea for you. While looking at the latest and greatest issue of Jane Austen knits, we had the brilliant idea to bring to life the novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for Halloween. 

Of course, we couldn’t suggest this to you before taking a test run ourselves, could we? First, we raided the projects from Jane Austen Knits 2014 for our costuming. Next, BeWeave It intern Lauren used her makeup skills to make us look like zombies. You can see the terrifying results below as Christina and Lauren do their best zombie.

Zombie Lauren and Zombie Christina doing their best terrifying and not at all ridiculous zombie faces

Want to build your own Pride and Prejudice and Zombies costume? It's easy. First, you need the base layer. This can be fairly simple for ladies because we’re going to cover the top with a shawl. For example a nightgown tied at the bust to make it look Regency era would work just fine. Lauren opted for the Highbury Top from Jane Austen Knits while Christina forgot she was supposed to be a zombie and wore a hot pink dress. If you’re a gent, this is even easier. A white button up with a jacket or perhaps a nice sweater vest combined with slacks. Next, ladies will want to top the base layer with an elegant shawl. Lauren wore A Shawl for Emma while Christina opted for the Fitzwilliam’s Gift shawl. We might be zombies but we are classy zombies. As an optional touch, you can add a bonnet. Christina wore Susan’s Bonnet while Lauren opted out.

Last, you need to do the makeup. Here's what Lauren suggests for developing your perfect Zombie:

"Since no one has ever seen a real zombie (as far as I know), you can make your zombie look anyway you want. Was your zombie killed or did they get a disease? Have they been dead for long or are they “fresh”? Think through your zombie and make it unique to you. However, don’t be afraid to take inspiration from shows and movies. If you like the Walking Dead, try to recreate a zombie from that show.

Try to create bruises around the eyes. Depending on how dead you want your zombie to be, try to use yellow, then red, then purple, and a bit of black Work these colors from farthest to closest to your eye in rings.

Don’t be scared to get a little fancy. Liquid latex is cheap way of adding wounds and bullet holes. There are plenty tutorial videos online to use liquid latex. Just make sure you know how to remove it before you put it on.

And the most important rule of making zombies: Add, never subtract. There is no such thing as too much makeup. Just try to incorporate what you think you did wrong in a different way. If you accidently get red where you weren’t supposed to, create a bleeding cut. If you put yellow too high on the forehead, put it all over and make the zombie look jaundiced. There is no wrong way of making zombies."

The result was equal parts dignified and terrifying, just as a regency era zombie should be. So pick up your knitting needles (or if you're like me, bribe a knitting friend with some handwovens) and create your own fancy zombie costume today!

My knitted Yule troll with his needle-felted tomte friends, Olaf and Sven.

If you're looking for quick, fun ideas to make your holidays more magical, I recommend Interweave's new DIY Holiday magazine. The issue includes 25 handmade projects to make for the holidays, using a variety of different crafts like needlework, jewelry making, knitting, and mixed media. There's even quick weaving: a sweet holiday lights pin loom project from our friends at Schacht.

Happy crafting!

We absolutely love the latest Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits, so when the opportunity came up to share this post from frequent PieceWork contributor Kristine Byrnes about her wonderful tour of the costumes from Downton Abbey at the Winterthur Museum, we jumped at the chance. Her post is full of wonderful information on the exhibit (including how to buy tickets), although there are no spoilers about the upcoming season. —Christina

The snow appeared out of nowhere on my way to the press preview for the exhibition Costuming Downton Abbey at Winterthur Museum, near Wilmington, Delaware. One minute the sky was slightly overcast; the next, the road was barely visible. It didn’t matter. Nothing could keep me from my rendezvous with the true stars of the magnificent PBS series Downton Abbey: the costumes.

After curators explained the challenges of organizing such a unique exhibition, we were escorted to the gallery, and transported back in time to life on a country estate in the early part of the twentieth century. Winterthur, a real-life American estate owned by a branch of the DuPonts, is used to provide a contrast to the fictional home of the Crawley family.
 

Costumes worn at the afternoon garden party scene, during which the start of the Great War (World War I; 1914–1918) was announced. Photograph courtesy of Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Wilmington, Delaware. Photograph by James Schneck.

The costumes are arranged by time of day. We started out in the early-morning kitchen with the ladies’ maids and a wall of call bells. Downton’s system is compared to the more modern electric one used at Winterthur, and the rest of the exhibition follows this pattern of comparing the lifestyle shown on television, a representation of a British estate, with a real-life American estate of the same vintage.

Seeing the costumes is as exciting—perhaps even more so—than seeing a celebrity in person. Details not visible on the screen can be examined up close, and the exhibition provides a wealth of information on the origin and construction of the garments. Large photographs of scenes and quotes from key moments in the show lend context to the clothes and made me feel as if I had stepped into the show’s sets.
 

Beaded tabard worn by Rose; one of the few costumes that is vintage in its entirety. Photograph courtesy of Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, Wilmington, Delaware. Dress Photograph by James Schneck, Detail photograph by Maurice Marietti.

Any Downton Abbey fans within driving distance of Delaware should not miss this exhibition! But hurry: it closes on January 4. Click here for tickets. And you can read more about the exhibition in my article, “Costuming Downton Abbey: A Special Exhibition at Winterthur.” It’s one of several articles and 25 projects inspired by the amazing show featured in PieceWork’s special issue The Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits, which is now available.

-Kris

Kristine Byrnes is a knitter and spinner whose designs have been published in PieceWork, Knitscene, and Knitty. She lives on a small farm in central New Jersey with her husband, three sons, and a flock of Coopworth sheep. She collects vintage knitting patterns and books, which provide inspiration for her designs. Downton Abbey is one of her obsessions.

As you may or may not have already known, Interweave has recently released an absolutely epic 6-volume set of Weldon’s Practical Needlework. As a result, instead of writing and researching serious articles like weaving with dog hair or dressing up like zombies, we here at BeWeave It have been amusing ourselves to no end with these books—there’s just so much to learn. So here are the top five things we’ve learned so far from Weldon’s:

1. The Victorians really liked applique griffins, although most of them look like dragon-chickens rather than majestic eagle-lions. (We still love them.) It's totally worth looking through the applique section just to look at the variety of griffins available.
   

   Behold! It is a magestic Weldon griffin! It's totally not a dragon-chicken!

2. The Victorians did EVERYTHING. We don't mean they simply knit, crocheted and embroidered. There’s also smocking, netting, crewel work, macramé, tatting, and just about anything else you can imagine. (Well, except handweaving, although volume 5 does include some fabulous hemstitching and thread work.)
   
3. There’s no such thing as too much lace or too many ruffles or tassels. If anything, you should think of more ways to incorporate these things into your life. For example, forget regular trash cans—make yourself a macrame toilet tidy for the hair you pull out of your hairbrush. Don't you feel fancier already just thinking about it?
   
4. You can make a watch pocket for your pocket watch, although that might create a paradox. (We’ll get back to you on that one.)
   
5. You know those ridiculous sausage-shaped throw pillows? Apparently they used to serve a purpose. Known as “slumber rolls” they would have a rope attached so you could hang one from the back of your chair and use it while you slept sitting down. Who knew?

We here at BeWeave It are very happy to announce that our friends at PieceWork, Handwoven’s sister publication, have finally gotten their own fan page on Facebook: Needlework Traditions.

“But wait!” I hear some of you say, “This is a weaving page, why should we care about a knitting magazine?” Why? Well, PieceWork is no ordinary knitting magazine, in fact it’s not really a knitting magazine because it has knitting, crochet, beading, embroidery, tatting, nalbinding, netting, and a number of other niche techniques you can’t find anywhere else. (Bobbin lace, anyone?)

This German poem is about the precursor to the bra and was written by an unknown author in 1400, and then translated by Terry Walsh. (If you are easily offended by the dirty jokes in Shakespeare's plays, you may want to skip the poem, otherwise enjoy.):

"Many a girl two breast pouches sews, with

which around the street she goes,

So that each young lad she meets, can see she

has pretty, little teats;

But the one who with big breasts slouches, she

makes tighter, snugger pouches,

So there is no talk about the town, that with big

ones she's endowed."

There's also an article entitled "Vicky's Knickers, or Queen Victoria's Secret," which is all about Victorian underthings including the ever popular (and as longtime BeWeave It readers know, sometimes deadly) crinoline and a great story about the royal undergarment stealing Boy Jones. 

This isn’t a fluke, either; every issue has something wonderful like this in it. In the upcoming Jan/Feb 2015 issue there is an excellent project for knit Tanumüits (truly fabulous Estonian bonnets) and an article about Mrs. Mary Rolandson who was kidnapped by Native Americans in 1676, but fortunately had knitting needles with her so she was able to keep herself busy and knit her entire time in captivity.

So if you love textiles and want to read in-depth stories about their history and makers, then go to Facebook and "like" the new Needlework Traditions page today so you can get the full lowdown on the stories behind the textiles. 

As the holiday season approaches, and the warps I put on my loom get longer and longer I know I try to find the balance between weaving quickly, but at the same time not hurrying. Fortunately for me, Laura Fry's new video The Efficient Weaver covers just this topic. After several decades at the loom, Laura has learned to get the most weaving out of her time. And who doesn't want that? —Christina

Weaving cloth is a labor intensive process. In other words, it takes time. A lot of time. The biggest investment in hand woven cloth is the weaver’s labor.

As someone interested in earning an income for weaving I learned very quickly that once I had spent the coin of my time I could never get it back. While I could earn money to buy more yarn, I could never buy myself more time. Therefore it became clear that I needed to learn my craft very well, become competent with my skills, tools and materials. I needed to learn how to work efficiently.

That doesn’t mean that I could ever afford to "hurry!" Hurrying is an attitude, a mental state wherein you are not in the present moment but constantly thinking you need to be somewhere else, doing something else. Hurrying is when short cuts are taken, steps left out, all in an effort to get what you are doing over and done with.
 

Hurrying means mistakes are often made, which in the end result in poor results or extra time required to repair the situation.

Laura knows efficiency is the secret to happy warping.

Efficiency is about working with the least amount of effort—Minimum Input, Maximum Output. Efficiency comes from knowing the process so well that no thinking is required to move on to the next step. Efficiency means knowing your materials and tools intimately so that you can choose appropriately which yarns to use for a project and which processes will best serve the needs of your tools and materials.

Efficiency means reducing the amount of time involved in the steps of the process. Any technique that allows me to thread—hopefully correctly— in less time? That’s a win! There is no comfortable position in which to thread that I’ve found, although I’ve got my process refined to the point where it’s a lot better than when I first started weaving. But reducing the amount of time it takes has been the biggest benefit.

There are a few principles that appear to be true for most people, most of the time. These are my studio "rules":

• A thread under tension is a thread under control.
• If you can’t be perfect, be consistent.
• Never tie a knot where a bow will do.
• It isn’t finished until it’s wet finished.
• All else depends.

Weaving is filled with repetitive movements. In order to thread a 1,200 end warp, each thread needs to be pulled through a heddle. That’s 1,200 movements all pretty much the same. A cloth woven at 32 picks per inch means the shuttle passes 32 times for each inch woven. A 10 yard warp is going to have thousands of passes of the shuttle.

Doing the repetitive movements involved in a way that reduces the amount of time and the amount of effort required seems to me to be A Good Thing. Developing a smooth handling of tools therefore reducing the number of motions means it takes less time and less physical effort. But all of that said, rest breaks need to be taken. The rule of thumb with repetitive motions is that if it hurts, stop. Do something else, something that uses different muscles, different motions.

Learning how the body works is also important. The more ergonomically you can make your physical motions, the more work your body will comfortably be able to do. The biggest thing I see is weavers sitting far too low. Posture at the loom should be that elbows clear the breast beam, that hips are higher than knees. Sit up straight on the sitz bones, far enough forward on the bench that legs can move without having circulation cut off. Engage the core muscles and rock slightly at the hips as the shuttle is thrown. Hold the shuttle underhand to keep the shoulders at a more neutral position. This will reduce fatigue and allow the shuttle to easily slide from one selvedge to the other on wider warps.

Handweaving cloth is, by its very definition, “slow.” That doesn’t mean it has to be inefficient.

—Laura

Betty Davenport's Rio Grande placemats from The Best of Handwoven: Rigid Heddle Pattern Book 1 would look great on a Thanksgiving table.

Happy holiday crafting!

The past few weeks have been rather bittersweet. After four long years, my husband finally finished his dissertation and will hopefully be a full-fledged doctor by this time next week. While there will be much celebration when he defends on Friday, there will also be much packing as along with the PhD came a job offer in southern New Mexico.

While I’m looking forward to heading back down south to the same town we lived in before coming to Colorado where the weather is warmer and the chile is spicier, I am still sad about what I’ll be leaving behind. One of the many things I’ll miss about Colorado is coming into the office each day and spending time with my coworkers laughing, eating baked goods (I am surrounded by fabulous cooks), and oohing and aahing over handmade cloth.

While I know there are a million ways I can stay in contact with these wonderful people, I will miss having them right there next to me. I toyed around with the idea of putting full-sized cutouts of them in my new home office, but that was ultimately vetoed by my husband as being both "weird" and "creepy." So I’ve come up with the next best thing.

I picked up my pin loom and a bunch of colorful novelty yarns and wove up some jaunty bunting. The colorful flags are currently hanging up on the wall by my desk and I’ve asked coworkers to create their own flag to add to the bunch. Given that my coworkers all have a wide variety of textile related skills, I’ve been told I’m going to get flags that are knit, crocheted, sewn, and even felted. When I move to my new home and hang the flags up in my office, I’ll be able to look at them and feel like my friends are still in the room with me.

Christina's pin-loom bunting as it currently hangs on her Colorado wall.

In fact, I’ll probably be weaving more flags both for my own bunting and also for my friends in the office. I’ve packed up just about my entire weaving studio (having a loom and all that yarn staring at me was not conducive to packing—for similar reasons the bookshelves have also all been packed), but the office pin loom is still available to me (as is the office yarn stash). For that reason you can probably find me weaving away during my lunch break, as I experiment with color and texture on this nifty little loom. After working on both Angela Tong's pin-loom weaving video and Marcella Edmunds eBook on the subject, I can't wait to take my weaving even further.

Unlike projects at the big loom, or even my rigid-heddle loom, it only takes me about 20 minutes to weave the most complicated of squares from start to finish. It’s especially great for learning about color. (You know how sometimes you think two colors will look gorgeous together but when you actually start weaving you realize you’ve made a horrible mistake and need to unweave everything and re-plan your project? In pin-loom weaving this is a totally stress-free experience.) I plan on using these color lessons when I move into my new home in November and unpack my big loom and all my precious coned yarn—it’s been three days and I’m already in withdrawal—and weave a set of towels to go in my new kitchen.   

I’m so sad to leave Colorado, but I am looking forward to new adventures in the land of enchantment because I know that whenever I feel alone as I work from home I can just look at my bunting and once again be among friends.

Happy Weaving!

	This cozy throw appeared in the 1979 issue, but it looks like something Handwoven might publish today

This past weekend I spent quite a bit of time packing in preparation of my upcoming move to the Land of Enchantment. I’d already packed my loom and my yarn and all the associated supplies, but I had yet to pack my back issues of Handwoven.  

At this point I have just about every issue with just a few gaps here and there that I’m hoping will eventually be filled. In other words, I had A LOT of magazines to pack.

I sat on the floor surrounded by packing boxes, giant rolls of tape, giant black markers, and nearly 35 years of Handwovens. As I carefully packed my precious collection I couldn’t help thumbing through an issue or ten. I’m always amazed at how versatile even the oldest issues of Handwoven really are. Looking through the first issue, published back in 1979, I kept thinking, “I’d make that. I might change the colors, but I’d make that.” In fact, the warm wraps and cozy throws looked so nice that chilly Colorado morning I couldn’t help but stick in a few sticky notes so I would remember the projects once I unpack in a couple weeks.

It’s sometimes hard to know what projects and patterns will pass the test of time and survive fleeting trendiness. As we all well know, fashion is often cyclical and while the ponchos featured throughout the early issues of Handwoven were very much passé for a time (well, for passé for those who don’t appreciate how nice it is to essentially wear a blanket on a cold day), but then all of a sudden they were once again everywhere, as if they had never left.

What’s wonderful about much of Handwoven, though, is that it is so very classic. I think I can say without fear that twill towels will always be popular among weavers and in kitchens everywhere. Cozy scarves of alpaca and other soft wools will always be happily worn in the winter and elegant silk scarves will be shown off year round. Color palettes might change, but the patterns, designs, and fibers weavers love often stay the same.

As I flipped through these issues (you know, for moving reasons) I felt proud of my role in the long history of Handwoven. I’ve been so proud of every issue I’ve helped produce, and I’m always excited to see what happens next. We soon go to press on our cotton themed issue, and I’m so excited to share these projects with all of you. It’s always amazing to see what happens when we put out such a simple theme like cotton or twill or designing with color. Weavers take these themes and twist them around to create some truly spectacular pieces.

This past year I had my first ever project published in Handwoven. I can’t help but wonder (and hope) that someday, in the future, a weaver somewhere will thumb through the issue in some form or another, see my project, and say, “I’d make that. I might change the colors, but I’d make that.”

A while back I wrote about being so inspired by Tom Knisely’s video Weaving with Novelty Yarns that I decided to weave myself up a fancy scarf using some beautiful rayon slub combined with a merino/Tencel. At the time of the original post the warp was still on the board. I have since finished weaving, but I wanted to wait for the right opportunity to tell you the saga of my scarf.

First of all, my scarf came out pretty wonderful. The rayon slub worked fine in both warp and weft with next to no pulling in the heddles or reed—which is even more impressive due to the fact that I use flat-steel heddles rather than the inserted-eye heddles normally recommended for this kind of yarn. There may have been some gentle coaxing while winding on the warp, but on the whole it was smooth sailing.

The finished scarf is beautiful. I love how the colors interplay and the bumps from the rayon. It was a terrifically fun scarf to both weave and wear. I think it's a great example of what can be done with novelty yarns not just because it turned out just fine, but because it turned out just fine despite all the mistakes I made in planning it.

In his video, Tom explains how he carefully planned his scarf, making sure he had enough yarn for both warp and weft to create his project. He has a wonderful, color-coded plan for warping that very clearly presented the draft, the precise threading order, warp length, width in the reed, and pretty much everything else you’d need to know to warp up a successful scarf. I begin with this information to encourage you to follow Tom’s example and not mine.

Christina's novelty yarn scarf on loom and on Christina.

First, I was so meticulous about figuring out sett for both yarns and making sure the width of the warp stripes was just right I did not think about making sure my warp yarns added up in such a way that the diamond twill I had planned on using would be balanced. At least, not until I had the warp measured and sleyed through the reed. At that point I figured out there was no good way to balance the pattern without having to pretty much completely re-sley the reed. To that I said, "No thank you, I think I'll just weave a straight twill so I don't have to worry about balancing the pattern." This worked perfectly. Now that I think about it, diamonds probably would have distracted would have probably made the scarf too busy; the straight twill gave the scarf drape without distracting from the yarn.

Second, I didn't plan the length correctly. I don't know what I was thinking, but I added on about 20 more inches than I really needed. I did not realize this until I was getting close to my 5-foot target length and I still had plenty more to weave. Normally this would not be a bad thing as I could just make the scarf extra-long or use the rest to sample. Except I was primarily using the novelty yarn from the warp in the weft. And I was coming to the end not just of my bobbin, but of the cone. (Also the color had been discontinued years ago so ordering more and patiently waiting to finish the scarf was not an option.) I made it to just under the intended length which I figured would still be plenty long. I then used the merino/Tencel from the warp as the weft for the rest of the warp and weave myself up a nice little dresser scarf/mini runner. 

Last, when I finally cut my scarf off the loom I did not think about what I was doing and cut it off the front apron rod instead of untying the knots which meant my fringe was short. Really short. Short enough to just barely tie in knots. (I had enough forethought to hemstitch the dresser scarf so fringe wasn't an issue on that one.)

Somehow I wet-finished my scarf without a problem.The fringe is a bit wild, but I like it so I'm thinking of it as an unintended design element. Despite all of my silly mistakes the scarf turned out just fine. In fact, I absolutely loved the finished scarf. I wove it checked both because I wanted the slub yarn to go further, and because it reminded me a bit of a wild tweedy yarn. The selvedges were a bit weird (in a good way) because sometimes a slub would end up right at the turn of the cloth leaving a big and beautiful bump. The scarf was exactly the right length to loop once around the neck and have a bit hanging down.

Perhaps you are now wondering about my use of past tense when referring to my scarf. Well, as of this past weekend I made one more mistake, and it was a biggie. My washer and dryer are in the hallway that leads to my bedroom. Often when I wear a scarf I’ll put it on top of the washer to hang up later. (I’m sure most of you can see where this is going.) While overzealously doing some laundry my beautiful scarf got mixed in the bunch and went through both washer and dryer. My scarf is now very short with big lumps from differential shrinkage. I’m going to keep it though, as a reminder of how much fun it is to weave with novelty yarns (I'm already planning project #2) and that it’s always best to carefully think through each weaving, just like Tom does.

Happy Weaving!

	Christina is overjoyed and the prospect of once again having access to a loom.

I am officially in the final throes of preparing to move. We currently have more items in boxes than not, we’ve found approximately $300 in change both in and under the sofas (as well as a variety of half chewed bits of rawhide), and the dogs are finally aware that something is happening and have started eyeing us with suspicion as we pack their little world.  

I'd been keeping sane by using the office pin loom during my lunches to weave up little squares, but has been recently confiscated so my coworkers could weave up flags to add to my bunting, and once again I have gone into weaving withdrawal. (On a related note I can't wait to take photos of the completed bunting once it's hung in my new office. With every new flag I'm in awe of how creative you can get when limited to a 4” x 4” square. I digress.)

While there are days or even full weeks where I do not weave during the year, in times of stress I find there are few things as comforting as weaving. When I weave I can turn off the nagging doubts and the little worrisome thoughts that wake me up in the middle of the night. I can focus entirely on the yarn and get completely, and blissfully lost in the moment. I’ve even grown to love warping; the meditative act of taking each individual end and placing it where it needs to go makes me forget all the worries of the world. Just thinking about the feeling of gently sliding my hand down a bundle of warp ends to make sure everything is even before I tie them to the apron rod helps to relax me for a moment or two.

As I am dealing with both finishing up the Jan/Feb 2015 issue and moving I miss my looms acutely, but I know that if I hadn't packed my studio I would have found every opportunity to sit at the loom and procrastinate packing for just six more inches, I promise. Then I'd be so close to the end of a bobbin I'd want to finish the yarn off, and then well, a newly filled bobbin is just too tempting not to weave a few picks more . . .you get the picture. (It's a bit like the children's book If You Give a Mouse A Cookie except I don't think If You Give a Procrastinating Weaving Editor A Loom When She Should Really Be Packing the Linen Closet would make nearly as interesting of a story. Once again, I digress.)

Fortunately for me, we recently received the office sample of the Weave Anywhere: Rigid-Heddle Loom Kit which includes a real live Ashford SampleIt Loom from Foxglove Fiber Arts. Huzzah! Just as the name of the kit implies, with this rigid-heddle loom I can weave pretty much anywhere including the office break room, at a conference table during a meeting (although if you don’t work for Interweave where such things are encouraged, you may not want to test this one), and outside at one of the work picnic tables. I bet I could even take it to the coffee shop down the way and weave there if I feel especially frivolous.

Given that I only have a few days left at the office, and only about 30 minutes a day where I can actually sit down and weave, I don’t think I’ll finish a “proper” project. Of course as most of you weavers know weaving a "thing" isn't really the point. Most of us don't weave because we have to, but because we love the act of weaving from the careful, contemplative warping to the gentle rhythm of the loom as the threads cross and yarn becomes cloth. I'm sure I'm not alone in giving away much of what I weave to family and friends for Christmas, birthdays, and "just because" so I have a reason to keep weaving. 

In less than a week I will be in my new home and my new studio space, and I will have access to all my looms and yarns once again. Until then I will spend my days writing and editing and my evenings packing—but, for a blissful half an hour around noon I’ll spend my time weaving. I won’t think about cancelling the milk delivery or which articles still need writing—I’ll be lost in the moment as I pass my shuttle back and forth and weave simply for the sake of weaving.

Happy Weaving!

New Free eBook: Weaving with Rags: 3 Free Rag-Weaving Patterns

I’ve been fascinated by rag weaving for a long time. When I was very young, I remember my parents purchasing a handwoven rag rug. I can’t remember if it was vintage or if they purchased it from a craftsman, but I remember being in awe of the fact that here was a rug that was quite pretty (it was a lovely shade of blue) and it was made of rags.

To me, the rug was pure magic and it was the first time I remember recognizing that cloth (other than the wonderful sweaters my grandmother knit me) didn’t simply appear completely whole. It was the first time I knew that a cloth was made fromsomething and it was mind blowing.

Now that I work for Handwoven I am still very much in awe of rag weaving. The rag part of the name can be deceiving as it evokes images of ratty fabric. In fact, rag weaving is an excellent way to upcycle old and well-loved clothing that is perhaps stained in places, too small, or falling apart. Even better, you can now easily purchase sari, kimono, and batik rag yarns to weave extra special pieces with truly exquisite fabric that may have otherwise been thrown away. Best of all, it’s quick to both warp and weave.

In our new free eBook Weaving with Rags: 3 Free Rag-Weaving Patterns we have three wonderful rag weaving project for every level of weaver and every weaving budget. Whether you’re looking for a way to use up old T-shirts, you want to use up some of your fabric stash, or you are looking for a reason to buy some luscious kimono yarn there’s a project for you.

Happy Weaving!

Fortunately for me, even though I cannot find my collection of bobbins, much less the bobbin winder, I can still weave. Even though I have guests arriving next week for Thanksgiving and I have to unpack several other rooms before I can even think about unpacking my studio, I can still weave. While much of my weaving supplies are currently located in around 900 boxes all labeled simply with "weaving," my rigid-heddle loom and associated supplies were in a box labeled "rigid-heddle loom and supplies." Huzzah! Even better, though I do not know where my yarn stash is (probably in a box labeled "weaving") I can go to any yarn shop in town and pick up a suitable yarn this weekend. Thanks to my handy-dandy warping peg I can then be ready to weave in around 20 minutes. How great is that?

In honor of my lovely little rigid-heddle loom I have composed this list of the top ten reasons I love rigid-heddle looms. Feel free to add your own reasons in the comments!

1. They are usually small enough where you can take them just about anywhere. They fit easily into the car, you can carry them on an air plane, and they are easy to just plain carry for that matter. If you don't have a lot of room in your home this also means they are easy to store; I used to hang mine up on the wall when I wasn't using it.

2. You can get yarns perfect for rigid-heddle weaving at pretty much any local yarn shop.

3. If you use the direct warping method you don't have to spend an hour or more winding your warp and threading the heddles before you can weave; instead you just pull the yarn through the slots and around the warping peg and you can be up and weaving in no time.

4. Not only is it quick to warp, but if you're using thick "knitting" yarns you can weave up a scarf in a leisurely afternoon.

5. There are no treadling patterns to remember so if you're just weaving plain weave you can socialize or listen to podcasts while you weave without losing your place or your patience.

6. Finger controlled weaves are so much easier on a rigid-heddle loom.

7. When you're tired of weaving in your box-filled house you can take it out on the patio and weave in front of the chiminea, to a park and weave on a picnic table, or to a coffee shop and weave on a regular table.

8. Quick warping means you feel better about experimenting with color and texture; it's great fun to put on an entire warp devoted to "what if?"

9. Next to no loom waste means you can use all those luxury knitting yarns you thought were off limits to weavers. (Although I've found that if you can just figure out the right use for it, there's no yarn that is actually off limits to weavers.)

10. They're perfect for teaching friends and family of any age who want to learn how to weave. I know I can't wait for my neice to visit in December. I'll have the rigid-heddle loom warped up with her favorite color yarn so she can join me in the studio as we drink hot cider and weave up something fun.

If you love your rigid-heddle loom, let us know why in the comments! (Besides the obvious fact that they are wonderful.) And if you or some one you love needs a rigid-heddle loom, make sure to check out our brand new Weave Anywhere Rigid-Heddle Loom Kit that has almost everything you need to get weaving--including the loom! All you have to do is add yarn.

Happy Weaving!