We Have a Winner!

Winter Twilight

It's a wrap.  You have watched this baby wrap from the time I was beaming it on the loom, to threading, weaving and even a video of taking it off the cloth beam.  And now it's done.
I love the colors; various shades of blues and purples with black as the weft.  There are more details and more pictures in our Etsy shop where it is listed for sale.

Here's the sister wrap being used by its new owner.

It's her first hand woven wrap and she was thrilled with the result.  This mama worked with Janet to design the colors and their placement in the wrap.

The initial photo also shows the pin stripping which is lovely in person.  Dark, rich colors such as these do not always show as well on computer monitors.  Each monitor displays it slightly differently.  

We also have a second wrap, named Tropical Delights,  available for sale in our Etsy shop.  The colors are slightly different and the pin stripping less dramatic but it's a beautiful wrap, if I do say so myself.

So now there's a new wrap on the loom and a new adventure begins with Gramma's Garden.

Happy New Year!

Tropical Delights

Tropical Delights is a brand new, hot off the loom baby wrap ready for wrapping.  Available now in our Etsy shop, this wrap is all cotton with a 10/2 mercerized cotton warp and an 8/2 cotton weft.  It's hand woven in plain weave except the hems which are our signature twill.
It measures 29" wide and 3.5 meters (136.5") long.

Created using a combination of 6 colors with 4 main background colors, this wrap is as unique and wonderful as its name suggests.  Tropical Delights has a tactile, heart-shaped, hand stitched middle marker.  

Those are all the details and the important part is it wraps like a dream.  Sturdy, soft, supple, and definitely toddler worthy.  Designed to wrap a child from 8 to 35 pounds and provide maximum strength and comfort for both mother and child.  

Feel free to contact us with any questions st lotsaknots [at] msn [dot] com.  

Handwoven baby wrap

For those of you who follow our blog, here's a preview of Dream Time as listed for sale in our Etsy shop.

It's now available in our Etsy shop HERE.  

And a few more pics.  

This last pic shows the hand embroidered middle marker.  It's visible and tactile.  It's easy to find when you are wrapping your child.  And, it's easy to ignore if you are wrapping in a way that does not require the middle marker.

More news coming on the next custom wrap, Stormageddon and it's sister, Dark Shadows.

Be well and enjoy Spring!

Who or what is Lotsaknots?

Simply put, Lotsaknots is the company formed by Claudia Segal and Janet Dykstra in 2002 when we realized we were producing more textiles, knitting, weaving, crochet, spinning, than our family and friends could use.  We both enjoyed the creation process and we decided to enter a couple of crafts fairs and sell our stuff.

That's the quick and dirty explanation.  But what's the rest of the story.  Janet and I share a lifelong passion for textiles.  We both learned to knit and crochet at a very young age and have progressed over the years to creating our own designs.  Janet's first knitting project, at age 7, was a sweater.  I started with smaller projects, choosing to outfit all my dolls with hand knit and hand crocheted outfits.  Most fit very poorly but I enjoyed the process and it was fun!

Many, many years later we enjoy creating shawls, sweaters, vests, hats, fingerless mitts, scarves and anything else.  The list is extremely long.  Some things are featured on our website, Lotsaknots.net and we will feature our designs for sale in our Etsy shop soon.

In 2003 I took my first weaving class and was hooked by the third week.  Despite being blind in one eye and having almost no peripheral vision in my other, I love handling the yarn for every process of weaving.  I often find myself daydreaming about the calculations for my next project.

Janet's mother used to say that knitting was her therapy and cost less than a psychiatrist.  We both agree with her and we have the added advantage of working together on most projects.  Since we live together, it's so easy exchange ideas.  Last night, Janet handed me her current warp plan and asked my opinion.

We went downstairs to the studio together and checked out the options for a few additions together.  It's a great system that works well for us.

Our current focus is on weaving baby wraps.  Janet and I are winding the warps together.  Janet has helped me thread and beam the warp and she has worked on every part of the weaving process except actually throwing the shuttle and weaving.  She leaves that to me.  I have been weaving for 10 years now and find each warp, each project has its own thrill.  I love watching the fabric form and thinking about its use and the things that inspired the warp stripes.  It's different for each warp and that's what holds my interest.  Even for 20 yards! or is it 20 meters?  I'll have to check my project sheet and make certain I'm following my own guidelines.

I am almost fanatical about writing everything down on paper.  I'd love to convert to the computer and iWeaveIt is almost good enough for planning my projects.  The project planner is still missing a few essentials.  Hopefully, they will continue to improve this program.  So, for now, I rely on the weaving calculator in Weavolution and my printer.

That's the history of Lotsaknots and an introduction to our studio and weaving.  I have many people to thank for teaching and encouraging me to be a good hand weaver.  Sue Helmken was my first weaving teacher, Tom Knisely from The Mannings has been a teacher and a mentor, Marsha provided transportation and friendship to get me through the early stages.  The list is very long and there are many weavers who has inspired me and have given me guidance.  I am grateful to everyone of them.

Next blog post  I will write more about our current projects and the hand made items on sale in our Etsy shop.

The Very Barry Cherry Wheels are coming!

Here it is!  The Special Edition Very Barry Cherry Matchless spinning wheel

The plaque distinguishes the new Cherry Matchless Wheel from every other cherry Matchless ever made.

Here's what the wheel looks like:

These wheels will sell out quickly. For a full description and to place a deposit on yours now go to our Etsy shop .  

This wheel is called Matchless because it is!  It spins with ease and is a wonderful choice whether you are a beginner or experienced spinner,  Feel free to contact me if you want to try it out.  The Lotsaknots Studio carries spinning wheels, rigid heddle looms and a variety of other Schacht products.  Contact us at lotsaknots@msn.com

Where it begins

We celebrated Valentine's Day on Sunday with brunch at a favorite restaurant, Normandie Farm.  It's an old fashioned place.  The type where most everyone gets dressed up and popovers are served shortly after you are seated.  It was delicious.


In our Lotsaknots Etsy shop we sell pre-wound warps and my warping mill makes it easier.  Determined to accomplish something yesterday, I wound two new warps for sale in our shop.  The first is a 2.5 yard striped warp of mercerized cotton that would be nice for towels or a table runner or a reusable bag.  I often photograph the warp on the warping mill because it's easier to see the colors in the stripes.  You can read all the details about the kit here.

The second warp is a 2.5 yard warp of unmercerized variegated cotton in my favorite color, purple.  I failed to photograph it while on the warping mill and it's a bit harder to see the different colors in this fun yarn.  Purple, green and off white combine to make an interesting yarn which I believe will create great towels or a table runner.  More details can be found here.

Brunch was here at Normandie Farm