It's gone Home to Oregon

Home to Oregon baby wrap

Done and gone home to Oregon.  This was a lovely wrap to work with.  I enjoyed looking at the colors and imagining the landscape they represent.  The blessing threads (center markers) were less of a challenge than I expected.  They are supplemental weft thread, inserted at the center point to enable the baby wrap wearer to feel for and easily identify the middle of the wrap.

blessing threads (middle of wrap)

The final wrap is 6.2 meters long.  The longest wrap I have ever woven!  The measurements were taken twice following washing the wrap in lukewarm water, spinning the water out in the washer (on low) and letting it dry on the clothesline.  We ironed it carefully on both sides and corrected 2 small treading errors.  Then, off it went to it's home in Oregon.

It's difficult to see the true colors considering every monitor is different.  Our client commented that the colors were more intense and much more pleasing in person.  We did our best to match her poem, Anniversary Poem: Home to Oregon.  A first for us and our client.

The next several projects include a set of shadow weave napkins for our household.  They had an auspicious start when I discovered a 100 thread error in the sample.  I had to untie the sample from the apron rod and one-by-one remove and rethread each end.  A tedious and time consuming job.  Now complete, the napkins are moving along quickly on my brand new 16 shaft Toika Eeva computer assisted loom.  My first "real" project on my new loom.  It's fun and more challenging than I expected.

In addition, I am working on a new weaving kit to sell in our Etsy shop.  It's a scarf kit constructed of 5/2 cotton warp and sock yarn weft.  We currently offer a kit with a pre-wound warp that can be used on a rigid heddle loom or a floor loom.  The scarf loom will be different yarn and will include a pre-wound warp and sufficient weft for a machine washable, longish scarf with fringe.  All kits include printed, detailed instructions and come with a year of email support.

As Garrison Keillor is known to say, "Be well, do good work and keep in touch".

The Wrap Whizzes off the Loom

I have filmed several of our completed wraps as I remove them from the loom.  I've enjoyed watching the fabric come off the cloth beam and seeing it piled up on the floor in front of the loom.  This time is a bit different.  I admit, I've never worked this quickly in my life OR I may have pushed the wrong button when I filmed myself removing the baby wrap from the loom.  Once it's off there are no "do-overs".  Before I began filming, I spent 15 minutes testing the camera and making certain I positioned it correctly on my new tripod.  Then, I pressed the wrong button or something when I set it to record.  Actually, I think it's more fun this way.

Let's go back to the beginning.  This wrap, which we have titled Home to Oregon, was designed from a poem written by our client.  You can read the poem here.  She explained more about the poem in her blog post.  

The center of the wrap is marked with blessing threads that represent the flight of the mallard ducks over a pond.  The color yarn was chosen to represent that vibrant turquoise that appears on the mallard's head.  You can scroll down on this page and see a nice color photo.  

                            

The wrap is almost done.  Janet is taking a close look at every thread to check for any minor treading errors.  Once these are repaired, the wrap will be hand washed, hemmed and mailed to our client.  I will be sad to see it go.  This one is a beauty.