Weaving

 Since I have been weaving when on Google Hangouts, I have made much better progress on that lacy shawl. It is officially cut off of the loom and I am working on using macrame techniques for the fringe.

The beginning of the fringe. It is a variation of macrame square knots (aka Solomon's knots)

You may have already seen this picture on my Twitter feed to the right, but I made the decision to continue this pattern versus the other photograph posted. Now that the shawl is off the loom, I am looking to start a new project on there. Unfortunately, the yarn I bought to make a rug seems to be clashing with the warp that is currently on there. I need to remove it and try something different. I'm not sure what yet, but I will figure it out either today or tomorrow.

Now for the exciting news that has consumed my thoughts for the past several days: I bought a table loom! It is the exact make and model that I fell in love with in the fibers studio during college. It's a Leclerc Voyageur, for those of you who know about such things. Here's the post of it from eBay. I was shocked when I found it on eBay! It is a newer model, so I have been unable to find one used in the past 2-3 years I have been looking. I like this model because it is easy to use and is a great teaching tool. It folds up for easier transport and because the levers are at the top of the loom versus the side, it can be used by both left and right handed people. 

Not only is it the model I wanted, it is an 8-shaft which means I can experiment with more complicated woven patterns! (Patterns like twill designs and plain weave are made with 4 shafts. There are more advanced patterns out there, and an 8-shaft loom allows me to weave most designs I would ever want to try.) Of course, I will probably play around with twill patterns before I experiment with designs I am unfamiliar with simply because it is the beginning of the school year. Also I need to focus on filling up the store before people start Christmas shopping. 

Included with the loom was a warping board and some yarn. This is fortunate because I needed something to count out warp threads for the new loom. I have a few bags of warp that I counted out for the floor loom when I still had access to a warping mill in college. Unfortunately these would not fit on the new loom, so I am very grateful to have the warping board included.

The loom was listed as local pick-up only. In Michigan. 9 hours away. Fortunately I have a younger brother who was visiting up there. And he was awesome enough to go look at the loom for me and is bringing it back to Tennessee today. So, sometime tonight I will have my new loom in my hands. Hopefully the floor loom, Loomie, will not get jealous. I tend to have multiple projects going at the same time, so I shouldn't start neglecting either of the looms or my crochet hooks and knitting needles.