Cricket Loom and scarf in progress
Warp Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Worsted, 50% Alpaca, 50% Wool, “Grapefruit Mix”
Weft Yarn: Plymouth Gina, 100% wool, Color No. 5
For several weeks, I’ve had the idea that I’d love to learn how to weave, and had placed it on my mental list of things to try in the future. But I couldn’t stop noticing weaving being mentioned everywhere — and seeing beautiful projects on blogs and Ravelry. I was in the shop this past Friday, and checked to see when the next weaving class would be. There was one scheduled for the next day and nobody had signed up yet. (A sign?) Naturally, I had to take the class. I had heard so many people say how they were discouraged by how tedious it was to warp a loom, but I actually liked that part. I enjoyed the actual weaving too! The hallmark of a successful weaving project is planning — and then planning some more. Each row of weaving requires mindfulness and attention. I’d definitely call it meditative.
One of the supposed positive features of weaving (for knitters) is “stashbusting” — but I know myself. If I had a loom, I’d want to experiment with fibers that aren’t already in my stash. I certainly don’t want to be limited — and I don’t want to fool myself by saying that I’ll commit myself only to weaving from my stash! So that was the first hurdle — being honest with myself about how I’d use a loom and planning accordingly. I haven’t fully committed to buying my first loom yet, and I’m not in a hurry. My focus right now is on finishing what I started on the shop’s 10″ Cricket and then tackling the rest of my knitting projects. Advice and suggestions from weavers is appreciated!
And in the vein of learning and trying new things, SoKnitPicky and I got our hands dirty and tried this too:
It was a lot of fun and required a lot more upper body strength than I expected. I’d definitely do it again now that I know what to expect; I also want to try throwing a bowl that doesn’t have such an “interesting” design. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after it’s glazed!