Last night, Audubon Park Elementary held their annual Arts at Audubon open house. The Weavers of Orlando have participated in this event for many years; it was my first time. Local artisans have tables scattered throughout the school. Kids and parents walk through to see demos and do make and takes. The Weavers of Orlando set up the school library. We had a floor loom, a table loom, two spinners (including me), and Kumihimo disks for a make and take. We were inundated for the two hours of the event; we brought 200 Kumihimo disks and ran out 1/2 hour before the end of the event! Usually, I try to share pictures from these events, but I don’t have any from this one. We were so busy talking to kids and parents that I didn’t have time to take pictures. Instead, I thought I’d share some of the things kids and parents said at the event!
The second girl in the room, just moments into the event: “I’ve come to this for 5 years, and weaving is my favorite.”
“Will you make me a snow hat?”
Girl: “What can you make with the yarn?”
Me: “Anything you want!”
Girl: “Shoes?”
Me: “Well, you can make slippers and those are kind of shoes.”
Girl: “Can you make me some?
Mother: “Do you get the wool from a lamb or a sheep?”
Me (confused): “Well, a lamb is a baby sheep. I don’t know how old they are when they are sheared the first time.”
Mother: “A lamb is a baby sheep? Shows how much I know!”
Girl: “Where do we get the jellyfish?” (referring to the Kumihimo disks)
Father: “Do you have a cotton gin? Or know anyone who does?”
This turned into an interesting conversation. He’s been growing cotton in his yard — the native cotton that grows into a tall bush. He has bags of cotton, but no gin to clean it. He’s looked online, the only gins he can find are huge commercial versions, and he doesn’t have time to build his own. Then he offered me cotton seeds!
I always ask if people want to touch the roving, then the spun yarn so they can compare the two. I’m still spinning the Cormo, which is super soft. One girl, probably a kindergartener, just couldn’t stop touching the roving. She bent down and buried both her hands in the bag of roving on the floor. “It’s so soft!” she said, again and again. Yes, yes it is.
A common question: “How does it work?”
My standard spiel, regardless of age: “Every time I press down on a pedal, the big wheel goes around one time. The big wheel is connected to this smaller wheel by this band. Every time the big wheel goes around once, the small wheel goes around 8 times. The small wheel makes all the rest of this (as I generally wave at the bobbin and flyer) go around, including the fiber. This puts twist in the fiber and it is the twist that makes the yarn hold together. So when I spin, two things are happening. With my hands I’m drawing out a little bit of fiber at a time, and this determines how thick the yarn will be. At the same time, my feet are moving, putting in the twist to hold the yarn together. The amount of twist is determined by how fast I move my feet in relationship to how fast I move my hands.”
I didn’t notice any eyes glazing over, and several of the kids asked questions after or during the spiel. The questions were logical extensions of the spiel, so it sounded like they understood.
Boy: “What happens if you move your feet really fast?”
And before I could answer, he says: “You’d have to move your hands really fast too, right?
I love it when someone gets it!
The most common question of all: “Can I try it?”
Me: “No. Not tonight.”
Child: “Why not?”
Me: “I’m not good enough at it myself to explain it!” or “It’s a little too chaotic in here!”
Both are true statements; if I’m going to keep doing demos, I’ve gotta get better at the teaching part!
I finished the Doctor Who Scarf while I was in Vermont last week, and presented it to my cousin as a graduation gift. He loved it! Here’s all the info about the scarf.
Official Stats
Draft: Plain Weave
Loom: 15″ Cricket Rigid Heddle Loom
Reed: 8
Warp Stats
Yarn: 369 yards llama yarn, gifted to me by Stacy, produced at a local-to-her farm
Loom waste: 42 yards
Total Warp Ends: 96
Ends Per Inch (EPI): 8
Warp Length: 16 feet (no, that’s not a typo!)
Weft Stats
Yarn:
52 yards Berroco Vintage, colorway 5180 (purple)
63 yards llama yarn (camel)
24 yards Peace Fleece worsted in Sheplova Mushroom (bronze)
36 yards Peace Fleece worsted in Khrushchev Corn (yellow)
70 yards Peace Fleece worsted in Sakhalin Salmon (rust)
69 yards Lion Brand Amazing in Olympia (gray)
44 yards Peace Fleece worsted in Shaba (?) (green)
Picks Per Inch (PPI): 7-8
Width in the Reed: 12″
Dimensions Before Finishing: 164″ x 11.5″ (not including fringe)
Finished Dimensions: 153″ x 10.5″ (not including fringe)
Made for: My cousin Cooper, as a college graduation present
My cousin loves Doctor Who (and many other things geeky), so I decided to make him a Doctor Who scarf as a graduation present. If you aren’t familiar with this particular bit of geekery, Doctor Who is a science fiction television show produced by the BBC. It’s been around since 1963, though it was off the air between 1989 and 2005 (If you’d like an overview of the show, check out the Wikipedia entry). The title character is a time traveling alien who regenerates rather than dying. So far, 13 different actors have portrayed the Doctor (I’m counting John Hurt as the War Doctor, for those of you yelling that it’s only 12).
Each iteration of the Doctor has a different personality and costuming. The Fourth Doctor, portrayed by actor Tom Baker, wore a very long multi-colored scarf. According to legend, the scarf came about because a costume designer picked up some wool and handed it over to a knitter, asking her to knit a scarf. She used up all the wool she was given, creating a very long scarf. While this wasn’t the original intention of the costume designer, he liked it and the BBC went ahead with it. Over the various seasons that Tom Baker was on the show, different versions of the scarf were created, including a stunt scarf. Many people — including me — have knit replicas of that scarf, and there’s a website recounting the various iterations of the scarf and options for knitting it yourself.
I knit this scarf for my husband back in 2010. I’d rather poke my eyes out with my knitting needles than knit this much garter stitch again.
Since I didn’t want to knit that much garter stitch again, I decided to try weaving the scarf instead. I looked on Ravelry and found woven Dr. Who scarves by the following Ravelers: Jason, Serenova, Littleredmitten, jeen, jeen again, jeen a third time, jeen a fourth time to use up the leftovers from the first three, quiltnknitgirl, rosalynk, and MountainAsh. Only Jeen has detailed project information. Some of the others included the yarn and yardage used, but no detailed project notes. Therefore, I used the knitting patterns at Doctor Who Scarf and created a spreadsheet to figure out the weaving.
When making a Doctor Who scarf, you can decide to be true to the literal representation of the scarf, the spirit of the scarf, or both. A literal representation of the scarf means picking a season, getting yarn that is as close as possible to the colors used in the scarf in that season, and knitting stripes that are exactly the width of the ones on the scarf. The spirit of the scarf is going with what you have on hand and making something unexpected.
I knew I wasn’t going for a straight literal representation of the scarf because that would mean knitting it. I also wanted to use as much stash yarn as possible, rather than buying yarn. I tried to get as close as possible to the colors in the scarf as my stash would allow, but I wasn’t going to stress about minor color variations (I ended up buying purple yarn because I had nothing in my stash that was close, but everything else came from stash). On the other hand, I did want to pick a season and replicate the color order and stripe lengths of that season’s scarf. The Doctor Who Scarf website has a side-by-side comparison of the scarves for seasons 12 to 14, with the total length, stripe length, and total width of the scarf marked. I decided to go with a season 12 scarf because it is the longest of all of them.
Unlike knitting, weaving shrinks when taking off the loom and wet finished. In order to adjust for this, I added 20% to the length of each stripe, hoping that by doing so, I would get close to the correct stripe size after finishing. The scarf only shrunk by a total of 11″, which is about 7% of the pre-finishing length, so I probably could have added only 10% to the length when weaving. Unfortunately, I forgot to measure the length of stripes after finishing, so I don’t have the data to do an actual comparison. Since I used 3 different brands of yarn in the weft, I assume the different yarns shrank at different rates, but don’t know for sure.
This is the first project in which I did calculations to determine the yardage I needed for weft. I used a spreadsheet formula to add the length of all stripes of each color. I then multiplied that length by 88 (8 picks per inch * 11 inches wide in the finished scarf) and divided by 36 to get an estimated yardage for each color. This calculation was not particularly accurate.
Total Weft Length
Estimated Weft Yardage
Actual Weft Yardage
Purple
18.30
44.73
52
Camel
32.40
79.20
63
Bronze
19.20
46.93
23
Mustard
13.80
33.73
36
Rust
22.50
55.00
70
Grey
23.70
57.93
69
Greenish Brown
24.90
60.87
44
154.80
378.40
357
There’s a number of possible reasons my initial calculations were inaccurate. One is that I did not accurately measure the length of each color as I wove. Or perhaps I missed weaving a stripe in one color. I don’t think this is the case — I had a 4×6 card with a list of stripes and I crossed them off as I wove — but it’s possible.
I wasn’t always getting 8 picks per inch as I wove, partly due to tension challenges (more on that in a minute) and partly because of the different types of yarn. Since I used stash yarns, and some of the yarns were partial balls, I may not have had an accurate weight for the partial skeins before I started the project. I didn’t weigh each one; I relied on the weight listed in Ravelry, assuming that I had accurately listed information on my earlier projects.
The Trouble with Tassels
In the television show, the tassels are made from one strand of each of the seven colors in the scarf. When weaving, the fringe is usually the warp, and the warp for this project is only one color. I considered a number of options for finishing the scarf. I could:
Dye individual strands of fringe to match the stripes
Cut off the fringe, sew a hem, make tassels, and sew them to the edge of the scarf
Needlefelt 1″ or so on each end, rather than hemming, then sew the tassels to the needlefelted edge
Leave the warp as the fringe, leaning towards the spirit of the scarf not an accurate representation
I planned to sew a hem, but I ended up leaving the warp as fringe because I ran out of time — the scarf took nearly 15 hours to dry and by the time it was dry I had to pack it. I don’t think needlefelting would have worked on this project, because I don’t think the llama yarn I used for warp would felt. I tried wet-felting a join between two skeins and it didn’t work.
Warped Warp
As soon as I started tying on the warp, I knew that this warp was going to be problematic. This yarn was very stretchy. The long warp meant that the warp was sagging between the loom and the warping peg, resulting in different lengths for each strand of warp.
Then disaster struck — I had one more strand of yarn to bring through the heddle when the warping peg hopped onto the floor. My entire warp was on the floor, and the loop at the end was in disarray. Rather than rewarping the entire project, I gathered up the end, shook the warp to even it out as much as possible, then wound it onto the loom. I stopped regularly to yank the warp and shake out any tangles. When the warp was mostly wound on, I cut above the loop so that the warp would be even. Since I had to cut so much off to even up the end, my warp was a little too short for my planned project. I had to skip the last two stripes.
The llama yarn wasn’t the best warp. It was strong, but it was very stretchy and hairy. The stretchiness, combined with the long length of this warp, led to variations in tension as I wove. The hairiness of the warp meant that it shed as I moved the heddle back and forth, leaving debris all over my floor and table.
Learning Experiences
This was the first project I wove using a boat shuttle. I have the 9″ Mini Schacht Shuttle (The Woolery, affiliate link), which I received as a Christmas gift. I wanted that shuttle specifically for this project. Seven colors, and long stretches of a single color make it impossible to carry yarn up the selvedge. The price of the boat shuttle plus a couple dozen 4″ bobbins (The Woolery, affiliate link) is a bit more than buying extra stick shuttles, but the boat shuttle is more flexible.
It took me a little while to get used to the boat shuttle. I discovered that it worked better when the tension was higher. When the tension was too loose, the boat shuttle tended to slip between the warp strands and fall to the floor. I also learned that the boat shuttle worked better when I threw it right side up. The bobbin does not sit directly in the middle of the shuttle; it is a bit closer to the top than the bottom. If I put the shuttle through with the top side down, the wider parts of the bobbin tended to catch on the warp strands. The shuttle has “Schacht” printed on the side of it. It is right side up when that printing is right side up.
This is the first project I’ve done where I cut the yarn for color changes rather than carrying colors up the selvedge. Therefore, it is the first project where I had to manage ends. On other projects, I carried the ends along the bottom of the work. I started doing that with this project and ran into a problem. As I wound, the cloth beam caught the ends and pulled them vertically. If you look carefully at the purple stripe in the foreground of the picture on the deck, you can see some wonkiness to the selvedge. This is the result of the end getting caught in the cloth beam and pulling. After I figure out what was happening, I brought my ends to the top of the work and cut them short before winding them around the cloth beam.
This project was just about the maximum size the 15″ Cricket loom can handle. By the time I finished, the cloth beam was full. I might have been able to get one more turn of the cloth beam — just enough to finish those extra two stripes — but it would have been close. The yarns I used for this project were heavy worsted weight. Thinner yarns would make a thinner cloth, so theoretically the loom should be able to handle a longer warp if I used fingering- or lace-weight yarn.
Conclusion
Weaving a Doctor Who Scarf is a lot more fun than knitting one. I tied on the warp on Saturday and cut the finished project off the loom on Wednesday. The project took something like 16 hours of hands on time, including the extra time it took to fix the warp after the warping peg abandoned its duties. While I don’t want to knit a Doctor Who Scarf ever again, I wouldn’t hesitate to weave one!
Cooper opening the scarf while my mother (l) and cousin (Cooper’s sister) (r) watch.
Today’s prompt is to write about my crafting time and space. I realized that every time I attend a special fiber-related event, I write an entire post on this blog. Sometimes I mention going to my regular spinning or knitting group, but I’ve never written posts about the various groups I attend or my day-to-day crafting experience!
Crafting at Home
When I craft at home, it is almost always in my living room, while watching tv. If I’m knitting or crocheting, I sit on the couch, and there’s almost always a cat in my lap.
If I am spinning or weaving, I can’t sit on the couch because it is too low and I can’t sit all the way back. Instead, I grab a “kitchen” chair and sit in that while I spin or weave. “Kitchen” is in quotes because these chairs are part of a table & chairs set that I bought for maybe $60 many years ago (at least 20), but they are no longer used in the kitchen. The table is an extension of my desk and the chairs are totally beat up because of the cats. The chairs float around the house, pressed into service as cat beds, cat stair steps (so poor arthritic Pepper can get to her favorite sleep spots), step stools for me, etc.
Travel Knitting
Since I’ve traveled so much the last few years, travel knitting is a regular part of my crafting time. If I’m on a plane, I am almost always knitting. If I’m a passenger in a car, and we are traveling a distance, I’m knitting.
I took this picture on my recent flight to Hartford, CT. I often put my ball of yarn in the cup holder on the tray to keep it from getting away from me.
Crafting Groups
I regularly attend 3 groups that meet monthly as well as one weekly group. I’m thinking of adding a fourth monthly group; they used to meet on Wednesdays, conflicting with my regular weekly group, but they moved their meetings to the second Saturday of the month. I haven’t been home on the second Saturday since they changed the meeting. I’m planning to attend that group in June and see if I can make it a regular part of my schedule.
Wednesday Knit Nights
The weekly group meets from whenever people arrive until 8 pm at my local yarn store (LYS), Knit!, located 3 miles from my house. I’ve lived close to Knit! for 12 years, and ever since I picked up my knitting in 2006 after a hiatus of several years, it’s been my LYS. Marney’s had knitting nights before, usually during the fall and winter, but I’ve never attended because of my schedule. Last fall, she started up knit nights again and I plan to go every week, though of course I don’t always make it. Most Wednesdays, there’s at least 6 or 8 people there. On busy evenings, there’s been as many as 20 and no room to walk in the shop. On the occasional slow night, there’s 3 people there. I am excited that Marney decided to continue the knit nights through the summer this year!
l to r: Susan, me, Dawn, and Lisa. We’re all regulars on Wednesday night.
Drunken Monkey Spinners
Drunken Monkey is a coffee shop in Orlando. The spinning group meets on the first Saturday of the month from 8 am to 11ish am. Most months, we have at least 8 people in attendance. The most we’ve had is about 12, counting the 5-year old son of the group’s finder and the non-fiber-crafting husband of one member. I joined this group in June last year, a few weeks after I got my spinning wheel. I always bring my wheel because I can’t spindle spin! Other members bring wheels or spindles or knitting or crocheting and we spend a lovely morning chatting over fiber. Other coffee-house guests often stop and ask what we are doing, and we explain to them a little about how spinning works. If you are ever in Orlando on the first Saturday of the month, you are welcome to join us!
Weavers of Orlando
The Weavers of Orlando guild meets on the 3rd Saturday of the month in Winter Park, Florida from 10 am until noonish. Sometimes there’s also presentations in the early afternoon. The Weavers of Orlando has about 100 members and most meetings have 40 to 50 people in attendance. Visitors are always welcome at these meetings, if you find yourself in the Orlando area on the 3rd Saturday of the month.
We have a number of members who live in Florida for the winter and elsewhere for the summer. This is the lowest attendance I’ve seen since I started attending the Guild last fall, probably because some of the snow birds have flown off to their winter homes.
Wekiva Knitters
The area I live in is called Wekiva, after the nearby river. One of the librarians at the local branch organizes Wekiva Knitters; the group meets at that branch on the 3rd Saturday of the month, 1 pm to 3 pm. Since the library is a polling station, including for early voting, during elections the group is cancelled or rescheduled. The attendance varies dramatically from one month to the next. Sometimes there’s only one or two people there. The largest group I’ve ever personally seen is about 10. My own attendance at this group is erratic. I first went in August of 2012, then didn’t make it there again until June 2013 due to travel and other obligations. I really enjoy this group, though, and try to get there as often as I can. It’s only a mile from my house (shorter, as the crow flies), so if I’m home there’s no excuse for missing it!
On this blog, I write about knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, and dyeing. It’s obvious just from the count of posts in each category that I spend more time on knitting than I do on the others, even though I know how to do them all. I want to learn to sew, tat, and make bobbin lace. But what about you? Which fiber crafts do you already know and what do you want to learn? I’d love to know — it’ll help me write blog posts that meet your interests!
NOTE: The poll is an embedded Survey Monkey poll. I discovered when I was previewing the post that the poll did not show up when the page loaded, but it did when I refreshed the page. Also, if you are reading on a mobile device, the poll may not display. The poll consists of 3 questions. You may need to scroll down in the embedded box to see the third question and the submit button! If you prefer, you can follow this link to Survey Monkey and take the poll there.
Today’s prompt is to publish something different than you usually publish. The ways in which this particular post is different for me has more to do with process than content. I always write posts from my desktop at home. If I’m not home, I don’t write. I no longer carry a laptop with me and my iPad can be a bit annoying to use for blogging.
Despite this usual practice, I am writing this post on my iPad, while sitting in the West Hartford, CT library, 1500+ miles from my home in Florida. I wanted to share my past week with you! Last Friday, May 8, I left Florida and flew to Hartford, then drove up to Burlington, Vermont. I’ve wandered around New England, visiting family, friends, and yarn stores. I’ve limited myself to one picture for each day of the trip — also a departure from my usual wordy posts. Don’t worry, there will be more posts on the yarny portions of the trip!
After I arrived in Vermont, I had to cut the ends off the Dr. Who Scarf.
On Saturday, I attended my cousin’s college graduation.
On Sunday, I visited a dairy farm and a cow tried to eat me. Seriously! She wasn’t just licking — she wrapped her tongue around my wrist and tried to drag my hand into her mouth.
On Monday, I checked out the Burlington, Vermont area. This included a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s factory.
On Tuesday, I yarn crawled my way from Burlington, Vermont to Northampton, Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, I visited WEBS!! (For the uninitiated, that’s the largest yarn store in the U.S.) I had them ship my yarn because cones don’t compress well in luggage.
On Thursday, I visited The Book Barn. This is my favorite used bookstore and it is located in Niantic and East Lyme, Connecticut.
Today, I’m flying home. I have so much yarny wonderfulness to share with you from this week. I can’t wait to get home and start writing!
