sampler #9 - two grey hills motif in very non-traditional colors

I am about and inch or so away from my halfway point in this weaving. I am going to try very hard to post something every week about what I am learning while I am weaving in the Navajo Way.

I love all styles of Navajo Weavings, but I am drawn to the Two Grey Hills motifs. Traditionally Two Grey Hills colors are black, brown, gray, and white/natural white.

wool - churro and unknown blend

When I started this weaving, I really did want to use traditional colors. The reason I picked these colors is it was what I have on hand! I just can’t justify buying anymore yarn, I have to use up some of my stash, and I have some churro waiting to be spun.

It will be interesting how it will turn out. I am going to try very hard not to point out all my mistakes, I am just happy to be back in the weaving groove.

in progress

I am slowly working my way thru my largest weaving project to date. And to make things more complicated I just had to use handspun yarn and commercial yarn together. It’s always risky (for me) to combine, and I am slowly dealing with the inconsistencies in yarn weight as I weave on!

~ sampler # 8 ~

I am slowing working through the Bennett/Bighorse weaving books, and decided to do the “greek scroll key” design.

close up weaving, a little more than half way of length

The project did take me a little under a month to complete (I need to start writing down when I start and finish the weavings). The last 2 inches took me as long as the complete weaving, and this was expected and normal!

last 2 inches

last 2 inches

When the weather is nice (which is almost everyday) i roll out spare carpet and weave outdoors.

the final countdown

So, the skinny is……….

Pattern Idea: Bennett/Bighorse

Size: 10 1/4″ x 21 1/2″ (the directions called for ten by twenty, but I purposely lengthened it so I could experiment with the design in the middle of the weaving.

Warp Material: Navajo Warp

Warp Count: 80

Weft Material: Brown Sheep Wool Singles – Black, Charcoal, Slate

Weft Count: Approx. 32 to 40 rows per inch

Techniques Used: Plain Weave, Turned Joints

finished weaving

I learned a lot from this weaving. Initially I was doing the turned joints way too loose. Once I started tightening them, the joints came out beautifully, and the weaving became smooth instead of bumpy.

I worked really, really hard on keeping the selvedge wedges straight. My husband commented that he could notice that they were coming out better than my last weaving. I was really happy that it was noticeable.

The other thing I learned was that I pack my weft at 32 to 40 rows per inch. I was glad that I am figuring this out. It helps when planning  a future project.

finished rug!

Oh, the twined edges are my double plied handspun! I am happy with the finished rug, but know there is much room for improvement. I will keep on working!

weaving in progress ~ sampler #6

I’ve been a bit behind in blogging about my fiber projects, and today I had to smile, for I found my son sitting at my upright loom, with fork in hand, beating down the weft. It was precious, and I wish I had my camera. He was imitating me perfectly!

Anyhow, to back track, for my birthday this month, our neighbor Ron and my hubby Dave built me a small upright Navajo Loom. I had been using my mini  loom for awhile now, but I really wanted to use some worsted weight yarns, and maybe possibly my handspun.

Well, I warped my loom with a 14″ x 20″ project, and starting weaving all the way to the middle point – 7″. Can I tell you that it was just coming out all wrong. I had a knot that kept slipping, my warp tension was off in some areas, and my selvedge edges were horrible. And, I was working with an interlock joint, and once I went to reverse, my brain just couldn’t do it. I was so frustrated.

Instead of just finishing it (which I’m glad I didn’t), I took it all apart.

Then I restarted.

close up of selvedge

This time I decided to try the sampler from one of Noel Bennett’s books. I had yet to make hooked joints, and I was happy to try a different joint before going back to the interlock joint.

I took my time and was very careful about warping the loom, and that the tension was evenly distributed. The project size was 10″ x 23″ and my loom had to be converted, adding extra pipes straps so I could wrap the piece around the backside.

The best part was that I loved doing the hooked joint. I really enjoyed it. I also practiced using scalloped bubbles to ensure there was enough weft amongst the warp, something that also plagued me on the piece I took apart.

the back

For some reason, I thought I missed the middle point of my weaving so I did not repeat the design, opting to do stripes.

the front

So, overall, my selvedges are getting better. I had some ridges, which after reading an article in Handwoven magazine, explained that I was not placing equal amounts of weft in each row. My rug was not even the entire length, in the middle and at the edge I lost between 1/8″ to 1/4″ on each end, and it is noticable.

the last inch

It took me a week to make the rug, and a week to do the last inch, and I now realize even if it takes me 2 weeks or longer, I must go very slow at the end. Otherwise I will lose width again.

The rug will be converted into bag as soon as I decide what kind of strap I want to put on.

I use Brown Sheep Yarn in Worsted Weight (I love the colors used in Two Gray Hills Rugs, so I tried to stick with that color scheme). The other cool thing about this project was that I learned approximately how many rows I use per inch, which will come in handy when I get brave enough to draw out a design.

So that’s about it. My loom is already strung up with another project! Tune back in about a month for the next one.

Related Posts & Links:
Raveled here.