Weaving on a vintage Weave It pin loom

What a difference wet finishing makes!

I've been trying to think of another hand work project that is more or less portable. So much of what I do these days relies on my studio set up, but I like to keep my hands busy when I'm out and about too.

So this week I dug out my vintage 'Weave-it' pin loom, and experimented with the tail ends of  yarn that are left after my sock making forays. In this case I'm using Deborah Norville 'Serenity' sock yarn, which is a merino/bamboo/nylon mix. On the left is a square in progress on the 4" loom. In the middle is a square right after it is taken off of the loom. The fabric is 'sleazy' at this point. Yes, that is a weaving term, meaning kind of loosely woven and gauzy and full of holes. But the square on the right is what happens after I wash a square on hot with high agitation in the washing machine, and toss it in the dryer. It has shrunk from a 4" to a 3" square, and become a soft and stable fabric. Now, that I can work with!

I'll make a bunch of squares, and then decide how I'm going to join them together. I'm thinking patchwork looking blankets for starters. And I've seen some cute Christmas ornament ideas. But for now, I'm enjoying just weaving for the sake of weaving, and learning a new skill. Not everything needs to be high tech. Sometimes, the simple tools are still lots of fun.

Flagstaff Fiber Festival, and escaping the heat

I had a great time this afternoon, wandering around the Flagstaff, AZ Fiber Festival with my sweetie. We went a couple of years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the event had about doubled in size from then. There were all sorts of vendors, selling everything from roving to handspun yarn to finished objects of art.

I enjoyed seeing some of the native arts from the area represented as well.

Fiber artist Jeanne M. Salt.

And then there were the critters. Most of them were sporting their lovely coats, showing what our fiber looked like on the hoof.

A few of them got to get their coats sheared off though. They looked much happier once they were cooler! And they were surprisingly calm during the procedure. The shearer was quite skilled and quick.

When we were done at the festival, my sweetie and I drove further up the mountain to the Snowbowl ski resort. It is pretty lovely in the summer time. And much cooler! Phoenix was about 115F today. Flagstaff was in the 90's. And up here in the pines and aspens, it was down in the low 80's. I'll take it.

All in all, quite a lovely way to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary.