Show Notes –

Hand-Manipulated Lace Patterns – In this episode, I mention both Leno and Brooks Bouquet because I have a touch of experience with them. However, in this great Gist article, they refer to Danish Medallions and Spanish Lace as two other great examples of hand-manipulated lace patterns. So I say go crazy and try them all! Why not? Here’s the link to show you how. 

Case for Lace – WAY back in the history of A Handwoven Experience, I recorded an early episode all about lace. And while it’s an oldie, it is definitely a goodie! Check out “A Case for Lace” right here.  (Little bit of trivia for you – I was weaving lace when the group came up with the idea to do a Weave Along!)

October Weave Along

You’re invited to join us for a month-long weaving adventure this October! The goal is to start and finish a lace project alongside weavers from all over the world. It’s a perfect mix of creativity and community, and we’re saving you a seat. Simply go over to the October Weave Along Central Page to see all the program details and find out how to participate – https://tinyurl.com/OWAL2025

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* I don’t enjoy cottolin as a warp. My threads were not good under tension! (If you’ve had a different experience, let me know if it’s just me!)

* I love the texture of cottolin! Before it was washed, after it was washed – it’s all good! I love the bit of scratchiness to it!

* There’s a reason I love fatter yarns! The cottolin I used was much finer than my typical cotton. And finer yarns just take longer to do everything! Don’t get me wrong, I have a fair share of patience! As a weaver you have to! But, really thin yarns test my limits!

* I’m clearly hung up on yellow and purple! Just this week, I pulled out a project I completeld about six months ago – yellow and purple! It’s like when you get an earworm and the same song plays over and over in your head. That’s me, only it’s certain colors! It’s a colorful weaving worm! (This has a taken a distinctive turn into the bizarre! Back on track now…)

* Don’t get too cocky – math errors can happen to you. I’ve been weaving for over 12 years now and I love me some math! But I’ll be darned if I didn’t write down that 13 + 11 = 26! Multiple times, even! And I promise I hadn’t been drinking! (Although that green tea did steep for awhile…)

* Cottolin shrinks less than cotton. I got about 7-8% shrinkage in the length on this project, versus the 10+% I usually plan for using carpet warp. And I would imagine the Spot Bronson pattern would lend itself to some prominent shrinkage with those lovely long floats everywhere!

Ultimately, this challenge did exactly what it was supposed to do – get me out of my comfort zone! I tried a new fiber, I revisited a pattern I don’t usually plan for, and I fixed some broken threads! It’s all good!

What has been your takeaway from a recent project?

Song of the Day – Andy Grammer, “Smoke Clears”

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I pulled out my pattern book to get the correct order of things and plunged right in. If I were being more cautious, I would have done some sampling, just a few inches of the pattern to be sure I knew what I was doing. But, I was feeling brave and threw caution to the wind!

This project is all done in a Spot Bronson pattern, meaning it has carefully organized floats throughout the fabric. (A float is yarn that skips over a number of other yarns – especially noticeable when it’s surrounded by plain weave.) I’ve done a little of this pattern before – really just enough to know if it looks wrong.

What I discovered as I worked through the day was that the weaving part was fine! It was the advancing part that made me break out in cold sweats! The nightmare of winding on was still too fresh. But, I persisted and sure enough, after a morning and afternoon of weaving, I took it off the loom!

The assignment for the rest of the weekend is to finish finish it! In weaving there’s a variety of milestones – getting a project into the loom, weaving the project, and then transforming the fabric into the intended item. So I’ll be tucking in stray yarns, knotting the fringe, washing the fabric, and finally any touch-ups at the end! It’ll be a beautiful Spot Bronson table runner if it kills me! (Ha! Better not tempt fate here…)

What’s on tap for your weekend?

Song of the Day – Evanescence, “Going Under”

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When last I left you, I was sleying the reed with cottolin – a new fiber for me. Despite my inability to add properly resulting in an additional trip to the warping board, I was excited about the challenge!

Since then, I’ve secured the reed in the loom and threaded the heddles. I normally go with a simple, albeit boring, threading. Then again, my work isn’t usually pattern-driven. So this is another change for me! The end result needs to be in a Spot Bronson pattern which means that every other yarn sits on shaft number one.

For the weavers out there, you can follow along. And for everyone else, it doesn’t matter! All you have to know is that this is a different order for threading the loom than my usual, and that automatically means it will take me longer – much, MUCH longer! I didn’t take into account the fact that I’m using a finer yarn, too (18 yarns per inch, instead of 12). So of course it’ll take longer! Good times.

So this brings us to yesterday when it really went south! The heddles had been threaded and it was time to wind on the project. I start turning the crank and ‘ping!’ – I hear a yarn snap. I stand there stunned for a good two minutes trying to figure out what just happened! Finally, I snap out of it and jump into action. Because of where the yarn broke, I was able to tie the ends and carry on.

I get everything back in order, turn the crank and ‘ping’! Another one! To give you a sense of perspective, in the last 4-5 years using cotton yarn, I’ve broken one yarn total! So to break two in 10 minutes makes for a wildly cranky weaver! It’s no bueno, I’m telling you!

What comes next is a string of curse words and some childish stomping around. Thankfully, the dog sleeping 10 feet away is almost completely deaf so I didn’t have an audience. After a few deep breaths, I go measure another yarn from the sunny yellow, god forsaken cottolin, and put in a replacement thread.

I wound the rest of the project holding my breath, working at a pace that sloths would envy. It’s a small project, which was my only saving grace for my sanity. I got it all wound on and tied the ends.

This morning’s task was to crawl under the loom to change the tie-ups and finally start the weaving! I’m only a few inches into it so far, but I’m hopeful it will be a dream to work with from here on out! (Please let that be true!!) Stay tuned for the conclusion of this crazy project!

Have you had plans go awry lately? Is it just me?

Song of the Day – Phil Collins, “Land of Confusion”

p.s. I jot down the songs for the day long before I write the blog posts, so it’s incredibly ironic how the two go together today!

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What makes it so special is that each participating weaver was given an envelope with 4 cards in it, back in September. Each card contained an element of the project. It is up to each person to interpret a project using those guidelines. Each of us have different cards, so we’ll end up with very unique results.

It’s fascinating to hear someone’s thought process when it comes to this exercise! The stories people share are as exciting as the projects! Over the last 10 years, I have participated probably 2-3 times. So I figured I was due this year!

My hand of cards read like this – linen (fiber), Spot Bronson (type of weave), complimentary colors, and table runner/cloth/placemats (I can choose which one). I knew for a fact that I didn’t own a lick of linen anywhere in this house. So my first order of business was to order yarn! (You know, it’s a burden, but somebody’s got to do it!)

Instead of using 100% linen (which comes in about 2 colors), I went with cottolin – a blend of cotton & linen. The yarn arrived last Thursday afternoon and I began planning. I had a couple of hurdles here. (A) I’ve never worked with this yarn before, and (B) I’ve woven a Spot Bronson pattern probably once in my life.

After quite a bit of research, I settled on a plan of attack – a table runner in yellows and purples. So far, I have measured it on the warping board and sleyed it into the reed. But then, I realized I had a bad case of faulty math and tomorrow, I’ll need to add another inch to the project. You know, it happens to all of us!

I’m really enjoying the process of working with a new fiber, a new weaving structure, and generally being stretched in different directions! It’s a fabulous break from the typical patterns running around in my head!

So next up for me is fixing my mathematical problem, threading some heddles and getting the project into the floor loom. I can’t wait! Stay tuned…

How do you feel about new challenges? Love ’em? Hate ’em? Only if it’s for a grade?

Song of the Day – Fiona Apple, “Fast As You Can”

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