Monday, November 5, 2012

Weaving Wise... Anniversary gift finished

Probably the biggest project I've ever undertaken seeing how I spun all the yarn myself. The African Adventure blanket was big, but it was commercial yarn. I cannot adequately convey the deep sense of satisfaction I enjoy in completing this project. There is nothing like making something out of one's own handspun.

I could not possibly be more pleased with this fiber, nor can I recommend it highly enough. It is Wellington Fibres' mystery roving, in 4 different colors. For this throw, it is perfect: warm, soft and beautiful (contains wool, alpaca, and mohair). It's also a fun spin. The shades of gray common to each of the 4 colorways gives the finished piece a smokey, washed out look that I find very appealing.

I spun it a thin-ish 2-ply, mimicking the grist of Harrisville's New England Shetland (the African Adventure blanket is knit in Harrisville's New England Highland). Plenty of twist but not so much that it feels like cord. I did not wash the yarn before weaving with it, believing I would obtain a better 'fulling' if I left it unwashed. It fulled beautifully.

The weave is twill with 10 ends per inch with a balanced sett (well, as balanced as I can manage at this stage in my learning process!).

The excitment of unwinding it from the cloth beam was just too much and I plum forgot to measure the before-fulling size. Oh well. The excitement of getting it ready to ship was just too much and I plum forgot to measure the finished size!! The finished size is no problem: I'll take measurements next time I visit. As for pre-finished size, I warped it at 43.5" wide and the warp was 96" long. There were a couple feet of waste so I'd guess it was close to 72" long pre-finishing.

The throw is a gift for my brother and sister-in-law who celebrated a milestone anniversary last year (yes, they knew it was going to be late :) ).

Here it is as I unwound it from the cloth beam. I have to admit having been a bit beside myself in disbelief that I'd actually made this. Yes, it was emotional:
(click to enlarge)

Here it is finished, "in situ". I can't wait to make one for myself!

3 comments:

  1. Wow, that is amazingly beautiful! They are some seriously lucky ducks to get something like that.

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  2. wow, some day I too shall learn how to do that.

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