Thursday, May 19, 2011

Cricket

With all of the Blogger hoopla last week, I almost forgot to show off my mother's day gift from Elise.

Does this baby have great taste or what?!  After a week in the box, this past weekend I tackled my first project... a couple days later my second... a day after that my third.  Addiction?  Umm... yes!  It may be time to start looking at larger looms.

For those of you out there who weave, I need help.  I am so new to this and it is all so foreign, but I am absolutely loving it.  What are the best resources for a new weaver?  I've found a few helpful youtube videos, but I would love to know where some of you more experienced weavers go- websites, books, etc- share, please!

15 comments:

  1. I like this site, although I did not have time yet to explore it fully: http://weavolution.com/.
    There are also some weaving groups on Ravelry.

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  2. Weaving is EVERYWHERE right now - like a sign that I should get a loom...
    Your daughter has excellent taste - future fiber artist, for sure.

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  3. What a thoughtful daughter! And what fun this fiber obsession is!

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  4. Way cool. Not a weaver - yet - but curious enough to find "Learning to Weave" by Deborah Chandler has 35 5-star ratings on Amazon. I give up on trying to post the link here! And it's on sale a bit cheaper right now via Knit Picks.

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  5. Be sure to check out www.weavezine.com ! Great articles, projects, and general info, much of it geared to rigid-heddle looms like yours. Also, look for a weaving guild in your area. The Handweaver's Guild of America (HGA) has a list of US guilds on their website here http://www.weavespindye.org/pages/?p=a-all-guilds.html&loc=1-59-00 . Guild meetings are a great way to meet other weavers, find classes, and be inspired. Welcome to the warped side!

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  6. I've only recently started reading your blog (I believe due to Irish Girlie Knits), and I've also just gotten a loom! I managed to find a cheap 20" table top loom with 4 shafts, so I'm really excited!

    I took a weaving class least year and got hooked. I was emailing my teacher about the loom I found, and she highly recommended Deborah Chandler's "Learning to Weave." She knows the author and uses the same warping techniques (which were easy to follow in her class).

    I was also looking at The Weaver's Companion, and my former weaving teacher recommended that as well. I have yet to purchase either, but am planning of getting at least one of these books.

    I'm jealous you get to weave already! I will have to order reeds once my loom arrives.

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  7. What a brilliant present and what a lucky mumma you are!

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  8. Great present! I've been avoiding getting a loom. It looks like such fun, but there's just no time. I got sucked into the spinning vortex already ;)

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  9. I recently attended a two-day rigid heddle weaving class. (The Cricket is a rigid heddle loom.) The looms we used were larger (24 inches across)than the Cricket. Ashford, Kromski, and Schacht, the spinning wheel makers, also make looms. Leclerc makes rigid heddle and floor looms. Two great books for the rigid heddle are: Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving (Betty Linn Davenport) and The Weaver's Idea Book: Creative Cloth on a Rigid Heddle Loom (Jane Patrick). The weave patterns in this book are amazing. The rigid heddle does not have the versatility of a floor loom. However, these small looms are great for projects such as placemats, table runners, scarves, pillow tops, and fabric pieces that can be sewn together to make a larger item or garment without the cost and complexity of a floor loom. (Each student in my class completed a 5-6 ft. scarf during the class.) My concern is that getting a loom will take me away from my knitting needles and all the projects I have on my list! I enjoyed the weaving, but the warping was time consuming.

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  10. Ah, now I see what you've been up to. Post WIPs please!

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  11. After taking a basic weaving class at Penland School of Craft (http://www.penland.org/) I've been totally hooked on weaving. By using a floor loom it is much easier produce large projects much more quickly than knitting. And it's easier to play with color. In addition to "Learning to Weave" I would recommend "The Handweaver's Pattern Directory" by Anne Dixon.

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  12. Get this book (http://www.weaving.cc/) excellent reference.

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  13. Like Geny, I've poked around a little on Weavolution (http://weavolution.com). I recently aquired my first loom, a 20" Schacht Flip. I recommend buying a tressle stand for your rigid heddle. I wish there were as many online resources as there are for knitting...maybe in time as a whole new generation of tech savvy people start weaving.

    I'm using this book as a reference...
    Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving by
    Betty Linn Davenport

    and this one is highly recommended by my LYS http://www.yarnorama.com

    The Weaver's Idea Book: Creative Cloth on a Rigid Heddle Loom by Jane Patrick... in fact I think I'll order one today.

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  14. Helle K. Berry aka GracieBMay 28, 2011 at 3:39 PM

    What a great gift! Your daughter has a good teacher in her father!
    I have been weaving for longer than you have been alive and I still feel like a novice! My loom sits unused as we are rarely home, still warped with dishcloth pattern as my mother requests new dishcloths periodically and I use a long warp to save time. (I cut off what I wove up and retie).
    Interweave has a weaving magazine I read for years and years, kept many issues, in fact. There is a Rav weaving group. Post questions there.
    I do not have any basic weaving books any longer but would recommend Interweave Press.
    Have fun, it is very addicting.

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  15. Hi, Weaver, spinner, knitter, dyer, quilter here! I have been weaving for nearly 20 years. Took beginning weaving, advanced weaving, color and weave classes and others at Harrisville Designs. http://www.harrisville.com (Now I live here in Harrisville and am working part time in the Weaving Center for the summer.)I am now weaving with my hand-dyed, hand-spun silk & Wool and find this so much fun and satisfying and sort of comprehensive. I weave on a 36", 4-harness Schact floor loom passed on to me by my aunt. I crave a wider loom, but perhaps I'll get there in another life! Joining a guild and joining a regional weaving group has been the key to keeping me going and trying new things. I don't spend much time on or have much up on Ravelry, but a few things are there. I shy from posting as the photos don't do justice to the colors and textures. I'm at Anneknittsalot cheers!

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