Woven Rug

The disappointment of my woven scarf  hasn't put me off using my peg loom. This small rug was finished recently and I'm really pleased with it. You'll probably have noticed that some of my recent photos have a snowy background. That's because I took lots of photos when I got the chance and it was nice and bright. The snow has gone again and we're back to our usual grey skies and rain.

The rug is made using the entire width of the loom; three feet wide. The warp took a ball and a half of Wendy Thor super chunky (42.5% wool 7.5% alpaca 50% acrylic). I used shade Baltic - a lovely turquoise. For the weft I used another ball and a half of the Thor super chunky, the ball of Harrris tweed I bought on holiday (near the bottom of the post) and several balls of Rowan pure wool DK. I had to use six strands of the Rowan pure wool wound together to make it as thick as the Thor super chunky. 

I made the weft rows as close as I possibly could so the rug is firm and thick. Not good for a scarf but excellent for a small hearth rug. The weaving swallowed up vast quantities of yarn that wasn't at all cheap. In the end, I spent more than £40 on the materials! But I love it.

I'm now trying to think where else needs a rug!

Bye for now and thanks for all your comments. I look forward to seeing them.

The Peg Loom Scarf

This is it - the peg loom scarf. Made to be given as a gift along with a crocheted washcloth and Skye soap (see here).

The scarf is woven using a 200g ball of James C Brett Marble Chunky, a lovely soft acrylic yarn. I kept the ball band in a safe place so I could tell you the colour but it's so safe that I can't find it now! Anyway, I'm pretty sure the colour is MC27. A code for the colour doesn't really convey anything. I love it when they actually give the colours a proper name. Names like Loganberry and Ice and Orchid. Of course, the name doesn't always convey the exact colour but I think it helps.

In my opinion the scarf looks really lovely. What you can't tell from the photo is that it is very thick (not a terrible fault, if you want a warm scarf) and also very stiff. No matter how much I try to like it, I just can't.

Now I have two problems. What to do with the peg loom scarf and what to make as another gift.

The first problem shall be solved some day in the future when I think of some other use for this scarf. At the minute I'm considering how to make it into a wall hanging - after some adjusting.

The second has already been solved simply by crocheting another Queen Anne lace scarf using the Stylecraft Alpaca in the beautiful Orchid colour that I had left over from making other gifts (see the link at the start of this post).

My conclusion is that either I still don't know how to weave a scarf that I'm happy with or that a scarf is better knitted or crocheted. Does that mean I've given up on my peg loom? Definitely not. I have plans to make a small rug just as soon as I can get the time.

Have you ever made a scarf on a peg loom? What did you think of it? All comments gratefully received!

It's great to have some new followers. I'm sorry I haven't been able to do much blog reading and commenting this past week or so. Hopefully I'll get more time soon!

All the best for now.



Edited to add: If you want to see details about the peg loom I have then look at this post; near the bottom.

More Christmas Gifts

First I'd like to say welcome to new followers and thank everyone for their lovely comments. A few have asked for the washcloth pattern so I'll get that done as soon as I can.

 

I wanted to make something a bit special for a special girl so here's what I've done; a tam, a scarf and a rose brooch. The tam is the same as my black one (see here) but is done using Stylecraft's new Alpaca DK yarn which is 80% acrylic and 20% alpaca. I've used the Orchid, a lovely soft pink, for the tam and worked it with the King Cole Cosmos yarn to give it all the sparkle.

 

Aside 1: In Northern Ireland, all females are called girls, regardless of age.

Aside 2: If you looked back at the link above you will also have seen a hat I knit for the husband. Well I wasn't happy with it so I ripped most of it back and did it again. It now looks much better. The husband didn't mention a thing about it because he says he knew I would find it so annoying that I would eventually fix it!

 

 

Ingrid showed us the Queen Anne's lace scarf on her blog a while back. I really liked it so decided to give it a go. The pattern is easy to learn and works up really quickly. With the Stylecraft Alpaca Orchid yarn, I used Stylecraft Alpaca Tweed DK, which is 20% alpaca, 77% acrylic and 3% viscose, in Emperor and Plum. Starting with the Orchid, I worked sections of ten fans in each colour and made a total of ninety fans. This made the scarf quite long so it can be wrapped round several times.

As a little finishing touch I made this rose from my 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet book by Lesley Stanfield. I crocheted a small circle to cover the back, where the rose is coiled up, and added a brooch pin.

For the gifts above I had bought two balls of the Orchid (and I still have more than half a ball left) and a ball each of the Emperor and Plum. So I made two more Queen Anne scarves; one using the Plum and the other using the Emperor. I crocheted until there wasn't enough yarn left to make another fan. Here are the results ...

I think they look really nice and the yarn feels very soft and warm. These will be given along with the washcloths I told you about in my last post. Ah! There were three washcloths in the last post and there are only two scarves. That's because I'm weaving a third scarf on my peg loom. Hopefully it will soon be finished and I can let you see it too.

It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas now. Just a bit. Even though I've been making gifts and decorations for a while now, I still didn't feel at all Christmassy. I didn't tell you about baking my cakes, did I? Every year I bake two Christmas cakes. One is a standard rich fruit cake and the other is based on the same recipe but using more exotic dried fruits such as pineapple, coconut, mango and whatever else takes my fancy. I'd better stop talking about cake!! It's making me hungry and it's too soon to tuck into Christmas cake just yet.

Hope you are all having fun making for Christmas or out shopping for Christmas. Bye for now.

Autumn Silliness

Welcome back! I'm so glad that you liked my last post about Brown Sugar. I was a bit worried about it but it seems you enjoyed it. I'm so glad that you are leaving comments for me though I'd love to have even more. I'm so glad to have a few more followers joining in with us here.

And I'm so glad to have a local yarn shop. I can still remember the day it opened a few years ago. I couldn't believe that we actually had our very own yarn shop in the town! I'm sure I must go into this lovely shop at least once a week and I'm always tempted by the lovely display of colourful yarn on offer. Recently the new Stylecraft autumn colours really caught my eye and I immediately started thinking about what I could make. Not that I actually needed to make anything more as I already have so many projects on the go. Well I resisted every time I went into that wee shop. For weeks. And weeks. Then I could resist no longer and bought a lovely selection of the autumn colours! You knew I'd give in eventually, didn't you?

So let's see some of the silly things I've made. First of all I made chillis. Silly chillis. Look at them ...

 

Not having a pattern for these, I just made it up. They were so much fun to crochet. Since I wasn't following a pattern I was able to make each one slightly different to the rest so they are all unique. I used Stylecraft Special DK in Lime, Claret, Gold, Green and Copper. The stalks are Meadow. That's just a melamine bowl I have to put them in for now but I'm going to crochet another bowl specially for these chilis. I've already bought the yarn! It's Stylecraft Special DK in Denim. I think I'll add some small splashes of the Lime and Claret. We'll see. And I'll let you see when it's finished.

I have been using my peg loom for a few weeks now but my first few pieces of weaving weren't that good. So I decided to try and use them in some way so they wouldn't be wasted. The first piece was woven using Stylecraft Swift Knit Super Chunky. I used about a third of the ball with my practising so I had to buy another ball to make a scarf. You can see the scarf here.

Anyway, not satisfied to just make chillis, I proceeded to make some leaves to attach to my weaving to make a small wall hanging. I used my 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet book for patterns. First I tried the crocheted oak leaf and liked it so much that I stuck with this for another two leaves. Since I'd made oak leaves, I thought some acorns would be just the thing to add. So I crocheted three acorns. All the adornments are made using Stylecraft Special DK in Spice, Lime, Copper, Gold and Claret. I also used the claret to crochet round the woven piece; just one row of double crochet (or single crochet for US readers).

What do you think of my wall hanging? It isn't very big at 8" x 6" but I love it.

I couldn't decide whether to hang it portrait or landscape but in the end I went with landscape.

By the way, when it's hanging you can't see that messy corner as it sits flat against the wall!

So there you have the results of my autumn silliness. It helps to make up for the constant rain we seem to be having these days. Actually there's more! But enough for now.

Let me know what you think of it all. All the best for now.

Mini Finitos

Welcome to my new followers - another few have joined us - and many thanks for your lovely comments. I've really enjoyed reading them all.

 

This post is just to let you see some of the mini projects I've finished since coming back from my holidays. Do you remember the Hebridean wool I bought on Skye? You can read about it here if you don't or this is the first you've heard of it! I used the wool to knit the husband a new hat for the winter. Here it is. Just a simple cabled beanie but he likes it. It isn't cold enough to wear it yet; he has that pleasure to look forward to. I probably only used half the ball, so when he either loses the hat or pulls it to bits in the thorn hedge, I'll be able to knit him another one.

 

This next project was actually crocheted while I was on Skye (started here and completed here). I started making a bowl thinking I would use it to store odd balls of yarn. But while I was crocheting I thought it would be nice to use the bowl to display some heather. So, since coming home, I've put heather in the crocheted bowl and here it is. The heather is set straight into the bowl without anything else inside. I'm really pleased with the results. I like the way the bowl isn't completely rigid and sort of slumps a bit.

Now here is something really, really strange. When I made the heather bowl I thought I was doing something reasonably unique. Certainly not following a pattern or even replicating something I'd seen and liked. The book below is one I got about four months ago and think it has lots of gorgeous patterns in it. I flicked through it a few times when it was new and started a cardigan (which has been left to one side for now).

After coming home from my holiday, I was looking through the book again to find a pattern for a hat, and look what I found!! A crocheted bowl with, admittedly not heather, but similar looking flowers in it. Is it just a coincidence? Or did I see this picture months ago and make my heather bowl because this image was stored somewhere deep in my subconscious?

Anyway, I found a pattern for a tam that I thought would be nice for making myself a hat with the alpaca yarn I bought on Skye (read about it here). I worked a strand of King Cole Cosmos yarn along with the alpaca to achieve the sparkly effect.

Here I am modelling the hat. I wear it even though it isn't really all that cold yet. It's not just about being warm, is it? I love this wee tam and I've had many compliments on it.

These squares are finished and blocked though not joined yet to make a bag. While loading the photos for this post I went off and ordered leather handles. Susan, who writes Simple Cozy Living, suggested that I try bittersweetbasketsandsupply.com for leather handles and I was very impressed with what they have to offer. Thanks you Susan for pointing me in the right direction.

My peg loom arrived while I was away so it was great to unpack it and get weaving as soon as possible. I did a few small pieces first to practise; I'll show you them another time as I'm going to use them for small wall hangings. Here is my first proper woven scarf. What do you think? It's made using Stylecraft Swift Knit Super Chunky in Wedgewood. I'll show you more about the peg loom another time. I posted about wanting to get one way back here and Ingrid of My Funky Crochet let me know that I could get a loom from Jenny's Crafts and Soft Furnishings. Thanks Ingrid!

I think that will do for now. For those of you interested in the cotton blanket - I've had to put it aside for awhile as I want to make lots of things for Christmas. I want to make so many things!! All the best. Leave me a comment please about my mini finitos and let me know if you like them.

Heading South

Hello again. Thanks for all your comments on my last post; it seems you all liked that mischievous donkey. Welcome to some more new followers too.

Before I tell you some more about our recent holiday I have to tell you that I actually won a Giveaway!! I've never won anything before so this was a real surprise. Thanks to Jo, writer of her great blog The Good Life, for sending me a packet of Mini Munch cucumber seeds (together with a lovely wee card).

Well, after spending a week on the Isle of Skye, we headed south to where we were going to stay for the next few days. The scenery driving through Scotland was magnificent.

We stayed in one of the self-catering cottages at New Lanark Mill. It is a great place to stay with plenty to see and do. We were right beside the river and could hear the water making gentle music outside our window.

I went for a bit of a wander about and took a few photos.

The mill complex was huge! I walked along the river to the Clyde Falls. It was very quiet and peaceful.

Walking back towards the mill this was the view I had first down river and then back towards the falls.

There is a lovely shop in the old mill where they sell mostly gift type items but also their own wool. They have DK, Aran and chunky weight in an array of gorgeous colours. Some are 100% wool and the rest are 90% wool with 10% silk. I chose five balls of Aran weight wool with silk.

Their yarns are all very reasonably priced and are also available to buy online.

One of the reasons we stayed in this location was so that I could go to the James Inglis shoe shop in Peebles on the following Monday! I had an appointment to have a fitting and try shoes in the hope of getting something to fit my long, narrow feet. I'm sure I must have tried on fifty pairs of shoes!! That poor sales assistant carried them to me in huge piles. Thankfully I was able to find two pairs to buy. And that's not unusual, apparently; that one would only find two pairs out of fifty that are suitable. It was an experience anyway and I now know what's the best fitting type of shoes to get in future.

I'm busy crocheting and knitting and weaving. My peg loom arrived while I was away on holiday but it has since been unpacked and tried out. I'll let you see how things are coming along in another post.

All the best for now. Make my day and leave a comment!

The Big Weave in the Mournes

On Friday the Big Weave in the Mournes came to Rathfriland. The exhibition and demonstration was held in what used to be the Bank of Ireland building in the Town Square. This lovely old building has recently been refurbished and renamed Chandler's House. This isn't just a random name for the building; before being used as a bank there was a candle-making business located here.

Anyway, back to the Big Weave. Basically there is a group of weavers making their round various small towns so that local people can see how the Mourne Tapestry is being constructed and also so local people can actually take part in the weaving.

Of course, I had to have a go at the weaving. There were pictures to show us what we were trying to achieve. By the way, that stunning crocheted table cloth was just draped there as something to set other bits and pieces on!

Here is the picture of the section that I worked on.

I worked on the sea part to the bottom left hand side. It was great fun weaving the mix of blue and green wool around the warp threads. Two people can work together on each section of the tapestry, one from the front and one from the back. I only had time to do this little bit.

There were some small hand looms to try out your weaving skills if you didn't want to do any on the main tapestry.

What really got me excited were these little peg looms. They are so incredibly easy to use and also incredibly fast. It would be possible to make a bag or table mat in a very short time compared to crocheting the same thing.

There were some examples of items made on the peg looms. Aren't the colours gorgeous? You can weave with strips of fabric as well, as I learnt when I was trying it out. The looms come in different widths so it is possible to make something much wider than these examples.

This is something I think I will have to take up. So many ideas just rushed into my head all at once! A rag rug is something I'd really love to make. I was so excited by it that I went home and brought the husband to see too! The looms are available to buy online but they would also be very easy to make. So that's a wee job for the husband now that the gardening chores will be taking up a lot less time.

There were also some landscape applique type wall hangings in progress. Have a look at what I mean.

Those are lazy beds running in rows in front of the cottages. This is another craft I'd love to get involved in but the class is held on a weekday afternoon which, unfortunately, doesn't suit me.

So, will you be reading about my finished weaving projects soon? I think you just might!

Bye for now.