Why Not Ply?

Having used I Cord thrums for several Rep Weave projects I finally admitted to myself that repetitive motion was taking a toll. As I wove the first place mats on this warp I thought and thought about how I could still use thrums while saving my hands.

Rep Weave Placemat using I Cord thrums for thick weft

The reverse side of the same Rep Weave placemat

I'd thought about plying knotted thrums but getting out my spinning wheel and actually doing it was another issue. Then the idea struck me of hand spinning several strands together with a drop spindle approach.

I filled eight bobbins with knotted thrums. Putting them all into a bin I took hold of the ends together as one and pulled the strands out in a single bundle. I kept pulling and pulling until the whole length was laid out on the floor. Then taking the eight ends together I began winding them on a ski shuttle. Every now and then I’d put a half hitch around the shuttle end, hold it up and spin it around in drop shuttle fashion to put a slight ply into the eight strands. Winding on at intervals, I filled the ski shuttle. It was fun and easy.

Here are my eight bobbins of
knotted 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp Thrums.

The resulting plied yarn made for lovely thick weft in my placemats. Color changes were more muted than in the I Cord version. The ply twist made interesting effects. My hands were happier.

This new use for thrums is an exciting discovery. Now I’m thinking and thinking of other ways to use thrums. Creativity has been awakened.

Next time I'll share photos of my knotted and plied thrum placemats.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Waste Not, Want Not

Since I tend to tie on to a warp twice for a total of three unique color ways, I’m left with back beam thrums of around one yard in length. It isn’t much more work to tie those long bits together into continuous threads.

These are a few spool knitters from my collection.
The little red one in front is the first one I bought as a child.

  

At first I used my little spool knitters with knotted thrums to create long tubes to use as thick weft in my Rep weaves. Those cords made very nice rugs, runners and placemats. But after a while the slowness of the knitting process grew tiresome and my hands grew tired, too.

Then I discovered I-Cord, a far quicker method of making the same knit tube. With short double-pointed needles I knit to the row end and without turning the work slide the stitches across the needle, pull the working yarn around behind and continue knitting. This is a huge improvement over spool knitting. It is lots quicker and isn't nearly as hard on my hands.

It's far easier to create cords from knotted Thrums with the I-Cord method.
These cords are knit from knotted 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp Thrums.

Knitting yards and yards of multi-colored cord, I realized I was creating another version of variegated yarn. Have I mentioned my strong attraction to color? Ha!

My loved one is still very ill and we spend many long hours at various doctors’ offices and treatment centers. By the end of the year we should see a reprieve and hope for an improvement. Time will tell. In the meantime we are happy for every new dawn.

I am behind on photographing my work but promise to get around to it and to write again sooner rather than later.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Beginning and Improving

Rep Rugs
One of these is destined for a wedding gift

"We've Only Just Begun", sung by Karen Carpenter is playing in my head.

Here is my latest warp of rep rugs. Their sizes were dependent upon my supply of certain types of rags. The smallest one is with teal colored wide wale corduroy of which I had a limited amount. The beauty of that teal with this warp just sings. The happy combination more than compensates for the rug's small size. One of the longer rugs is destined for our dear friends' son and his bride.

As of today, the young couple has been married exactly two months. This gift rug will be in the mail to them far before the honeymoon glow has dimmed. For some couples that glow remains steady through decades and decades. That is our wish for Alec and Sarah. The rug should serve them well for at least the first couple of those decades.

These rugs are woven in Rep Weave using 8/4 cotton carpet warp sett at 24 e.p.i. The rags in two rugs are mostly old bed sheets. The other two have wide wale corduroy as the thick weft.

My experiment with floating selvedges in Rep Weave continues. Even though weaving with them is slightly slower, the method agrees with me. An extra opportunity for a splash of color adds to their appeal. Floaters greatly improve the selvedge edge on hems. This particular adventure will continue. Who knows the twists and turns to occur in subsequent chapters?

A floating selvedge in a contrasting color adds punch

The fuchsia-colored floater enhances these rugs

Life is a journey. Weaving can also be seen as a journey. In the studio and at the loom many discoveries are possible. Some things remain the same. But who is to say a new thought, new experience, new venture isn’t just around the corner? Even weaving an oft-repeated draft can spark a revelation or two.

Rep Rugs showing both sides. These rugs are reversible.

Time passes and every living thing ages. It is said that some things improve over time. Wine comes first to mind. Rugs age, may they do so gracefully. Marriages can mellow and bloom. I pray this is the case for Alec and Sarah. May it also be the case for their rug, a small token of our best hopes and wishes for a long and happy life together.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver