Elegance and Lace

Well....I have finally finished another loom project. I have to apologise for my absence from the blogging world. I have been preoccupied with life's ups and downs and have not had the time or moment's peace to sit down and write a blog entry. I am proud to announce my newest project though!

This is my latest scarf...the cotton lace scarf. I have used one of my favourite yarns (a cotton slub yarn) that has the best effect when woven. The yarn varies in thickness throughout which gives great character to the woven piece. The cotton is used for both weft and warp in this piece but are two different colours. The weft is the white cotton slub and the warp is an ecru cotton slub (just all natural cotton). It is extremely light and extremely soft and cozy! I decided to give the scarf some characteristic by leaving spaces in the weave. It is a type of lace weave by the way the weft and warp separate and shift as you weave the piece. On either side of the scarf I have given larger gaps which I filled with an elasticated lace ribbon. It was an interesting material to work with and one that I had not worked with before. The ribbon is hand sewn to weft threads on either end of the scarf to hold it in place and woven intermittently throughout the piece. Because the elastic ribbon is pulled tight throughout the scarf, the ends are gathered slightly and given a bit of ruffle (as shown in the photo to the right). I would have liked a greater ruffle effect ideally but I thought that this created an interesting feature to the scarf. It also creates a bit of give in the scarf as well.

This scarf is great for spring and summer. It is very lightweight and airy. It has a very elegant look to it so can be worn with fancier outfits for dressy occasions. It can definitely be warn casually as well though! A great accessory for any outfit! I just love the feel of the soft cotton. It is a luxury to wear it! The scarf is wide enough to lay over the shoulder as well, if you wanted to wear it more as a shawl then a scarf. The width is about 8" in total. All together it is a successful project! I hope you like it as much as I :D

THANKS FOR READING!!

New Extention on the Flower Train

HAIR CLIPS AND BARRETTES!!!

Something new and exciting to share :) I am sorry that I haven't been up to date with projects and such. Life has taken other turns and dips and dives and I haven't been in the spirit or headspace to write properly. Here we are though!! And I have new products that have just been released at Weavermania Productions! Flower hair clips and barrettes! They are the same lovely flowers as the brooches but made into barrettes and made smaller and cuter for snappy hair clips :) Ive made a bunch of matching sets, as well as some with alternating colours. They are really fun to make but am sad to say that I have to use heavy duty adhesive to secure the flowers onto the silver clips and barrettes. They contain no holes or spaces for a needle and thread so I have to therefore glue the flowers to their surfaces :( I have indeed secured them well though!! You should not have to worry about loosing the flowers at all. The flowers themselves are made with much care and precision and now they are heavily glued to the surface of the clips. I don't like the fact that it is not eco friendly but one small tube will go a LONG way!! I promise! hehehe.

I think these clips are great for kids as well as adults! Some are made with wools, others with acrylics (for the anti-wool vegan). I myself am vegan but have delved into a craft which is heavily dependent upon wool. I buy from local suppliers and find what I can at charity shops and the like. I find you can only do what you can and have to find a balance that is right for you. Anyways, this isn't a post about being vegan...its a post about lovely hair accessories :) I have a bunch of other ideas about how to make these little clippies. I will try to do my best to keep you posted on my new projects!!! I have a lovely scarf on the loom right now which is going to be allllllll mine! hehehe! I'll take some photos and explain the process next!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!

The Treasures a Treasury Can Bring

I just had to write about my final appearence in a treasury on etsy!!! What joys it brings to feel appreciated and respected, hahaha. Not that I didn't before but being chosen among the lost amount of amazing artists on etsy makes me feel extremely honoured and special!! You just need to click on the title and it will take you to the treasury list!! It's titled Swamp Thang, geared towards the rather swampy, green hues the collection is based on. There are some really great pieces listed there.

Spring is in the Air

I had to write another blog about the brooches because I've started a new batch! Bright, beautiful, and welcoming the new season! Spring coloured brooches for one and all :)
I sold the collection of brooches I had to the 8th Day a week ago so I had to start a new batch. They have been going quite well considering they are just sitting in a basket on the counter. So my new batch are as bright as can be and awaiting homes and outfits to dazzle and complete! I have had so much fun photographing these little items. My new digital camera is chalked full of photographs of various brooches. I am so pleased with the macro settings on the camera! You can get within an inch of the subject and obtain amazing crispness and quality. How great is that?

Well it excites me anyways! And so do customers!!! I have finally had some sales on Etsy! Hooray!! Two customers with repeated sales! Sounds good to me! My first buyer was Jenny, who runs IndieQuarter (http://www.indiequarter.com/blog/index.php). She purchased a small brooch from me a few weeks back and still hasn't received the package!!

Because of this she purchased another brooch (this time a large one) which I sent off yesterday. I hope she gets both of them soon!!! Here are some photos of her purchases :) She wanted to stick to browns, like her first purchase (on the left), but I chose to use some rich, dark browns for her second (on the right) to give her some variation. I hope she likes them! My second customer is the lovely Julie of SiohbansDreams (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5304688). She bought one brooch, then special requested three more! What a wonderful gal :) Here are her brooches, as requested. My favourite one is the blue brooch (to go with her denim jacket) but I really like the black, white, and grey one as well. Especially because of the fab polka-dot vintage button in the middle. Tres bien.
If you, reader, are interested in special requesting any brooches, please visit my shop on etsy!! The link is at the top of the page :) I would be more than happy to make whatever colour variation you like (limited to three variations per brooch) with or without super duper buttons! hehehe. Ideally I would like to take some special requests for scarves so I can weave like a mad woman but I won't get too picky here :) hehehe.

THANKS FOR VISITING!!! Sorry I haven't been blogging steadily, I have been on brooch duty for a few weeks! See you soon!

Can You Find Your Way Through the Labyrinth?

There are so many variations to a 4 harness twill it is flabbergasting! You can view a few dozen variations with the pattern alone, only altering the threading and treadling. Then you add colour as a variable and the possibilities are ENDLESS!!! This is not only because of all the different colours you can use but also the actual element of colour in the design. In this pattern here, which I have been calling a spiral twill or (for fun) a labyrinth twill, the bold pattern is created by alternating the two colours in the warp. You could make a wide variety of patterns based on the same tie up and treadling just by alternating the colours in the warp. One red to two purple or two red to two purple would give you two completely different patterns! How amazing is that?? I find it immaculate and amazing and why I love weaving so much :)

This project uses two amazing coloured merino wools which I purchased at my suppliers a few weeks back. They are 100% unshrinkable merino wool, made in Italy. They have the softest, most luxurious feel to them. I saw them at the mill and as soon as I touched them I could not put them down!! They have a bit of give to them as well so the scarf will be a bit stretchy. It is approximately 6" or 61/2" wide and will be about 72" long when I finish it. I am very tempted to keep it as it is my new favourite. No one can survive as a business owner that way though! hahaha. I would keep all of my scarves if that were the case :)
I plan on finishing this one today. It is now a quarter to two....hmmm, I wonder if I will be able to do it?? I have about 3/4 more to do. I better get at it!! I will write another post when I finish it, with some more fantastic photos!! Hope you come back to see it!

Brooches, Brooches, and more Brooches!

They have become my new favourite pastime, keeping my hands busy and being productive. Flower loom brooches! For someone who has heaps of yarn to work with, flower brooches can be the best little craft for colour schemes, yarn combinations, as well as perfect little additions to scarves!

I have had many people go crazy over these little accessories. They can be made into a billion different colour combinations and have potential to be very extravagant (in a craftsters mind).

They are made on a unique little contraption called a "flower loom" which is a circular peg board. They come in square shapes as well but I am not as keen on them. You can make three different sized flower in a variety of ways. I tend to stick to the basic pattern using a wide array of yarn styles and colours. My little loom is very basic compared to some that are available in craft stores, etc. You can purchase some that have three layers on one loom with a multitude of pegs, giving you an infinite amount of possibilities with design and technique. Some have removable pegs as well which makes it a little less confusing using different patterns. I like the plain jane ones though :) You can make them all look completely different when you alter the texture of the yarn or differ the colour combinations. Adding buttons also makes for a perfect final touch. I tend to go for vintage buttons as well. They're the best :)


The photo to the left here displays a few of my teeny weeny brooches which you can find on my etsy store (top of the page). They are the cutest little brooches around! Measuring less than 2" wide, they add that sweet touch to any outfit, bag, purse, or scarf.
The itsy bitsy brooches are the same design but a bit bigger (measuring about 3"across). They do well to accentuate a jacket, bag, or cardigan. I've just added one to my bag (using the left over teal merino from my Houndstooth project). The centre yarn is one that I plied myself. It was from a spinning demo we had in my weaving class a few years back. I caught on really quickly and had a ton of plied yarn to take home at the end of the day!! How wonderful! hehehe. I can't wait to get my hands on a spinning wheel again actually....oooohh, spinning and weaving...what a dream!

Here's a photo of my latest brooch fan. My friend Erin Gillespie. She's a photographer/cosmetologist/goddess extraordinaire. I sent her three brooches for her birthday and she was dead pleased :) She's used them as a hair pin! How brilliant is that? I think she looks beautiful. The one on the right here was a special brooch which I promised to be the one and only :) It is a replica of the owl design I use for my cards, turned into a wonderful fuzzy brooch. I had a ton of people tell me I should make a load of these but as soon as I heard that, I knew I would only make one. It kills the sincerity and uniqueness. I like making one of a kind objects, not run of the mill manufactured goods. It may be an overstatement when someone was just telling me that they would be popular but I like the fact that it is now the one and only. Plus Erin is totally chuffed to be the one to keep it!

If you are at all interested in purchasing one of these lovely items, please visit my shop! I have a few listed but they are just general listings. If you would like a custom made brooch (where you choose size and colour scheme) please message me on etsy or leave a comment on this blog. I will be more than happy to make one for you! They are perfectly affordable as well :) Hope you enjoyed reading about them!

Hooray for Houndstooth

Well, I finally did it! I finally finished the houndstooth twill scarf I have been working on for the last little while. I had it sitting there with no activity for a while but yesterday I sat down and went at it, finished the last 3/4. I am extremely pleased with the turn out. What do you think? Was it a success?? I am not sure if I am going to list this one on etsy or if I am going to keep it for a small selection that I am going to sell at the 8th Day in Manchester. I have been working there for a few years now and it has progressed into something much greater than it was when I started. It is a small health food shop on the outskirts of downtown Manchester. It has been open for 30 odd years and has changed dramatically throughout the decades. Anyways, this post isn't about the history of the 8th day...I was explaining how it has changed recently. We have just started carrying all kinds of handmade goods and eco-friendly items. Fully eco-friendly is what I want to progress to but England is just jammed pack full of amazing wools. At least I'm supporting local farmers and spinners :) I have had a hard time finding bamboo or tencel yarns around here. They are always in very small bunches and are extremely expensive. Maybe when I move back to Canada......

Right, back to the scarf! It was a great progression for me. I really enjoyed going through the process of learning a new weave. I was quite confused at first because I was compressing too hard which was distorting the pattern. Once I got a handle on it, I was at ease and in my weaving zone! haha. I decided that the most effective ending would be to twist the ends together in colour bunches (as seen on the left here). It seemed to fit better than just tying the ends off in knots. I have also added my new tags thanks to Kristin of Taylor Made Designs (see link at right of page). She did an amazing job on my tags. Look, there they are --> aren't they lovely?! Handmade, screenprinted tags on ribbon. I was so impressed with both the tags and the little well designed package she gives you. You should really have a look at her stuff!!! You can also click the image to get a closer look! So altogher, I am really happy and satified with this project. I hope it goes over well, wherever I decide to sell it!!