Handwoven Cotton Dishtowels for Spring 

I 've been so busy at my barn frame rug loom weaving rugs that I have totally neglected my smaller Harrisville Designs jack loom!  It is hard to leave the simpler joys and speed of rug weaving and start on the more intense threadings and design of regular weaving.
I use unmercerized cotton for my handwoven dishtowels which is absorbent and becomes softer with use. They are machine washable and can tossed in the dryer.  These towels are meant to last and they do!!
For many years this cotton weaving yarn, in many different sizes, was available on cones.  Usually one to five pounds in weight, this was an economic and handy way to buy large amounts of thread.  Many were sold as mill ends which were wind offs from industrial weaving mills.  Mill ends were inexpensive and a great resource for us cottage weavers.
Mill ends have unfortunately become hard to find in America.  They are being replaced by yarn cones that are much more expensive.  Instead of being sold by the pound, they are available in 8 oz mini cones at the same price that a pound mill end used to cost.
Cotton costs more in any form because of the worldwide drought.  Of course there are numerous man made fibers that can be substituted but I will always stick to cotton for my towels.  By the way, all of the cotton yarn used in these towels were made in the USA :)
I have listed 3 spring theme towels for sale in my online shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/sheepandthreads
Here is a peek at them!

They all have the same design panels except for the colors and are 18"x 27" in size.  I used a traditional Rose Path threading in my own design combination.  My favorite towel is the lavender one, can't wait till our plants are in bloom again! These Spring towels would be a great item to add to an Easter basket or as a housewarming gift!!

The following photo is of what the towels look like when they are removed from the loom.  I still have to finish the hems, clean up the thread ends and then they need to go into the washer and dryer so they are preshrunk when sold.  



Handmade Rachet Motion Handle for 1923 German Barn Loom

New Rachet Motion Handle for my Barn Loom

Handmade by Bill and Peggy Rickabaugh along with Dan, a very talented neighbor of theirs!

 

Cloth Beam Rachet and Pawl where the handle is missing. 

There is no way to turn the the front beam

 

Handmade Rachet Motion Handle

Hand Manufactered in a barn

by Bill and Peggy Rickabaugh

and their mighty talented neighbor Dan

 

A Perfect Sheepish Valentine Gift

A Perfectly Sheepish Valentine Gift 

SOLD

MORE AVAILABLE IN MY ETSY SHOP

www.etsy.com/shop/sheepandthreads

Light in the Forest Wools Woolly Sheep add lots of personality and country charm to any room or decor! Perfect to display on a special shelf or tabletop, these 6 " sheep collectibles have a way of making themselves at home.
This member of the flock is named "Bliss". Her soft white fleece is hand picked from our gorgeous washed Romney fleeces. Our Woolly sheep are not needle felted, each wool lock is attached by hand giving the wool coat lots of natural fleece character.
The head and body form are handcrafted from NW cedar wood, the legs are wrapped with yarn. Felt ears and a satin ribbon with metal bell complete this collectible sheep. A removable name tag is also attached. Name and/or color of ribbon may be changed.

Available at my etsy shop, sheepandthreads   http://www.etsy.com/shop/sheepandthreads

Critter Weaving Warp Cross Saver

A very convenient tool for holding a warp cross.  Warp crosses are formed when a weaver winds her warp threads onto a warping board.  At one end a "cross" is formed that causes the threads to cross over one another.  When the warp is taken off the board, the cross ends are cut and sleyed onto the loom starting with the top thread.

  

This method of sleying keeps the threads in line so that they do not tangle when the warp is wound on.

  

Some weaver's use lease sticks which are long sticks that are placed through the cross.  Others, myself included, hold the threads laced through their hand and pick each thread off as they sley the reed.  This method is tedious since you pretty much need to thread the whole handful at one time.  When there are a large quantity of threads this is tiresome and your palms get sweaty which wads up the threads.

Critter Cross Saver to the rescue!!!!  My personal critter cross saver happens to be a soft plastic puppet dinosaur that was offered by Pizza Hut in 1988 to promote a movie.  It belonged to one of my daughters who passed it on to one of their kids who happened to bring it to Grandma's on a visit.  Well, it never when back home and I'm still hoping that they don't see that I still have it!.

It holds the warp cross perfectly and I tie it onto the cloth beam with a shoelace.  This way I can warp as much as I want and then leave it.  My hands are free while I'm threading and I don't have to worry about keeping my hand in one position.

Almost any type of small toy or gadget that has 4 upturned "legs" will do.  I especially like mine because the legs curve in a bit which keeps the threads from slipping off.  It's especially nice when you're working on a wide warp.

A Handwoven Birthday Pillow for my grandson

My grandson's 10th birthday is this coming week and one of the things that he requested was a handwoven pillow.  I had woven one for my eldest grandson to take along on traveling high school soccer games and Clayton always admired it.

What's really awesome is that Clayton has always been interested in my fiber arts, starting at a very young age playing with wool from my sheep!  He's one of those kids who picks up on handcrafts and building things naturally.  He could build a whole new world with Legos!!

My two grown daughters have somehow passed through childhood without a desire to learn how to spin or knit or weave so I'm thrilled that a grandson might fill that void!  I think that growing up visiting our sheep farm and seeing the natural process in which wool turns into fiber helped create an interest.

Clayton has graduated from a potholder loom and is now weaving on a tabletop.  Can't wait till he ready for my large German rug loom!!!

He picked out the color of wool Pendleton Mill selvages that he liked best and we both agreed that a rectangle would be a fun shape.  Now, my only concern is that Fozzie, his dog, does not take a fancy to it.  I need to speak with Clayton about that!!

Handwoven Wool Selvage Rugs

featuring Pendleton Mills Wool Selvages

For Sale

I've been busy at my "new to me" wonderful 1923 German rug loom!!  This heavy counter balance loom has opened up a new world of weaving to me.

The materials used in my handwoven rugs are wool selvages from the Pendleton Mill, makers of famous blankets and wool garments.  These selvages are left over during the weaving process and sold, a great recycling system for quality material!!  I use a variety of warp thread when weaving these rugs.  A lot depends on what the rugs weight is and the intended use.  I will either use cotton, cotton/poly, or linen as warp thread.

Please take a look at the following rugs for sale.  All have been handwoven here at Light in the Forest Wools on our North Idaho sheep farm by me.                                                          

Navy blue and forest green with white and gold threads add a Scottish tartan feel to this medium weight wool selvage rug.  It measures 27" x 46" and has a durable 4 layer hem at each end. 

Available for sale at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=97133916

This 25" x 37" great looking navy blue, burgundy, and gold wool selvage handwoven rug features blanket selvages which results in a heavier, shaggy rug.  Great to sink your toes into!                                                                    

Available for sale at  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=92356687      

      

27" x 46" medium weight handwoven wool selvage rug in blues, black, grey and white.  Handsome addition to a den or rec room!  

Available for sale at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=97707312

Spinning Wheel Workout~3 ply wool handspun

http://www.sheepandthreads.etsy.com/


I've been busy at my Ashford spinning wheel, spinning up skeins of my own Romney wool 3 ply handspun yarn.  I've decided to use just my white wool so that the handspun yarn can be used in hand dyeing which is very popular right now.



Spinning 3 ply yarn requires a number of steps.  The first is to spin 3 bobbins of very fine one ply yarn.  I need to keep in mind that the finished yarn will be a combination of 3 different threads, each one adding bulk.  This spinning step is spun using a "S" spin, the spinning wheel is rotating in a clockwise direction.

The second step is to spin together all 3 of the yarns, now called "plys".  The three filled bobbins are mounted on a "lazy kate" which is a wooden device that holds a number of bobbins that are then able to be wound off.  When plying. the 3 individual bobbins are spun together using a "Z" spin which is counterclockwise. 
Plying yarn not only strengthens the yarn, it also is best to use for knitting.  One ply yarn will often knit at an angle, following the twist of the yarn.  This does not happen when the yarn is plyed because of the multiple directions of the twists.  A plyed yarn is often smoother and "rounded" resulting in a better looking finished garment.
I ply my 3 filled bobbins of yarn onto a jumbo bobbin which will hold lots more yarn than the standard 2 oz bobbin will.

The jumbo bobbin is now filled with 6 oz of 3 ply handspun wool yarn.  That doesn't sound like much but it does involved a lot of treadling and time!
Now it is time to wind the yarn off of the bobbin.  I do that by winding it between my hand and elbow.  I will later wash, weigh, and measure the yardage before skeining it into hanks for sale.

Wound off the spinning wheel bobbin

ready for a gentle hand wash and dry

 Yarn measured and off the niddy noddy

Finished !
5.9 oz, 572 yards
ready for use or dyeing