A Goal for 2017

Kelly Casanova, who has a very useful YouTube channel for Rigid Heddle weaving, posted on the RH Adventure Facebook group asking what our weaving goals for 2017 are.  Mine is to share what I have learned and discovered playing with my RH looms.  I'm going to do this in two ways.  I am planning on liberally borrowing an idea or philosophy from the the late, great, Elizabeth Zimmermann, in the process.  EZ wrote fascinating books on knitting.  In most of them she first described a technique or idea for a project in such a way that "thinking knitters" (as she called them) could work out the details for themselves.  She would then provide a more line by line pattern for "blind followers" (again, her term).  I liked both approaches.  Sometimes I used the "thinking knitter" information to make my own version of a project.  Sometimes it was nice to let her do the working out and just go along for the ride.

So, my plan is to sketch out my ideas and approaches to different techniques here on the blog, freely available to all.  "Independent Weavers" should be able to take the information and run with it and come up with their own projects.  However, sometimes even we "independent" types just want someone else to do the driving.  For that, I will produce patterns for specific projects that illustrate the techniques.  These will have a lot more depth, with clever tips and pointers for sticky bits and lots of photographs, so that pretty much anyone who has direct warped a loom and woven plain weave with some success should be able to follow them.  The patterns will be made available in my Etsy shop.  Prices will vary depending on the complexity of the technique and project.  To that end I shall start with the Scribble Warp scarf I'm working on right now.  Part of the "Support Noble Fibre Mill by coming up with neat projects for their corespun yarn" initiative!

If all goes well, I will finish the scarf tomorrow.  Then I will write the "Independent Weavers" version of the techniques I used here on the blog.  Next I will write the more detailed pattern for the actual scarf and have some friends proof read and test weave a bit.  Hopefully that pattern will be available for purchase on Etsy in a few weeks.  I will also start warping the "4-shaft Waffle" dish towel project I have promised as a pattern.  Bits of that will show up on the blog, then the finalized pattern will go up on Etsy.  I also have a neat idea to combine both warp and weft "scribble" in a "MaD pLaiD" scarf or cowl.  And some Christmas ornaments in pick up Bronson Lace, and maybe something else in Summer and Winter and there's the 3 shaft twill shawl with the buttons you haven't seen yet (because I still haven't done the edging and buttons) and and oh...

Maybe in the meantime I will distract you with some crazy knitting.  Thing Tall loves ties.  To the point he has started to learn to knit because Mum was taking too long to make him a knitted one (there's yet another pattern project! Or 4, part of the reason I hadn't done it yet was a wealth of ideas. mostly woven).  And then, he of the freakishly long (size 16) feet asked very nicely for some socks that were not black, like maybe argyle, please?  Two days before Christmas.  So, Mum thought, having failed to find anything immediately available, what is Christmas Eve without a last minute knitting project?  Thus, I present, The Argyle Tie:

Crazy kid wants it finished.  Intends to actually wear it!  It will need a nice lining and maybe I should have chosen better yarn.  I can still write out the pattern when it is done.