On the Loom

Sometimes, life gets a little too busy. When this happens, I like to take a step back and look at what I have been working on. Often I am so focused on what is happening right in front of me that I forget all of the work I have done.

So today I'm going to share some work I have been making, designing, and sending out to the world. If you follow my Instagram account @comfortcloth you can also see some other behind the scenes footage of my work on the loom.

A cotton and llama blanket sample on the loom.

The same sample after it has been washed.

In the spring I had been asked to create some samples out of a client's llama yarn and some cotton to help make the llama go farther. These samples were challenging because I was trying to balance the cotton and the llama only to discover that the llama fiber WOULD NOT SHRINK. The cotton created a wonderful basket weave, and the llama creates this wonderful "bubble" effect when it crosses itself. This project has been put on hold until a solution can be reached.

The next weaving project is creating a set of tea towels that are mix and match. These samples were created from UKI cotton- but since making these samples the company changed it's minimum order policy so that I no longer have access to this material. After a lot of math, and searching the web, I decided on Bockens Cotto-lin yarn. It is going to be beautiful.

A little peak at what is to come when I have a little bit of time for some production runs.

Last week I talked about this amazing yarn. I have been weaving these chunky throws in a ton of colors. I still have a few colors left to weave with but my plate has filled up with other priorities.

Stash busting.

Silver gradient.

Used a Swedish Basket Weave to make this yarn shimmer.

After finding out that I couldn't easily get UKI cotton, I decided to start busting through my extensive cotton collection to make room for new product. I had a lovely grey gradient sitting on my shelves that I decided to create a couple of simple cotton throws with. I used the darkest grey in both the warp and weft in order to make the center of the throws just shimmer like silver.

I also took the time to translate my cryptic college notetaking in order to recreate this overshot pattern that I had designed at a workshop at Harrisville Designs. The cotton background is also a UKI cotton- so these samples allowed me to decide on the pattern weft for future coverlet projects. The brown is Jaggerspun Maine Line 2/8, and the burgundy is Jaggerspun Superwash Sock 4/14. I'm excited to make this happen but it is all about time management.

I usually have extra warp at the end of my projects that I reserve for samples, small extra projects, or just to have some fun at the end of a long run of yardage. I wove this broken twill pattern with 12/9 Cotton warp and Harrisville Highland wool for the weft. These are just fun bright additions to a room. And it was a relief to just weave something quickly.

Overshot Sample.

Another overshot sample.

Samples getting ready to be sent off to an awesome client.

I recently have had an opportunity to work with an amazing company named Jamie and the Jones. Currently I am working on the final product, but these are images of the samples that I produced for them. I utilized my original star overshot pattern I created in college, and an overshot pattern I created using a name draft technique. In the future I will posting about the whole process and what I have learned from this experience.

This is what I have been up to since the Spring! There are so many other little things- but these have been bigger projects that have been in the forefront of my creative mind.