Tag: weaving

My new weaving studio in Historic Downtown Decatur, AL

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EWHD Weaving Studio (Decatur, AL)

Ever since I closed my yarn shop in December 2016, I planned to open a weaving studio where I could teach fiber arts classes and weave my projects outside of my home. From January 2019-March 2020, I taught classes at a yarn shop in Decatur, AL …and then COVID hit. This forced me to weave from home again, but it also gave me time to think about the future and where I wanted to see myself in the coming months/years.

I started looking for locations that would be suitable (and affordable) and in late November, and I found what I was looking for in Historic Downtown Decatur, AL. My new space consists of two rooms: the biggest room is where I weave and display my woven items for sale, while the second room is a kitchen-like space where I can dye yarns & fabrics and also teach small classes (eventually). I also have access to a fairly large wooden deck where I can hold classes in the warmer months.

The historic building that I’m in also hosts other artists, so I feel like I’m part of an art community and not an island anymore. Because I’m not a “storefront” space (I’m on the 2nd floor), I can work uninterrupted. I’m open to the public by appointment only at this time and I’m offering socially-distanced private lessons until things get somewhat back to normal and then I’ll offer small group classes in weaving, yarn spinning, dyeing, etc.

Located at 719 Bank Street NE, Decatur, AL 35601

Update since July: Lots of Finished Projects! And tons of new yarns!

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I’m not sure what happened, but I totally forgot about updating this blog (I have several blogs), so I have lots of finished objects to show off and new yarns to show too. (Only Deep South Yarn Hop purchases are being shown here).

I think I bought more yarn over the summer than the whole of last year…well, maybe not that much, but close. The 2020 Deep South Yarn Hop just finished up a couple of weeks ago…and I bought more yarn than I had planned, but some of the deals were unreal. So, that being said, I don’t have to buy yarn for the next decade…and that’s if I’m using it almost every day. My stash has seriously gotten out of control. I tried to do an inventory, but after a few hours, I gave up.

I also relaunched my own indie dyed yarn line this fall: Mythos Yarns, which are available at Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL). I’m only dyeing in very small batches at present to see what bases/colors sell best before I do a full scale launch next year.

I’ve woven 13 scarves in the past month….along with knitting some hat projects. I’m still working on my Soundtrack Sweater and another sweater that I’ve had on the needles for several months. But, considering I’ve knitted 5 sweaters between March and August, I’m not feeling too bad about it.

Sept-November Projects

A few November 2020 projects
Two Harry Potter themed knitted
hats
2020 Deep South Yarn Hop Purchases: Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL), Yarn Boutique of Decatur (Decatur, AL) Taming of the Ewe (Gadsden, AL) Ewe & Co. (Kingston Springs, TN) Bliss Yarns (Brentwood, TN) Haus of Yarn (Nashville, TN)

Finished Object: Remnant Yarn Woven Shawl

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Another remnant yarn shawl came off the loom this week after spending a really long time on the loom. I normally finish weaving projects in a day or two, but with all my knitting lately, I put this project off for quite a while. I’m happy with the results, even though I considered it a “boring” weave while it was on the loom.

I used several different yarns for this project, so I won’t list them all unless someone is really interested, but the fibers are baby alpaca, mohair, mulberry silk, merino, & cotton.

Weekend Weaving Projects

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I decided to take a break from sweater knitting over the weekend so I could dress my loom again after a couple of weeks hiatus.

I ended up weaving two remnant yarn shawls on my 32″ Kromski Harp loom, one in neutral colors and one in warm colors with a few cool colors thrown in. I used a variety of yarns including Noro (wool, silk, mohair), Indie dyed merino, Lucca Dot Yarn handspun, my own BFL handspun, baby alpaca, and cotton yarns. I used a boucle yarn for the wefts of both shawls (alpaca, silk, linen).

I probably spent a total of 8 hours between both scarves…a reminder as to why I enjoy weaving so much over knitting or crocheting. If only I could make fitted objects on the loom….

Latest on the loom: Spanish Lace Scarf (linen/cotton/nettle)

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I warped my 32″ Kromski Harp loom this morning for the first time in a few weeks. I needed a break from weaving–but now I’m starting to get twitchy since I’m isolated at home.

I chose a linen/cotton/nettle blend yarn (fingering weight) for this project. I was thinking of a light, open weave warm weather scarf when I warped my loom. It’s already in the mid to high seventies here, temp-wise –though it’s starting to cool down a little, so I figured why not go ahead and weave some spring/summer items.

I plan to weave Spanish lace (pyramid-style design) on one side, while the other side will be plain, open weave.

See my other projects on my main blog/website: www.ewhandwoven.com

December 2019: Finished Objects

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December 2019 was a blur for me and my family. My father underwent a major emergency surgery on December 7th after three weeks of being sick with an undiagnosed illness. He spent 25 days in the hospital and underwent 4 procedures during that time. My mother never left his side, so I did a lot of running around on her behalf until my father finally got to come home on December 30th.

I did, however, manage to get several weaving and a knitting project completed when I wasn’t at the hospital. Weaving (and knitting) kept my hands busy while my mind worried about my dad. Thankfully, he is on the mend and I am now able to look forward to new projects in 2020.

Here a few that I completed in December:

  • Jewel Spun Shawl #1 (back)
  • Jewel Spun Shawl #1 (front)
  • Jewel Spun Shawl #2 (back)
  • Jewel Spun Shawl #2 (front)
  • Merino/Donegal Tweed Scarflett
  • Merino/Beech Tree Fiber Scarf
  • Boomerang Shawl knitted with River Cottage Farm Fibers Romney “Son of Chiefton” Wool Yarn

Handwoven Tunic-style Top

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Last week’s weaving: tunic-style top (2-16″ wide, 60″ long panels partially sewn up back). I wove this top for a class I taught this past Saturday at Yarn Boutique of Decatur. I used Blue Heron 100% hand dyed organic cotton yarn for the weft and Knit One Crochet Too Pea Pods yarn (100% cotton) for warp. Total retail cost for the yarn was around $70. If I wove another top like this, I would either use a cotton/linen blend or a wool blend. Making it out of 100% cotton made the garment feel too heavy for my liking. Otherwise, I’m pleased enough with how it turned out. (Also, I measured incorrectly when warping my loom, so I ended up having to warp again for the second panel.)

Handwoven tunic-style top (front)
Handwoven tunic-style top (back)

This week’s project #3: Handspun Yarn from Lucca Dot Yarn Scarf

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This scarf was handwoven on my 32″ Kromski Harp loom using Lucca Dot Yarn hand blended & handspun merino wool single-ply yarn for the weft and a 100% merino dk weight yarn for the warp. Lucca Dot Yarn is owned and operated by Claire Cabe, who is also a personal friend and fiber mentor. I love using her hand dyed and hand spun art yarns for knitted, woven, or crocheted projects.

Lucca Dot Yarn handspun merino wool yarn scarf