I wove denim rugs for every immediate family member this past Christmas.

It was a long and arduous process, begun last February. I used blue jeans, and deconstructed over 200 pairs. I killed my Gingher Shears, broke one stiletto and countless seam rippers, and rolled through 12 titanium rotary cutter blades.

The flat leg pieces were cut into 1.5" strips, then sewn end-to-end, wrong side to right side in very long ribbons. From there I wound as much as would fit onto three rag shuttles and got to it.

My loom is a 48" 4-harnesss Cranbrook named 'Louise,' and I wove these rugs full width and 72" long. I ran the rag shuttle through the shed, and folded the strip in half with the folded edge towards me. After ensuring that a nice loop was at the edge, I would change the shed and beat. Hard. Several times.

It was, for this fibromyalgia sufferer, a slow and grueling process. There were many days where I could only look longingly at Louise.

It was worth it in the end, as my family went nuts over them. That said, I'll never undertake a project like this again.

Okay - this isn't weaving. It's crocheting. I like to crochet. Hats. I never use a pattern, and each one always turns out differently that I imagine when I start. Some go to charity, some are for friends, and some are commissions They are always a lot of fun, and a great way to use up scrap yarn.

Eleanor Morgan

A Little Weaving

My mother asked if I would weave two rugs for her kitchen.  I figured they would be a good first project for the Cranbrook - now named Louise.  We went to a thrift store and found four linen tablecloths, which I cut into strips for warp.  They turned out quite nicely.

and 

While I was weaving the rugs, I warped the old Norwood with some acrylic Mom liked and got her to weaving an afghan for herself:

Once she was finished, I crocheted six rows of doubles around the outside edges to give it more width.  She naps under the afghan she made every day.

In the meantime, my Medieval textile research continues. I wonder if I can replicate this on Louise if I turn the design in the weft.

I've been weaving on and off for about 15 years, my first loom being a Schacht 46" 8H10T low castle floor loom.  Life circumstances happened and I sold it to a good and loving home a number of years ago.  Since then I have been stick and inkle weaving like crazy.  Until the local community college closed down their weaving studio and had all weaving equipment auctioned off.  There were 32 looms of all shapes and sizes, a Saxon spinning wheel, magazines, bobbin winders, swifts, ball winders, and yarn yarn yarn.  In all I purchased four looms, 50 years of Handwoven Magazine, other magazines, a Swedish bobbin winder, 30 pirns, a swift, a ball winder, and eight tubs of yarn for a scandalously low price.  Pictured is the biggest coup of that day ($260).  "The Contraption" is a 48" 4H6T Cranbrook (built by Norwood in 1978 according to the plate).  It was completely disassembled, so I was thrilled that all of the pieces and parts were included.  It is in remarkably excellent condition.  This is my first countermarche loom, so of course it took a while to get the tie-up working properly.  You will notice that I used a fairly unorthodox method to the tie-up.  This will make it easy to change quickly and easily when I want to.  It is currently tied for huck lace since that is my favorite.  I'm in the process of warping it for some small rag rugs for my mother, and have three more projects ready to go. 

Just Created

This is my first attempt at a blog.
Pages and information coming soon!