Stars and Stripes in Black and White AND New Jacob Yarn

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Robin

Three days in a row with a blog post! I’m on a roll.

I didn’t write about my newest yarn because I wanted to have all the details. Here it is, although not on the website yet.

I shared this photo in a previous post. I just picked up the yarn from Valley Oak Mill a week or two ago. This is the last of the 2023 Jacob fiber.

The first thing I need to do before planning a weaving project and before listing the yarn for sale is evaluate the yarn. Measuring wraps/inch (WPI) is one step.

Look at what I finally figured out–how to put photos side-by-side. It only took 20 minutes of trial and error and I don’t know if I can do it again. Now if I could just figure out how to change the size of the spaces .

The point of this is to show the wpi measurements for the same yarn before and after wetting. The yarn on the left is wound straight from the cone. The sample yarn on the right shows the WPI after the yarn has “bloomed”. I soak the skeins in water for about five minutes and then spin them out and let them dry. It is important to plan a project based on what the yarn will look like when the knitted or woven or crocheted project is wet finished. In the case of all these yarns they measured 17 WPI when wound from the cone and 12 WPI after washing. That’s a big difference.

Here is how the black yarn looks.

Here is this yarn on the loom. I sett it at 8 epi (ends per inch) based on the 12 WPI measurement. It looks very open but remember that the yarn is under tension on the loom and it has not been wet finished. It will bloom as in the photos above.

The stars appear due to alternating 6 dark threads and 6 light threads in warp and weft AND the weave structure. Without the two colors you wouldn’t see stars and without the weave structure (tie-up and treadling) you would see a plaid. There is a trick to weaving this without cutting the yarn every time you change color and keeping the selvedges neat. I put boxes at the right height at each side of the loom and rest the unused shuttle there where I can reach under the yarn when I catch the active shuttle for six picks.

This is how the scarves look off the loom, not yet wet finished. The stars are black on one side of the scarf and white on the other.

Here are the finished scarves. I have two of the stars scarves and one of the stripes. They may be sold this weekend but I can make more before Christmas. I wonder if I should try other colors. I could use the Timm Ranch naturally dyed yarn or Ashford yarn. I’d like to weave some in cotton as well. Too many ideas, too little time. If you’d like one let me know soon.

Woven Goods

Posted on December 8, 2018 by Robin

I’ve been neglecting my blog. All my computer time has been spent at other things–mostly trying to stay caught up with email, working on my website, and trying to organize and edit photos for items listed on the Fibershed Marketplace and on my website (each of which need differently formatted photos). I’m also trying to figure out the best way to keep track of what is listed where and which items go to the Artery. I really don’t want to take the chance on selling something on the website and find out that I already sold it at the Artery.

The website is up now and, although I haven’t listed a lot of products yet, I’m happy with it. I hope you’ll explore it a bit. I’ve worked most at getting some weaving classes scheduled for January-March and in getting handwoven items listed.

Here are some of the items that I have listed. Don’t judge my photos. I struggle with trying to get decent product shots.

Blanket 921-2-2

SHP-M-29

Shawl 1065-1 I didn’t list this one because right now I can’t find it. That may mean it is at the Artery. Or did I sell it? This is what I mean be trying to keep track. I’m not doing very well with that.

My niece was nice enough to model for me at Thanksgiving.

V-Shawl 1069-2 Photobombing brother. These are yarns from Lunatic Fringe and all appear in the latest scarf I wove. Hopefully I’ll get to that blog before too long.

Every Weaving Project is an Experiment

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Robin

I always tell students that unless you are using the exact same yarn in the exact same way that you have used it before, then your project is an experiment. Call it a full-size sample if you want to.

I’m OK with that. Who wants to do the same thing over and over?This is my latest warp. I wound 13 yards of mixed Solano County wool yarns. These are yarns that I have had spun in the last few years from the Timm Ranch, Anderson Ranch, and my own flock. Most were dyed with black walnuts–it’s amazing the range of colors you can get when you use a black walnut dye pot over and over…and over. It keeps on giving color. Look at the range of browns in the photo below.The other thing to notice about this photo is that the last piece woven on it is so much narrower than the others. This was the fourth shawl on the warp. The one before this one is a different weave structure (advancing twill treadling), but the first two are the same structure as the fourth one. The only difference is the weft yarn. The first three shawls were woven with 2015 Timm Ranch yarn on cones. The weft for the fourth shawl is 2016 Timm Ranch yarn that has been dyed. This is a perfect example of the difference that “finishing” yarn can make. Shawl 1049-3 This is one of the previous batch of shawls. It is mostly Jacob yarn but the weft is last year’s Timm Ranch/Jacob blend used from a cone without washing. In this case the width of the warp in the reed was 30″ with a sett of 6 epi. That is very open but when wet finished the shawl is lightweight and has great drape. However, the finished width is only about 20″ (33% draw-in and shrinkage). So I sett the brown warp the same at 6 epi but started with a 39″ wide warp.

Here are the shawls from the brown warp after wet finishing. That one that was so much narrower on the cloth beam? That is the one that is a little wider here. It is now 27″ wide (30% draw-in and shrinkage). The shawl in the same pattern but woven with the white weft is 26″ wide (33% draw-in and shrinkage). The difference between width in the reed and the finished piece isn’t much, but the photos show the dramatic difference in how the yarn behaves while it is woven. Here is a before and after photo. The bottom shawl has been wet finished. The top one is the same weft yarn and same pattern, but has not been washed. Look at the very first photo in this post. You can see how wide open the yarns are. Off the loom they are a little closer, but that looks nothing like it will when finished. An example of trying to take product photos with the help of a Border Collie. Shawl 1059-1-1 Here is one of the final product photos. I noticed a surprise. I started to see a purple cast to one of the warp yarns. At first I thought that I just hadn’t noticed that shade inside while I was weaving. I tried to convince myself that it was still brown.Do you see it here? Another photo of one not washed (no purple) and one washed. I lined up the same warp threads in these two pieces. Depending on the light setting in the photo (and maybe your monitor) you may see it more clearly in one of these other photos. In person it is clearly visible, although it doesn’t stand out.

The answer…that was a yarn dyed with mushrooms from a friend. It must have been rhe soap that caused the shift in color. I love it. Lisa, what is the name of that?

Friendship Baby Blankets & Fixing Weaving Errors

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Robin

I finished this project a couple of weeks ago but haven’t had time to share it. My friend, Irene of Cotton Clouds, is involved with The Natural Dye Project sponsored by Mayan Hands. She asked me to create a baby blanket out of the Friendship Towel Kit that she is selling to support the Guatemalan women in this project.The towel kit makes 4 towels using naturally dyed 8/2 cotton.I added Monte Cristo cotton boucle to the kit and came up with… …two baby blankets, each using Monte Cristo and 8/2 cotton in the weft but using different patterns. It is easy weaving but things don’t always go smoothly. I happened to look at the first blanket winding its way onto the cloth beam just before starting the second blanket and saw 7 warp threads that should have been woven into the blanket.Because of the texture of the boucle yarn I hadn’t noticed the error while weaving. Now I can see it but it wasn’t obvious when I wasn’t looking for it. Here is the problem. When threading the heddles I inadvertently used 7 heddles from the Shaft #5 when I should have used Shaft #4. This is a 4-shaft structure so #5 didn’t lift at all. It is an easy fix for the second blanket. Just tie Shaft # 5 up to each treadle in which Shaft #4 is engaged. That works.However, the only way to fix Blanket #1 was to needle weave all 7 threads in after it was off the loom. That should be easy (over-under-over;over-under-under), but it took hours because of the nature of the boucle yarn. Thank goodness it was only 7 threads.

After weaving the blankets aren’t done yet. Wet finishing is an important step of weaving. It allows the yarns to “bloom” and fills in the spaces that are there when the yarns are under tension. It turns a bunch of interlocked threads into cloth. It also results in shrinkage. See the difference in width in the strip that has not been washed and the finished blanket.

Here is a detail.

The final step is a photo session. No baby was available so I used one of my kids’ teddy bears.My old teddy bear (I won’t tell you how old) featured in some of the shots too.

You can purchase this kit from Cotton Clouds at this link.

Weaving Faith

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Robin

When weaving the yarns are under tension on the loom so they look thinner than they will at the end of the process. In addition the yarn looks thinner on the cone than if it is wound in a skein. So there is some faith involved in planning a weaving project. It is important to know how the yarn will look once it is relaxed and after the very important step of wet finishing.This is one dramatic example of the same yarn on a cone and wound in a skein and washed.

Here is a project that I just finished:

.This is Jaggerspun Maine Line 3/8 sett at 10 epi (that’s ends per inch, or the number of threads wound in an inch, for you non-weavers). That photo is off the first blanket I wove as it was going around the cloth beam. The two colors alternate in the pattern blocks.

This is the second blanket on the warp. I didn’t have enough of either of the warp colors so I used a third color and wove the whole blanket in the same color. Notice how much space there is between all the warp and weft threads? It’s harder to weave this way with it so open. And this is where the faith comes in. It sometimes takes awhile for brand new weavers to have that faith that it will all work out in the end.

The photo above shows what the blankets look like off the loom and not under tension and there is a greater difference after washing. (Not the color difference–that is the lighting. I took the photo above in the evening because I wanted to get these washed that night.)

The photo above and below show these blankets after washing and fulling.

Close to Home–Post #16 The End

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Robin

Monday I took down the show. Two dedicated and fabulous friends came to help. They tagged and wrote price labels for all the pieces and sorted sold from unsold. I took out nails, patched holes, got the museum putty that held signs off the walls, and figured out how to condense this whole gallery….into the corner at the end of the room. I didn’t finish until the next day.This is some of the blankets all tagged and ready to show again.

I was able to keep a lot of pieces there. I hope a lot sell because in January it will be someone else’s turn for a show in the gallery and my things will go back out to a smaller space in the main part of the store. Here is what I did. The chenille scarves came back to the display, although baby blankets are still in the other room of the store. One wall. The other wall.Remember this?Now it’s full of wonderful comments. I like Breanna from Fair Oaks mindset, don’t you?

Thanks to everyone who came, who commented, and who bought, and supported the local sheep industry and your local weaver/farmer!!!!

Close to Home…Post #10 – Sincere Sheep

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Robin

One of the first yarns I used when weaving for Close to Home was Targhee wool sold by Sincere Sheep.

Story: Brooke Sinnes of Napa began Sincere Sheep in 2003 and focused on natural dyeing yarn sourced from local wool. Since that time she has included other lines of yarn sourced farther from home.
Sincere Sheep’s Bannock yarn is a 3-ply worsted weight yarn that features 100% Targhee wool from Montana and the Dakotas that is milled in North Carolina and spun in Maine.
The Targhee sheep is named after the Targhee National Forest near where the breed was developed beginning in the 1920’s. The goal of the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Idaho was to develop sheep with uniformly heavy fleshing and high quality fine wool that was adapted to rugged conditions of the Western range. Developed by crossing Rambouillet, Corriedale, and Lincoln sheep at the Experiment Station, the Targhee breed was expanded by selection of “Targhee type” ewes from large bands of range ewes crossed with Targhee rams. The flock book was closed in 1966.
Targhee sheep produce 10-12 pound fleeces with very soft, bright white fiber that measures 21-25 microns. Sincere Sheep’s Bannock yarn was named for a Targhee Native American Chief.This is one of only two yarns in this show that are not grown in Solano or Marin Counties but I included it because of the variety of colors, naturally dyed, and the quality of the yarn, and it is grown in the Pacific Northwest, which is Closer to Home than many places where wool is grown. I love the color variation in this yarn… …and the variety of designs that you can get on one warp. Sincere Sheep blankets That means that each of the blankets above was woven on the same warp threading in white yarn, but the patterns change by varying the treading and, of course, the color of the weft. Another series of blankets. And another. Sincere Sheep Targhee At the end of the warp I just wove in white instead of making it plaid and then I felted the fabric. That made great fabric for pillows.I also wove a series of blankets on a rusty red warp with a white weft

Targhee yarn is very soft and perfect for scarves as well. After the Artery show whatever items are left will be for sale on my website.

Close to Home…Post #8 – Fiber Confections

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Robin

I raise black and white sheep and my friend, Colleen, raises brown sheep so between us we have all the natural colors. I used some of her wool in my show at the Artery. If you’re just starting to read these posts go back to this one to read about the concept of this show.

I don’t have the sheep photo I used in the show because I borrowed the print from Colleen……but this one shows the distinctive color pattern on the face.

The story: Colleen Simon got her first sheep about 15 years ago. Since then her spinning and sheep raising hobby has evolved into a fiber business. She keeps about 20 ewes of varying shades of tan and brown and markets their wool as roving and yarn at the Davis Farmers Market. Colleen is an expert felter and creates felted hats and embellishments from her fiber. She sells her creations at the Farmers Market as well as at local festivals and Grand Hand in Napa. Lambs are sold to Superior Farms in Dixon.

Colleen’s flock is a blend of fine-wooled Romeldale, CVM, and colored Merino sheep. The Romeldale is a rare breed that was developed in California in the early 1900’s. Breeding long-wool Romney and fine-wool Rambouillet sheep resulted in a breed with heavy fleeces of very soft wool. The CVM or California Variegated Mutant is a not-so-appealing name of the colored variant of the Romeldale that has a multi-colored brown fleece and “badger-face” markings. The wool is very soft and measures 20.6 to 25 microns.

Colleen lives about a mile from me and we have shared sheep and fiber adventures for years. We make a good team because my flock grows black and white wool and hers grows brown wool so between us we have all the natural colors.Some of the beautiful shades of wool used in the shawls below.

Detail of the shawl on the left.

Detail of the show on the right. I also wove two plaid shawls that are in the show but I don’t have photos of those. The photos below are of soft CVM scarves.

Colleen took this photo of sheep in her field.

Close to Home…Post #7 – Jacob Wool

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Robin

I’ve been writing about sources of wool from Solano and Marin Counties and from Oregon, but of course I used my own wool too for the Artery show. How to choose a representative photo of my sheep? I used more than one. I can do that because it’s my show. Fanny LolaRams.

Here is the story I wrote for the show:

I developed Meridian Jacobs after my family moved to Meridian Road, north of Vacaville, in 1999 and I purchased Jacob sheep. The Jacob sheep is a rare breed that is hardy and well-adapted to low-input, sustainable farming practices. My flock of 65+ sheep grazes irrigated pasture much of the year and is supplemented with locally grown alfalfa during the winter.

The sheep provide me with unique wool and tasty lamb and are the core upon which I have built a multi-faceted business, selling fiber (from my sheep and other yarns featured in this show), teaching classes, and creating the Farm Club. Lambs for meat are sold to individuals and to Superior Farms in Dixon.

The Jacob sheep is striking in appearance with it’s spotted fleece and multiple horns. The sheep are shorn in the fall and yarn is spun at two California mills. My flock’s wool measures from 27 to 31 microns. By sorting fleeces by color and grade I produce a variety of natural shades and can use the softer fleeces for blankets and garments and coarser wool for felt items.

Meridian Jacobs evolved as I turned my passion for wool into a business.

I had a limited amount of yarn from this year because I sold so many fleeces at shearing day. Some went to Farm Club members and I used most of the rest. It is beautiful yarn. These are all throw-sized blankets.The cool thing about Jacob wool is that you get all of these natural colors without dyeing. For this blanket I used odds and ends of the yarns that were left in warp and weft. It was going to be a poncho along with the other blanket on this warp. I have a poncho that I wore in high school:Yes, I still have it because I always planned to use it for a pattern. (When I put it on it makes me look 17, right? Glasses are gone. With camera angle, you don’t see as many wrinkles. You can pretend that I bleached my hair back then.)Anyway, the fabric in the first “poncho” photo was larger than the poncho that I wanted and it looked and felt so nice as a blanket that I didn’t cut a hole in it. (Good thing–it has sold to someone and it will be shipped to Australia.) This fabric was about the right size so I did turn it into a poncho. It can be purchased at the Artery (or from me after the show). 887-4 This is a scarf from more of the left-over yarn.

Close to Home…Post #6 – Anderson Ranch wool

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Robin

Last March I watched some of the shearing on a large sheep ranch in southern Solano County and I brought home fleeces. Here is the blog post from that day. Rio Vista shearing In September I got the yarn back from the mill and used it for pieces in my show at the Artery.

Story that is part of the show: Margaret and Ian Anderson farm land that Ian’s great grandfather settled in the late 19th century. While Ian’s great grandfather raised only sheep and grain the modern ranch is a diversified farming operation growing hay, grain, and cattle as well as sheep. The original sheep on the ranch were mostly Corriedale but today’s 3000 breeding ewes are a blend of Corriedale, Polypay, and Rambouillet breeding. The ewes are bred to Suffolk and Rambouillet rams to produce each year’s lambs. The lambs are raised in adherence to the strict animal handling and environmental sustainability protocols of Niman Ranch, where most of the lambs are marketed. Local sources of Anderson Ranch Lambs are Nature’s Bounty near Vacaville and Chuck’s Custom Slaughter in Dixon.

As in many U.S. sheep operations the Anderson Ranch wool is handled as a by-product and is usually baled and sold in bulk. Last spring I watched some of the shearing and brought home about a dozen fleeces. I sorted and pre-washed the wool and shipped 90 pounds to Zeilinger Wool Company in Michigan, one of the few mills in the U.S. that can adequately process fine wools in small quantities. The wool was spun into 54 pounds of 2-ply-sport weight yarn. The fiber averages 20.4 microns. Feel how soft it is for yourself!

This yarn, like the yarn from the Timm Ranch and processed at Zeilinger’s, changes dramatically from it’s coned form to skeined yarn or finished piece. I will do another blog post about that because it’s so cool to see the changes. This would make a great knitting yarn as well (although I’d skein and wash it first) and it is on my website for sale now. This blanket and the one above it are woven with the same weave structure, but they look different because one has dyed weft. The browns are dyed with black walnut. This blanket has weft dyed with osage orange that grows across the road.I also wove some scarves. This is beautiful yarn, very soft and would make great knitted scarves or caps. I look forward to weaving more projects with it. Maybe I’ll even be enticed to get out the knitting needles.