Weaving in 2023 – 2

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Robin

Before the last couple of lamb posts I started to take a look back at weaving in 2023. Here is the next about weaving

Warp #1308 was baby blankets. I need to get another baby blanket warp on the loom because I’m almost out. Do you know that one of the first things I wove was a baby blanket for my son who is now 43? I have been weaving pretty much the same blankets all this time. If people still like them I guess that’s OK. I have a lot of other ideas though. Just no time.

Warp # 1311 was for samples using the yarn I got back from one of the mills. The samples are Jacob warp with Jacob and Timm Ranch weft at two different setts. The photo on the left is before washing and the right is after washing. That is where differences in take-up and draw-in really show up.

These samples were all from one warp but resleyed to weave at 15 epi, 18 epi, and 24 epi. I used these for a Yarn Lab article for the Jan/Feb 2024 Handwoven magazine.

This is one of several clasped warp scarves and shawls I wove. They will be in an upcoming issue of Handwoven.

Warp 1326 was Timm Ranch yarn and I wove two shawls, one with indigo-dyed weft, and one with 3 supplementary warps to create the design.

The next warp is Jacob wool. I really like how the two sides of this pattern are so different.

This is Warp 1328 with 14 blankets. I weave these on my 60″ wide AVL production loom.

They look a little better when finished. Some of these are on the website now (here is one). Some are Year to Remember blankets that were custom orders.

This is another clasped warp scarf using Timm Ranch wool that I dyed with homegrown indigo.

Warp 1337 on the loom. This is Timm Ranch warp and Jacob weft.

I wove enough for four pieces and made two into mobius shawls.

So many ideas and so little time. Back to the barn to feed lambs now.

Random Farm Photos

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Robin

This post is just what the title says. You may have seen some of these on Instagram if you happen to notice them among all the others that bombard you.

Ginny on her bed. She likes to take things out of the recycle bin on the back porch. That’s why the oil bottle is there. That moose has been a favorite inside toy since she was a puppy. Amazing that at age 9 the moose is still here with only a couple of repairs.

Four Jacob rams with hills in the background.

The rams that are still here after the last culling. Left to right: Meridian Blizzard, Meridian Typhoon (both born in March 2023), Hillside Gabby’s Barrett, and Fair Adventure Horatio (both born in 2021). There will be lambs sired by all of these rams in February.

Devil's claw seedpods dried out so they are open. Pasture and trees in the background.

Devil’s claw pods. I have these listed for craft or decorative use on the website. I had an order the other day so I thought I’d take more photos while I was gathering them. Not only do they get tangled up with each other, the points on those claws are very sharp. These are not a good plant to have around when you’re raising fiber animals. If I see them on the sheep side of the fence they are removed. I gather these from places where there are no sheep.

Across the Road with Ginny yesterday before the rain. There is hardly any water in the cement ditch now, but what is there is stagnant and slimy and muddy. Ginny was hot from chasing the ball and thought it was a good idea to lie down in that.

Border Collie focus.

This morning’s look at the rain gauge. It’s about time we started to get some real rain.

Most of the flock after feeding in the morning. I think I count 40 sheep here…and a goat.

There are eight sheep here so there must be a few at another feeder. The hardest question to answer is “how many sheep do you have?” I think there are 53 ewes, 2 wethers, and 5 rams now.

And 4 chickens. The rooster is a new addition.

I’ve been finishing up some weaving projects. I usually weave rayon chenille scarves, but decided to weave a series of shawls. These are two different shawls on the same warp with slightly different weft colors

This is on the same warp with a different color weft, but stitched together to create a poncho of sorts. I really like how it came out. Even though the sewing adds a bit of work, I think it takes far less time than twisting all those fringes. I hope that this style is popular because I’d like to make more of these.

Today on the Farm – A Day of Random Projects

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Robin

Could I actually write a post a day? This is two in a row. I don’t want to bore anyone who clicks here, but I think I could always find photos to write about.

I shared this photo on IG this morning. This is me trying to stay warm while looking at IG before getting out of bed. The woven piece has meaning. After I had the major accident in 2019 my Farm Club friends got together at one friend’s house and wove this shawl/blanket using handspun yarn they had all brought. I think some weren’t even weavers, but Mary had the warp on the loom and guided them all through it. I have my own woven blankets around here but this one always makes me think of friends.

By the way if you go to that link in the last paragraph you’ll find lots of typos. That is because my small motor control still wasn’t very good and I couldn’t type very well.

I have been harvesting my walnut crop. When the wind blows the walnuts off the tree a lot of them are still in husks. I can’t throw all those husks away when I know what great color they give. I had a bucket of husks that had been soaking for a week and decided to use them this morning.

I also decided that its time to do something about the skulls that are in various stages of progress in the barn and the garage. I never get them as beautifully white as most you see for sale, but I still sell them. This one needed a little glue.

Dan’s project for the day was to pour concrete in an area where the concrete walkway is being undermined because it’s a low spot and holds water once it starts raining.

This was the first load.

He ended up getting two yards of concrete for this patch.

This is at the north end of what we call the corral, out of sight behind the tractor in the photo above. The disturbed part in the center above the black tub and in the foreground are where I have buried skulls. There are some in the tub too. The baling string in the front is tied to horns so that i can figure out where they are and how many. When I dig up the others I have to be careful because I don’t know exactly where to dig. When the ram, Townes, died Dan buried him in the mound at the very top of the photo in front of the burn pile. You can’t see it but there is a string on his horn too so I know where to dig eventually. At the time of his death he was so bloated, even his head, that I didn’t want to try and salvage it then. It seemed to likely to explode. [Some of you probably don’t want to hear this stuff, but it’s not always pretty on the farm.]

I spent the afternoon at the Weaving House working through a box of handwoven pieces that I had put aside and never got around to finishing. I think that three were destined to be ponchos–at least that’s what they are now.

I spent a long time going through all my weaving notes to figure out when I wove these and what fiber I used. This one is handspun weft. I don’t know if I meant it to be a poncho–maybe it was just a very short blanket. It’s a gamble to choose how it will sell best. It looks like an awkward size, but if it’s worn at an angle I think it will be good. I need a photo on a mannequin.

The third poncho of the day. I don’t know if these will make it to the website. I think one will be at The Artery and two may go with a friend to her Bay Area sales.

This is on the south side of the Weaving House. The vegetable garden is done and the indigo that was left is all shriveled and dry after the frost. It’s almost December and a couple of the hollyhocks I use for dyeing still have flowers! What’s with that? Do you know I have packages of these flowers for sale with directions on using them for dye?

More Product Photography

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Robin

I shared a lot of photos in one of the latest blog posts of my trial and error to get good product photos with consistent backgrounds. I got some suggestions from a few of you and I welcome comments again. I worked on this again today.

I bought a roll of sturdy Manila paper. Do you know why it’s called Manila? I looked it up. Merriam-Webster: “a strong and durable paper of a brownish or buff color and smooth finish made originally from Manila hemp”. Wikipedia: “Manila paper was originally made out of old Manila hemp ropes which were extensively used on ships, having replaced true hemp. The ropes were made from abaca or Musa textilis, which is grown in the Phillipines; hence the association with Manila, its capital city. Abacá is an exceptionally strong fibre, nowadays used for special papers like tea bag tissue. It is also very expensive, being several times more expensive than woodpulp, hence the change to that fiber for what is still called Manilla—usually with two L’s. More recently new woodpulp has often been replaced with a high proportion of recycled fibers. True Manila hemp folders would have been much tougher and longer lasting than modern folders.” See what you learn by reading this blog?

I also have a piece of linen that is a nice color with an interesting texture. I thought I’d try both of those as background. The linen fabric is too small, but I can get more if it works. I just made a curtain for my office and that’s why I still have a piece here.

So I experimented with my phone and my camera with these different backgrounds. My goal is to take photos that don’t need much editing to make the products look like they do in real life.

This is the linen on top of the manila taken with my camera. I am not sure if the yellow/rose cast of the manila comes through the linen. Also, light is so important. I took all photos in the shade, but not all shade is the same. The place where I’m hanging the roll of paper is a different shade than if I drag the table over to the middle of the deck area and the roll of manila may affect the outcome as well.

This is that manila paper taken with my phone.

Linen on top of manila taken with phone.

The photos I used here have been minimally edited–mostly to crop to square. This time I shot the photos with my camera on manual and adjusted shutter speed one or two stops. Most of the time the slower shutter speed (more light) gave a better exposure. I don’t think I’m having such an issue with white balance as in the last batch of photos.

Linen on top of manila, taken with Nikon.

The same as above but taken with the phone. Colors are close but not the same.

I moved the table away from the wall so the linen is resting on the table. There will be no influence from the mainla paper underneath or on the wall. This photo is taken with the Nikon.

Same thing, but taken with the phone. I see a blue cast to the background linen.

These photos are also taken on the table, on the linen cloth alone. This one is with the Nikon.

Same thing but with the phone. There is that blue cast again. I could probably adjust that in the phone, but I haven’t done any adjustments on these photos other than exposure on some of the Nikon ones.

Same place, table with linen cloth, taken with Nikon.

Same photo taken with phone.

I moved the table back to the position with the manila paper. So this is linen cloth on the paper, taken with the Nikon.

Same thing but taken with phone.

This is the scarf on manila paper alone using the Nikon.

Cat basket on manila paper. Photo taken with Nikon.

Same thing but no cat.

Same thing taken with the phone.

Here is a blanket on manila paper taken with the Nikon. I think this one could benefit from exposure adjustment.

Same photo taken with the camera. Color of the blanket is more natural.

This is in the same place with the linen over the manila. Nikon photo.

Same photo taken with the phone. There is definitely a difference in the color in these photos.

I liked the photos in the last post that were taken with a wood background but I don’t like the spacing between the planks that creates a dark line. We have some leftover flooring that in the house I think of as gray, but I guess they have a brown cast. These planks were left over after we finished the floors and the “groove” edges of “tongue and groove” have been trimmed off. If I want to use these I will trim that edge so there are no big yellow gaps.

I think the colors of the yarn and products are true, but is the background distracting even if the gaps are gone?

UhOh. Why does the white fringe on the blanket look green? Compare it to the scarf at the bottom. In this last series of photos I didn’t compare Nikon to phone photos, and they are all phone photos. I just added the Nikon photo of the blanket below.

Scarf using phone.

There is a lot to figure out. Tomorrow.

Woven Goods

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Robin

It’s the season for selling when you’re in the business of making. Now I seem to spend extra time taking photos and then trying to keep track if the items are at The Artery or here, listed on the my website or on the Fibershed Marketplace site . Ideally there were would be three batches–some at the Artery and not on the website, some here and just on my website, and some here and just on the Fibershed site. The goal would be to have everything sold by Christmas and to not double-sell anything…but those lines are crossing. I have to be vigilante. Here are a few examples of what I’ve been weaving.

Chenille scarf using clasped weft. Shawl 1065-2-1 Local yarns dyed with coreopsis and dahlia flowers. Shawl-1059-3-1 More local yarns dyed with mushroom and black walnut. Ponchos 1067 This is the stack of ponchos that I finished in early November just before the Fibershed Wool Symposium. This is how the loom looks from where I sit. The rainbow colors are a result of a prism that hangs in the window behind me. After my mom died a friend gave me the prism and said that it was to remind me of my mom. And it does, as it reminds me of the friend, Sylvia.Coreopsis dyed yarn.The computer that holds the “brains” of the loom. This loom does not weave without me doing everything (for those people who think that having a computer hooked up means I’m not really weaving). It only keeps track of the pattern that I have put in.This is what that pattern looks like. It will be completely different after fulling.A look down through the warp threads to the cloth below.OOPS! I think I have this in an earlier photo and I haven’t told the story yet of what I did about it. That will still come. Poncho 1067-1 Some of the finished ponchos.

Poncho 1067-4-3 Talk about a versatile garment. I have grown to love the poncho. It’s really just a blanket with a hole in the middle for your head. Whether you’re at the computer late at night (gee, does that ever happen?), in the car, or trying to stay warm while reading in bed it’s an easy garment to throw on. And it also makes you look young and pretty! Just look at those photos! (Disclaimer–that’s really not me.)

Maryland 2018 – Days 3 & 4 MSWF

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Robin

Saturday morning I met up with a Ravelry friend and her crew for their annual tailgate breakfast before the show opened. They went to get in line and get organized for the day and I went in the back gate to take care of sheep.

After my minimal chores I went out to see the show. I showed photos of sheep at MSWF in the last post. ,but for some people fiber shows are mostly about shopping.

The number of people at this show is amazing. This was probably an hour after the gates opened and people were still pouring in. (I can’t help but think about the fool who, when I was involved with organization of Lambtown in Dixon, insisted that the beer booth would be the big money maker and didn’t give much importance to the activities for “ladies with the quilts” [did he even say ‘old ladies’?] ) The main street. Food on the right. Sheep and vendors on the left. More vendors behind me and more in the distance.

My first stop was the Fiber Arts show. I was surprised to see this award for Best Woven Article on the shawl I entered in the commercial yarn division. This is Anderson Ranch yarn with a natural warp and black walnut-dyed weft. I had high hopes for the handspun V-shawl that I finished just in time for the show. It got second, but there was stiff competition… IMG_6902-2 …very worthy of a win in this class. (There is a connection for some of you to this shawl if you read the card by kbdoolin.) I had also entered photos. (I had a whole suitcase devoted to the weaving and photo entries–good thing that Southwest allows two checked bags.) Another surprise!

After checking out the entries I started wandering through the grounds. The main exhibit hall was packed with people. It’s hard to even get around. This is where the t-shirts, caps, etc. are sold. The line zigzags a couple of times with those barriers keeping ordered. I didn’t even try to go in there on Saturday. Writing this post reminds me that I did go back on Sunday and bought a t-shirt. There were only a few left from this year’s festival. I must have left the bag somewhere because it didn’t come home with me. 😦 Outside the t-shirt building. The fleece show.

One booth had thousands of buttons, all sorted by color. I was drawn to the soap sale display. Notice that the wheel has two flyers–there were dozens of wheels, looms, etc in the Auction Tent. Saturday afternoon would be the auction of spinning/weaving equipment. On Sunday there would be an auction of sheep equipment.

Signs seen in the barns and vendor areas. This is one reason it is fun to go to a show like this–the vendors are all different than those I see all the time on the West Coast.

Jacob horn necklaces. In the parking lot. Unique “flower” arrangement. Speaking of friends, another great thing about this trip was meeting up with people who also raise Jacob sheep. Some I had met before and others were just names from Facebook. Now I have met them in person.

Loom With A View

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Robin

I wrote two blog posts about setting up this show but then I moved on to other things. Now I’m getting to the show itself. I’m not thrilled with the photos I have taken at the Artery, but I am thrilled about the show and want to share it.

As I said in one of the previous posts this theme started with the idea of using the old windows that were around here. As you enter the gallery you see the title and the Artist’s Statement. If you want to read that click here.

This is the wall to the right… …and these are some of the sheep.

More sheep.

Continuing around the gallery there is this collection of photos. I used two of these six-pane windows to display photos and give a feel for the farm. These are not for sale because they are too rotten (people have asked) but some of the photos have been matted or framed and are for sale.

This is the Solano Colors wall and the yarns are the 2017 locally grown yarns that are on my website. Don’t they take natural color beautifully? There are three examples of the natural dyestuffs–black walnuts, weeping willow leaves, and dried coreopsis flowers.

If you look at the previous photo again you’ll see that the shawls and the yarn are hanging on what looks like bamboo. I decided to use the Arundo (an invasive species that grows on our north border and had big hollow stalks like bamboo) for hanging the pieces in the show. It was in keeping with the rest of the props (stuff found on the farm), I have an infinite supply of it, I could cut it to any size, and it is free. The perfect solution! Originally I had planned to use the Arundo for weaving, but I just didn’t get to it. On the morning I was to set up the show I got up early with a lot on my mind. I got out the loom that I had already warped for this and I wove this piece. It inspires me to do more because I think it is very cool.

Moving on around the room this is the next grouping. Those scarves were woven on a space-dyed warp that I dyed a few years ago and found in a box on the shelf. Do you see something hanging to the left?

I wanted to do something interesting with the weeping willow branches after stripping the leaves for the dye pots. I tried weaving with them but I think I like this mobile best.

The Sunflower wall is around the corner. These are rayon chenille scarves in the colors of the sunflower field that was Across the Road last summer. I didn’t just stick with the yellows and oranges of the flowers but included all the colors of the fields. Here is a closer view of the flower scarves.

In addition to the window pane photo collage, I included this piece that is not for sale. I wove this years ago when we lived and worked on our family dairy.

This close-up includes my daughter carrying milk buckets, my sheep, and our pony. Here is another farm photo collection.

These ponchos and ruanas use the same yarns as the Solano Colors wall, but mostly in natural sheep colors. There are also a couple of handspun Jacob pieces here.

Close up of a ruana.

The display in the center of the room is really panels out of my sheep trailer. I used them to hang my blankets and some scarves.

Here is an overall view of the room…

…and this is the table in the doorway when you come in. The notebook is for visitors’ comments. I’d love to see your comments as well.

Loom With A View – The Creative Process

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Robin

I have worked for over a year to prepare for my show at the Artery that is up from now through November 27. Well, maybe I didn’t work for a year. I thought about it for a year. I started working on ideas, but went into full production mode only a couple of months ago and then panic mode at the start of October. Once the weaving was finished the show set-up took 2-1/2 days of work with friends helping too. This series of photos were all taken by a good friend, Dona, who has been there from the beginning giving me ideas at the start and there at the bitter end to help with set up. This is her view of the set-up day’s Creative Process.

Neither of us took a photo of the completely empty space. These were taken as we unloaded the truck and emptied boxes. The theme for the show “Loom with a View” has started with old windows that were behind the garage. There will be more about that in another post. As I ~~worried about~~ obsessed over how to arrange this show I thought of and dismissed a variety of props from around the farm. It wasn’t until the last week that I made some final decisions. The gate with the hangars on it is something another friend didn’t want. The tin panels are those that we use for the State Fair display. There are other panels that came out of my sheep trailer, and there are the old window frames, with and without glass.

Without my friends there helping it would have taken twice as long. Alison, Mary, Kathleen and Dona were there all day on Wednesday, Kathleen came back to help on Thursday and I finished up with a one-person-because-its-all-in-my-head labeling and details on Friday.

Things start to go on walls and panels.

Decisions are made.

Putting up the Solano Colors wall.

Working on the Sunflower Wall.

I hope you’ll check back for the next blog posts to see the evolution of the show and I really hope that you will go to the Artery to see it in person. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Thanks Dona, for all these photos and for the support.

Spinners’ Lead at BSG

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Robin

The Spinner’s Lead is one of the events I enjoy most at Black Sheep Gathering. It is a competition in which entrants show off their handspun or felted items and bring the animal that was the fiber source (or borrow a representative one from one of the animal exhibitors). There are two categories–one for Owner and one for Non-Owner.

Alison and I both entered Jacob yarn vests. Alison’s vest is incredible. She started this project three or four years ago, spinning Jacob wool into 4-ply yarn. She knit the vest using twined knitting to create a fabric that is windproof but stretchy–a natural alternative to Polartech. At one point Alison had knit the vest almost to the top but was not happy with it and ripped it all the way back to the cast-on row! It features i-cord band, sewn in zipper, and pockets.

I started working on my vest about four weeks before BSG, inspired when I figured out that the fleece of the sheep I was entering, was still in the barn and was a beautiful one. After spinning the yarn the fabric took two days to warp and weave and another to turn into a vest. On Tuesday of the BSG week I wove scarves using white and the leftover black yarn. Weaving is so much faster than knitting!

Honey was my selected sheep for the Spinners’ Lead because it was her fleece I used. I chose Marv for Alison because he seemed the best most compliant of the other sheep. She spent a little time practicing with him before the event.

I handed my i-phone off to a friend who took most of these photos, and it’s not easy to get good photos standing at the outside of the show ring. (Thanks, Deb.)

Alpaca shawl. Red hair, red shawl, red alpaca. (Honey did not like the alpaca when it showed up in the line near her.)

BFL sheep with her young owner. This one was the winner of the Owner category.

This was the most unusual entry this year–felted sheep masks. The wearers are leading sheep, but they needed to be guided as well.

Sweater knitted from natural colored fleece.

IMG_20160625_203217339-1

Waiting to hear the results. Alison won the non-owner category! It was well-deserved.

Sprout Yarn Scarf

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Robin

Friends and customers told me that I should start carrying sock yarns so last winter I chose a few special yarns. One is Sprout, a fingering weight superwash Merino yarn that is dyed and marketed by The Fiber Seed, the business name of a delightful couple who live in Florida.

This colorway is called Quicksilver and is dyed in one of several dye patterns they use.

Chris saw me photographing this and commented that I was going to weave something to match my cell phone.

Here is what it looks like after winding into a ball.

Too many people think that you can’t using “knitting yarns” for weaving and vice-versa. To me, yarn is yarn. This yarn is very stretchy and you need to plan for that from the start. I measured the warp on my warping frame under a light tension, also taking time to match up the color repeat. That way I have a warp where the colors don’t mix, but move from yellow to gray and repeat (which you will see in the finished piece). That may not work with every dye pattern or warp plan, but it worked perfectly for this one.

Notice how open this is. I sett the warp at 12 epi (ends per inch) and wove it with a very light beat. Beginning weavers often BEAT, instead of ~~beat~~ press the weft in. In this case that would completely cover up the warp and not make fabric appropriate for a scarf. This yarn is under tension and when it comes off the loom a lot of those spaces will fill in.

I could have chosen to weave this with a solid color to maximize the effect of the color movement in the warp, but one of my goals is to show what can be done using just one skein. The color repeat in the skein means that when using this yarn for weft the color changes after about every fourth weft pick. Notice also how the color changes over-ride the pattern of the weave structure. This is one of my favorite weave structures, but in this piece I used it for the drape and texture it would give the piece and not because you’d see the design it makes when I use solid yarns.

971 Sprout scarf

I knew this wool wouldn’t “full” because the yarn is superwash, but wet finishing will still change the look of the piece. I soaked it in water, agitating as if I was fulling it. I should have taken a photo but it was late at night. After that process the scarf looked pretty awful. The yarn reverted from being lofty and squishy to long and stringy. The fringe looked bad. I laid the scarf out to dry as I usually do and it was very disappointing. Then I remembered–Superwash! I put the scarf in the dryer with a big towel. That was the answer!

This scarf is lofty, bouncy, and very soft.

Here are the stats:

On the loom: 7.25″ x 81″ measured under tension

Off the loom: 6″ x 68″ (Remember, I told you it was stretchy!)

Wet after washing: 6.25″ x 72″ (and not looking very good)

After drying in dryer: 5.25″ x 58″ Perfect!

Another cool thing for you knitters is that each yarn comes with a QR code that links to a knitting pattern using the yarn.

I guess I need to get these yarns on my website, but there are so many color and dye pattern choices that will be difficult. I’ll work on it. In the meantime, if you are interested you can always ask me to send photos or come to the shop.

Meridian Jacobs' Blog

Life on the farm and at the loom.

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