Progress

My mother requested a custom scarf as a present for someone. She wanted something in purple that included hearts. I've been studying anything woven I can ever since I bought my loom, so I knew a heart pattern was possible. Of course, I had never done anything other than a plain weave, with my only experiments thus far being in color placement in the warp and weft. So I decided to take this challenge! And it was a challenge, though thankfully one I could handle. I tried several different techniques from the only book about weaving in the entire Black Gold Library system (which is a terrible shame), and finally settled on the loop effect. It would seem inlays are best made with different yarns, with the thicker yarn used for the pattern. The contrast helps make the pattern visible. Since I was using two identical yarns (other than color), I had to make the pattern really stand out to keep it from blending into the background. The end result is an identifiable shape that is puffy. I have to say, I really like it.

+:
soft
puffy
looks pretty cool

-:
one sided
hard to weave in the ends of the pattern yarn...

I do think I could get the pattern on both sides, though it would increase the working time by quite a bit, and use a lot more yarn. I'll have to experiment.

I have an order for six scarves to be sold in a family member's store. I decided that I needed to buy yarn in bulk to help keep costs down (seriously, yarn in my local craft store is EXPENSIVE), and found this site called Smiley's Yarns. I'm almost ashamed to admit how much I bought.. but I will use it, and a good selection on hand will help my creativity. And I keep telling myself that at least I took advantage of the expensive flat rate shipping; got my money's worth there! More importantly, they have some HUGE discounts on their sale yarns, so the cost of materials going into each project will be drastically reduced. It's kind of a weird site though, and I got nervous today and checked the BBB, just in case. Luckily, they have a good rating. Probably should have checked that before giving them my CC information.. :P oh well, what are you going to do?

Finally, the 2009 ornament is coming along, and they should be done by November 1. I am taking pre-orders, which will help me know how many to make. So if you want one, let me know! You won't have to pay until they are ready for shipment, so don't worry about possibly hating the design (though so far, I have gotten really good feedback from the people I've shown it to)!