Weaving and spinning

I finished my red-and-black checkerboard shawl, and am twisting the fringe!  It’s closer to fuschia than black, but it came out as well as I could ask for.  I wove it in a 2/2 twill so the red-and-black parts are twill diagonals, which looks more interesting than over-and-under plainweave.

I’ve just finished beaming on the warp for my next project, which will be a silver-and-black advancing twill in a complex snowflake pattern.  I’m using a 55/45 silk/cashmere blend from Colourmart, which has great deals on cashmere and silk weaving yarns.  (Okay, they mostly sell to machine knitters, but I like it for weaving.)  I start threading today – fortunately I have only a short ride today, which leaves room for weaving!

I have also started spinning some sock yarn, with a 75/25 wool/silk blend from The Silkworker. I haven’t spun anything in ages, but her stuff is so luscious that I couldn’t resist ordering some.  I’m mostly working on it in the mornings, before B. is awake (I can’t weave while he’s sleeping – nobody could sleep through the racket of a working loom).  It’s coming out beautifully, and spinning up faster than I expected.  I should have the first batch done tomorrow or Saturday.

I haven’t had as much time to weave as I would like, since my training right now is taking about 30 hours a week (between riding time and travel/prep time), but at least I’m making some progress.  I have also designed an orange-and-black shawl based on the heart pattern in Twill Thrills: The best of Weaver’s, which produces a pattern reminiscent of a cat’s eye.  It will be the next on the loom, after I finish this project.

Off to weave some more!