Weave-Along—Week Two: “DIAMONDS ARE A [WEAVER’S] BEST FRIEND”

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No denying it, diamonds are a popular design element when it comes to weaving. They’re symmetrical, versatile, and dynamic.

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An assortment of pin loom jewels

In addition to all-over patterns, sometimes patterns feature what I call “pictures.” So there are overall patterns and picture patterns, or pictures–in my personal terminology. Last week we learned that you can do just about anything and the weaving will work out. This week we’re going to tackle a simple picture: the “Single Outline Diamond” from the Weave-it Weaves booklet. Picture patterns are less fudge-able, so it’s important to focus on the pattern and count stitiches. The instructions for the pattern are typed out below–so you don’t have to copy the photo–I suggest printing them so you can make notes as you go.

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Can you imagine a time when people used to make a living selling stuff for 15 cents?

(The Weave-it Weaves booklet can be found in PDF format at this site: http://www.eloomanation.com/projects.php Scroll down the page till you see the booklet cover pictured above, then click on the PDF link.)

"Single Outline Diamond"

“Single Outline Diamond”

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Pin Loom Basics—corners and numbers and loops, oh my!

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If you’re embarking on your pin loom weaving career, or are ready for some clarifications, here are some 102-level basics.

***Remember, you can click on a photo to enlarge it; click the back arrow (upper left corner of this page) to return to these instructions.

Right, Left; Odd, Even; Corners, and Edges

When I talk about weaving and patterns, I frequently have to refer to the edges of the loom. Top and bottom, left and right are arbitrary if you turn the loom while weaving, so I try to refer to the sides by their corners, e.g. the “left” side of the loom is the 1-3 side. This information is useful, though for the life of me I can’t think why at the moment!

Corner and side designations shown on a Weave-It

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Adventures in Pin Loom Weaving—Announcing our First Weekly Weave-along!

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WEEK ONE

Amber from the Facebook Pin Loom Weaving Support Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/pinloomweaving/ suggested we host a weekly weave-along and she asked me to spearhead the project. I’ve never done a needlework-along before, but I said yes because it sounds like fun. After the death of my dog last week, I needed something to revitalize me and this is just the thing.

Last night I started organizing my mass of stuff.

Squares galore!

Squares galore!

Turns out sorting squares–preliminary sorting–was pretty easy. The tough part was–and continues to be–identifying everything. My record keeping system has evolved from nil to efficient and all between; it spans three notebooks and several sheets of graph paper. Heh, heh. Now we roll up our sleeves.

And then there’s the part about CHOOSING one-and-only-one square to start with. I had a lot of ideas . . . In the end I decided to go with one I admired during sorting. Naturally I couldn’t find the instructions for it even though my notes said, “Dark green notebook, 31 May 2015, bottom of page.” There were no pattern instructions anywhere on the page that matched this square.

Luckily, I’ve learned how to figure out what I did. So I did.

Here’s the pattern: “Open Weave”

The finished sample was woven using Carron Simply Soft (CSS) “Berry Blue.”

"Open Weave" woven with CSS "Berry Blue"

“Open Weave” woven with CSS “Berry Blue”

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Adventures in Pin Loom Weaving—Design Madness

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General Conference weekend is the best, best weekend–and it happens twice every year! When I was a little girl I used to watch my older sisters crochet chain-stitch monkeys. How I ENVIED them! Never have made a chain stitch monkey, but I learned to crochet and have spent many a divine conference weekend crocheting up a storm.

But now I weave. Got to have something to do with my hands while my mind and heart and spirit are feasting on the talks, prayers, and music.

Last time I blogged, I posted a variation on a Loomette design. I got caught up again in the rapture of designing squares, so that’s what I’ve been doing. The four squares on the right, in the photo below, are variations of each other and they all involve manipulating the threads in the lower layers of the warp. Such fun, such madness, such perseverance was required on the part of the designer. It took four times till I got it right.

Oh, the things you can think up!

Oh, the things you can think up!

Earlier this week, I saw some pin loom blankets on Meg Stump’s website that are absolutely gorgeous. Take a look: http://www.pinloomweaving.com/2016/04/pin-looms-love-crispina-ffrench-blankets.html

They’re watercolor heart blankets! Naturally I want to make one, and have set about designing one. I thought it would be cool–if I ever get a triangle loom–to make triangle squares to give the heart a slightly less blocky look. My mind jumped ahead to the prospect of sewing all the triangles into squares and I thought, “What if . . .?” Maybe I could weave a square that was made up of two triangles. Put the blanket on the back burner while I work on this idea.

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