Wool Shawl No.2

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Number two of three Donegal Tweed neckwear pieces, mid October was reeled off the loom, and now it is fully finished and so photographable. These three tweeds have literally made me fall in love with weaving on my Ashford Knitters Loom. But what to call them…. scarves? Wraps? Stoles? The three Donegal Tweed pieces I’ve woven have used up every ounce of my stash.

♣  Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • Yarn: Isager Tweed made in Donegal, also known as Donegal Tweed by other brands.
  • Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom, 20″.
  • Reed: 12.5 dent reed, optimal I think, for the Donegal Tweed, 1 thread in the heddle/hole, and 1 thread in the dent/slot.
  • Warp (sett) = 15 epi and Weft = 6 ppi. 
  • Direct warp method; if you take a look at the photos in the gallery you’ll see I am winding on to the back beam while scooting the table & loom closer and closer to the pegs clamped down, I’m finding this is a good way to maintain tension on the warp while winding it on.
  • Selvedge: Doubled up two outer most selvedge warp yarns, and used a temple.
  • Finished: Not wet finished, but steamed, tied a simple knotted fringe (knots could be taken out and twisted fringe worked, but I prefer the soft yarn strands). 
  • Measurements: 74″ long x 18″ wide, not including 4″ fringe.
  • Weight: 248 grams.

just reeled off . . .

Published on by Jen5 Comments

Just reeled off the loom, another plain weave check, that somehow miraculously used up the colors of the Donegal Tweed that I had left in my stash. This piece needs all of its finish work done as well as notes composed, and to “hang loose” off of tension for a while, and so I’m on to the next. This one and previous one, will return as finished and fringed pieces to properly photograph. Until then, I’m happy enough to just dive back in the yarn drawers and resurface with another warping to attend to before the end of the day. People are asking me, almost worried, what has happened to knitting? Am I finished with it? Will I return to it? The answer is simply that for now I am so happy in the weaving, knitting is only on a short sabbatical, and while attempting to convert yarn stash into cloth for a while, my long goal is to work back to spinning. Also, considering a very large rigid heddle loom for weaving wider cloth, such as throw blankets and table coverings, and what seems to me to be the natural progression of things around here. I don’t see that I will ever grow tired of simple plain weave.

Walktober, and tastes from the kitchen…

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Walking almost every day this October, and trying to increase distance too. But who says life has got to be so hard? With all the walking I’m doing, I’m really upping my culinary skills; baking bread constantly, experimenting making wonderful things, things I have never done before . . . such as making ricotta, then making ravioli with it, or even put it into icecream. Focusing on the old-fashioned way of things, like toasting hazelnuts then grinding into a paste with mortar & pestle, (then making into icecream). Oh, on the subject of icecream, I learned recently a trick from my Argentine friend, how to make their national favorite dulce de leche! The Argentines simply boil a can of unopened sweetened condensed milk for a couple of hours, and it cooks in the can and magically turns into thick caramel sauce! Of course, I mix that with about 2 cups of whole milk, and 2 cups of cream, then churn freeze into an absolutely delicious and very rich Dulce De Leche icecream. So, like I said, lots of treats to balance out all of the walking. . . this is definitely turning into my favorite month of the year all over again.

just reeled off the loom . . .

Published on by Jen8 Comments

This intriguing moody weaving of Donegal Tweed has been on the loom for only a few days, made entirely from yarn I had in my drawers . . . in blues, greys, and brown. Oh, but I seriously LOVE the rectangle check! I warped it on Saturday, considering it might be a nice wide scarf for a possible gift, but now pulled off the two-plus yards, and it is a bit stiff from the loom tension I suppose, thus inevitably not perfect for neckwear, possibly not soft enough. Deja vu ! Honestly, it is the same sett and same brand wool as the previous Isager Donegal Tweed piece I finished a few weeks ago, and softened up wonderfully. I bought and used a temple on this one, striving for even width with no draw-in. With this one I was a little more intentional, calculating some finished lengths, yardage, but left a lot up to guessing and assuming as the other one ended up “soft” and lovely, that this one would be too, as it is made out of the same yarn. Yet it feels like the weave is just too tight, however, I realize too that this is still stiff off the loom and has not relaxed yet, I suppose I ought to just stop worrying about it. The photo shows all the ends of the yarn wefts, which I really should learn to lay in before weaving, but I’ll weave them in with a needle soon and post again all nicely finished ~~ watch this space.

Coming Into Being (Wool Shawl No.1)

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I am finding with weaving that after the piece is taken off the loom, weft ends woven in, fringe knotted, twisted, or braided, then it seems to take on its third dimension . . . draping, folding, wrapping around, rippling into its new personality, yarns blooming and fusing in place and it simply finds itself coming into being.


Number one of a series of Donegal Tweed neckwear pieces I intend to weave. The wrap, stole, scarf, throw, is 17″ wide and 98″ long, not including the fringe.

This wrap is au natural in photos, minimally steamed, but otherwise not wet finished, it now needs to hang in the rafters a while to let it relax more. Already off of the loom for a couple of weeks it is not at all stiff, as I thought it was going to be, but like leather, or linen, needs to be handled and used to soften up to be a really seriously fine 100% Irish Wool piece.

Another day with storm brewing, I’m afraid is making the photos all a bit dark.

♣  Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • Finished piece commentary here, the weaving notes for this piece are to be found on this post In Love (with Plain Weave Check).
  • Yarn: Isager Tweed made in Donegal, also known as Donegal Tweed by other brands.
  • Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom, 20″.
  • Sett: Warp =14 epi (ends, or warp threads per inch, and weft = 10 ppi (picks, or weft threads per inch).
  • Reed: 15 dent rigid heddle reed: 1 thread in the heddle/hole, and 1 thread in the dent/slot.