This is the 15th year of continuous daily publication for 365Caws. All things considered, it's likely it will be the last year as it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to find interesting material. However, I hope that I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world with my natural history posts, or encouraged a novice weaver or needleworker. If so, I've done what I set out to do.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Tartan Project
Day 193: Another of my "bucket list" weaving projects is in its initial phase. I have always wanted to weave my family tartan (McLeod of Lewis), and although I made a shawl using commercial knitting worsted, it was far from the vision in my mind. A friend gifted me with enough 16/2 (fine) Scottish wool thread for a shawl last Christmas, and after making a small test piece, I determined that it would have to be sett at 36 ends per inch to achieve a balanced weave. For the width I wanted, that meant 1024 ends in total. Obviously, winding it on the warping board was going to take a while, but even more critical to the project was tying an additional 600 string heddles. I figured I had plenty of time to do both because I had just loaded Max (my Bergman floor loom) with an overshot project which I wasn't likely to finish for at least two months. Well, I've made progress. The overshot is nearing completion, and I only have 50 heddles left to tie. It was time to start winding the warp. Merry has been a bit too helpful at times, but I think we have at last come to an understanding regarding teeth, toenails and tempting strings, although I have to hide the warping board between sessions. I'm halfway there.
Labels:
McLeod shawl,
tartan,
warping board,
wool
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