I’m not a fan of fiddly weaving. I don’t really like to weave with needles or have a loom slipping and sliding all over the place. But once in a while, I start a project that takes hold of me and I’m willing to put up with a little of life’s inconveniences.

This is about one of those projects.

I bought this yarn two years ago at Yarn Barn (my LYS). It just called out to me, although I had no idea what to do with it. About a year later, I saw it being used in a tapestry and was inspired to add it into a little sample piece I had on the loom at the time.

Then last month I had the perfect opportunity to try it out.

Molly Elkind was teaching a workshop the day before my class on Soumak at the KAWS (Kansas Alliance of  Weavers and Spinners) conference, so- of course, I signed up for it. I packed my Saffron loom and a big bag of yarn I don’t normally weave with; this coveted speckled linen yarn at the top of the heap.

I had no idea at the time how I would use it and certainly had not considered using it for warp. But after watching Molly’s first presentation I decided to warp the loom with it. This workshop was on Improv Weaving - and that’s exactly what I was doing.

I guess I just loved this yarn so much that I couldn’t bear to add another one in, so began to weave it as weft, too.

Molly showed various examples of techniques to use and I wrote down a few I thought I’d like to try. I love it when a weaving takes over and the flow sets in. That’s exactly what was happening that afternoon. Exposed warps were the last thing on my list I wanted to do, but this yarn and those speckles just called out for it.

Everything was looking great; I was really diggin’ it.

To create the open areas, I secured them with double half-hitches. The knots had to be strong, so I needed to pull them tightly or they would still slip around. 

Metal teeth + fine linen warp + pulling tightly  = perfect storm.

I can’t really say I was surprised. The thought had crossed my mind after I’d started that the combination of the fine warp along with those metal teeth on the Saffron might not be a good mix. But I was so in love with it, I just kept going, fixing each warp as it snapped.

And I’m still loving it.

When I realized the tug on the warp was a big part of the problem, I started weaving the knots differently- using a curved needle and holding the knot firmly as I pulled.

So far, so good. 

If you want to watch the progress on this piece, follow me on instagram.

I’ll be posting more photos there.