DesigKnit

Remember the yarn that didn’t want to be socks?

I warped up the loom for a scarf last weekend, using some very handy tools that Branden whipped up for me while he was home.

The piece on the left (the one with the nails in it) is called a raddle, and the two sticks on the right are called lease sticks. I’d heard of these things before, but they didn’t come with my loom, and my book said you didn’t strictly need them. I’d read about them, and then hadn’t really given them another thought.

Then, a couple of weeks ago one of the weaver’s guild members invited some of us over to watch her warp her loom with the yarn we dyed at the workshop. And I learned exactly how useful raddles and lease sticks are.

We made a trip to the hardware store while Branden was home, and he spent a couple of hours trimming and sanding away. They’re not really finished yet, but they’re finished enough to use. We put the warp on the loom Sunday morning, and by Sunday night I had all 300 ends threaded through the loom. A job that would normally have taken several evenings or a couple of weekend days took a matter of hours. Sometimes there’s just nothing like the right tool.

I’ve been dying to show you the fabric all week, but there just isn’t enough light in that corner when I get home from work. But now, for the record, I’d like to state that the yarn was right; this is exactly what it needed to be, and I am completely in love with it.

And, in case you want a closer look: