my first project

well, technically this is not my first weaving project, but it is my first project on my very own rigid heddle loom!! how excited am i?

my first project will be placemats!

choosing the yarn is so satisfying. the coral yarn i dyed myself, and the lime green will both be used for the warp, and the deep plum will be the weft.

winding the warp (left). [[i would really love to get into the entire process of weaving, but i will gladly let Wikipedia do it for me!]]

the warp is all ready to go! (right)

with a little help from my husband, the warp is on the loom, only one more thing to do before i can start weaving!

and that's tying on. let's weave!!

it has definitely been a learning process, but i am so in love with it. i don't even want to get into how many times i had to undo what i was doing and start over, but i had enough yarn and the color combination is really nice. i started weaving this past weekend and it's been trial and error. i'm sure it will just take a little bit for me to get my rhythm back.

i'm not too crazy happy about these edges, but i'll get it right.

more updates soon!

weaving is happiness

i learned to weave in college. from the first time i sat at a loom, i knew i had found a true love.

[[tapestry projects from college]]

there is something so meditative about the entire process of weaving. choosing the yarn combination, the pattern, preparing the warp, setting up the loom. color and weave, and tapestry are my favorite methods.

[[my first tapestry sample decorating our "hallway" on the left. i found that embroidered piece on the right in a thrift store. it almost looks Indian in origin]]

when i graduated almost 5 years ago, i left weaving behind. looms can be a bit expensive and quite large, not very practical for a small NYC apartment.

[[a weaving and dying project, using a shibori technique. aka resist dying.]]

my brother wears a scarf that i wove in college.

a few weeks ago, i found out that one of my favorite online stores for yarn, KnitPicks, is now selling rigid heddle looms. i bought one immediately! the great thing about this type of loom is that it is compact and can fold up for easy storage and travel, even in the middle of a project. weaving can be done on a table top, or a stand.

putting it together today.

the finished product!

i can't wait to start a project, what will i make first?

treasures

it's been a long time since i opened the etsy home page on my computer. the lack of work to list there was almost a bitter reminder that my shoppe has been dormant for such a long time. not that it's really a bad thing, but my day job has just been so demanding, and my husband uses the studio/study much more than i ever would.

in other words, i have fallen in love with etsy all over again. not realizing how many changes they've made to the website, i've updated a few things and started surfing through my favorite places.

inspiration.

one of the changes that i really love about the new etsy is that anyone can make a treasury! when i first started using etsy, over 4 years ago, one had to wait for a slot to open up, and that was just too much work. so yesterday, i made my first treasury!

for you, my love. (click on the image to view it larger)

really made for the hopeless romantic husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, lover, looking for the perfect gift. i'm working on another one right now. the idea of a treasury is to create a collage of favorite items based on a theme, either by subject matter, color, gift ideas, etc. no two items can be alike, and no one seller can be featured more than once. i love to use color and theme together, so focused on pale pinks, deep reds, white and gray but also trying to find items from my favorite sellers that could make wonderful valentine's day gifts.

you can visit my treasury by following the link above, "for you, my love".

what are your treasures?

happy new year!

the Robinsons wish you a happy new year from new york city!