This one was a piece that I made specifically for my mom. She saw the first scarf I made on my loom, and wanted it. I didn’t want to give her something I thought had too many defects in it, but ultimately I gave it to her.
She already had the original lavender semi-scarf that I made in class, with many flaws, and a size a bit too small to be truly useful.
In the meanwhile, I told her that we could go choose some yarn and I would make a scarf for her. So we went, and chose some yarn. At first she chose the exact same color as the lavender scarf. Odd. We compromised – something at least a little different, and with two colors.
Back home I set to work, copying the work I did for the blue scarf in “Weaving 002”, and trying to make better edges, etc. I basically repeated the patterns I used in the 002, but with only 2 colors this time.
There was nothing really new or unusual in this scarf, just a repeat, and a chance to get more experience and more feel for weaving. I think I did a bit better on this scarf than on 002, but I still have such a long way to go before anything feels natural.
Here are pics of the yarn, some progress, and some of the finished product.
Yarn:
Loom prep:
Drying:
A note: Since this was 100% acrylic, there was no noticeable shrinkage, and also much less forgiving behavior for the edges. The scarf, though, turned out fine, and felt very nice. Lighter than 002, so usable in less chilly situations.
Various attempts to capture the real color:
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All and all, a success. And now my mom has three scarves! Ha.
I have learned a little bit, and now I have some tips to use for color changes, edging, beginnings and endings, and other things. The next scarf will be better. I am not seeking a “next scarf” just yet, as I want to experiment with something else.
And, although I like to please my mom, I did not get as much pleasure out of producing an artifact that was at least partly somebody else’s choice. I realize that weaving something for somebody, especially if you do it well enough (or people are over-kind enough), can lead to more weaving of something for somebody. That’s not what I started weaving to do. Fine for my mom, a bit, but I am going to avoid the “make a gift” craft that this could become. I want to be more free than that.