Here is the merino-silk combination straight off the loom and looking rather stunned, as they often do.
I treated it the same way as the sample. First I washed it ever so gently in the sink, using Ecover’s “Delicate” as I usually do. Then I rinsed it and squeezed out the excess water. And then I flung it in the dryer with a towel for twenty minutes, ran away and hid (with my eyes shut and ears covered so I couldn’t hear any screaming). I might add that this is the same dryer which malfunctioned the other day: the timer apparently got stuck and it kept drying the same load for four hours… But for some reason, this seemed to me a gentler option than running it through the delicate wash cycle to shrink the wool, which is what I would do if the non-shrinking fibre were cotton.
Anyway, my post title is a giveaway: no disasters, just a nicely soft and crinkly scarf.
I did a bit of plain weave at each end for a hem, but the huck part — the whole body of the scarf — has shrunk from 91″ to 56″, so Quite a Lot.
For some reason, my camera is not at its best with blues and purples. The first picture is more accurate as to colour; the lower one seems a bit bleached. I took the poor thing all over the house to try and get a better picture, and then had the bright idea of plonking it on a red armchair in the hall. The camera likes red so I thought it might cheer it up a bit.
The hall is rather dark as it doesn’t get much natural light, and I wasn’t using a tripod so the long exposure means it is rather blurry… but, but, but… these are definitely more like the scarf colours and you get a better sense of the contrast between the light and dark areas.
I’ve got a few half-drafted posts about sensible things, so I hope to get those to you before long; but in the meantime perhaps you can help me fathom the mystery of why our letter tray is getting so lop-sided.
Any ideas?
“nicely crinkly” was posted by Cally on 7 Jan 2011 at http://callybooker.co.uk
Laura
I like using the dryer for fulling some times too. Nice scarf. 🙂
Cheers,
Laura
Evelyn
the crinkles do look soft and squishy. sorry – can’t help with the letter tray … lol
Amy
Beautiful scarf! I want to reach right through the monitor and fondle it.
As for the letter tray…clearly it’s SUPPOSED to be that way. No?
Trapunto
I laughed twice reading this, first when you said cloth look stunned when its fresh off the loom, and again at the mystery of the crooked letter tray. As a rule of thumb, I add 50% of assumed loveliness to anything you weave, over and above what shows in your photos. (And you can assume I read and relish your blog 100% more often than you might judge from the frequency of my comments lately.)
Meg in Nelson
You need another cat in the lower part of the letter tray.
Your merino looks so lovely, Cally. But I wondered, do cats love your scarves, too, or do you do something to keep them away from your work?
Sheila in Kelowna
I love your scarf, and your cloud and reflection photos and especially your cats! My husband says anything to do with cats is supposed to be lopsided. And I’m betting that everything that comes off the loom has to be “approved” by a cat before it can be photographed!
neki rivera
really,really nice scarf. living in sunny spain i feel deprived for not having a dryer.
and you could get another scarf to balance out your tray 🙂
Diana in Oregon
This post cheered me immensely. Thanks for the photos of the beautiful scarf. This was a very successful project. As for the letter tray, do you suppose it will eventually tip the cat out?
Sandra Rude
The scarf is beautiful – it looks soft and warm and cuddly, just like the cat. I think the letter tray just needs another corner support, although you’d have to ask the cat’s permission first, of course.
Alison
Love it. I’m so smitten with the way that scarf looks – really special!
Also: not sure about the state of your letter tray. Have you considered localised gravity wells??
Leigh
Wow Cally, it’s been awhile since I visited and I love what you’ve done with your website. The scarf is too cool; love the subtle colors. Love your “paper weight” too!
Margreet
Cally, lovely scarf! What great fun you look like having with it all.
Cally
Some good suggestions there about the letter tray! I was wondering if it was due to the weight of all the staples in the top right corners of things? But I think Sandra is right about the need for some extra support.
And thank you for all the kind scarf comments. I finally got around to hemming it this evening, and hope to take some proper photos before the week is out.
Handcrafted With Altitude
Your scarf is lovely. Would you share what huck lace pattern you used? Is that a little bit of plainweave between each huck lace block?
I’ve been inspired by your blog for quite awhile.
Cally
Yes, you can find it in this new post. Thanks for the comment!
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