Boston Wool Works

In Recycling, Weaving on

September 18, 2016

Sometimes the yarn knows best

I had recycled a bunch of brightly-colored cotton sweaters, and after doing some “weaving math” I realized I had enough yarn to do really thorough test… and still have enough yarn left over to make multiple warps of the same thing. The nice thing about weaving (as opposed to knitting, for example) is that you can set up one long warp (the yarn you put on the loom before you weave) to make multiple pieces.

So I thought I’d put this yarn through its paces and see what how it wanted to be woven. Since the yarn was all cotton (some of it organic! What a treat!), I decided I wanted to try some kitchen towels, having done a few sample variations in the last few months, and loving the feel and the warmth of handwoven towels in my kitchen. The nice thing, too, is that often a sweater will say “hand wash only” but since it’s 100% cotton I felt pretty sure I could machine wash them. Or at least it wouldn’t kill me to find out with a few sample pieces.

In Recycling on

April 19, 2016

Hidden gems

I spend a lot of time in thrift stores, trolling for yarn (trapped in sweaters). I’ll be honest that while there is a lot of nice yarn out there in mostly fairly unremarkable sweaters, I do tend to see similar sweaters over and over – plenty of plain shetland pullovers in lovely heathery shades, cotton cardigans, and ribbed turtlenecks. But every once in a while I run across a truly spectacular sweater that combines a perfect storm of elements like color, traditional construction techniques, fine craftsmanship, and beautiful yarn. The best of these special sweaters combine these elements in extremely unexpected ways that might not always make for a wearable garment, but yield lovely yarn and a great adventure.

In Dyeing on

January 31, 2016

Dyeing to share

You might think that I was keeping myself busy enough with the floor loom. And the traveling. And the sewing machines. And the sweater-dismembering. And the knitting, inkle weaving, rigid heddle weaving… oh, and my day job! But no. Someone needs to dye. Meaning change the color of fibers, you dark, dark person!

I’ve been dyeing wool for several years, and more recently have tried my hand at dyeing silk. They’re both protein fibers, so you can use the same acid dyes on both (insert here all the stuff I didn’t learn in chemistry class in high school but know understand). I really love using the Greener Shades dyes, which are both safe (heavy-metal free) and intensely beautiful. I’m quite comfortable working with them know so I can improvise pretty well on-the-fly. (I know, things that stain mixed with flame don’t sound like a good match with my randomness, but trust me – it works!)

In Weaving on

January 31, 2016

Take it to the floor!

I’ve been thinking about getting a floor loom for a while (I’d been using a few rigid heddle looms, and my mom taught me on her Schacht floor loom), but when I was visiting weavers in Ireland, I finally crossed the line and decided it was time to get one. Also I had done a massive clean-up job in my basement and finally had room for one! I did my research toward the end of my trip (on the Spinners’, Weavers’, and Knitters’ Housecleaning pages, amongst other places) and communicated with a weaver who was retiring and was within a reasonable driving range from my home.

So, a few days after I returned from Boston, a friend of mine who has a pickup truck (tip: a key piece of equipment for transporting a floor loom!) drove me to upstate New York to retrieve the loom. We got plenty of practice tying knots and arranging tarps in the borderline-harrowing drive home, but the loom arrived in one piece and is now living in my basement, below a ceiling festooned with Christmas lights!

In Weaving on

October 15, 2015

Lovely Donegal

I was lucky enough this fall to visit Ireland for the third time in three years, and especially to spend a significant amount of time in Donegal. I’m very drawn to this region, in part because of its rich weaving history, but as a New Englander, the cheery self-reliance of the people despite a sometimes unforgiving landscape feels very familiar. While I was there, I was fortunate to spend some good hours with a few of the wonderful weavers and craftspeople keeping the tradition of Donegal weaving alive and, importantly, living. I was impressed in both the fiber crafts and in the traditional music to find a wonderful harmony between the traditions and a growing, thriving, creative force rooted very much in the present. This is truly how traditions survive and don’t just become museum pieces.

In Knitting, Recycling on

May 30, 2015

How to free beautiful yarn from an ugly sweater

Okay. This may be too rough for you, but I like murdering sweaters. Especially evil sweaters that are trapping beautiful yarn in an ugly shape or pattern.

For example, I found one terrifying 80’s sweater — cropped, mock turtleneck, hideous stitch pattern — at a Goodwill near my house, and it was holding hostage a ton of absolutely gorgeous white 8-ply baby alpaca yarn. Sweater? Hideous. Yarn? Gorgeous.

This may be obvious, but you can get a full sweater’s worth of yarn for the cost of one Goodwill sweater (or for free, if you already own the sweater).

In Sewing on

May 30, 2015

The lure of antique sewing machines, part 1

I have a weakness for old sewing machines, in particular Singers, because they are incredibly well made and there’s a lot of historical information available about them.

It’s amazing how many of them are floating around at antique markets, thrift stores, town dumps, and in people’s attics. Some of them are in practically mint condition and just need a little cleaning and oiling, but others are pretty worn or broken. Each one of them is part of a history lesson that touches on industrial manufacturing, mass marketing, and gender roles in such an interesting way.

In Weaving on

December 2, 2014

Demo day at the ICA

This Saturday, December 6, from 10-1 I’ll be demonstrating rigid heddle weaving (on my 32″ Kromski Harp) at the Institute of Contemporary Art on Boston’s South Boston waterfront (more recently known as the “Innovation District”). Other members of the Weavers’ Guild of Boston will be demonstrating carding, spinning, and weaving on a variety of equipment — all part of the Fiber Sculpture 1960-present exhibition that’s up through early January. It should be lots of fun, and this is a great little museum to visit any time.