The loom invasion continues: inkle arrival and first piece off the triloom

It took me three tries, but I finally got the hang of weaving on the new triangle loom. Here's a photo of Triloom Weaving Take Two in progress. If you look closely, you can see that I failed to alternate over-under, over-under in some of the vertically-oriented lines:


Since I'm doing the continuous weave method, is the screwed up bit warp or weft? Neither? Both? I'll go with weft, since the vertical yarn weaves around the existing horizontal yarn...
Even three sets of written directions couldn't quite make it clear to me what I should be doing — some directions told me that I needed to alternate this or that, or that the yarn needed to wrap around this but not the other ... It was a little like reading sewing pattern directions, but without diagrams to study.

Then I remembered YouTube. And voila! A triangle-weaving video from Hazel of Hazel Rose Looms saved the day.


Third time's the charm! Finally finished a whole triangle without ripping it out.
And here's the finished triangle off the loom:


I did the crochet-chain finish across the top (of which you can see a tiny bit in this photo), and left the short sides unfinished. The finished fabric has lovely drape, doesn't it? Cheers for recycled linen yarn and an open weave. On the other hand, it came out a little small — 28" across the top and 26" on the sides — possibly from a combination of the open weave, the fabric's bias shrinkage off the loom, and the tightness of the weaving. (I tried not too weave it too tightly, but maybe I did, anyway.)

But it was just big enough to wear as a head scarf.


I'm not entirely sure I like how head scarves look on me. My round half-Asian face plus round forehead is not particularly flattered by this look, I think.
Now I'm not sure whether to make another piece or few and attach them to make this into a larger item, or just keep it as a head scarf that will probably sit in the head scarf basket with all my other abandoned head scarves. Thoughts?

Oh, and I almost forgot! Photos of the newest loomy arrival, my inkle loom:




Lynne, the previous owner, kindly did some example warps on the loom for me.
It was the previous owner's first inkle loom, and now it's my first. Welcome, new inkle thing. I'll tackle you next.

New crafty denizen: the 30" triloom!

I present to you (drumroll!) my newest loomy acquirement, the 30" fine-sett triloom! (Possible duh: That's short for "triangle loom.")



(And here's a less angle-y photo. ;))



You may be aware that First Mate Brian attempted to make a triloom for me a while back, but neglected to commit to all the finicky details like doing math and counting nail marks ;), and consequently abandoned the project, convinced that he was incapable. The wonked-up product of said attempt is still hanging neglected in the laundry room, but I'll save the poor mutant triloom embarrassment by not showing photos of it until I've rescued it (and I WILL, oh, I will...).

Anyway, some time ago I discovered the TriLoom list on Yahoogroups — which led to Brian building me a square loom (and here it is with yarn on it) from frame parts we picked up at Jo-Ann. The dear TriLoomers have been feeding my triangle loom craving ever since. (And also my craving for a rectangle loom like the one in this Youtube video. The loom stash is taking over ... but I'll never have more looms than pairs of shoes.) And finally, FINALLY, I have a working triloom, care of Hideaway Homestead, which has nice, inexpensive plywood triloom kits. I wanted the 3-foot loom, and this one is 30", but oh, well. I'll just have to get another one! ;D

Now the question is, what the heck do I make with it? Last night as I was lying in bed, I remembered the equation for finding the hypotenuse of a triangle ... but I failed to remember how to solve it. Sigh. Once I give in and look it up (I feel like a loser, not being able to remember something I could do in five seconds ten years ago ;)) I'll know whether two triloom triangles will cover one side of the big square pillow forms that currently sit naked on the futon. But I'm thinking a triangle with a 30" hypotenuse should do fine for making myself a head scarf. That means I'll have to start wearing them again this summer, but I can manage that, right?

Off to explore, anyway. Wish me luck with the new loom — and wish my new inkle loom a swift and safe passage as it makes its way to my front porch. :D The loom invasion continues...