Finished Warp, Ready for the Next Project

 Last week I decided I want to make a gift for the missionaries serving in our ward.  There are seven of them: five Sisters and two Elders.  (One of the Sisters has done some weaving in past...) I first thought of weaving them hand towels then thought those would take up too much room in their luggage so I changed to making coasters/mug rugs because I had just seen a pattern for felted mug rugs.  I decided to give them a try.

This was the first time I had done any weaving with wool.  Every other warp was cotton of one brand or another.  I have tried Peaches and Cream, Sugar and Cream, Knit Picks Cotton Something Or Other and Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton.  Oh, and Maurice Brassard 's 8/4 Cotton.  By far, and I mean at present there is no comparison:  I really do love to weave with I Love This Cotton.  It is easy to warp the loom.  The weaving itself is easy, and the results are soft.  So soft and absorbent.  I really like everything I have made with it.

So...on to the wool.  Not so fun to warp.  And the weaving!! Oh. My. Goodness!  It stretches so much. And it is hard to give a gentle enough beat to be even.  Still, I did finish the project.  I did weave the seven mug rugs then continued on weaving a long piece of fabric that I also felted and planned to cut apart for coasters for us or for someone else.  This last batch I did no hem stitch.  The seven coasters were hem stitched at the beginning and at the end to give them a nice finish. I also left about a one-inch fringe. (Surprise!  Wool to be felted in the washing machine does not make fringe!!  Big surprise to me.)

Eventually (after four hours at the loom without stopping), I decided that I would stop.  There was still a fair amount of warp left on the loom so instead of just cutting it off to be loom waste, I cut in front of the heddle (by the way this was  an Ashford 10" SampleIt Rigid Heddle Loom I was weaving on) then tied off the rest so we can continue weaving when our daughter is here.

You can see the warp ready to continue on sometime soon.  The colorful part is the actual weaving before unwinding it from the loom.

Here are the missionary mug rugs:

Yes, they are all different colors.  It is all Plymouth Yarn Company Galway yarn.  That yarn felts beautifully.  If you will look closely, you will see that wool fringe is NOT a thing! Sad.  Oh well. Live and learn.  Can't have felting AND fringe.  Now I know.

This is the extra fabric that was woven on that wool warp.  And, by the way, that is the bed I showed you a few days ago with the clean sheets waiting to be put on the bed.