Two Long Alpaca Scarves

The end is near. I can see the end of the pre-measured tape. These two long scarves could be named “too long” scarves. The repeating pattern of this eight-shaft twill is very…repetitive. And the color is very…monotone. Soft and warm, they will certainly be beautiful scarves…eventually. Can you tell I am ready to be finished?

Soft and cozy handwoven long alpaca scarves.
Soft 3-ply alpaca yarn is used for the warp and the weft. The end is in sight!

I don’t always have patience. I want things to hurry up; I want to be finished now. And I don’t want trouble along the way. Obstacles make me lose my patience; and my attitude becomes unattractive. As much as I try to stay positive, the negative thoughts can get the best of me. When we’re at our worst we need kindness the most. Kindness changes us. Kindness reminds us to look at what is being woven.

Woven fabric at the cloth beam. Warping slats between the scarves keeps the unwoven yarn (for fringe) from slipping off the cloth layers at the sides.
Woven fabric forms layers around the cloth beam. Warping slats are added at the cloth beam between the scarves to keep the unwoven yarn (for fringe) from slipping off the cloth layers at the sides.

We all need and desire kindness, even when we don’t deserve it. Grace is pure kindness toward the unworthy. God gives great grace. He takes an unworthy subject like me and pours on kindness. In that grace I find the patience I need for today. Oh, how lovely that scarf will be!

May you give and receive generous amounts of kindness.

Giving thanks,
Karen

15 thoughts on “Two Long Alpaca Scarves

  1. These scarves are beautiful. Your selvages are impressive. I can almost feel the softness of these alpaca scarves. Lovely, lovely work. I’m curious to know how you do these hem stitching. I need to go back and look through your tutorials. I’m not a new weaver but an inexperienced one for sure and I’m very much enjoying your blog.

    1. Good morning, Cate, It’s a pleasure to meet you. The alpaca yarn is great to work with, and it seems like it just falls into place at the selvedges. I have not done hem stitching on these scarves because I am going to tie a lattice fringe, and I didn’t want a hem-stitched border. When I take these off the loom I will need to be very, very careful to keep from disturbing the wefts at the ends of the scarves.

      I do have a tutorial on hem stitching at this link: Bold Hemstitching.

      Happy Thanksgiving,
      Karen

    1. Hi Fran, Its good to have someone who understands. The repetition does eventually come to an end. I finished the second scarf last night. Now, I’m playing with other yarns until I get to the end of the warp.

      Karen

  2. Beautiful Karen! I love that pattern.
    Santa is coming early for me this year (tomorrow) my sweet husband got me a 8 shaft Baby Wolf! I’m so excited! Can’t wait to get going on it and try some new patterns!
    Liberty

    1. Hi Liberty, I’m excited for you! You are entering some new adventures. I’m sure you’re already planning your first projects!

      Happy Weaving,
      Karen

  3. Interested in the packing on the cloth beam….if you were not having fringe on the scarves and were weaving the entire warp, would you pack the cloth beam?

    On a different topic…
    Sumac
    Have you used this technique (there are many different sumac designs) as an edge on any scarf, blanket, etc.?

    1. Louise, I do put warping slats on the cloth beam for the first turn of fabric around the beam. After that, if I didn’t have the unwoven warp, I would not have added more slats.

      I am not familiar with sumac being used in this way- as an edge on fabric. I only have a very small acquaintance with sumac as a tapestry technique, but I don’t know it well enough to use it very often. If you have more information about this topic, I’d love to see some resources to learn more.

      Thanks,
      Karen

      1. First – I misspelled it. The correct spelling is
        soumak
        Have also used this technique in tapestry many decades ago.

        The book I am using as a reference for the various stitches is
        Jean Wilson’s Soumak Workbook
        Van Nostrand Reinhold Publishing, NY were the original publishers.

        Apparently the title was purchased by Interweave Press, 1982.

        I am in the process of putting a narrow cotton scarf warp on the loom and doing Soumak in place of hemstitching. Will report later.

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