What's the story of your nemesis 'yarn' (or another ingredient)? What would it take to try again with what you know now?

It's funny, it seems that with many skills like this, there is a fine line between meditative peacefulness and blood-curdling frustration.

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

absolutely!

@Mpkw-er9bi

Жыл бұрын

I think I could say the same thing about spinning!

@phoebebaker1575

Жыл бұрын

😂

@cyndlehick9777

5 ай бұрын

And that’s why we call it a hobby

Such a calm video for such frustrating yarn

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

thanks!

Hello weaver! Beautiful scarves and that sewing machine😮 my great grandmother was an expert linen weaver and I have many of her handwoven textiles. Apparently she used a damp towel draped on the warp behind the heddles for humidity.

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing!! That's a really good idea.

@annestrand6933

11 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing, I will use a damp cloth now that I am having my first battle with linen.

Beautiful video! I'm not a weaver, but this makes me admire handwoven fabrics even more.

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😊

Sorry about the audio everyone. Been fighting with my computer to get this done and it seems to have its own ideas. I'm saving up for some more ram to fix it. As a shepherd I find it funny how rams cost about the same for my computer as they do for my flock - and are just as important.

@catandsparrow

11 ай бұрын

Lol about rams... beautiful video and thanks for the tips on maintaining the humidity, I've been thinking about weaving linen but was hesitant, now I know what to do!

Such a beautiful video I am trying to grow flax to try and spin to try and weave it. My great grandmother and her sisters worked in the Belfast linen mills so it feels important to try thanks 😊 for the encouragement sending good thoughts and wishes from Katy from NZ 😊

Oh man, I really enjoyed this. Especially how the yellow transitioned to salmon. Very nice.

I am new to weaving and I am trying a hemp yarn. It feels funny compared to cotton. My biggest nemesis right now is ME. I go to try a different technique for dressing my loom, something I have watched on KZread 2 or 3 times, a week or two before I'm ready to dress. Then I don't bother to rewatch just before I dress. So, I miss a step and end up with a MESS. Once I make my way through the problem, I remember what I forgot and next time it will go better. But why do I insist on trying new things without having a hand written step-by -step. I am my own worst enemy. I need to slow down, quit trying to trust my memory, and think things through before I do them. By the way great videography.

Nice tension trick! Not beating those few, that's new to me. Very cool.

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

“What would it take for you to try again? With all the things you know now?” I keep trying to think of yarn and crafting materials, but all I can think of is untangling the tangled weave of my soul.

Congrats on conquering linen!! The scarves turned out beautifully and I'm sure they made your friends super happy. That’s such a special gift! I also loved your commentary in this video 🤩

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

Just fantastic Raven, thank you! love the tip on humidity, and yes, to the coreopsis shift in colour!- I use washing soda as a modifier post dye bath to shift my oranges into reds on cellulose fibres

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Great tip! I have so much to learn about natural dyes. I'm hoping to experiment with more natural dyeing this year. It's funny how some years dye seeds are everywhere and this year I can't find coreopsis in stock, not even for ready money. I might have to order some seed from Ontario.

So glad I found this before I started weaving linen! Also, I guess I'll weave outside. It's so humid in the morning here (80%). 😂

What beautiful, witty, soothing and informative voice-over! I love this video so much 😍

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

Agh! I'm so excited you have a new video! I discovered your channel recently and binged all your videos and am so excited you have a new one. Thanks for sharing your skills with us!

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! So glad you can drop by.

Ooooooh that fabric is beautiful @.@ congratulations on mastering your nemesis! Linen is my favourite fiber to wear, so learning to spin and weave it is my end goal... Once I figure out a way to get around the accessibility issues of using a distaff.

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Mine too! A distaff can help spinning linen, but it isn't required. There's no distaff police. Like all crafts, it's about trying different ways to find which matches your style. I find I use the Hitchhikers Distaff (a towel) a lot these days as it's also the preferred distaff of the best (finest and most consistent) linen spinner I know. some different styles to try: kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y3mkxcd6dce3irQ.html

@linr8260

Жыл бұрын

@@CrowingHen omg thank you, I'd been trying to find stuff on the towel method but youtube search is... As helpful as google has been these past few years. I will look into this, thank you!

Woow well done for sticking with it and finding a way that worked 🙌🏾

Lovely scarves! It's funny, I learned to weave on a linen singles cloth, so I've never really gotten the hate. One thing I do is to lay a damp cloth (tea towel type weight) on the warp, just behind the heddles

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. It just goes to show that linen isn't really evil, it just wants the weaver to adjust to it's needs. I like the idea of the damp cloth. How long before you weave do you place it on the warp?

@danielschneider9312

Жыл бұрын

Generally about 10-15 minutes. It's funny; having learned on linen, I actually had some issues when I started to weave wool-the stretchiness made tensioning a nightmare! To this day I have to actively remember to not over tension wool warps

I grew, dried retted, rippled, broke, scutched and hackled flax...spun hundreds of metres of singles...warped my loom up and...let's just say it didn't go well. I must confess to crying like a baby and put my loom away for a couple of years! 😬 This video gives me hope! I might grow flax again next year (it's been a couple of years now so I've forgotten (enough) how awful the process is ha!

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Ouch, homegrown handspun... that pain would take some time to heal. Hugs.

@Eternal_Hope_Q

Жыл бұрын

@@CrowingHen I'm toying with the idea of grow flax again in 2024 so it's possible to heal a broken linen heart 💘

Very informative!

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it

I am battling linen for the first time now, and I have only been weaving a year.. I like to challenge my self and learn along the way. I am so grateful for the WWW and people like you sharing

@CrowingHen

10 ай бұрын

You got this!

Thank-You, that was so helpful!!! (Haven’t tried weaving with linen yet, but have been planning to do so; Your story will save Me many headaches, I’m sure!)

Thank you for such a helpful video. I’m beginning to weave with linen and I am going to learn from your experience.

Hi R. I am not a weaver (except for the occasional backstrap-weaving). I knit, crochet and experiment with other needle-crafts. Nemesis yarn? Knitting thick (bulky?) wool on thick needles (8 mm or more) gives me pain in my wrists (in the thumb joint). I don't remember other problems with yarns ... except unraveling mohair (to repurpose it) 🧶🧶🧶

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thick yarn. Supposed to be so easy on arthritis and yet I have the hardest time with it too.

Not a weaver, but my nemesis is finishing the second sock of a pair I'm knitting with very fine yarn and tiny needles.

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Oh noses, not the second sock. That is a true nemesis.

I love your documentaries! Your dry humour is always a delight and the end result is so beautiful. I'm knitting linen now to have a top ready when it becomes hot again. My fingers might like a bit more humidity to deal with that linen...

Love this video, I hope you make more of weaving linen! I am hoping you can tell me what your loom is, for I also am looking for one that is good for linen. Thanks a whole lot!

That is fantastic! Now if only I find out what a warp end is, lol!

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Yeh, it's tricky. Weaving is so old, the words have become task-specific jargon. An "end" refers to one thread or yarn used for the warp (the yarns the loom holds).

@healthygreenbrave

Жыл бұрын

Have you done a video about the parts of a loom?

It makes me wonder... most homes from my grandmother's or great-grandmothers' generation (in Québec Canada) would have their own sheep or would grow own flax and would weave their yarn (and linen?) on their big Leclerc or Heritage (or other) loom. But, most houses back then were heated with wood stoves, which tends to make your place very dry... I'm wondering how they managed to work this out.. 😮 bucket with water on the stove, perhaps?

@CrowingHen

2 ай бұрын

Great question. It was a different time then. A time when housecoats were the norm - a very warm coat for wearing over your clothes. Fuel was too valuable to waste on heating the home - so if the woodstove/fire was going, there would be cooking. Usually boiled water. Accounts from that time are of people keeping ink in their inside pocket of the housecoat to stop it freezing in the winter and sleeping with the sourdough starter for the same reason. And people used to specialize. To be efferent at wool or linen production, it takes slightly different tools and techniques. Changing the tools to match the new fibre takes more time than weaving the cloth, so they avoided this whenever possible. A linen weaver would often set up their loom in a room with a dirt floor as this helped increase the moisture content. A wool weaver might not have the same needs.

@GrapefruitAndChaiTea

2 ай бұрын

@@CrowingHen Wow that is so interesting! Thank you so much :)

Love the video very informative How long do I need to dampen the linen before weaving? Thank you ❤❤

@CrowingHen

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I usually spray the water, then make a cup of tea. By then it's soaked in. But it's better if I can keep the humidifier on all the time so the yarn doesn't dry out and I don't need to risk getting water sprayed on the loom.

What kind of loom is that?

@CrowingHen

5 ай бұрын

This style of loom is a counterbalance.