A Horoscope Weaving for my Granddaughter

Bonnie,
I finished my shawl the week after you left, but did not see my granddaughter until now. I am working with her to see if she wants me to cut it into sections and incorporate it into a quilt. I will send pictures of the final outcome.
I am working on my niece's name placemats now, and I am very happy with your suggestions. Thanks for the great class. I know I will use the name wraps often both as wraps and weavings and I look forlward to doing another horoscope with Bamboo yarn next.

Peace and joy,
Dale

Color Horoscope Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Here's a photo of me wearing my shawl! The workshop was excellent. I loved all the little extras we learned in addition to making the color horoscope shawl. As you can see, my shawl turned out beautifully (as everyone's does!). I found the joining of the panels to be very rewarding. I can't wait to make something else that's bigger than my loom! The uses for my rigid heddle loom have now been hugely expanded.

Speaking of my RH loom, I posted photo-based instructions on my blog so you can see how I warped it from front to back. If I had wound my warp with back to front in mind, I would have warped in a more traditional way, but this worked for me too. You can see the instructions at http://www.zinniz.com/, along with a post I made right after the workshop.

My friends all love the shawl too and are fascinated by the fact that it's based on my astrological chart. It's been quite the popular conversation topic when I wear it out.

Thanks again!

Carrie.

It Really is Never Too Late

Hi Bonnie,

Remember me? I am a member of the Blue Ridge Spinner’s & Weavers Guild. I signed up for your horoscope weaving workshop back in 2007 but unable to attend. You sent me a packet with beads for a horoscope necklace and a horoscope threading draft. I ordered a Bambu 7 kit from Cotton Clouds. With the nudging and help of our guild president (Beth) I completed the shawl over the Labor Day weekend. I enjoyed every minute of the weaving! This is my first experience with Bambu. I really like the drape of the finished garment. Thank you.

Enjoy the pictures.

Terri

Hi Bonnie,

Well, I finally strung my horoscope necklace. I really enjoyed working on this project (both weaving the shawl and beading the necklace). It was so much fun. I chose to do my first grandsons horoscope for this project and I will wear both close to my heart.

Thank you.

Terri

From February '08

My husband Rich and I heard Bonnie's "horoscope warp" interview with Syne Mitchell on WeaveCast, and were quite intrigued. Without me knowing, he got my birth information from my birth certificate and a conversation with my Mom, contacted Bonnie, and arranged to have my horoscope warp in time for a surprise Christmas gift. Ohio winters are very gray, and I was delighted to see all the wonderful colors in my own personal warp - colors I would never have thought to combine in one piece. The warp Bonnie sent was Bambu 7; I added a 10/2 cotton border on each side so I could have a wrap-around shawl. I wove the shawl with an 8/2 Tencel weft in plain weave, as Bonnie suggested, and plied the fringe. It was my first experience with Bambu yarn - yummy, especially after I washed and hard pressed the fabric.


The "blanket bandits" are Wolfie and Squirt. They are always willing to tolerate a little interruption to their nap time if they get loveys and treats.

Thanks, Bonnie.

Peggy Bowman
Beavercreek, Ohio

It's Never Too Late

Hi Bonnie,

Remember me? I am a member of the Blue Ridge Spinner’s & Weavers Guild. I signed up for your horoscope weaving workshop back in 2007 but unable to attend. You sent me a packet with beads for a horoscope necklace and a horoscope threading draft. I ordered a Bambu 7 kit from Cotton Clouds. With the nudging and help of our guild president (Beth) I completed the shawl over the Labor Day weekend. I enjoyed every minute of the weaving! This is my first experience with Bambu. I really like the drape of the finished garment. Thank you. Terri

A Blanket for Cash

Hi Bonnie

I have finished the horoscope blanket for my grandson, Cash. Attached are the pictures. I think it is one of the best things I have ever woven. I only listened to Beethoven’s 1^st and 6^th symphonies while I wove so it is full of relaxing and beautiful thoughts and vibes. The weaving part went quite quickly and the bamboo warp was the easiest I have ever wound on. My daughter is very pleased with it. I am pretty sure I will be ordering two more plans for my older grandsons, but first have to finish one for Cash’s brother, Drew.

Thanks so much for your help on this. It really was a pleasure to weave and even winding the warp and the threading the loom were not that bad. Like you said, baby steps, not too much at one time. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I won’t be starting Drew’s until maybe October. Need to do something a little faster.

Thanks again.

Robin Nixon

More From Gloria in Houston

I recently received this email from Gloria and thought it should be included. (I am having trouble getting the size and font adjusted, so I hope this is readable), Bonnie

I had done some sweater recycling in the past - I had (purposely) felted sweaters for various projects and once or twice I unravelled sweaters to get yarn for knitting. But I had never thought of reclaiming cashmere yarn for weaving until I found out about you. In fact, I decided to give a program on thrift store recycling at my weaving and spinning guild. I am so glad you gave such a clear procedure and covered so many points in the May WeaveZine article; I reviewed your description and links before going. The presentation went very well. One long-time weaver commented that she had wanted to do this but didn't know how to deconstruct the sweater; since she didn't knit, she didn't know how to convert it into flat pieces for unraveling. Most of the knitters didn't know about the chain stitch edging, and I especially liked your tip about unraveling in the direction of the v's or "arrows". A few members brought sweaters with them and started the deconstruction process.

Actually, this program gave our guild the best publicity we've had in a while. We always send our program info to the neighborhood papers, and one saw the trendy recycling vibe and wrote up a nice piece on the guild. There was some unintended humor; for some reason it mentioned that I "regularly go to thrift stores!" Not true, but I do admit it's been fun hunting for cashmere! Gloria