My first wallhanging!

I have been playing with my peg-loom again, this time having a go at making a wallhanging.  I thought it would be a good item to make as I could try out some different yarns, etc, and still end up with something half-decent!

I wanted tassels again but this time I made them, then threaded them down the warp threads before going any further.  It was much easier doing it this way than when I made my first practice piece!

I used the tassel yarn to make a woven section, just going up the height of the pegs, then pushed it down the warps to the meet up with the tassels.

Needless to say, making separate sections just to the height of the pegs is very much simpler than trying to keep the tension right with a longer section!

The next section was using two strands of double knit yarn along with one strand of a bobble yarn (I think it's called pompom yarn).  It made a lovely snuggly, soft section.  Perhaps I should try crocheting a scarf using the two yarns together.....

I made this section larger than the first, and pulled the warps through it.

I added another section of thick yarn, then wondered what ribbon would be like instead of yarn.  Hmmmm, the jury is still out ~ I'm not sure if I like it or not to be honest.

What I really did like, though, was using fleece roving.  I bought three lots of roving whilst we were on holiday in Orkney earlier in the year ~ this is the result of one of those hanks.  I think it looks lovely, and would make a fantastic rug :-)

Another chunky yarn from my stash, although it isn't as thick as the variegated blue yarn.  That's the beauty of wallhangings, though, the textures and thickness of the materials used can be so different.

I finished off with another section of the very chunky yarn and wondered what to do with my masterpiece LOL

I finished it off by attaching it to a twig from my butterfly bush prunings, added some wooden buttons and unwound the tassels.

I'm really rather pleased with my first wallhanging and have plans to make more.  At the moment, though, I have started a rug so watch this space for updates!

And my butterfly mind has now landed at.....

peg-loom weaving!

I've been wanting to try it for quite some time and finally bought myself a loom from Dales Looms, who are based in North Yorkshire.   

In the end I decided to go for the 90cm loom, with 6mm and 9mm pegs and three different peg spacings.  I had a little play with it for the first time yesterday, setting it up on my ironing-board.  Perhaps in future I will be able to get the warp threads in place, turn it around and use it sitting down ~ hopefully the loom will be wide enough to rest on the arms of my chair. 

It was rather tedious setting up the warp threads in the pegs ~ perhaps I shouldn't have use 33 pegs for my first attempt LOL  I used the 6mm pegs and really could have done with using longer threads but hey ho, it was my first attempt after all!

I've been doing lots of searches for peg-looming instructions, hints, tips, etc, and somewhere in my travels I came across the idea of adding tassels at the start of the work.  Perhaps I should have done some practice pieces before leaping in with tassels ~ they look lovely here but got somewhat tangled up further in the process.

The actual weaving itself is simply a case of going in and out of the pegs.  I found that I quickly got into a rhythm, and it was actually rather lovely ~ gentle and soothing.

It didn't take long to fill the pegs and then came (for me, at any rate) the tricky part of taking the work from the pegs, and pulling the warp threads through.

The instructions I was following said to take each peg from its hole, pull the warp thread all the way through until the knot is reached, and replace the peg in its hole.  Now, this seemed perfectly clear and easy when reading the instructions, but in practice I found it a tad more difficult.  This is also where the tassels got rather tangled up in the loose ends of the warp threads!

Anyhoo, I persevered all the way along and then found myself in something of a quandry.  The work was at the end of the warp threads, as per the instructions, and so there was an expanse of empty warps ~ and I couldn't work out how to keep the last length of weaving yarn at the right tension.  In the end, I just sort of fudged it together and hoped for the best! 

 I've since found some more instructions which say to pull the warp threads just through the weaving, then replace the pegs in their holes, which is actually what I did for the second round of weaving on the pegs.  I guess it will come good with enough practice :-)

And there it is, my first attempt at peg loom weaving!  I'm really rather pleased with it, and using a chunky yard with the smaller pegs has produced a nice firm piece of weaving.  I'm already thinking of things I want to make ~ cushion covers.....rugs.....dining chair seat pads.....bags......wall hangings

I think I will definitely be able to keep myself busy LOL