Dyed cashmere

You can imagine my surprise when returning home from my recent Japanese holiday to find the following rack of dyed cashmere awaiting me. Each skein of yarn is sufficient for 2 x 1800mm x 150mm scarves so I will be busy for a few weeks.

In the meantime I have to finish weaving this black cashmere warp. I have completed a solid black cashmere scarf on the first section of the warp and just started the second section using a white cashmere weft which emphasises the pattern.

Japanese holiday

I have just returned from a 2 week holiday in Japan. The first week I stayed with my friend Sugiyami san and we visited the sumo in Tokyo and played four rounds of golf at Izu Yugashima, Sagami and Yokohama golf courses. The second week I used a 7 day Japan Rail Pass to visit Fukuyama, Nagasaki, Beppu, Kochi and Kyoto.

Sumo in Tokyo, Kotooshu preparing for his bout

Golf resort at Izu Yugashima

Golf course at Sagami

Challenging par 3 hole at Yokohama golf course

Fukuyama castle
Peace park at Nagasaki

Entrance to Nishi-Honganji Temple in Kyoto Japanese garden in Nijo Castle, Kyoto

2 Japanese girls wearing kimono and visiting Kyoto for the day
2 Geisha girls in Kyoto

Grey cashmere scarf

This is a lovely soft lightweight charcoal grey cashmere scarf woven in a 1-ply yarn using an eight shaft pattern. However, after washing the pattern is not too clear. It is 1750mm x 160mm and weighs only 46g.

2 hand painted merino scarfs

Two interesting wool yarns have been provided by Calico and Ivy in Mosman Park. They were hand painted merino wools from Canada, called Koigu Wool.

I wound the warp with one of the samples, then used the same wool as the weft of the first scarf, and then the second wool for the second weft. Restricting my weaving to 150g of one sample and 50g of the second sample, I finished up with one scarf 1380mm x 140mm weighing 90g, and a second scarf 1440mm x 140mm weighing 94g. The results are shown below.

Pink cashmere scarf

Have just completed a lightweight salmon pink cashmere scarf in a small diamond eight shaft pattern. It is 1550mm x 150mm and only weighs 46g.

Two silk scarfs

Have just completed two scarfs using a light brown silk as the warp, and then a black silk weft for the first scarf and a red wool weft for the second scarf. The same eight shaft pattern has been used for both scarfs resulting in a different front and back appearance.