Weaverly

Simpler and Simpler

I'm burrowing back into ever more simple crepe towels; crepe is really about texture, after all, and as I leave the blocks, stripes, and high contrast effects behind I feel that I'm finally connecting with the essence of crepe. Here's a 16-shaft crepe being woven on 40 shafts (8 shafts are reserved for the granite selvedge). The hem is also granite. If I'd omitted the selvedge treatment, it could certainly have been woven on 16 shafts. The warp is a melange of pale tones, and the weft is pale pink. You have to have faith that when this is woven, the texture will bloom.

 

Afternoon at the Movies

Mimi reminded me of a video I filmed several years ago, and it's still pretty funny. I think you'll enjoy it. This young lady personifies persistence and determination (she still does).

While I was trying to locate the video, I found another one you might like. This explanation of the five primary weaving motions is excellent. I wish I had known about it when I was teaching beginning weaving (but when I was teaching beginning weaving there was no Internet, and no YouTube...)

 

Blue, Lilac, Yellow

When I returned home after a two weeks absence, I found all the hydrangeas in bloom. They are extra large and gorgeous this year, perhaps because of the warm winter.

I love this blue. It's sky blue, but a little on the warmer side. Another color very much on my mind is from the lilacs I saw in Gloucester. We don't grow very good lilacs down here, and I really reveled in them last week. 

And to round out the trio, here is a yellow weft I'm trying out on the multicolor warp. This is a singles linen, very stiff and hairy. It's got a mind of its own, and just sits there in the shed and forces the warp to curve around it. Absolutely no draw-in! I like the way the warp colors and the crepe weave force constant changes in the spots of color appearing on the surface—long, short, higgeldy-piggeldy.

Weaving Again

The new warp is all tied on now, and I began sampling an 8-shaft crepe weave with a turquoise cottolin weft. The turquoise looks a little washed out in the tungsten illumination, but it is really very vibrant.

At midday, I went out to lunch with my mother. She thought I was photographing the upholstery, which I was, but I also snuck in a couple of shots of Mom. We had a good time!

The weave structure is hard to distinguish because of the nubby yarns, but it looks like it could have been done on a dobby loom—perhaps a 3-block satin? Click to enlarge.

Raddled & Beamed

Warping Time

This will be a short warp to drill into my stash of 10/2 and 5/2 cottons. 

Two chains. They will transition seamlessly (I hope).

A solid weft. Crepe.

Sightings

Just a few more impressions from on the road—almost home, not quite. This was sundown yesterday on the town square of Greenville, New York.

And the banquette upholstery in the restaurant where we ate dinner last night:

A-a-and, the upholstery at tonight's motel:

Projects in 10/2 Cotton

I've just learned that Interweave Press has released a new eBook in its "Best of" series, this one entitled A Dozen Projects in 10/2 Cotton. Two of my twill articles are included in the compendium; here's a sample:

Only four shafts! And the cover picture of Margaret Gaynes's M's & O's fabric has always been a great favorite of mine.

Harrisonburg, Virginia

UFO

There are many UFO's around here. This is my upstairs UFO, long neglected, but after today it will be an FO. Warp: wool & silk random stripes; weft: silk noil. Structure: 8-shaft crepe. Almost at the end. The knots came up to the back beam.