Weaverly

Misadventures

Way back in the last millennium I wove some pieces based on the printed word, a nod to my interest in font design and page layouts. I decided to revisit this study last week. The structure was to be double plain weave on the dobby loom and I started by weaving some small samples for determining sett & yarn choices. I wanted to use cottolin for its scrunchy texture, similar to my favorite sketchbook paper. One of the weft yarns was a red cottolin of uncertain provenance. After washing, I had an unpleasant surprise. The red yarn bled badly. Glad I sampled.

The sample on the left is at 24 epi each layer, total 48, and the one on the right is 20 epi each layer, total 40. I liked the looser one best, so that is what I chose. I warped up with pale gold and chocolate brown. I made a number of threading errors and had to redo several times. It was a humbling experience, but it took my mind off the news. I finally prevailed. Here's a view at the back of the loom after warping. 

Fortunately there's plenty of warp for more sampling. I discovered a sleying error (see red arrow) and had to resley the righthand section. Um, that's an error you expect to see in Weaving 101. Bad doggie.

Got that sorted out. Tried some different weft colors & materials. 

Settled on pearl gray and dark green. I was going for the look of old ledger paper, and I think we're there. The turquoise lines are a nod to margin rules.

So far so good.

Just finished reading Camus's The Plague, in English translation. I think I read it before, in college, but I don't remember any of it.

Finishing Up

In spite of my best efforts, a sweater I've been knitting since last November is telling me that it's not coming out the right size, so I've frogged it. Eight skeins of this curly stuff is taking a bath and will hang to dry, straightened, and will then be wound into balls, ready for the next whatever. Maybe woven, not knitted.

Going for walks in this July heat means getting up at 6:30. There are benefits. I get to see the most amazing skies.

The woods are more interesting, too. A little darker, a little scarier. 

I love passing this garden shed. It has a fairytale look.

Shrubbery that was nondescript is suddenly lush and flowering.

Unfortunately the gates to the campus are still tightly shut, so I can't walk around the lake. I miss that.

On the bright side, you never know whom you'll meet.

Back in the studio, I'm finishing up the last towels on the dobby loom. It's been fun using a different weft on each towel. I never know just how the warp colors will react to each weft, and the weaving is a constant surprise. Here's turquoise...

...and red...

...and buttercup yellow...

...and then (view from back of loom) the knots come into view, and it's time to wrap things up.

There's not enough warp here for an entire towel, so I weave a short length using up bits of weft left on the bobbins, hit or miss.

Everything's now cut off, ready for hemming & washing. Here's the hit-or-miss piece, which might be my favorite.

Just finished reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. A good summer read. Painting, French Impressionists, a psychiatrist sleuth, a century-old love affair, stolen letters, what's not to like?

Fat Yarn

To paraphrase a recent observation by one of my weaving friends, When you use fat yarn, the weaving goes faster. So true. The towels in 14/4 linen are finished, cut off, and laundered. They're all woven with the same amalgamated draft, but with different colorways in the weft.

There's a red version, a blue version, and a green version. I had my favorites while they were being woven, but now that they're washed I'm not sure. Howsomever, as they say, here they are. 

A closeup while under tension:

The following pictures are post-laundering:

For a little more detail, click to enlarge: