Weaverly

The Best-Laid Plans

Sample, sample, sample. I should have followed my own advice. I thought the wool weft would shrink and form furrows in this satin-and-reverse-satin shawl with bamboo warp. But it didn't. The cloth relaxed and came together nicely in the wash, gossamer and not sleazy, soft as a baby's cheek, billowy and drapey, but not one furrow. 

For your entertainment, here are two scans of the actual cloth, one at 3x and the second at 12x magnification. Click to see full size.

Wateree

South Carolina's rivers have enchanting names: the Tyger, Congaree, Santee, Enoree, Little Pee Dee, Great Pee Dee, and Reedy, among others. The Reedy River runs right through the middle of Greenville, and I never tire of standing on the Liberty Bridge and looking down at the roaring Reedy River Falls. The Wateree runs through the north central portion of the state, and drains into the Santee (where the Reedy drains, as well). I've never seen the Wateree River, but this is what I imagine it looks like:

You are looking at the reverse side of the shawl under the loom (I posted the front side a few days ago). Now to design a shawl in honor of the Reedy…

I have just come across this most disturbing news about the possible sale of the property on which the Arrowmont School stands. If you've ever been a student or a teacher at this marvelous arts & crafts school, you know what a treasure it is. Here is a link to a petition to sign in support of Arrowmont. 

Two Texts

This morning, during a longish stint in a waiting room, I spent time with this fascinating book, and learned such words as nunatak, refugium, and Beringia. Here is a wonderful quote:

Is a large amount of dubious data more dubious or less than a small amount?

I also photographed the upholstery covering the chairs in the waiting room. It appears to be a weft brocade on a plain weave ground, and the patterning is suggestive of handwritten text. I say suggestive, because I don't think it's real text, although because of the accent marks it might be a language I don't recognize. 

For a fan of woven text, this was a real find.

Watery

I can't get the water images out of my head. This one from Glacier Bay I particularly like:

Yesterday I began a shawl with a similar feeling; not a direct translation, just a suggestion…

This is still the blue bamboo warp. The weft is a cobweb-weight wool. It will be interesting to see what happens when this combination hits the hot water with a little agitation.

How I Fringe

There are at least half a dozen ways to prepare your weaving for fringe, but here is my way. At the loom, I weave 1/2 inch of close plain weave with scrap yarn, then around 4 inches of loosely woven plain weave, then another few picks of close plain weave (still in scrap yarn). Then I weave 4 plain weave picks in the "real" weft yarn, then I commence the actual weaving. At the end of the piece, I reverse this sequence. If I'm doing multiple pieces before I cut off, I'll throw a contrasting pick as a guide for cutting apart, then repeat the whole shebang. 

When I cut off, I serge (or zig-zag on a conventional machine) along the 1/2 inch bands to secure everything (black thread in this picture), then toss the weaving in the washer & dryer. The areas of loose plain weave keep the fringe from getting tangled in the wash. Then I cut off the serged strip, easily remove the rest of the scrap yarn in sections, and twist, ply, and knot the fringe. Then steam press the whole piece.

I think the fringes look much nicer when the washing is done before the twisting and plying. Just my opinion.

A Colorful Day

Today is gray and rainy; no complaints, we need the rain. This is a perfect time to consider bright colors. I present to you a basket of yak/merino blend, purchased several years ago as white roving from Crown Mountain Farms. I don't do dyeing any more, but my friend Roz kindly worked her magic, and here is the result:

In the weaving department, I wove another yard on this shawl. The warp you may recognize as the mixed bamboo dobby warp, and the weft is a variegated, hand-painted rayon I purchased at Convergence. The weave structure is 5-end satin. Each group of six hollow circles is offset in 8-end satin order, with the result that the complete liftplan repeats every 800 picks. You can see both sides of the cloth here, as it snakes its way to the cloth storage beam.

Togetherings

Two random thoughts about things coming together.

One. The incredible Renaissance woman, Tien, will be working on setting up a social networking site for weavers, along the lines of Ravelry for knitters. Although my primary fiber passion is weaving, I must confess to many hours spent on Ravelry, and the idea of such a site for weavers is exciting. Godspeed, Tien.

Two. The miles of singles I spun to use as pattern yarn in my lampas weavings are now de trop. Another weave structure will be occupying my attention for awhile. What to do with the singles? I'm plying them all up, some with like shades, some with contrasting, rewashing them, and putting them away for a future blanket warp. Plying a few skeins every evening while watching Law & Order reruns is relaxing and mindless. Here is yesterday's batch:

Life Imitates Art

So often last week while looking at the changing faces of the water, I was thinking, Wow, that looks like a Photoshop filter. I just couldn't help it. My reaction, however, is not surprising, as I spend several hours a day with Photoshop®. The three filters that come to mind are Ocean Ripple, Ripple, and Wave, all accessed through the Filter>Distort menus (Ripple is the one I use most often). 

Here is a real-life, unfiltered scene from Glacier Bay.

Yesterday I was swimming laps at the Y and I noticed a row of brightly colored posters on the far wall of the pool area, and also their reflection in the water below. Too bad I can't swim and take photographs at the same time (well, I guess it's technically possible!). Later I recreated the scene as best I could in Photoshop®, with the help of (you guessed it) the Ripple filter.

By the way, Bruce has just published the first of his Alaskan photos. They are incredible, highly recommended. 

Weaving Exhibition at The Blood Connection–Reception

Last night was the artist's reception for this show, and friends, family, and fellow artists gathered to look at the weaving, eat some goodies, and hang out. Thanks for the pictures, Bruce. I love these photos for their informal look at the realities of an art show at a blood donation center; especially the casual lighting and the signs for "trash". The one in the reddish vest is me, and yes, that's network drafting on a dobby loom. The pieces on the walls are all jacquard, woven on the TC-1, 35 wall hangings in all, completed during the past 4 years.

My Sole Concern

Forgive the pun. Amid all the natural splendors of Alaska, my designer's eye was also caught by the mundane and practical. In a fishing supply store in Sitka I found this display of waterproof boots. How could a weaver resist?