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Blueberry is what it says on the faded and curling label inside the cone of this 20-year-old weft yarn. So here is Blueberry, the last amalgamation sample of 2018 and going on to be the first sample of 2019. It's been a whirlwind of a December and I'm looking forward to clearer skies and smoother sailing in the New Year. I wish the same for all of you.
And you know the drill: click to embiggen.
I wanted this versus of the amalgamation series to really stand out, so I chose a black weft for max contrast on the lavender warp.
Mission accomplished. Then I spotted a bobbin wound with gray linen singles in the bottom of my bobbin box, and decided to give that a try. It's looking really good, but you can't really see the pattern unless you cock your head at a certain angle:
Here it is a little closer. You can see the holes from the temple along the selvedge. I'm expecting those will mostly come out in the wash. So will the reed marks.
Now I must check my new stock of yeast for viability, as I'm responsible for the dinner rolls at Tuesday's dinner at friends'. Details, details.
On this kind of day you get the blues. Rain, more rain, then gray skies and rain again.
Nothing for it but to weave. Even my weft is blue.
Eventually I get in the zone and forget everything but my shuttle.
As long as I don't make the mistake of listening to the news.
More amalgamation, another treadling variation. I'm seeing reindeer. I think it's time to take a break.
First a word about our friend Ingrid Boesel, who died this week. Ingrid was one of the great weavers and a teacher to scores of fiber enthusiasts. She and her husband Bob Keates were the team who created Fiberworks. Ingrid's creative spirit and joyous sense of humor will be remembered by many of us.
One more sample on the lavender warp today. Sixteen shafts.
And on the low tech side, a small sample of honeycomb weave on the rigid heddle loom, turned into a pillow. There's just enough warp left on the RH loom for a second pillow.
Cotton warp in a 12-dent rigid heddle. Handspun wool wefts from the stash.
In the heat of designing, I tend to give silly names to new threadings, just to get that part of the job over quickly. This particular warp is named "Triple Mountains," because there are three little peaks in the design line. You don't really see any mountains in the cloth; little dumbbells maybe. So be it.
It's the third warp in my amalgamation studies. To say I'm having fun is a gross understatement.
As usual, click to embiggen.
In the jargon of weaving, "twenties two" is written as 20/2. Yarnies will recognize it as a specific grist of cotton yarn, and it runs about 8400 yards per pound. I used a lot of it when I was doing jacquard weaving. I'm trying to do some destashing here and have used a goodly amount of 20/2 this week.
First of all, I made a new warp for my dobby loom. It's lavender cotton at 40 epi.
Here are the first few inches, to do some error-checking. Happy to report: no threading errors.
I'm also using a bit of 20/2 in my rigid heddle teaching samples. Here it is as warp and weft, four strands of 20/2 held together as one, in a 12-dent rigid heddle. It requires a bit of finesse in the warping, but is very doable.
It's excellent weather for weaving. Look what's been going on outside:
Fortunately, we haven't lost any power.
The samples from my second amalgamation warp are hemmed, washed, and ironed, and before I put them away to join their sisters, I set up a quick photo shoot on my ironing board. Enjoy.
Yesterday while grocery shopping I saw this astonishing sight. Bright blue orchids. My fellow shoppers suspected they'd been dyed. I don't know about such things, but they did stop me in my tracks (the orchids, not the shoppers).
Department of books:
I just finished reading At Paradise Gate by Jane Smiley. Enjoyed it. Actually, I've never read anything by Jane Smiley I didn't like. And The Greenlanders is one of my favorite books ever. I've read it twice.
This second warp of amalgamation samples has come to a close. Here is the penultimate sample:
And here is the very last one:
And here's a wad of cloth, just cut off the loom and ready for cutting apart and hemming, and then the washing machine.
Now a look back to this past Sunday, the first night of Chanukah. Yes, dogs like Chanukah too.