Weaverly

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:

Adding a Color

Yesterday's weaving needed an additional color. An order was placed, wheels were set in motion, magic happened. 

Today, work proceeded. 

Click to enlarge.

Thanks to the incomparable LoftyFiber for this terrific service! 

Check out their linen, if you haven't already.

Potential

I'm one of those weavers—you know who you are—who enjoy the warping process as much as (or sometimes more than) the weaving itself. While you're untangling that sentence, here are some pictures of my new warp.

Strange to say, I've never before put on an all linen warp, and today was the day. 

There were a few FUBAR situations, I confess, but finally I got it all together.

There comes a moment (hopefully), in every loom prep adventure, when threads and loom settle down into a harmonious relationship, and the weaver can see the potential of the cloth. Here is just such a moment.

In recent years I've woven only with 10/2 or 20/2 cotton or similar sizes, and it was quite an adjustment to work with this 14/4 linen at 15 epi. Holy cow, the pattern really pops out!!!

Amalgamation on 8 shafts. Here's a closer look. Click to enlarge. 

Weaving as Memory

Many of you are aware of the passing, two weeks ago, of noted weaver and teacher Sandra Rude. Sandra was  an innovator in her dobby and jacquard work, and a dedicated member of Complex Weavers. She managed the CW jacquard study group for many years, and entertained us with the reports of her weaving & dyeing experiments on her blog. She was a generous friend, and I will miss her. 

An interesting story related to the perpetuation of Sandra's memory has just come to light. Way back in 2010, at Complex Weavers Seminars in Albuquerque, Sandra took part in a group project resulting in this animated weaving video.

 

Weave!  on Vimeo.

Sandra's husband, Mike, was going through Sandra's studio, and wondered what to do with the fabric Sandra had produced as her contribution to the animation project. He decided, with the help of weaver Kathy Alexander, to produce masks for Sandra's memorial service. Here is the result––click to enlarge.

I think–I'm almost certain–that Sandra would have enjoyed the repurposing of of a small part of her work in this way. Many thanks to Mike Rude for sharing this amazing picture. 

May Sandra's memory be a blessing.

Third Weft

It looks like there's enough warp left for a third towel. This time I'm using a dusty rose color for the weft, and a totally different lift plan, one which will feature reverse twills in the blue stripes and mostly crepey-looking weaves in the red and pink stripes.

My spell checker want to make this "creepy-looking," but that's definitely not what I have in mind! Think crepe! CREPE! You know, the indefinite textural effect in amalgamated cloths. 

Here's a closeup. Click to enlarge.

I've been streaming WNYC on my Echo Dot. They have really good programming. I'm looking forward to Shakespeare's Richard II starting tomorrow night, for four consecutive nights.

I'm Back

Remember this warp? I finished the first towel, with black weft, and looked for another weft for the next one.

I decided on gray. It's not as dramatic, but with some side lighting the texture shows up really well. The proof will come in the laundry, of course.

It's good to be back. 

I just finished reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. A masterpiece. If you read only one book this year, it should be this one. 

A Pause

Will be on vacation without Internet for a few days. Catch you on the flip side!

Morning Light

When I go into the studio first thing in the morning, sometimes I see this:

The light is so alluring that it's impossible to leave, and I just have to sit down and start throwing the shuttle.

The weft in this case is a melon-colored cottolin, a shade of yellow very different than the acid yellow in the warp. It's just enough of a difference to show the pattern in the center area, but it's not overpowering.

Sidelighting enables you to see the pattern more clearly. 

In other matters, I've just learned that Janet Phillips's new book, Exploring Woven Fabrics, is now available at a pre-publication price. I love her previous book, Designing Woven Fabrics and I'm looking forward to this new one. Janet has a genius for combining simple weaves into complex-looking fabrics. More info here. 

Doodles

This amalgamation thing is really addictive! Click to enlarge. Same threading & treading, just the tieups are changed. 

It's easy. Design your own. See Monographs, in sidebar.