Weaverly

Getting Organized

I wanted to title this post something like "getting my ducks in a row" but everyone's tired of that one. Bear with me.

On the current two-tie threading for two blocks, I have a bit of warp left, and wanted to try some other arrangements in the treadling.

This is quite fun, as it shows up the variations in the warp colors a little more. I think I'll want to explore that further. Maybe even tie a new multi-colored warp onto the end of this one. And then maybe change up the colors of the pattern weft as well.

The tabby weft here is red tencel and the pattern weft is Harrisville Shetland. Washing will soften it up quite a bit.

 

Summer & Winter

Summer & winter. It's about the weave, not the season.

But first, the season is spring. No question. Not officially, but you can feel it in the air. On campus, the students are looking dazed. Some are pairing off. They are blinking at the sudden light. 

You can see the lake through the trees. That won't last long. 

The summer & winter piece has been finished. As usual, the side which was uppermost when I wove it is not my favorite side. I like the reddish blocks in the middle, not the white ones. 

But I hemmed it by hand, so I can always change my mind and flip it the other way. 

There's enough warp left for an entirely different treatment. But now I've got spring fever and it's hard to concentrate on summer & winter. Insert smiley-faced emoji here.

Emptying Bobbins - a Bottleneck Situation

There comes a time when all operations cease until more empty bobbins are found.

Such was my situation today. I had to stop weaving until I could free up the bobbins. Which I did, while watching YouTube videos about bookbinding. A win-win, I think.

This is a new warp, a 4-shaft project in summer & winter for 2 blocks. Not my usual, but a very good stash buster. The warp is striped, cotton & tencel,  and I'm using up some orphaned cotton/wool blend knitting yarn as a pattern weft.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to upcycle my huge collection of brown paper bags by cutting them up into sheets, ironing the sheets, and stacking them all up in preparation for some bookbinding. It's mindless work, but there are days that seem to call for that. Rainy days, mostly.

Just finished reading Nervous Conditions by Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga. 

More Towels

Here's a group photo of the most recent batch of towels. They're from the last two warps on the 4-shaft loom. Same threading, one tied onto the other, but very different colorations. There are about ten in all (some of them declined to show up for the photography session). 

What is it about towels? I love to weave them. They're like little children, always bouncing around and looking for new adventures. 

My hands were very damaged from too much weaving (can you believe there is such a thing as too much weaving?), and I took a few days off for healing. Books to the rescue. Just finished Sweetwater by Roxana Robinson. The library told me Sparta was ready for me, so I turned around and read Sparta, also by Roxana Robinson. Now it's time to think of another warp.