Weaverly

Two More Towels, More Bast Fibers

On the towel warp, two more bast towels, in slightly different amalgamated weaves. 

These have already been washed, and shrank dramatically. The first has a 100% hemp weft, and the second a cotton/linen plied yarn from Gist. Both towels are wonderfully squishy and absorbent.

Both drafts incorporate amalgamation. 

I added hanging loops (from the lucet, of course!). The resident dish washer says he prefers loops, and he likes these towels so much that he has requested that we keep these. Done.

Meanwhile, in other kitchen news, there is preparation for a big pot of beef stew. 

That's all the news from high fiber country.

Laundry Report

The towels cut off and washed yesterday are posing for a picture. The one on the left, with the hemp weft, I will keep. The other one is a birthday gift (shh! it's a secret). I was very surprised to discover little blue arrowheads in the wider stripes, not apparent before washing. Click to enlarge.

The next set is now being woven. This is another design, with another type of hemp for weft. This weft is behaving badly, somewhat like linen. I think I will have to dampen the bobbins overnight to tame it.

But the pattern is showing up well. Feathers, if you use your imagination. Click to enlarge.

This is another one that will improve greatly with washing.

In the Department of Books, I just finished reading Douglas Preston's In Search of the Monkey God. Not to be missed! Published before the current pandemic, but very prescient. It's also a darn good yarn. Beware -- if you are afraid of snakes, this might not be the book for you.

My Year So Far

Early days, I know, but here is a report. My year so far.

The weather is as depressing as possible. Rain, rain, rain.

On the other hand, in the studio the lights burn brightly. I'm almost finished weaving the second towel on the amalgamated warp. This one has a blue weft.

It's interesting to see two different points of view, according to the focus. Here the camera focuses on the face of the cloth, the one the weaver sees as she sits at the loom. 

And here the camera focuses on the reverse side of the cloth, as the web makes its way to the cloth beam. As it happens, I happen to like the reverse side better, a fact I discovered after I cut the cloth off the loom.

The first two towels have been cut off and I'll hem them as I watch a football game tonight. 

In The Department of Books -- I finished reading "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer. Hilarious, yes, but also quite moving. I'll be reading more by this author.

Studies in Gray

My morning walk was getting a little stale and I felt it was time to make changes. Today the weather is dark and cold, but I donned a few extra layers and ventured out onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail. There were very few cyclists and even fewer pedestrians. 

Through the bare trees you can now see Swan Lake. We're not allowed there during the pandemic, but it's nice to glimpse it anyway.

Or you can look down, and see this:

Back in the studio, work on the striped amalgamated warp proceeds slowly. There was a minor hiccup with the loom, which has now been fixed. 

For a really good look, click on the following:

In another corner of the studio, I was going though my scrap bag, getting ready to throw things out and make room for more scraps, when I started doing this:

Aha! Opportunities for hand stitching here. Slow. Meditative. Perfect for a gray day.

A Warping Week

 

 

 

10/2 cotton warp, various shades of gray & natural, yellow, and a bit of red 5/2. 16/2 cottolin weft, natural, 28 epi. Original amalgamated draft. Click on any of these to enlarge.

Happy Holidays, all.

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. 

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.