Weaverly

Cotton Jin

Pardon the pun, I couldn't help myself. 

Yesterday I finished beaming a new warp, and today I threaded and sleyed it. This will be a set of towels in 4-shaft jin (aka turned taqueté, aka warp-faced compound tabby).

One of the warp yarns is space-dyed cotton, the other is solid cotton in 3 different colors. Solid color weft, one shuttle. On four shafts I'm able to get two blocks. 

Here's the draft. Attention WFA study group members: this tieup is slightly rearranged from the one I showed you the other day.

In the Department of Books, I just finished reading another Shirley Hazzard novel, The Bay of Noon. Perhaps not as wonderful as The Transit of Venus, but a good one nevertheless. 

Points of View

What an entertaining warp this has been! It looks different from every angle and changing lighting conditions. I find myself going to the studio just to get a glimpse of it at different times of day.

At night the lamplight makes it warmer.

Both sides are interesting, but you kind of have to turn into a pretzel to see them.

Unfortunately there's not enough warp left for a third scarf, but I wound up some orange bobbins and this will do for a table runner.

Another angle.

And another.

Up close. This one ought to finish nicely. Three colors of tencel in the warp, and a single cotton weft.

In the department of books, I just finished reading another wonderful Shirley Hazzard novel, The Great Fire, about the aftermath of WWII in Japan & Hong Kong. 

Halvdräll Again

The current crop of halvdräll towels is now cut off and hemmed. 

They're all around the same size, 18" x 21". 

The warp is a mish-mash of cottons, linens, and other cellulose fibers from my stash. 

Likewise the weft.

I treadled each one differently.

A very satisfying 4-shaft project.

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In the Department of Books:

I just finished reading Shirley Hazzard's "The Transit of Venus." I will unreservedly say that this is one of the half dozen best books I've ever read. Ever.

 

On a weaving break. But daily life continues, especially out in the gardens. We find an almost perfect color wheel triad here...

...as well as on the breakfast table.

Company for lunch. We are at the midpoint of their bike ride. Catalina's braces are finally off. Look at that smile!

My eSpinner made another cross-country trip, but the source of the malfunction has been found and corrected. I am so happy to have it back and working. It's the perfect companion for watching baseball on TV.

Finished reading Maggie Shipstead's short story collection You Have a Friend in 10A, and her novel Seating Arrangements. Also read Ottessa Moshfeg's My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

Another Warp, Same Threading

A very different look from the fabric in the previous post. This time I've chosen lyocel (Tencel brand) as my warp and weft, and increased the sett from 20 to 24 epi. These yarns are very reflective, compared to the homespun wool. 

For a change of pace, I've been taking a new look at Baltic-style woven bands, using the double-slotted heddle as an aid to pattern-picking. Yes, say that after a couple of glasses of wine. 

Bruce snapped a few pictures of this project. The floor loom, as it turns out, is the best place to hitch my backstrap gear. 

Trying to maintain a constant width.

Time for a break. Swamprabbit Trail.

Just finished reading Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. 

Fringe Benefits

The gray warp is all woven and cut off. This morning I sat on the back porch and tied fringes. 

The paperback I am using as a weight is the first one that came to hand, a weighty tome from my cookbook shelf. The New York Cookbook was recommended to me when I was researching the best recipes for a NY style Jewish rye bread, which some in the North call corn bread.

Apparently the term "corn bread" in this context is not the Southern style made with mostly corn meal, but a dense rye bread with a little corn meal, and a good sour flavor. 

In her introduction to the recipe, Molly O'Neill quotes Terry Kornick, " My mother learned to make this from her brother, Izzy, who immigrated to New York from Poland, where he had been in the shoe business." 

That's what I love about this cookbook. It's full of little personal gems. Out of print, you can still find plenty of used copies. 

And now a closer look at the scarf. 

And if that's just too much orange for you, here's a little purple from yesterday evening's jaunt to the lakeside to see the iris in bloom.

Bread & Books

Finally. A loaf of bread without a sinkhole in the middle. I'm not sure about the science behind sinkholes, but here's my story. For the past ten or fifteen years I've been making bread in a bread machine. It's not that I can't make bread by hand, just that I find it more convenient to throw the ingredients into the machine and push a button. And if it's more convenient, that means I'm more likely to do it often.

I keep track of my bread recipes in a journal, date every entry, and modify as needed. Sometimes I follow the recipes of others, & sometimes I make up my own. My first journal got lost. Very sad. My second journal is filled up, and last year I started my third journal. This is a handmade book. The cover fabric sports a design by my granddaughter (when she was about 8 years old) that I had printed onto linen at Spoonflower. The book itself is case bound. The pages are a paper stash I inherited from my father, who liked to draw.

I love this book and I enjoy writing in it.

The most recent journal entry documents that loaf of bread you saw at the top of this post. As you can see, I declared the experiment a success, and will be repeating the recipe in future bakes. By the way, I get the harvest grains blend and the rye flour from King Arthur.  Click to enlarge image.

Wool, Again

The last time I sat down to spin, after a long hiatus, the motor on this little friend was dead. It went in for repairs and is now back home & working like a dream.

There is a lot of wool here waiting in line. First up is this lovely carded Shetland I bought last year from a local farmer. It will be plied and then go on the loom. That's the plan.

In the department of books, I finished reading Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises. Apart from a huge dose of misogyny, racial epithets, anti-semitism, and rampant bad behavior in public places, it was an interesting read, especially the passages about fly-fishing in Spain and descriptions of the Spanish countryside. Comments welcome.

Wednesday Notes

Hello friends. Since we were last together, I've had company:

And I've been to the mountains. It was early spring there.

The old post office is still there, and still in use as a post office. 

I saw some interesting examples of complementary colors on my walks...

And when I got back home I finished another halvdräll towel. This one is hemmed and laundered. Cotton & cottolin. No shrinkage events here.


Up close and personal.

Recently read: Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg, and Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner.

 

Rainy Day

While waiting at the pharmacy this morning, I scanned the magazine rack. My favorite knitting mags are now $9.00 each. When did that happen? No thank you. 

It's a gray and rainy day, perfect for weaving. The hemp towels are coming along. I have this funny dance I do with the shuttle to keep the snarling under control. It gives me plenty of upper body exercise. I look like a crazed yoga instructor.

I like the way the cloth looks in black & white. The texture certainly comes through here.

How about blue?

In the Department of Books -- I just finished reading Julia Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic. Extraordinary. Highly recommended.