Weaverly

Small Victories

Morning in the woods. The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this tree was "V for Victory." Does anyone say that anymore? It did make me think a good day was in store.

Honeysuckle is everywhere. If you put your face right up close to the monitor you will be able to smell it. Delicious.

No, I did not pay this gentleman to pose with his bicycle in front of the gazebo. Isn't he perfect?

Some of my friends are Master Gardeners and know the names of every plant and tree and weed in the woods. Not I. I don't know what this one is, but it is very showy right now, and I love the way the leaves light up when the sun shines through them just so. 

Back in the studio, I'm working on a third runner (towel?) on the Bateman variations warp. I've modified the draft a bit, slightly elongating the blocks. The pattern weft is pink slub cotton, and the tabby is red tencel. 

A closeup. The little diamonds show up more clearly with this yarn combination. It's always fun when that happens. There's never any predicting it.

I recently received this book in the mail. It's got a number of interesting overshot drafts in it, drafts which are a little different than the American ones I am familiar with. My copy is already bristling with blue sticky notes.

Here's one I am interested in sampling. It's my modification of a draft the authors call "Dalkulla." What do you think?

Blue

It's not the New Mexico sky but I'll take it. Happy Spring. Who says blue is a sad color?

The blue heron grows bolder every day. I turn a corner and there she is.  I am allowed to get up close. 

Indoors, there is this. On the other side of the world, but right here in my living room. Formula 1.

And by pure coincidence, this is my current spin. Corriedale (75%) and lotus fiber (25%) from Hilltop Cloud. I will eventually ply it and use it in a warp.

Assorted Treasures

I believe a Bunched Arrowhead has been sighted. Very excited to have seen this.

Also on this morning's walk at the Preserve a fine display of tree fungi. Stripes anyone?

This past Wednesday I had the good fortune to accompany friends for a stroll at the garden of Jane and Boris Bauer. These gardeners have in 40+ years started and nurtured the most marvelous display of magnolias, over one hundred varieties, as well as other regional plants.

 

The array of colors and subtle differences in tone & shade among all these plants was inspiring to me. I am very grateful to have seen this wonderful garden.

Also inspiring, although totally unexpected, was an array of "expired" camellias under a bush. You never know when a new color scheme will jump out at you.

Back in the studio I stitched a label onto a recently completed blanket. It's just in time for the 21st birthday of a super terrific person.

In the Department of Books: finished reading Hugo Hamilton's The Speckled People. Recommended!

New Beginnings

"New beginnings" is too many words, or, as Bruce suggests, superfluous, or again, redundant. Just plain "beginnings" would be better. But Typepad doesn't charge me extra for too many words. So I"ll leave it for now.

My favorite story of the week: Fernando Alonso, at age 41, has just signed with Aston Martin in Formula 1 racing, and achieved a podium position in Sunday's race in Bahrain. It's never too late to begin again! 

Bridges can take you somewhere new. Here are two of my favorites.

I saw this fellow from the bridge. Think circles. More to come.

Back at the studio, another beginning. A new warp. A collection of 10/2 cottons from my ever-dwindling stash

My adaptation of "Conestoga," a traditional overshot draft. Four shafts. Tabby weft is brown 16/2 cotton. Pattern weft is handspun 2-ply Icelandic wool from my stash.

Circles. I never get tired of the surprise of being able to produce circles from a 4-shaft loom. Click to enlarge. The Icelandic yarn is poufing out nicely. Click to enlarge,

Complete change of topic. In the Department of Books, I just finished reading The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland.

Jin on 4 (Again)

This lovely long warp is perfect for using up little bits of yarn stash. I'm still weaving jin on 4 shafts, and the treadling is easy (musical interlude of "Summertime" here). 

Today I got into the greens.

And how can I avoid it? Yellows will have to be next.

Over at Swan Lake, the water level has been drawn way down. I assume they are doing maintenance. The wildlife are confused. Ducks have been walking in the roads.

Although this fellow seems content.

Back home, I am reminded just how much I love my little breakfast room. It's actually at its best in the evening, when the monstera casts a fine shadow.

A Puzzle

Which one of these is not like the others?

Clue: the first one is halvdräll, the final towel on this particular warp.

The second one is magnolia, rather late in its blossoming cycle.

And the third one is a jacquard sighting in a waiting room.

Answer: there is no answer. I'm just trying to cool off a little at the end of a very hot day in South Carolina.

 

 

 

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.

A Colorful Life

We're all over the spectrum this week. A visit to the bicycle store for a new flag gave us these zippy stripes. Must try that palette some day: shades of yellow and black and gray. 

Then we visited the rose garden and boat building king, for these spectacular rose experiences:

Willy is doing some more work on the Marsh Tacky. Love that smell of paint.

Back in the studio I've started another towel on the striped warp, this time with a cotton slub in pink as the weft. I'm using the same yarn for pattern and tabby, and it gives a totally different effect.

This tabby, heavier than the usual, is forcing the pattern shots apart slightly, but at an angle, which results in a slight zig-zag effect. 

Now who would have predicted that?

Moving On. Spring and All That.

First of all a big Thank You to everyone who tuned in to Textiles & Tea. I loved your comments, and I love being part of this great big warm inclusive funny messy community. To those of you who posted comments on my blog requesting publications: Please email me privately (email link is in the sidebar to the left) and include your contact information. I can't process your requests without an email address! 

And now a brief report from the outdoors.

Yes, spring is here, with a vengeance.

The area of the trail that was cleared of fallen trees is slowly being tamed, so that I can get through it without mud up past my ankles. All of this debris will be covered eventually by new growth. 

This pile of old vines and branches gladdens a weaver's heart.

And here's a nod to all you Formula 1 fans out there. I didn't know there were so many of you! 

A new warp is being wound on to the dobby loom. It's wool and tencel, end and end.

What would we ever do without lease sticks?

Beaming on.

Now a few weft samples. 

I finally chose some peach colored soy silk from my stash. This fabric is oddly iridescent. It changes appearance as you walk around it.

I'm seeing people here! That's a surprise.

Stashbusting With a Vengeance

I got out pretty early yesterday, and my reward was the especially wonderful morning light. The Muhly grass at the gardens exploded with pink.

A few last coneflowers bobbed their heads.

Stripes, anyone?

Or perhaps these:

Now on the the stashbusting. My accumulation of handspun wools and wool blends has grown to alarming proportions over the past 50 years. I'm embarrassed to even show you a picture. 

So here's what I did. I'm going to weave a blanket in four strips, each one composed of two 4-yard warp chains, all handspun. Here are the eight warps:

The first two chains on the left in the above picture were warped onto my Nilus II loom. 

I plan to weave them off in plain weave, in random shuttles-full of handspun weft.

The weights I was using on my tarp-clip temples were too heavy, so I substituted smaller weights:

And now all is well. The clips are holding the web out to the exact width of the warp in the reed. Selvedge bliss!

So far, I haven't had any warp breakage and the actual weaving is very pleasant.

I hope your weaving is going well today. I'll be thinking of you.